Global Media Intelligence 2020: Sweden

Key Features

In this advanced digital landscape, most media behaviors have changed only slightly in the past year.

• As in other developed economies, several of the most dramatic changes in device ownership and media habits have already taken place in Sweden. Diverse digital behaviors now coexist with consumption of traditional formats, such as broadcast TV, radio, and print.
• In H1 2020, 77.9% of internet users ages 16 to 64 had watched live TV in the prior month, according to GlobalWebIndex. Live TV viewing is less widespread in Sweden than in most European nations, but within the country, penetration had shifted just 1 percentage point since H1 2019.
• The reach of broadcast radio was not far behind, at 76.7% of those polled. As with live TV, that share was somewhat higher than in 2019. Penetration ranged from 84.3% in the oldest cohort to 70.4% among 16- to 24-year-olds. At least some of the increase was likely due to COVID-19 and residents’ desire to keep up with the latest news from trusted sources. The average time spent with broadcast radio was 1 hour, 7 minutes (1:07) per day—less than in 2019—but average time spent with broadcast TV had risen above 2 hours daily.