Usage of the Television

USAGE OF THE TELEVISION, CABLE TV, AND MOBILE VIDEO IN SINGAPORE

Since its introduction in Singapore in 1963, the television has progressively grown to become the predominant source of entertainment for Singapore households.

TELEVISION USAGE

As seen in the graph above, almost every household in Singapore has a television. This is fueled by the need for a source of entertainment that is flexible enough to fit around the 8 to 5 working culture in Singapore, and yet has the means to provide media that is holistic, as well as, catered to the different segments of audiences. In present Singapore, the television serves, not just as a medium for entertainment, but also as a source for news, a tool for education, as well as platform for advertising, with respect to both the producers, and the consumers.

CABLE TV USAGE

Synonymous with the exponential growth of television usage in Singapore over the past few decades, cable TV has also experienced unprecedented growth in its subscription, since its introduction in Singapore. Beginning with a mere 1500 subscribers in 1992, cable TV (Singtel & StarHub) has grown to penetrate almost 70% of Singapore households. This is evidenced by the graph above.

Consumer studies conducted by the Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore found that consumers spent, on average, 17.4 hrs a week watching channels broadcasted by their cable providers, including their free-to-air channels. The studies also found that children aged 7 to 14 spent the most time watching these channels.

With cable TV providing channels catered to every segment of the population, it is no surprise that their growth and subscription rates have steadily risen to a very healthy position at present.

MOBILE TV USAGE

While cable TV subscription trends have been healthy in Singapore over the past decades, a new trend seems to pose a potential threat to its steady position. In recent times, mobile video viewership in Singapore has experienced a significant surge. The prime catalysts for this are the steep increase in household computer ownership, and mobile phone ownership, as well as, household broadband penetration. Data released by the Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore show that, as of 2015, about 90% of Singapore households have at least 1 computer, and 98% of Singaporean have at least 1 mobile phone. Also 98.4% of those with computers have access to broadband connection. This has set the stage for mobile video to be easily accessible to the general population, and at the same time, widely viewed.

Studies conducted by Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore revealed that media consumers spend just as much time watching mobile videos, as they do cable TV. In fact, those aged between 15 to 30 spend more than twice the amount of time on mobile videos as they do on cable TV. In the lower age range, 79.8% of children in Singapore watch videos online, with the average age of these children introduced to the Internet being 6.1 years old.

Benefits of mobile videos

Mobile videos can be watched on multiple platforms
Mobile video viewership (most of the time) does not entail fixed subscription fees
Mobile video viewing is highly convenient
Customised viewing (Viewer decides what to watch, not broadcaster)
Major companies are opting for mobile video platforms (e.g. Marvel)
Mobile videos can be watched “on the go”, suiting a busy schedule

The above-mentioned are just some of many reasons people are opting for mobile video over cable TV. The extent of this paradigm shift can be noticed in the statistical analysis performed on Netflix subscription in Singapore.

Estimated number of active streaming subscribers to Netflix in Singapore from 2016 to 2020 (in 1,000s)

Netflix currently has about 50 000 subscribers in Singapore. However, due to the changing environment in the media industry, Statista has predicted a 530% increase in subscription rate to 264 000 subscribers within the next 4 years, posing an active threat to cable TV subscription in Singapore.

Therefore, while cable TV has been a mainstay in Singapore households for decades, the multitude of benefits of mobile video platforms over traditional cable TV present the distinct possibility of these mobile video platforms actively competing against cable TV providers to be the go-to source of entertainment in Singapore.

https://www.imda.gov.sg/industry-development/facts-and-figures/media-consumer-experience-study

https://www.imda.gov.sg/~/media/imda/files/industry%20development/fact%20and%20figures/for%20public%20release%20mces%202015%20final.pdf?la=en

https://www.imda.gov.sg/industry-development/facts-and-figures/telecommunications/statistics-on-telecom-services/statistic-on-telecom-service-for-2016--jan

http://www.starhub.com/about-us/newsroom/2016/may/starhub-reports-2016-first-quarter-results.html

http://info.singtel.com/annualreport/2016/pages/performance/management-discussion-and-analysis.html

https://data.gov.sg/dataset/computer-ownership-by-housing-type

https://www.statista.com/statistics/607646/singapore-netflix-subscribers/

singapore in figures 2016 by department of statistics singapore