Competition for viewership remains fragmented across various platforms, as multi-platform behaviour highlights high levels of social media interaction while watching television and radio listening.
Social media is a pronounced secondary while engaging with these two mediums.
This aligns with the broader media landscape, indicating that audiences engage with social media platforms simultaneously as they consume TV and radio content.
This was revealed in the Marketing Research Foundation’s (MRF) recent presentation of the 13th Marketing All Product Survey (Maps) data set.
The data set provides a comprehensive look into South African consumer trends and media insights from July 2023 to June 2024.
In this presentation Rinisa Naidoo, project manager at Plus94 Research went through the Maps data covering the period from July 2020 to June 2024 highlighting some key trends*.
The data illustrates distinct patterns in media consumption.
Patterns in media consumption
Radio listening peaks in the morning, reflecting commutes and morning routines.
Conversely, TV viewing shows a notable increase in the evening, indicating a preference for watching shows after working hours.
Social media usage remains consistently stable throughout the day.
Print shows higher engagement during late morning to early afternoon.
As this data set continues to build, a clearer picture of evolving media consumption trends will emerge, allowing for more in-depth analysis in the future.
Television
The data highlights a strong level of engagement between TV and its audience, with 8.2 million individuals dedicating over 20 hours to watching television.
SABC1 emerges as the most-watched TV channel, attracting 10.2 million viewers, closely followed by eTV with 8.3 million viewers.
The overall penetration rate stands at 58%, demonstrating the TV’s broad reach across the population.
Notably Q1 and Q2 of 2020 saw significant increases in TV viewership.
This uptake may be attributed to the reduced incidence of load shedding compared to previous quarters, allowing viewers to engage more with their favourite TV programmes without interruptions.
Overall, TV remains a strong medium for consistent penetration across generations and areas, reflecting significant stability in the audience.
Notably, while traditional TV channels have experienced a decrease in viewership, both Netflix and Showmax continue to show growth.
On-demand streaming
The on-demand streaming landscape continues to show significant growth.
Netflix and Showmax are experiencing upward trends in viewership, reflecting the increasing popularity amongst consumers.
The paid service for YouTube Premium has seen a decline.
Overall, the profile on on-demand streaming remains similar to the previous analysis.
Video content
Eight million people have engaged with video content in the past seven days.
Facebook leads as the most visited platform, attracting 23.7 million users, followed by TikTok with 8.7 million users, and YouTube with 7.8 million users.
New data from 2024 shows that viewers demonstrate a strong preference for entertainment content.
Sixty-three (63) per cent watch music videos and 48% engage with comedy memes or viral videos.
Social media
In year 3 key adjustments were made to the methodology for social media.
Approximately 13 million South Africans spend over 20 hours per week on social media, with penetration remaining stable at around 75% as initial growth begins to flatten out, potentially due to factors like internet and data costs.
Among platforms, WhatsApp, Facebook, and TikTok show slight usage increases, with TikTok as a primary growth driver.
In terms of engagement, 40,000 South Africans follow influencers and experts, highlighting the growing impact of these figures.
The top three types of pages followed include Friends and Family at 62%, Actors and Comedians at 18%, and Entertainment or Celebrity News at 14%.
This highlights a blend of personal connections and entertainment-driven interests.
She noted that these insights are based on new data and that their understanding of these trends is still evolving.
There is consistent growth in the top six social media platforms.
Digital connectivity
A significant portion of the population accessed the internet in the past seven days, indicating the critical role of digital connectivity in daily life.This data also reflects the saturation around 75% as initial growth begins to flatten out.
Conversely, multi-platform behaviour highlights high levels of social media interaction while watching TV.
Short-form content providers have gained a significant foothold in the market and while this has not diminished the importance of traditional TV, it has instead carved out distinct niches for diverse audience preferences.
Some viewers enjoy the convenience and variety offered by streaming platforms, while others continue to find comfort in the familiar programming of traditional TV.
The 3.9 million households with fixed internet access, reflects the growing connectivity in South Africa.
Notably, there has been a 64% increase in households with internet access between year 2 and year 4.
This indicates a shift towards more stable internet connections beyond mobile devices.
Radio
The radio sector has faced consistent declines quarter on quarter over the past four years.
Unlike television, which experienced an immediate boost when load shedding decreased, radio has had a slower recovery.
However, there are indications of improvement in Q2 of 2024.
Currently, the radio sector is navigating a challenging period as it adapts to evolving listener habits and market dynamics.
With the rise of streaming music, videos, and access to other content, audiences are increasingly moving across multiple platforms.
The overall decline in radio listenership is primarily driven by commercial radio.
The performance of the top five stations presents a mixed picture, with some experiencing growth and others facing declines.
In its multi-platform behaviour analysis for radio, a parallel trend emerges to that observed in TV consumption.
Social media stands out as a pronounced secondary while listening to the radio.
This aligns with the broader media landscape, indicating that audiences engage with social media platforms simultaneously as they consume radio content.
The current audio streaming landscape in South Africa, reveals that 12.5 million people have access to streaming audio.
Among the 12.5 million, 47% of individuals stream audio content weekly, while 14% engage with podcasts on a weekly basis.
In both audio streaming and podcast consumption a decline in listening hours has been observed.
Demographically, its analysis shows that the majority of the audio streaming audience comprises Gen X and Millennials, primarily from upper LSMs.
This trend highlights the importance of targeting these specific age groups and socio-economic segments to enhance engagement and foster growth within the audio streaming sector.
Audio listening habits, with a quarterly analysis of all audio formats, which encompass both traditional radio and audio streaming show a notable decline in overall audio listening across the board.
Traditional radio listenership, also experiencing a decline, suggests a shift in audience preferences as listeners gravitate away from conventional radio formats.
The decline in overall audio is primarily driven by the increased decline in radio engagement.
Cinema
The ongoing decline in cinema attendance is a trend exacerbated by the recent writers’ and actors’ strike.
Despite these challenges, there is hope for an uptake in attendance as audiences may return for upcoming releases and events.
The continued decline in print is a trend that is well documented.
While a significant portion of readers are now consuming magazines online, reflecting a shift in how audiences engage with content, the overall number of people engaging with print media continues to decrease.
Over the past three months, 5.2 million people have engaged with store magazines.
This significant readership highlights the ongoing appeal of these publications among consumers.
The top four store magazines are Shoprite, Pick n Pay, Spar and Boxer and they dominate the market, reflecting the strong brand loyalty and engagement within the retail chains.
Of store magazine readership, 91% is derived from paper copies, indicating that print remains the preferred format for consumers.In contrast, only 13% of readers access store magazines electronically.
Newspapers
While the new data is still developing when it comes to paid news access, News24 continues to dominate as the leading source of paid news.
Similar to the trends observed in other print media, the newspaper sector is also experiencing declines.
Despite this, the overall penetration remains at 25%, indicating that newspapers still hold a significant position as a medium.
The profiles of newspaper readership show that they are particularly popular amongst the upper end of the market.
Out of Home
Over the past four weeks, Out of Home (OOH) media engagement highlighted a relatively stable engagement rate in the context of recent year-on-year shifts.
Within this steady landscape, two out-of-home categories stand out for their growth; digital roadside billboards and large-format traditional outdoor billboards.
*Note that the insights analysis of how South Africans engage with different forms of entertainment and information is based on new data collected in quarter one of 2024, covering six months of observations, which serve as a foundational overview for current trends.
