News coverage spiked 300% following Melbourne COVID-19 outbreaks, according to new Fetch data

August 5, 2020 7:58

In mid-March, free-to-air (FTA) news viewership spiked over 200% and the most recent Melbourne COVID-19 outbreak saw a jump of nearly 300% in the state, according to viewing data from Fetch.

The major spike in news coverage isn’t the only boost FTA has seen since the pandemic hit Australia. Viewing per household has increased across the Fetch platform by 19% during the months of restrictions, with the majority of that increase attributed to FTA.

Between March and April, viewing on the Fetch platform rose by an hour per day. Subscription Video On Demand (SVOD), which includes Netflix and Stan, accounted for some of that growth, with the average viewing time per day more than doubling during the early stages of lockdown. However, across the three months, SVOD stabilised and is now sitting around 10% higher than its March averages.

Be a member to keep reading

Join Mumbrella Pro to access the Mumbrella archive and read our premium analysis of everything under the media and marketing umbrella.

Become a member

Hannah Blackiston

Hannah Blackiston was the deputy editor of Mumbrella. She worked with the company from March 2019 to November 2020.

Topics