2 crore mobile net users reduce newspaper, TV time by half: Study

Advertisement

Advertisement

The increasing popularity of smartphones and Internet-enabled feature phones has now started to give serious competition to the traditional sources of entertainment – TVs and newspapers, says a study conducted by online audience and ad measurement platform ViziSense.

The report reveals about 2 crore of the estimated 4.8 crore mobile Internet users in the country have shifted 50 percent of their newspaper and TV time to their mobile phones, and what's being consumed is – entertainment, including all categories of news, travel and sports.

The report further says half of mobile Internet users go online through their phones for almost 2-3 hours on a daily basis. Primary drivers of mobile Internet have been specified as email (99%) and social media (95%). 

“Consumption of content is starting to shift in favour of the 2 new screens – Mobiles and Tablets and the categories which see frequent or daily consumption include News, Games and Entertainment, Travel, Education and Search (almost 50% Mobile Internet users access this content through their cellphones v/s. other categories),” says the report.

The report also highlights increasing popularity of mobile ecommerce, with 80 percent of users using their devices for some sort of financial transactions such as paying utility bills, buying products or services . Moreover, 28 percent of the mobile Internet users have even used mobile money. 

Commenting on the findings of the survey, Amit Bhartiya, VP & GM - ViziSense says, “55 percent of all daily mobile Internet users hail from outside the top 8 metros. The survey establishes 2 major trends; the shift in screens is for real and that English print is migrating to mobile phones through WAP sites and applications, especially around lifestyle, travel and sports content.” 
 

Earlier, a study conducted by telecom equipment maker Ericsson had revealed that India along with China account for approximately 35 percent of the total 180 million net additions during Q4 2011, globally. 

Do you also think smartphones and Internet-enabled phones are serious threat to newspapers and TVs? Let us know in the comments section below: 
 

Pre-book your Digit 12 Year Anniversary Edition