The GlobalWebIndex data paints a picture of extreme immersion in digital media and devices among consumers in the Philippines.
Smartphones were effectively universal among the internet users ages 16 to 64 polled in H1 2019, with 98.5% owning one. Some 15.2% owned a feature phone. Penetration of desktop and laptop PCs was substantially lower than that of smartphones, at 67.7%. Just under 38% of respondents owned a tablet.
In H1 2018, the combined time internet users spent on PCs, smartphones and tablets exceeded 10 hours per day, on average, according to GlobalWebIndex. Similarly remarkable figures are apparent a year later: an average 4 hours, 58 minutes (4:58) spent with PCs and tablets daily and 5:17 spent on mobile. These figures should be taken with a grain of salt, though, bearing in mind that the surveyed group was heavily weighted toward young people and those living in urban areas (see note below).
Internet users in the Philippines have maintained their commitment to social media, too; as in H1 2018, social networking consumed more than 4 hours on a typical day.
Amid all the enthusiasm for digital media, broadcast TV still scores well. Nearly 93% of internet users said they’d watched live TV in the prior month, spending 2:21 per day, on average.
By comparison, online TV and video streaming claimed an estimated 1:28 per day. But digital video viewing was hardly a minority activity. Overall, 92.8% of internet users had streamed video of some kind digitally in the prior month—virtually the same share that had watched live broadcast TV.
More than three-quarters of respondents had used a broadcaster’s catch-up or on-demand service to watch TV programs in the prior month, and over 70% had used a paid subscription service such as Netflix.
We shouldn’t forget that these newer entertainment options coexist with other longer-standing ones. For example, just 13.3% of respondents said they owned a game console in H1 2019, yet the average time spent gaming per day, per internet user, was estimated at 1:38. Clearly, keen gamers are clocking phenomenal times with that activity, either on a console or online.
Digital audio consumption was almost as widespread as digital video, reaching 90.7% of internet users, according to GlobalWebIndex. Music streaming alone accounted for more than 2 hours daily, on average.
The broadcast radio audience in the Philippines remains large, with penetration of nearly 70%, but the average time spent each day with live radio, at 53 minutes, was less than half the time spent daily with digital music.
