Canadians spend more time online than watching TV

Leona Hobbs, March 25 2010

Pollster Ipsos-Reid reported this week that for the first time ever their research showed:

“the weekly Internet usage of online Canadians has moved ahead of the number of hours spent watching television. This latest finding comes from the Inter@ctive Reid Report, a syndicated Ipsos Reid study that tracks online Canadians usage of the Internet. Overall, online Canadians are now spending more than 18 hours a week online, compared to 16.9 hours watching television. Internet usage is up from 14.9 hours last year. The number of hours watching television also experienced an increase in the last year, rising from 15.8 hours. Other media, such as newspapers, radio and magazines have all remained relatively stable in the last year.”

I did a quick interview on CBC Radio’s Blue Sky on Monday to talk about these findings. What we’re seeing here are a couple of shifts – broadcast vs. on-demand and passive consumption vs. engagement.  Canadians are obviously choosing what my colleague Doug Walker calls, “lean forward” entertainment vs. “sit back”.