Global Media Intelligence 2021: New Zealand

Noteworthy in 2021

Higher usage of TV, digital video, and other digital entertainment options persisted a year after the country’s famously rigorous lockdown.

• As the pandemic spread around the world in March 2020, New Zealand closed its borders to almost all travelers, isolated known cases of COVID-19, and imposed a strict lockdown between March and June 2020. These measures helped ensure very low rates of infection but also resulted in long hours at home for residents—conditions that favored more time with media, especially entertainment.
• Nearly 78% of internet users had watched live TV during the prior month in Q1 2021. Some 69.5% of respondents ages 16 to 64 used broadcasters’ catch-up services, and almost 44% had watched programs they recorded earlier. Penetration of all these viewing options increased compared with H1 2020.
• More internet users (77.6%) were watching films and TV shows via subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services as well. As a result, virtually equal numbers were viewing SVOD and broadcast TV.