Research row as TV claims to be number one after all
Days after data from Nielsen suggesting that the Internet was now Australia’s number one medium, rival research house Roy Morgan has released its own report suggesting the survey is wrong and that TV is still the top dog.
On Monday, Nielsen said that online now takes up 16.1 hours of the average Australian’s week, followed by TV with 12.9 hours.
Media usage. Source: Roy Morgan Research
But today, Roy Morgan said TV actually averages almost twice that – with 21.5 hours per week. It credited Internet usage with just 10.7 hours. Radio outstrips online with an average of 14.2 hours.
And William Burlace, director of media services at Roy Morgan attacked Nielsen’s methodology. He said:
“As Nielsen use an online panel, their results are obviously skewed because their sample will be over-represented with heavy internet users. With 68.6% of households having internet access, we see growing uptake but there remain many for whom it is not yet an important option. It is surprising how easy it is to fall into the self-projection trap of thinking that everyone is just like us.”
Roy Morgan surveys a sample of just over 20,000 over the course of a year. According to the company: “The only Australians who are spending on average a greater amount of time with the Internet than television are 14 to 24 year old “Heavy” Internet users (8+ times per week) and those under 35 who watch no commercial TV.”
Meanwhile, Rhonda Brown, marketing director for Free TV claimed the Roy Morgan figures reaffirmed TV as Australia’s favourite pastime. She said: “Despite the plethora of new entertainment options, our appetite for television isn’t waning. Television remains an integral part of Australian culture and very much a part of our everyday lives.”
Paul Fisher, CEO of Australia’s Interactive Advertising Bureau said there was no need for a debate over who was first and second as the surveys clearly had different methodologies. He told Mumbrella: “We’re just keen to show advertisers and marketers what’s happening with consumer behaviour. We believe that people are consuming more media online and that’s continuing to rise . We’ll continue to support advertisers who use online.”
Tim Burrowes founded Mumbrella in 2008. He worked on Mumbrella until 2021. At various points he was editor, content director and editor-at-large.
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The truth is probably somewhere in between. Whilst I agree with Roy Morgan, an online panel would skew things to online, I would counter that by saying anyone who fills out a hefty consumer survey for a movie ticket probably spends most of their time sat on the sofa watching the box
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I agree, Carl. There’s surprisingly little interrogation of Morgan’s (or any other large diary-based survey’s) sample being skewed the other way.
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Well they can both agree on one thing – we all know where it’s going!
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