Australians watch 97 hours of TV a month, Nielsen, OzTAM, Regional TAM research shows

IT sounds like a lot and it is. Whether it’s in front of the TV, a computer or a smartphone, a new report reveals how Australians have become addicted to their screens.

Young couple eating popcorn and watching TV together at home

AUSTRALIA is a nation of screen addicts who watch more television, more online video, and spend more time looking at computers, tablets, and smartphones than ever, according to a study released today.

The Australian Multi-Screen Report, combining research from Nielsen, OzTAM and Regional TAM, found Australians watch an average of 97 hours of television every month, or more than three hours a day, while still finding eight hours to watch video on a computer, almost two hours on a smartphone, and one hour and 47 minutes on a tablet computer.

The 97-hour monthly TV tally was up 26 minutes on last year, the study found, and Australians devoted more than an hour and a half extra to watching video on computers this year.

Despite increases in the number of smartphones, tablet computers, and internet-connected televisions, broadcast TV still earned the most attention from Australian viewers by a large margin.

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Family activity ... watching TV is still a favourite past time. Picture: News Corp Australia

OzTAM chief executive Doug Peiffer said the study, spanning April to June this year, showed Australian screen habits were “changing gradually rather than rapidly” and the second-screen phenomenon had yet to rob viewers from free-to-air and subscription TV.

“Secondary use of the TV set is bringing more people in front of the TV, increasing the overall amount of time spent with the big screen and reinforcing its place as the household main screen,” Mr Peiffer said.

“And even as connected devices increase the range of viewing options, Australians of all ages still spend the majority of their screen time watching live broadcast television on in-home TV sets.”

In addition to sit-back screen time, the report found Australians over two years of age devoted 39 hours every month to using an online computer, and internet connections remained steady at 80 per cent of households.

Smartphone ownership in Australians aged 16 and over jumped from 65 per cent last year to 71 per cent this year, the study found, and household tablet ownership leapt from 33 per cent to 42 per cent.

Even though more than half of all households owned a digital video recorder (55 per cent), Australians spent less than eight hours watching recorded content on their TVs, with most viewed live.