The Channel | 2002 | June

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computer and Internet use has expanded.
The graph above shows the changes in Internet use over the past
two annual surveys, and an estimate of the projected use in the
coming year based on respondents’expressed intentions to purchase
access. The data show that the trend for Internet access and use
over a three-year period is for at least a doubling, with examples
such as Bosnia and Kosovo showing approximately a four-fold
increase.
With the clear evidence that Internet use is rapidly growing, what,
if any, is the effect on consumption of other media? Using the latest
survey results for each of the seven countries shown above, as a
first step, we can compare the media behaviour of Internet users
and non-users. The graph below shows the daily use of domestic
and international electronic media by users and non-users,
aggregated for the seven countries.
The data show that the Internet users in south-eastern Europe are
more frequent consumers of both domestic and international
electronic media than are non-users. This is true even breaking down
the data country-by-country for all except domestic television. In
several areas, Croatia andAlbania for example, domestic television
use is higher among the non-users. However, in all cases, the
difference is small. This is not the case for domestic and international
radio and international television. Internet users are more likely to
be daily consumers of these media than non-users. The data also
show the user community is much more likely to be viewers or
listeners to international radio and television, a pattern of media
consumption shown in other regions as well.
The research on American media interaction found that while the
frequency of television viewership was similar for users and non-
users, the real difference was that there was a significant disparity
in the actual hours spent viewing. Internet users watched far less.
Does this hold true for south-eastern Europe: does Internet use
displace television viewing? The short answer appears to be no, at
least not yet. However, the data suggest some potential problems
for radio listenership in this region, as shown in the example below
for Romania.
Internet users are busy people and consumers of all types of media.
The surveys suggest that while users tune in with greater frequency
to radio and television than do the non-users, they do so for shorter
periods of time. The difference in television consumption is
marginal, as Internet use appears to have little affect on either the
frequency of television viewing or the amount of viewing time. It
does appear to have an affect on the total time of radio use in some
cases such as in Romania. In the Romanian example, Internet users
have almost a quarter less radio listening than do the non-users,
while spending a similar amount of time reading and watching
television as non-users. It is not the case across the entire region. In
Bulgaria, Internet use has no affect on weekly time spent for either
the radio listening audience or for television viewing. The issue
must be studied market by market as radio and television patterns
vary widely across the region. As the user community continues to
expand in this area, especially as more and more Internet cafes are
established and become part of the regular social scene, it will grow
to include larger numbers of users beyond the current group of young
information seekers: another of the many evolving factors that need
to be tracked continually.
In the months ahead, InterMedia will be monitoring the situation
closely in its almost 400 yearly projects worldwide. International
broadcasters still do not know what the total effect of the Internet
will be on their current or potential audience. We will continue to
strive to help find the answers.
InterMedia is a non-profit company that carries out global
research, evaluation and media consulting. Based in Washington
D.C. with associates in the United Kingdom, InterMedia serves
international media, governmental and nongovernmental
organizations and institutions that require high-standard, cost
effective and culturally appropriate research and consulting to
measure their impact and future goals and objectives.
InterMedia’s worldwide research involves studies of local media
markets. The studies focus on how international broadcasters can
best tailor their programming and messages to be be most
effective in rapidly changing environments. Virtually all of our
clients see themselves now as “multi media” providers, blending
radio, television and Internet products and almost all are seeking
to discover the correct balance and the symbiosis between the
mediums that is right for them. In seeking this balance, one of the
tasks we are asked to perform is to project the relationship
between the mediums, and answer the question: will the Internet
displace my radio/television audience or can it actually grow my
total reach by providing both its own audience and providing new
viewers and listeners?
InterMedia is a Member of the Association for International
Broadcasting
1 Data on Internet use worldwide are available from a number of sites
including the NUA Internet survey, European Internet Stats, The UCLA
Worldwide Internet Project and the Computer Index Almanac.
2 Jeffrey Cole, “Surveying the Digital Future”, UCLA Center for
Communications Policy, 2000.