How Young Children Are Watching TV and DVDs:

Transcription

1 How Young Children Are Watching TV and DVDs: From the June 2015 Rating Survey on Young Children's TV Viewing By Masayo YOSHIFUJI Introduction This paper reports on the results from the Rating Survey on Young Children's TV Viewing conducted at the same time as the National Individual Audience Rating Survey of June 2015, which covers all viewers nationally aged seven years and older. 1 The survey was conducted over the week of June 8 (Monday) to June 14 (Sunday) and covers children aged two to six years old (those not yet attending school) living within a 30-kilometer radius of Tokyo. The survey subjects were 1,000 children selected in stratified two-stage random samplings (10 children in each of 100 areas) from the Basic Resident Register. The survey was administered by postal mail (15-minute diaries filled out by the subjects' caretakers). The number of valid respondents was 537 persons (53.7%). The composition of the response sample is given in Table 1. Table 1. Composition of the Sample Total Male Female 2 yrs 3 yrs 4 yrs 5-6 yrs 537 persons Nursery school Kinderga rten Not in school Unknown % Television Viewing (1) Daily television viewing time has leveled off at less than 2 hours The survey shows that the average TV viewing time 2 per day among children aged two to six is 1 hr 45 min, a figure not much different from the previous year (1 hr 49 min) (Figure 1). Looking at long-term trends, children's TV viewing time has been gradually declining since 1998 (2 hr 43 min). From 2007 on, TV viewing time had been about two hours a day, but this figure dropped to below two hours for the first time in 2012 and has been holding steady in the past two years. Total viewing time for NHK TV is 49 min (47 min in previous year) and for commercial TV, 57 min (1 hr 4 min in previous year). These rates are roughly the same as the previous year, 1

2 however viewing of commercial channels dropped under one hour for the first time. Looking at total TV viewing times for individual brackets by age, this year total TV viewing time increases with age (Table 2). By broadcaster, total viewing time of NHK TV is 55 min for 2-year-olds, which shortens to 42 min for 5- and 6-year-olds, showing a decrease the older the children are. In contrast, total viewing time of commercial channels is 44 min for 2-year-olds, and for 5- and 6-year-olds it is 1 hr 8 min, showing an increase in viewing time the older the children are, surpassing the extent of NHK TV viewing times which decline with age. Figure 1. Annual trends in TV viewing time (per day, weekly average) *1 TV total is the sum of the commercial TV (terrestrial and satellite broadcasting) and NHK (terrestrial and satellite broadcasting) totals *2 Satellite broadcasting among NHK total includes BS-1 and BS-2 until 2007, with BS Hi-Vision added for the period From 2011 it comprises BS-1 and BS Premium. *3 Children's survey not conducted in Next, looking at total TV viewing time by day of the week, average weekday viewing time is 1 hr 47 min; Saturday is 1 hr 32 min, and Sunday is 1 hr 52 min (Table 3). The amount of TV viewing on Sunday decreased from the previous year, but was about the same as two years earlier. There was no change in weekday and Saturday viewing. By age group, the total TV viewing time of children aged two is less on Saturday and Sunday than on weekdays, but the viewing time of children aged four through six is slightly longer on Sunday than on weekdays. Figure 2 charts NHK and commercial TV viewing times by day of the week. NHK viewing is a little less than 1 hour on weekdays, slightly higher than for commercial TV. However, on Saturday and Sunday, children spend less time watching NHK. NHK viewing time is only 16 min. on Sunday as compared to 1 hr 36 min for commercial TV, a substantial difference. 2

3 Table 2. NHK and commercial TV average viewing time by gender and age (per day, weekly average) (hr:min) Total Male Female 2 yrs 3 yrs 4 yrs 5-6 yrs :49 1:51 1:48 1:39 1:52 1:54 1:49 TV Total :49 1:46 1:53 2:02 1:48 1:45 1: :45 1:40 1:51 1:39 1:43 1:46 1: :49 0:47 0:50 0:52 0:51 0:49 0:42 NHK TV Total :47 0:43 0:49 0:57 0:52 0:46 0: :49 0:46 0:52 0:55 0:50 0:49 0:42 Commercial TV Total :00 1:04 0:58 0:47 1:00 1:05 1: :04 1:03 1:05 1:05 0:56 0:58 1: :57 0:55 0:59 0:44 0:52 0:57 1:08 Table 3. Average day-of-week TV total viewing time by gender and age (hr:min) Total Male Female 2 yrs 3 yrs 4 yrs 5-6 yrs Weekdays 1:47 1:48 1:51 1:40 1:53 1:45 1:46 1:45 1:49 Saturday 1:32 1:39 1:39 1:27 1:39 1:27 1:27 1:39 1:37 Sunday 1:52 2:07 1:54 1:49 1:54 1:22 1:43 2:01 2:10 Figure 2. NHK and commercial TV average viewing time (by day, weekday average) Weekdays NHK TV Total Commercial TV Total TV Total (hr:min) 0:57 0:50 1:47 Saturday 0:41 0:52 1:32 Sunday 0:16 1:36 1:52 3

4 (2) The most watched channel is ETV We looked next at the weekly reach, which is the proportion of children watching at least some part (more than 15 min) of a TV program during the week of the survey (Table 4). The overall weekly reach is 92.2%, about the same as the previous year (92.1%), but showing a steady decline from 2012 (95.3%). ETV is the most watched channel (73.0%), followed by TV Asahi, Fuji Television, and NTV. The reach for all three of these commercial channels is lower than the previous year, however. ETV has the highest reach among children of all ages, even close to 70% for the lowest viewership among 5- and 6-year-olds. The reach of TV Asahi and TV TOKYO increases among children aged four or over, while the reach of Fuji TV increases among 5- and 6-year-olds, with little difference between the commercial channels and ETV. Meanwhile, NTV shows little difference in reach by age. Table 5 shows figures for weekly reach by channel since Figures have declined for every channel since 2005, with the sharpest declines for TBS and TV TOKYO. The data on average TV viewership by time of day for NHK and commercial channels (Table 6) shows that ETV is the most watched channel at 3.9% on average for the full day, watched especially in the morning (6.1%) and afternoon (3.3%). On the other hand, viewership is high in the evening for NTV (2.3%) and Fuji TV (2.0%). Table 4. Weekly reach by channel and age bracket (full-week) Total 2 yrs 3 yrs 4 yrs 5-6 yrs TV Total NHK Total GTV ETV NTV Asahi TBS TOKYO Fuji

5 Table 5. Weekly reach by channel (full-week) GTV ETV NTV Asahi TBS TOKYO Fuji (Comparison of integer values) Table 6. Average audience ratings by channel (weekly average) GTV ETV NTV Asahi TBS TOKYO Fuji Morning Afternoon Evening Full day Note: Morning: 5:00 a.m. to noon; afternoon to 6:00 p.m.; evening: 6:00 p.m. to midnight; full day: 5:00 a.m. to midnight. (3) Viewing rates on weekdays slightly higher during 6:00 p.m. slot than 7:00 p.m. slot Figure 3 charts children's average television viewing rates per day over the course of weekdays in 30-minute intervals. On weekdays, the time slots in which children watch the most TV are 6:30 to 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 to 9:00 p.m. These morning and evening time slots feature broadcasts of cartoons and other programs primarily intended for children. These time slot viewing patterns have remained relatively unchanged over time. While the morning viewing rate has remained about the same over the last three years, evening viewing has shifted slightly, with an increase in viewing in the latest survey from 6:30 to 7:00 p.m. compared to two years earlier. This trend, started last year, is due to the popularity of the TV TOKYO program Yo-Kai Watch 3 shown on Fridays in this time slot with the extremely high viewing rate of 24.4%, plus the ETV program Let's Tensai TV-kun and others. Looking at the total average TV viewing rates per 1-hour intervals since 2005 for 4:00 5

6 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on weekdays (Figure 4), TV viewing in the 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. and 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. time slots declined from 2005 to 2007, and after rising briefly in 2010, again began to decline from 2011 on. However, from two years earlier to this year, there has been increased viewing in the 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. time slot (to 26.2%), while the decline continues in the 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. time slot (to 21.8%). Figure 3. Total TV average viewing rates per 30-minute intervals (weekday average) a.m p.m hr % 6

7 Figure 4. Annual trends in total TV average viewing rates per 1-hour intervals (weekday average; 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. slots) 50 4:00 p.m. slot 5:00 p.m. slot 6:00 p.m. slot 7:00 p.m. slot (4) Declining ratings of popular programs Among both NHK and commercial TV, popular programs among children are led by Sazae-san (29.3%) on Fuji TV, followed by With Mother (28.3%) on ETV and Chibi Maruko-chan (27.1%) on Fuji TV, amongst others (Table 7). Compared to viewership levels in the past, popular programs had a viewership of over 40% prior to 2009 (excluding 2007). 4 Viewership has since gradually declined, with the only program to achieve a 30% or higher rating being Sazae-san two years ago. In this year's survey, Sazae-san is again the top-rated program at 29.3% the first time that not even a single program has over a 30% rating. Table 7. Popular programs on NHK and commercial TV (minimum 10-minute broadcast time) Day Time slot Cannel Title Rating Sun. 6:30 p.m. Fuji Sazae-san 29.3 Mon. 8:00 a.m. ETV # With Mother 28.3 Sun. 6:00 p.m. Fuji Chibi Maruko-chan 27.1 Sat. 8:35 a.m. ETV Curious George 26.3 Fri. 7:00 p.m. Asahi DORAEMON 25.5 Sat. 8:25 a.m. ETV Musica Piccolyno 25.2 Fri. 6:30 p.m. TOKYO Yo-Kai Watch 24.4 Fri. 7:45 a.m. ETV # Kid s Discovery 23.5 Fri. 7:30 p.m. Asahi Shin-chan 23.1 Mon. 8:25 a.m. ETV # Peek-a-boo 22.9 NOTE: # in this table and the following indicates a broadcast with the highest rating in a series during the given week. 7

8 (5) ETV programs most watched by 2- and 3-year-olds Table 8 compares the popularity of programs by age segment. In the 2-to-4-year-old age segment, With Mother is the most watched program, while ETV programs broadcast in the morning on weekdays and Saturdays and in the evening on weekdays are most watched by 2- and 3-year-olds. Among children aged four and over, commercial broadcasters' animation programs and hero/squadron series like KAMEN RIDER DRIVE (TV Asahi) are watched most; seven of the top 10 programs are on commercial channels. Table 8. Popular programs on NHK and commercial TV by age (minimum 10-minute broadcast time) 2 yrs 3 yrs Day Time slot Channel Title Rating Day Time slot Channel Title Rating Fri. 8:00 a.m. ETV # With Mother 35 Mon. 8:00 a.m. ETV # With Mother 32 Sat. 8:25 a.m. ETV Musica Piccolyno 35 Sun. 6:30 p.m. Fuji Sazae-san 31 Sat. 8:35 a.m. ETV Curious George 34 Sun. 6:00 p.m. Fuji Chibi Maruko-chan 28 Fri. 8:25 a.m. ETV # Peek-a-boo 30 Mon. 8:25 a.m. ETV # Peek-a-boo 25 Sat. 8:00 a.m. ETV With Mother Saturday 30 Mon. 5:35 p.m. ETV Mimicries 25 Wed. 7:45 a.m. ETV # Kid s Discovery 28 Mon. 5:45 p.m. ETV # Go! Go! CookR'n 24 Mon.Wed 8:40 a.m. ETV # Fun with English 25 Mon. 5:25 p.m. ETV # Hanakappa 23 Tue. 5:10 p.m. ETV # Fun with Japanese 24 Sat. 8:35 a.m. ETV Curious George 23 Mon.Wed 7:35 a.m. ETV # Hook Book Row 24 Sat. 8:25 a.m. ETV Musica Piccolyno 23 Tue. 5:25 p.m. ETV # Hanakappa 24 Thu.Fri 7:45 a.m. ETV # Kid s Discovery 22 Tue. 5:35 p.m. ETV Yuyake Shakiin! 24 Tue. 5:45 p.m. ETV # Go! Go! CookR'n 24 Sun. 6:30 p.m. Fuji Sazae-san 24 4 yrs 5-6 yrs Day Time slot Channel Title Rating Day Time slot Channel Title Rating Mon. 8:00 a.m. ETV # With Mother 33 Fri. 7:00 p.m. Asahi DORAEMON 33 Sun. 6:00 p.m. Fuji Chibi Maruko-chan 29 Sun. 6:30 p.m. Fuji Sazae-san 33 Fri. 7:00 p.m. Asahi DORAEMON 29 Fri. 6:30 p.m. TOKYO Yo-Kai Watch 32 Sat. 8:35 a.m. ETV Curious George 28 Fri. 7:30 p.m. Asahi Shin-chan 30 Sun. 6:30 p.m. Fuji Sazae-san 28 Sun. 6:00 p.m. Fuji Chibi Maruko-chan 30 Fri. 6:30 p.m. TOKYO Yo-Kai Watch 27 Sun. 7:30 a.m. Asahi SHURIKEN SENTAI NINNINGER 28 Sun. 8:30 a.m. Asahi Go! Princess Precure 27 Sun. 8:00 a.m. Asahi KAMEN RIDER DRIVE 27 Mon. 5:45 p.m. ETV # Go! Go! CookR'n 27 Fri. 7:45 a.m. ETV # Kid s Discovery 24 Fri. 7:30 p.m. Asahi Shin-chan 27 Sat. 8:35 a.m. ETV Curious George 23 Sun. 8:00 a.m. Asahi KAMEN RIDER DRIVE 27 Mon. 6:10 p.m. ETV # Nintama Rantaro 22 ETV 2. Recorded TV Programs and DVDs (1) Time spent watching recorded TV programs and DVDs remains steady, but weekly reach continues to increase In addition to questions regarding TV watching, respondents were asked questions regarding the viewing of recorded TV programs and commercial DVDs and videos. This part of the paper introduces young children's use of recorded TV programs and DVDs. The proportion of children who watched at least some amount of recorded programs 8

9 and/or DVDs during the week of the survey is 84.7%, roughly the same as the previous year (84.1%). Looking at long-term trends, while the reach of recorded programs and/or DVDs was around 70% in the mid-to-late 2000s, it has been over 80% since 2011, and shows a continuing trend of increasing (Figure 5). Next, looking at playback time, the average daily recorded program and/or DVD playback time per day (including children without equipment) is 52 minutes (Table 8). Broken down by age bracket, no significant difference was found. Viewing time for children aged two, which tended to be longer than that of other ages and had exceeded one hour in the previous two years, declined in the latest survey to 58 minutes. By day of the week, recorded program and/or DVD playback time (Figure 6) is longer on Saturdays and Sundays, exceeding the one-hour mark at 1 hr 11 min and 1 hr 10 min respectively, than on weekdays at 46 min. Of the total viewing time of both live TV and recorded programs and/or DVDs combined by day of week, time spent watching recorded programs and/or DVDs is over 40% on Saturdays, higher than on Sundays and weekdays. Looking at the average pattern of use for recorded programs and/or DVD playback time per 30-min interval (Figure 7), the time of day with high utilization on weekdays is 5:00 to 9:00 p.m.; especially high at 10% or more in the 30-min slots from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. Recorded TV/DVD viewing is higher on Saturdays and Sundays than on weekdays, with peaks in the morning and evening, with over 5% playback equipment usage in the afternoon time slots as well. The time slots with increased usage over the previous year are Sundays from 6:00 to 7:00 a.m., 7:30 to 8:00 a.m., and 12:00 to 12:30 p.m. 5 Figure 8 shows the long-term trends in TV viewing time and recorded program and/or DVD playback time since Time spent watching recorded media had been roughly steady up to 2011, then increased up to 2013, since which time it has remained steady. Figure 5. Weekly reach of TV total viewing and recorded program and/or DVD playback TV total viewing* Recorded TV program/dvd playback* *1 Overall weekly reach of TV total viewing since 2006 *2 Choices on the survey changed over the years: "Video playback" (up to 2008); "Video/DVD playback" (2009, 2010); "Video/HDD/DVD playback" (2011, 2012); "Recorded program/dvd playback" (2013 on). In the report on the results, up until 2012 "Video playback" was used; Since 2013, "Recorded program/dvd playback" has been used. 9

10 Table 9. Recorded program and/or DVD playback time per day (weekly average) (hr:min) Total Male Female 2 yrs 3 yrs 4 yrs 5-6 yrs Nursery school Kinderg arten Not in school :52 0:55 0:49 1:05 0:50 0:46 0:50 0:51 0:46 1: :54 1:02 0:46 1:20 0:51 0:49 0:47 0:49 0:50 1: :52 0:56 0:49 0:58 0:50 0:49 0:55 0:44 0:57 0:54 Figure 6. Recorded program and/or DVD playback time and TV viewing time by day of week Recorded program/dvd playback time Television viewing time Total (hr:min) Weekdays 0:46 1:47 2:33 Saturday 1:11 1:32 2:43 Sunday 1:10 1:52 3:02 10

11 Figure 7. Average utilization of recorded program / DVD playback per 30-minute intervals Weekdays Saturday Sunday a.m a.m a.m p.m p.m p.m hr hr hr % % % 11

12 Figure 8. Annual trends in TV viewing time and recorded program/dvd playback time (per day, weekly average) (hr:mm) 3:00 2:00 2:15 2:19 2:00 2:07 2:07 2:05 2:07 1:53 TV total viewing time 1:49 1:49 1:45 1:00 0:35 0:33 0:36 0:35 0:39 0:40 0:40 0:46 0:52 0:54 0:52 Recorded TV program/dvd playback 0: (2) The increased use of tablets An additional multiple-choice question asked about the equipment most used by children to watch recorded programs, commercial or rental DVDs, online video, etc. (Figure 9). The most common is a DVD/Blu-ray Disc player, followed by a digital recorder with hard disk drive (HDD), and a TV with a recording function. Compared to two years earlier, there were significant increases in TVs with a recording function (25.7% 33.0%) and tablets (7.6% 16.4%), as well as a gentle upward trend in mobile phones/smartphones (17.3% 21.0%), while there was a decline in DVD/Blu-ray Disc players (66.5% 60.3%). Figure 9. Equipment often used to watch recorded programs and/or DVDs (MA) TV with recording function 33.0 HDD on digital recorder 48.4 DVD/Blu-ray Disc player 60.3 Laptop/Desktop PC 11.9 Tablet 16.4 VHS 1.3 Mobile phone/smart phone 21.0 Other Have at home but not used for child Have no recording/playback equipment

13 (3) More children are watching online video than two years earlier A similar additional question was asked about the amount of time children spend watching recorded TV programs, commercial videos/dvds and online videos per day on regular days excluding weekends and holidays. Findings reveal that 71.3% of the children watch recorded programs (from less than 15 minutes to over 2 hours a day), far greater than the 39.3% who watch commercial or rental DVDs or the 31.3% who watch online videos (Table 10). Compared to two years earlier, there has been an increase in the number of children who watch recorded programs and online videos, linked to the usage of recording and playback equipment mentioned above. Table 10. Viewing time of recorded TV programs, commercial videos or DVDs and online videos Total Male Female 2 yrs 3 yrs 4 yrs 5-6 yrs Recorded TV programs Commercial videos or DVDs Online videos Statistically higher than total average; Statistically lower 1 See Masashi Funakoshi, Akiko Hoshi, Kyoko Tsukamoto, Masayuki Hayashida, "The Present State of TV Viewing and Radio Listening From the June 2015 Nationwide Survey on Individual Audience Ratings," The NHK Monthly Report on Broadcast Research, September With regard to TV viewing and the playback of recorded programs and/or DVDs, between 1990 when the survey was first carried out and 2012, viewing was done only at home, but with the proliferation of digital playback devices, since 2013 viewing has been considered to include viewing with the family while moving (in a car, e.g.). As before, viewing at a day care center or nursery school is not included. 3 Broadcasts of the program started on January 8, 2014 on TV TOKYO and affiliates. Initially the program was broadcast on Wednesday evenings at 7:00 p.m., but was switched to Fridays at 6:30 p.m. from April 4, In the early 1990s, popular programs had a viewership rating of over 60%, in the late 1990s over 50%, and from 2000 to 2009 over 40%. In 2007 alone, the most-watched program Yes! Precure 5 on TV Asahi had a rating of 34.8%, not even reaching 40%. 5 Compared to the previous year, the time slots in which usage declined are Saturdays from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. and 7:30 to 8:00 p.m. and Sundays from 7:30 to 8:00 p.m. Of these time slots, during the survey weather conditions may have had a slight influence on whether or not children stayed home on Saturday (2014: rainy; 2015: sunny). 13