In a trend led by younger demographics, traditional TV viewership is diminishing, whereas the use of Over The Top (OTT, or online video streaming) services is rapidly expanding, even among the elderly. The Korea Communication Commission announced these findings in its “2023 Broadcast Media Usage Behavior Survey” on Dec. 28.
The survey revealed a decline in daily TV usage, with only 71.4% of respondents using TV five days a week or more, a drop from 75.5% the previous year. The shift towards watching broadcast programs on smartphones instead of TV sets is a significant factor, especially among those in their 20s and 30s. The TV set usage rate fell by over 10 percentage points in these age groups, from 41.4% to 29.8% among those in their 20s and from 67.8% to 55.2% among those in their 30s.
Average TV viewing time was recorded at 2 hours and 18 minutes on weekdays and 2 hours and 57 minutes on weekends, marking a decrease from the previous year by 8 minutes on weekdays and 4 minutes on weekends. In contrast, smartphone usage time increased by 8 minutes, averaging 2 hours per day.
OTT services like YouTube and Netflix had a user rate of 77%. Notably, there was a significant increase in OTT usage among older generations. OTT usage rates jumped to 81% among those in their 50s, a 10.8 percentage point increase from the previous year. Similarly, those in their 60s (61%) and over 70 (23.2%) saw nearly a 7 percentage point increase. Among teenagers (97.6%), those in their 20s (97.8%), and 30s (95%), the vast majority were using OTT services.
The most popular OTT services were YouTube (71%), Netflix (35.7%), Tving (9.1%), and Coupang Play (6.3%). The proportion of users paying for OTT services rose to 43.9%, up from 40.2% the previous year. The most watched content types on OTT services were entertainment/variety shows (60.9%), followed by dramas (54.4%), news (27%), sports (20.8%), and current affairs/documentaries (18%).
Smartphone ownership increased to 94.8%, up 1.4 percentage points from the previous year. Ownership rates among those aged 10 to 50 were over 99%, nearing saturation. The rates also increased among those in their 60s (96.2%) and over 70 (66.5%), indicating smartphones are becoming essential for all citizens.
When asked about the most essential media in daily life, 70.0% of respondents chose smartphones, including 95.5% of teenagers, 91.6% of those in their 20s, and even 48% of those in their 60s. TV followed at 27.2%, while desktops/laptops, radios, and newspapers were considered essential by less than 2% of respondents.