Nielsen: 9 in 10 Filipinos now use two screens

One screen is no longer enough for most Filipinos when it comes to reading and watching online content, according to a new study from Nielsen.Looking into digital consumers’ media consumption habits, the Nielsen Cross-Platform report confirmed that almost all Filipinos hooked online or 96% use two screens simultaneously and as many as eight in 10 (80%) engage with three screens simultaneously.Viewing online video content has become a common pastime for digital consumers in the Philippines, with 85% watching online videos at least weekly – the second highest in the region following Vietnam at 91%.In addition more than seven in report watching TV content and movies via online sources such as video-on-demand. This is also the second highest penetration of internet TV after Thailand in a region that is also increasingly acknowledging YouTube as a ‘TV channel’ or platform.[gallery link="file" ids="77916,77917,77918"]Stuart Jamieson, managing director of Nielsen Philippines, said that this opens massive opportunities for brands to connect with Filipinos that are not only hooked on the internet but now consuming media content voraciously through multiple screens.Laptops/PCs was found to be most popular device used to view video on demand (89%) and is proving to be an effective means encourage product search and purchase. Nielsen reveals that 9 in 10 (89%) Filipino digital consumers were motivated to search for an item seen within online video advertising from a laptop or desktop while 6 in 10 or (62%) made a purchase as a result.In comparison, 67% searched for an item after seeing a video ad through a mobile device while only 49% were compelled to purchase the item.“The swift integration of connected devices into the lives of consumers is instrumental in the shift in the consumption of media, which includes multi-screening as a prevalent behavior,” notes Jamieson.“Media owners and brands must continue to innovate to be able to capitalize on multi-screening behavior and deliver enhanced audience engagement with programs and advertising,” he advises.While the assumption that the internet and mobile devices is replacing traditional media, Nielsen reminds marketers that’s not exactly the case. Yesterday TV viewership recorded an increase from 93% to 95% over the past year together with radio listening now at 62% yesterday listeners up from 53% last year.Newspaper readership (broadsheets, tabloids, and regional newspapers), widely seen to be the negatively hit by the digital trend, remains stable over the past year and steady quarter on quarter, with around 14% of people in National Urban Philippines being yesterday readers.According to the Cross Platform report, online consumption is most stable in terms access among the media format. Online activity on desktops plateau during working hours and peak on laptops at night, while consistent use is observed on mobile phones and tablets throughout the day.In contrast, newspaper readership and radio listening are most popular in the early morning before working hours, while TV viewing dips in the afternoon and increases drastically during primetime. Internet TV, however, follows online behavior rather than traditional TV behavior – it is consistent throughout the day.“People are using traditional media in union with the new media. When people dual- screen, they are may be watching TV while also accessing online content related to the TV programs they are watching or they may also be accessing unrelated content altogether. Dual screening behavior is fragmented and thus, it has become increasingly more important to understand how people behave across different media,” Jamieson explains.