Digital media use to grow 11.8% this year

Worldwide consumer digital media use is due to grow 11.8% in 2013, driven by demand for OTT, online and mobile video, as well as social media and games, according to new stats. 

US research firm PQ Media estimates that consumer digital media usage – under three categories of the web, mobile and other digital media – will grow this year to an average of six hours per week.

Global consumer internet media usage is trending up 10.7% in 2013 to a weekly average of 2.8 hours worldwide, accounting for 46.7% of all time spent with digital media, PQ Media said.

Mobile media consumption is pacing for 17.9% growth to an average of 1.3 hours, a 21.7% share of digital media usage. Meanwhile ‘other digital media’, including OTT video and console videogames, is on track for a 9.4% increase to 1.8 hours this year, according to the research.

“While global digital media usage continues to rise at double-digit rates, traditional media consumption is pacing for decelerated 1.3% growth in 2013, due to live TV trending flat,” said PQ Media.

Global digital media revenues passed TV revenues for the first time in 2010 and by year-end 2012 exceeded TV by US$33 billion. PQ Media said it now expects digital media revenues to grow at “double-digit rates through 2017.”

For the period 2012-17, PQ Media said it forecasts global consumer digital media usage to grow at a 10.7% compound annual growth rate, reaching 8.9 hours per week in 2017. Digital media is projected to account for 18.1% of all media consumption worldwide in 2017, a three-fold share increase since 2007.

“While traditional media still accounts for the lion’s share of media consumption, the amount of time post-Boomer generations spend on digital media is increasing at double-digit rates, hastening the shift of advertising and marketing dollars,” said PQ Media CEO Patrick Quinn.