Covid-19 Impact On Media Consumption
Published on : Jul-2023 Report Code : 6 Report Format : PDF
As the novel coronavirus strikes the globe, customers are forced to alter their purchasing and media habits drastically. Customers spend more time online to watch content and remotely interact with others, with restrictions as social distancing and staying home situations. With this through technology, infrastructure, and interface enhancements and with the advent of COVID 19 the people have turned to online and media platforms like never before. Users around the world have flocked online media platforms as a primary source of news and for knowing the latest developments on the international health pandemic. Audiences are rising for advertising and media sellers, and it has never been smoother for ad buyers to meet their targeted and highly engaged audience. The retail environment combined with the ease of staying at home, having all consumer options shipped to the doorstep and regular online season sales turned the tables very dramatically for the eCommerce market. Social media and eCommerce platforms are a great match, particularly in a period when social media use is growing and customers are shopping more online. Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube are providing more options for customers to shop while browsing through their feeds and watching videos, and marketers are leveraging these increased customer acquisition opportunities and shifting customer behaviors. Similarly, Google recently launched many changes to boost its e-commerce presence. With this, Digital Media sector revenue is expected to hit USD 200,619 million by the end of 2020. The biggest segment on the market is video games, with an estimated market value in 2020 of USD 95,600 million. In global comparison, the majority of revenue will be generated in the United States (in 2020, USD 65,558 million).
Media consumption is also rising rapidly as customers search for the latest news and entertainment during a time of unprecedented lockdown. Being home-bound is anticipated to lead to an increase in the amount of video content we watch globally by almost 60 percent. Given that each country is responding to COVID-19 at a different stage, TV engagement is distinct. But one thing is consistent: time spent per viewer watching information and media is rising as COVID-19 s spread worsens and isolation becomes the best way to reduce spread.
Information on the effects of coronavirus has arisen at a rapid pace over the past few months, creating a sense of urgency to process as many news articles and reports as possible and as often as possible. We believe the consumption of news content across the internet and digital platforms is at unparalleled levels. For example, as people continue to search for real-time details on social media, Twitter recently revealed that the estimated number of monetizable daily active users for Q1 2020 has exceeded approximately 164 million, up 23 percent from last year. The accelerated news cycle linked to COVID-19 has dramatically pushed the extremely large number of regular active users on Twitter above what we would usually anticipate for the first quarter. Over the past month, cable news networks have doubled their ratings, while The New York Times has also experienced unprecedented levels of involvement that raise subscription rates above expectations, especially with high teen digital subscription revenue growth. The increase refers to television formats outside the news, which can be attributed to at-home viewers freshly captivated.
"We've seen a 10-20 percent increase in ratings overall for most broadcast shows, which is unusual this time of year," says Alexia Quadrani Head of U.S. Media Equity Research. "Ratings tend to drop after the arrival of Daylight Savings Time since people prefer to spend time outside.
Social media sites are becoming much more critical channels for maintaining connections, with social gatherings on pause. Across regions most impacted by the outbreak, Facebook's overall usage of its messaging platforms has grown by more than 50 percent over the past month. In the same period, voice and video calling more than doubled on the Messenger and WhatsApp platforms. For example, in Italy, time spent across its app suite has risen 70 percent since the outbreak, and over the past month, group calling has boosted by 1,000 percent. Snap has seen identical engagement and all-time highs across the platform with Snaps between the friends even exceeding prior peaks from big holidays. The Snap group expanded from 11 million users worldwide to a total of 229 million for the first quarter. Over the last week of March, engagement with friends grew by more than 30% compared to the last week of January; larger markets witnessed increases of more than 50 percent. Record levels for group chat, Snap Games, and Snapchat Shows were also achieved, with more than 70 million users consuming content relevant to COVID-19.
As people regard picking up new projects, Pinterest is already seeing increased engagement, especially across sections that include home improvement and activities with children company has recently encountered record rates of users looking for and collecting new ideas, as well as developing new platforms to help arrange their projects at home during this period, according to Pinterest. Television, online video, and social media along with music streaming and computer gaming appear as the major entertainment genres. Social networks are one of the digital platforms with rising usage substantially, with 43 percent of U.S. users asserting to have spent more time on them since mid-April. In the United States, national media outlets are the most trustworthy source of situation-related information, with 48 % of consumers finding that they are trusted, followed by government agency websites, with 44%. Just 10% of consumers have confidence in social networks.
News and films are the highest performing genres on television. Reruns of popular 80's mythical shows and entertainment shows entice the most audiences. OTT platforms are seeing a rapid rise in time spent as Indians across geographies utilize nearly an hour and a half of original OTT material and new films each day. Google's most famous app, YouTube is yet another biggest gainer with nearly two hours of daily time spent powered by entertainment, music, film, and video content for education. During this time of social distancing, 95% of individuals use some form of social media. Most (nearly 40 percent) spend two to three hours a day on social media, while another 30 percent spend four hours or more. 64 percent state that their use has risen since the spread of COVID-19.
According to the Financial Times, in China, after the country implemented nationwide isolation measures, average weekly downloads of apps jumped 40 percent over the first two weeks of February compared to the average for all of 2019. In China, after the country implemented nationwide isolation measures, average weekly downloads of apps during the first two weeks of February jumped 40% compared with the average for the whole of 2019, according to the Financial Times. Weekly downloads of games on Apple devices in the same month were up 82 percent compared with 2019. During the coronavirus outbreak, data from China demonstrates that traditional media also got a big boost in consumption television number of viewers grew after Lunar New Year when it normally experiences a dip.
Conferring to the analysis by Fatpos Global, Video gaming has become a viewing habit with the increase of the video and social streaming platforms. Approximately 30% of consumers watched live-streamed and recorded videos of others playing games every week before COVID-19. It was about 50 percent for Millennials and Gen Z. These figures have remained high since the COVID-19 pandemic started. The viewers prefer watching videos and walk-throughs of games, professional gamers and athletes streaming their play, and tournaments in sports. With the cancelation of live sports, through streaming and commenting on their video gameplay, many professional athletes have remained linked with fans. Amid the crisis, esports has allowed traditional sports like basketball and racing to virtually remain in the game. After the pandemic, the largest live streaming site for gaming saw a 50 percent rise in hours viewed. FatposGlobal's analysts anticipate that the trend of playing, streaming, watching, and socializing in and around video games presumably continue to grow even after the crisis is over.
According to Fatpos Global analysts, consumers believe that marketers should change their ads to understand and respect the situation and show what important things they can do to support consumers in their daily lives. The best approach is being relevant; brands need to be cautious not to persuade themselves into a position that is not consistent with their personality and goods. Customers don't want brands to take advantage of the situation; they want real, consistent brand interactions through digital and media platforms. Insightful, helpful, and reassuring advertisements are all received favorably. And as the crisis continues, customers are getting open to lighter tones and humor in advertisements, with only 30 percent believing brands should prevent humor compared with 43 percent in the pandemic's earlier days. Progressively, this change can be seen in new TV ads, with earlier commercials based on safety initiatives and essential personnel giving way to those that poke gentle fun at everyday events such as video conferencing mishaps.
As the scenario in COVID-19 progresses, customers are increasingly adapting to adjustments in their lifestyles and attitudes and so must the brands as well. Especially relevant is the need to remain on top of these changing trends, remain in contact with customers across media and digital channels, and plan yourself adequately for the future. While the advertising business is confronting COVID-19 and the greatest time of turmoil in recent history, it has never been more important to have the right data to understand how the ad can command audience attention. The rise in media consumption during the disease outbreak has changed the game for marketers.
People have started viewing live-streamed events and sharing videos with others via social media, web application, or videoconference and these have become famous among consumers. More than two-thirds said their new practice or subscription would likely continue in the future too. Media and entertainment firms may not have expected that video conferencing can come out to be a popular type of content, but these are times of significant changes. 40% of customers surveyed tried a new digital practice or subscription for the first time during the pandemic. Indeed, the crisis has also speeded up the discussion around theatrical releases. Many studios successfully launched new movies exclusively to streaming platforms with the theaters being closed. According to a survey conducted during the pandemic, 24% of users surveyed 32% of Gen Z and 34% of Millennials paid for watching the first-run video on a streaming site. For those who did it, 92% said they'd probably do it again. Studios may need to reassess their distribution methods while experimenting with pricing for streaming first-run releases. Even after the pandemic ends, although some people may be ready to return to the big-screen theater experience, others would appreciate the ease and convenience of online streaming and home viewing.
The pandemic has greatly influenced sports and live events. Its unclear when meeting in large crowds would be allowed or how likely people will be to do so even once it is. We found that, when it comes to going to live shows, more than one-third of customers said they would not be confident for more than six months. This underlines the fear and insecurity of the public. Live entertainment has become a clear example of both the effect of the crisis and the evolving and likely accelerating mixing of the physical and the digital. More interactions are being offered through digital and virtual platforms, and people have become more driven to take comfort on their terms. The COVID-19 shock has rattled structures that were resistant to transition. Yet it has also exposed new possibilities and contributed to developments that media and entertainment companies may have previously opposed or not have even thought.
Consumer engagement has accelerated, especially in paid streaming content, music, and gaming subscriptions. People have more time to watch, listen, and play games on their phones, and they are adding new apps to get fresh content. More people are trying new media and entertainment alternatives that the crisis has encouraged. During shelter-in-place guidance, social sharing, live streaming, and first-run films which are released directly to digital platforms have all shown clear and strong engagement. A free or reduced rate has been a major factor in selecting a paid online video service for nearly one-quarter of customers.
The analysts of Fatpos Global say The crisis can raise the pressures on costs of digital services. Consumers who lost income during the COVID-19 pandemic are more than twice as likely as those whose income remained static, to cancel service because of the costs. The future of media and entertainment companies depends on how they work through challenging questions about the direction of the pandemic, the time and money available to audiences, the variety of choices that compete for their attention, the obstacles that entertainment productions face, and the need to reinvent live entertainment.
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