Executive Summary

Total time spent with media by adults in China will spike in 2020 as a result of COVID-19. The uptick in TV and digital media use will offset declines in print media and radio, though not all of those behaviors will translate into longer-term trends.

Has the coronavirus pandemic affected time spent with media in China?

Absolutely, but not necessarily in a transformative way. Traditional TV, for example, will experience strong gains in 2020 as consumers hunker down at home, but we expect that to turn back around once their lives begin to normalize.

Which media categories will drive growth in time spent in 2020 and beyond?

In one word: digital, even though most of that growth is coming from an acceleration of existing trends, like rising digital video viewing and live streaming. But the additional minutes spent in 2020 will translate to even more time than expected on smartphones and connected TVs in the long term.

How will print and radio fare during and after the pandemic?

Not great. Time spent with newspapers, magazines and terrestrial radio will continue declining, though the strong gains in TV will translate to slightly positive growth for traditional media overall in 2020.

WHAT’S IN THIS REPORT? This report explores our latest forecast for time spent with media in China, and how the coronavirus pandemic will impact our forecast for 2020 and beyond.

KEY STAT: Time spent on total media among adults in China will increase by 5.8% in 2020—compared with 3.0% in 2019—to 6 hours and 58 minutes per day.