Media Consumption in China Shifting towards Online

“One screen isn’t enough for Chinese consumers,” said Nielsen. As Chinese media evolves beyond the television, it is crucial for programmers and marketers to adapt to the changing media consumption pattern in China.

In this year’s Chinese New Year Eve, it was found that an increasing number of Chinese are reaching out to the Internet and mobile devices to spice up their TV experience. A cross-platform research in Shanghai highlighted a significant shift from TV to the Internet during the CNY Eve prime time period.

In Shanghai, it was found that 1 out of 10 who watched the CNY Gala show also used the Internet concurrently. Online video streaming usage experienced a spike during CNY period with unique browsers for Youku and Tudou increased 24 percent and 28 percent, respectively. The top 10 most visited Chinese sites remained more or less the same. The only major change within the list was the exit of Google.cn and the entry of Taobao, China’s largest e-commerce site.

The media usage chart below tells a simple story of shifting consumption pattern: (1) There were fewer viewers for the Gala show this year compared to the last. (2) Internet usage increased dramatically in 2011. The Chinese media consumption is shifting towards online.

Nielsen’s survey on Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzen also noted that 42 percent of respondents used the Internet to learn more information about the Gala Show while 9 percent accessed information through their smartphones. With easy access to the Internet, more Chinese participated in forums and social networking sites to share their New Year thoughts and wishes.

The shifting media consumption trend increases the difficulty of ad targeting as eyeballs are now spread among 3 media – TV, Internet and mobile. It’s increasingly important for marketers to integrate both traditional (not necessarily just TV) and online media for better marketing effectiveness. For first step, understand where your consumers are before crafting a marketing plan blindly. After all, some businesses might not even need traditional media. For example online business like Facebook or Sina Weibo. It would be inefficient if they to advertise on TV.