Media consumption: The crisis has boosted audiences and gaming

Before answering the question, I think it is important to recall the main usage trends over the medium to long term. Because this crisis was indeed part of a context, in a general movement that preceded it. Just before the health crisis, Ipsos carried out a major survey on the cultural practices of the French, which the Ministry of Culture has conducted every 10 years since 1973. With its longevity (50 years of history!) and its scale (over 9,000 face-to-face interviews), this study is a precious source for observing trends over time.

What did the survey tell us? One of the most striking findings was the massive spread of media consumption practices. The fraction of people who only watch television has fallen sharply. On the other hand, listening to music and playing video games have experienced spectacular progress. This dynamic is of course driven by the rapid digitisation of the past 10 years.

Another trend is the ageing of audiences. This affects in particular the forms of “learned” culture (reading books or going to museums, theatres and concerts), and also going to the cinema or listening to the radio. The rise of screens has brought to light a group of 'digital exclusives' (15% of the population) while, on the other hand, the number of French people exclusively tuned in to the most traditional forms have been in decline. At their intersection, a 'hybrid' social group emerges, which combines all practices: from theatre to video games via cinema and reading.

To what extent have the last eighteen months changed these long-term trends?

The first effects of the crisis were mechanical and violent: fewer sales at newsstands and magazines, fewer radio listeners (partly listened to outside the home), fewer spectators in cinemas. Outdoor advertising (billboards), whose audience is directly linked to the movements of individuals, was brutally impacted. In the field of culture, both live performance and heritage have seen their attendance plummet, the second being affected moreover by the absence of an international audience. Even the reading of books has decreased (see Ipsos Barometer 'Les Français et la lecture' for the CNL). However, this drop is modest, probably because bookstores, considered an essential business, were able to reopen from the end of 2020.

Simultaneously, the time spent in front of screens has soared. Without the ability to meet physically, interaction shifted further to social networks and messaging. The five most used apps in 2020 (excluding games) were WhatsApp, Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, and Snapchat. And the strongest growth, especially among young people (under 25) was for Instagram and Tik-Tok. Video game usage was also stimulated during this period, as it offered players a way to feel less isolated and stay in touch with their community.

What impact has this period had on content consumption?

At the start of the crisis, individuals were stunned by an unprecedented and dangerous situation, which potentially jeopardised their health and even their lives. The urgency was to understand, and therefore to inform themselves in order to understand. The first effect observed was the rapid growth in the consumption of information on all devices: TV, PC, smartphones. All news sites were boosted during this period and continue to see the same effect today. Their audience remains higher in 2021 than in 2019.

This situation has given rise to the production of a large quantity of information during a particularly difficult and constrained context for the editorial staff (lack of resources, difficulty in moving around, etc.). The public reception was mixed. At the beginning of April 2020, Ipsos set up an online research community of 300 French people (“@Home”) for three months. While they showed a strong addiction to information, we quickly saw the emergence of a phenomenon of rejection. There are several possible explanations: a loss of confidence, including in experts whose words were sometimes contradictory, and a saturation of content deemed anxiety-provoking, which fuelled their fears.

It is for this reason that a “solution journalism” developed, more focused on sharing useful and practical information, helping individuals to get through this ordeal. It is also a period marked by the expansion of “data journalism”. The crisis has given rise to the dissemination of a large amount of data. There are pros and cons to this – it is likely to shed light on the situation but also to fuel all kinds of myths. Data verification, contributing more generally to the development of fact-checking, was an effective means of combating the spread of fake news on social networks.

Beyond information content

As everyone has seen, entertainment content has also been a beneficiary of this anxiety-provoking period and has experienced rapid growth. People needed to be informed, but they also needed to take their minds off things! Films and series made it possible to completely disconnect from the health context, to get involved in stories out of the present time.

The crisis has therefore accelerated the rise of Video on-demand services (Netflix, Amazon, Disney, Canal +, OCS, Salto) which have seen an increase in the number of users and a lengthening of the time spent per user. Again, the effects are persistent: France had four million daily video on-demand users in 2019 (7% of French people) and double that in 2020! In 2021, usage continued to grow, reaching nine million. Listening time per user, globally stable compared to 2020, even increased among the youngest (under 25).

The success of the platforms does not only concern video, but also audio content. While radio listening declined in 2020, especially during periods of confinement as a significant part of radio listening takes place during transport, the consumption of podcasts continued to grow, benefiting from all the advantages of flexible formats: extended choice with back-catalogues available and continuous availability with playback anywhere, anytime. Although music radio channels are struggling a bit, Spotify is still on the rise. Audio is even rolling out in messaging apps. On WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram, a growing number of users are using voice notes rather than written messages. It's faster, and probably also more authentic, with the sound of the voice letting the mood and emotions of the interlocutors shine through.

Has the accelerated rise of platforms impacted the consumption of content broadcast by the traditional media, in particular by television channels?

Indeed, one could have easily imagined a causal relationship where rising platform audiences would have automatically translated into reduced TV audiences. This has not happened. Video on-demand grew but television programs continued to capture large audiences. We have seen it for news and television news. But it is generally true for all programs. In the first half of 2021, television viewing time (3.5 hours per day) remained higher than its 2019 level. The only exception: those under 25, and in particular those under 15, whose viewing time has shrunk slightly.

Has the health crisis had any effects on other parts of the sector?

There is one market we haven't talked about yet: video games. Every year, Ipsos carries out the ‘Game Track’ study, a European tracker on gaming behaviour. More than 60% of French people (30 million players) played video games in 2020 – the highest proportion among the countries measured. While the already very high number of players did not increase during the crisis, the commitment of players and the time spent have increased significantly, driven both by the periods of confinement, but also by a wealth of new features eagerly awaited by players. Gamers racked up nearly 9 hours of play per week in 2020, with a total industry revenue of €5.3 billion, up +11.3.

Out-of-Home Advertising

Ipsos measures outdoor advertising audiences in several countries, including France. What are the recent and future developments in this sector? Out-of-Home activity is directly linked to the movement of individuals. The more time people spend away from home, the more likely they are to come into contact with promotional signs. The year 2020 has of course been a very complicated year for the industry. However, it is extremely responsive media. As soon as the French begin to be on the move again, outdoor advertising starts up again. Today, traffic has almost returned to 2019 levels. Of course, certain “remote” practices have become entrenched, such as remote working. But the impact of this is quite small overall.

Let's look at a few numbers. Only 40% of French people are “active”, as derived from audience measurement. Home-to-work and work-to-home journeys represent only 15% of all journeys. If this type of travel decreases by 20%, the impact on all travel is only minimal. And even then, only individuals working in the service sector should be considered.

More than traffic levels, what will change permanently relates to modes of transport. The crisis has accelerated ecological awareness, with lower-impact modes being favoured, such as walking, scooter, bicycle and electric or hybrid vehicles. Travel is also on the verge of a digital revolution, with the rise of “multimodal” (MaaS, mobility as a service). Boosted by the deployment of its digital offer, the OOH sector is at the dawn of a real revolution!

A few words to conclude

The survey on French cultural practices showed that during the ten years of 2009 – 2018, many forms of media consumption become more widespread, driven by video, music and video games, and digitisation. Activity is buzzing in de-linear and social content, multi-screen consumption, especially on mobile. It appears that the exceptional period that we recently went through has acted as a tremendous accelerator of these transformations already at work.