How we watch and listen to content: Methodology

The ACMA annual consumer survey provides information on:

• consumer behaviour
• adoption of, and attitudes towards, media and communications services
• the effectiveness of regulatory interventions.

This research is part of the ACMA research program, which gathers evidence that informs our decisions as a regulator, and ensures we are up-to-date on market developments and consumer trends.

The ACMA-commissioned research was undertaken by The Social Research Centre (SRC) using the SRC’s probability-based online panel, Life in Australia^TM (LinA). LinA includes people with and without internet access. Those without internet access or who are not comfortable completing surveys online are able to complete surveys by phone.

The consumer survey methodology used a mixed-mode approach, comprising:

• online interviews with Australian adults
• computer-aided phone interviews of adults who are not regularly online.

The surveys represented the Australian population aged 18 and over.

Table 1: ACMA consumer survey summary of key statistics, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020

The tables below show the research sample sizes for the charts used in the report.

Table 2: Research sample sizes for viewing behaviours in the past 7 days (by all respondents, age group, gender and location, 2017 to 2020)

‘Don’t know’ and ‘refused’ responses are excluded from analysis.

2018, 2019 and 2020 sample sizes for Australians aged 18 to 24 are small (n<100 interviews). These results should be interpreted with caution.

Chart base: Australian adults aged 18 and over.

QF4. Which of the following have you personally watched in the past 7 days at home or elsewhere? Free-to-air TV not including catch-up TV or recorded content; Foxtel or other subscription TV channels such as Fetch TV not including catch-up TV or recorded content; Something you recorded from free-to-air TV; Something you recorded from Foxtel or other subscription TV channels; Catch up TV such as ABC iview, 10 play or 7Plus for free-to-air programs; Movies or TV shows for free over the internet; An online subscription service such as Netflix, Stan or Foxtel Now; Online pay-per-view services such as OzFlix, Google Play, iTunes; Other content on an online platform such as YouTube, including product reviews, vlogs, comedy/sketch videos excluding any video game content; Watched or played games online including e-sports and fantasy sports; None of these (exclusive).

Note: ‘Metropolitan’ refers to those who live in Australian capital cities and ‘Regional’ refers to those who live in the rest of the state, as defined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ (ABS) Greater Capital City Statistical Area definition.

Source: ACMA annual consumer survey, 2017 to 2020. 

Table 3: Research sample sizes for time spent watching video content in the past 7 days (by all respondents, age group, gender and location, 2017 to 2020)

‘Don’t know’ and ‘refused’ responses are excluded from analysis.

2018, 2019 and 2020 sample sizes for Australians aged 18 to 24 are small (n<100 interviews). These results should be interpreted with caution.

Chart base: Australian adults who watched video content in the past 7 days.

QF5. In the past 7 days, how many hours have you spent watching each of the following? Free-to-air TV not including catch-up TV or recorded content; Foxtel or other subscription TV channels such as Fetch TV not including catch-up TV or recorded content; Something you recorded from free-to-air TV; Something you recorded from Foxtel or other subscription TV channels; Catch up TV such as ABC iview, 10 play or 7Plus for free-to-air programs; Movies or TV shows for free over the internet; An online subscription service such as Netflix, Stan or Foxtel Now; Online pay-per-view video services such as OzFlix, Google Play, iTunes; Other content on an online platform such as YouTube, including product reviews, vlogs, comedy/sketch videos excluding any video game content; Watched or played games online including e-sports and fantasy sports.

Note: ‘Metropolitan’ refers to those who live in Australian capital cities and ‘Regional’ refers to those who live in the rest of the state, as defined by the ABS’s Greater Capital City Statistical Area definition.

Source: ACMA annual consumer survey, 2017 to 2020.  

Table 4: Research sample sizes for catch-up TV services used in the past 7 days (by all respondents, age group, gender and location, 2017 to 2020)

‘Don’t know’ and ‘refused’ responses are excluded from analysis.

Chart base: Australian adults who watched catch-up TV in the past 7 days.

QF9. You said you watched catch up TV for free-to-air programs in the past 7 days. Which channels have you watched using catch up TV in the past 7 days? Please include all that you have watched. 7plus (7mate, 7flix, 7TWO, Racing.com, 7FOOD); 9Now (9Gem, 9Go, 9Life, NBN Television, 9Rush); 10 play (10Bold, 10Peach, TVSN, Spree TV); ABC iview (ABC Kids, ABC Me, ABC Comedy, ABC News); SBS on Demand (SBS Viceland, SBS Food, NITV); Don’t know (exclusive); Refused(exclusive).

Note: ‘Metropolitan’ refers to those who live in Australian capital cities and ‘Regional’ refers to those who live in the rest of the state, as defined by the ABS’s Greater Capital City Statistical Area definition.

Source: ACMA annual consumer survey, 2017 to 2020.

Table 5: Research sample sizes for subscription or pay-per-view services and number of subscription services in household (by all respondents, age group, gender and location, 2018 to 2020)

‘Don’t know’ and ‘refused’ responses are excluded from analysis.

The number of services reported by respondents each year can be affected by the services that are on the prompted survey list and services that were recalled unprompted. Additional responses recorded under ‘Something else (please specify)’ are back coded into a new category and included in the prompted list of services in subsequent years. This may have a small impact on comparisons across years.

Chart base: Australian adults aged 18 and over.

QF2. Which, if any, television or video subscriptions or pay-per-view services do you have in your household? Foxtel; Netflix; Stan; Telstra TV Box Office; YouTube Premium; Optus TV; Telstra TV; Fetch TV; iTunes; Google Play; Foxtel Now; Fetch on Optus; Apple TV; Amazon Prime; Kayo; Disney Plus; Something else (please specify); None of these (exclusive); Don’t know (exclusive); Refused (exclusive).

Note: ‘Metropolitan’ refers to those who live in Australian capital cities and ‘Regional’ refers to those who live in the rest of the state, as defined by the ABS’s Greater Capital City Statistical Area definition.

Source: ACMA annual consumer survey, 2018 to 2020.

Table 6: Research sample sizes for online video services watched by Australian adults in the past 6 months / 7 days (by all respondents, age group, gender and location, 2019 to 2020)

‘Don’t know’ and ‘refused’ responses are excluded from analysis.

The number of services reported by respondents each year can be affected by the services that are on the prompted survey list and services that were recalled unprompted. Additional responses recorded under ‘Some other video service (Please specify)’ are back coded into a new category and included in the prompted list of services in subsequent years. This may have a small impact on comparisons across years.

Chart base: Past 6 months – Australian adults aged 18 and over; Past 7 days – Australian adults aged 18 and over who used online services to stream/download video content in the past 6 months.

QF7. Which of the following online services, if any, have you used to stream or download video content in the past 6 months? Telstra TV Box Office; Fetch TV (on Optus); Foxtel, including Foxtel Now or Foxtel Go; Google Play; iTunes; Netflix; Stan; YouTube; YouTube Premium; Optus TV; Telstra TV; Apple TV; Amazon Prime; Kayo; Disney Plus; Facebook; TikTok; Some other video service (please specify); None of these (exclusive); Don’t know (exclusive); Refused (exclusive).

QF8. Which of the following online services, if any, have you used to stream or download video content in the past 7 days? For response options see QF7.

Note: ‘Metropolitan’ refers to those who live in Australian capital cities and ‘Regional’ refers to those who live in the rest of the state, as defined by the ABS’s Greater Capital City Statistical Area definition.

Source: ACMA annual consumer survey, 2019 to 2020.

Table 7: Research sample sizes for devices used to stream video content at home (by all respondents, age group, gender and location, 2019 to 2020)

‘Don’t know’ and ‘refused’ responses are excluded from analysis.

Chart base: Australian adults aged 18 and over.

QF1. Which of the following devices, if any, do you use to stream online content such as TV shows, news, movies, sport or user-generated content, at home? Apple TV; Google Chromecast; Telstra TV; Games consoles (PlayStation, Xbox, Wii); Smart TV (a TV set that connects directly to the internet and doesn’t need a computer, set-top box or games console to go online); Fetch TV set top box; Freeview Plus; Mobile phone; Tablet; Desktop computer; Laptop computer; Foxtel IQ; Something else (please specify); I don’t stream video content (exclusive); Don’t know (exclusive); Refused(exclusive).

Note: ‘Metropolitan’ refers to those who live in Australian capital cities and ‘Regional’ refers to those who live in the rest of the state, as defined by the ABS’s Greater Capital City Statistical Area definition.

Source: ACMA annual consumer survey, 2019 to 2020.

Table 8: Research sample sizes for devices used for viewing different services (by all respondents, age group, gender and location, 2017 to 2020)

– Refers to no data available as content type not asked.

‘Don’t know’ and ‘refused’ responses are excluded from analysis.

Some sample sizes for Australian adults watching ‘Movies or TV shows for free’ are small (n<100 interviews). These results should be interpreted with caution.

Chart base: Australian adults who watched a particular service type in the past 7 days. See Table 8 for list of service types.

QF6. Which devices did you use to watch each of the following things in the past 7 days? (Statements) Free-to-air TV not including catch-up TV or recorded content; Foxtel or other subscription TV channels such as Fetch TV not including catch-up TV or recorded content; Something you recorded from free-to-air TV; Something you recorded from Foxtel or other subscription TV channels; Catch up TV such as ABC iview, 10 play or 7Plus for free-to-air programs; Movies or TV shows for free over the internet; An online subscription service such as Netflix, Stan or Foxtel Now; Online pay-per-view services such as OzFlix, Google Play, iTunes; Other content on an online platform such as YouTube, including product reviews, vlogs, comedy/sketch videos excluding any video game content; Watched or played games online including e-sports and fantasy sports. (Response frame); Desktop or laptop computer; Tablet; Mobile phone; TV; Some other device; Don’t know (exclusive); Refused (exclusive).

Note: ‘Metropolitan’ refers to those who live in Australian capital cities and ‘Regional’ refers to those who live in the rest of the state, as defined by the ABS’s Greater Capital City Statistical Area definition.

Source: ACMA annual consumer survey, 2017 to 2020.

Table 9: Research sample sizes for listening to audio content (radio, music streaming or podcasts) in the past 7 days (by all respondents, age group, gender and location, 2017 to 2020)

‘Don’t know’ and ‘refused’ responses are excluded from analysis.

Chart base: Australian adults aged 18 and over.

QH3. Which of the following have you listened to in the past 7 days? AM radio at home or in a car or somewhere else; FM radio at home or in a car or somewhere else; Digital radio (DAB+) radio at home or in a car or somewhere else; Radio online via the internet, at home or somewhere else not including podcasts; None of these (exclusive); (Don’t know) / Not sure (exclusive); (Refused) / Prefer not to say (exclusive).

QH5. Which of the following online services have you used to stream music in the past 7 days? This may include using apps; Apple Music; Google Play Music; iHeartRadio; iTunes Radio; Spotify; ABC listen exploring;   TuneIn; YouTube Music; Amazon Music; Some other music service (please specify); I don’t stream music (exclusive); Don’t know (exclusive); Refused (exclusive).

QH10. Now thinking about podcasts. Have you listened to at least one podcast in the past 7 days? Yes; No; (Don’t know) / Not sure; (Refused) / Prefer not to say

Note: ‘Metropolitan’ refers to those who live in Australian capital cities and ‘Regional’ refers to those who live in the rest of the state, as defined by the ABS’s Greater Capital City Statistical Area definition.

Source: ACMA annual consumer survey, 2017 to 2020.

Table 10: Research sample sizes for radio ownership (by all respondents, age group, gender and location, 2017 to 2020)

‘Don’t know’ and ‘refused’ responses are excluded from analysis.

Chart base: Australian adults aged 18 and over.

QH1. Do you have a radio at home? Do you have a radio in your car? Yes; No; Don’t know; Refused.

Note: ‘Metropolitan’ refers to those who live in Australian capital cities and ‘Regional’ refers to those who live in the rest of the state, as defined by the ABS’s Greater Capital City Statistical Area definition.

Source: ACMA annual consumer survey, 2017 to 2020.

Table 11: Research sample sizes for listened to the radio by service in the past 6 months / 7 days (by all respondents, age group, gender and location, 2017 to 2020)

‘Don’t know’ and ‘refused’ responses are excluded from analysis.

Chart base: Past 6 months: Australian adults aged 18 and over; Past 7 days: Australian adults who listened to the radio in the past 6 months.

QH8. Which of the following have you personally listened to in the past six months? AM radio at home or in a car or somewhere else; FM radio at home or in a car or somewhere else; Digital radio (DAB+) radio at home or in a car or somewhere else; Radio online via the internet, at home or somewhere else not including podcasts; None of these (exclusive); Don’t know(exclusive); Refused (exclusive).

QH3. Which of the following have you listened to in the past 7 days? AM radio at home or in a car or somewhere else; FM radio at home or in a car or somewhere else; Digital radio (DAB+) radio at home or in a car or somewhere else; Radio online via the internet, at home or somewhere else not including podcasts; None of these (exclusive); Don’t know (exclusive); Refused (exclusive).

Note: ‘Metropolitan’ refers to those who live in Australian capital cities and ‘Regional’ refers to those who live in the rest of the state, as defined by the ABS’s Greater Capital City Statistical Area definition.

Source: ACMA annual consumer survey, 2017 to 2020.

Table 12: Research sample sizes for music streaming services used in the past 7 days (by all respondents, age group, gender and location, 2017 to 2020)

‘Don’t know’ and ‘refused’ responses are excluded from analysis.

The number of services reported by respondents each year can be affected by the services that are on the prompted survey list and services that were recalled unprompted. Additional responses recorded under ‘some other music service (please specify)’ are back coded into a new category and included in the prompted list of services in subsequent years. This may have a small impact on comparisons across years.

Chart base: Australian adults aged 18 and over who streamed music in the past 7 days.

QH5. Which of the following online services have you used to stream music in the past 7 days? This may include using apps. Apple Music; Google Play Music; HeartRadio; iTunes Radio;   Spotify; ABC listen exploring; TuneIn; YouTube Music; Amazon Music; Some other music service (please specify); I don’t stream music (exclusive); Don’t know (exclusive); Refused (exclusive)

Note: ‘Metropolitan’ refers to those who live in Australian capital cities and ‘Regional’ refers to those who live in the rest of the state, as defined by the ABS’s Greater Capital City Statistical Area definition.

Source: ACMA annual consumer survey, 2017 to 2020.

Table 13: Research sample sizes for the average time spent listening to the radio in the past 7 days (by all respondents, age group, gender and location, 2017 to 2020)

‘Don’t know’ and ‘refused’ responses are excluded from analysis.

Chart base: Australian adults who listened to the radio in the past 7 days.

QH4. And how many hours have you spent listening to each of the following in the past 7 days? AM radio at home or in a car or somewhere else; FM radio at home or in a car or somewhere else; Digital radio (DAB+) radio at home or in a car or somewhere else; Radio online via the internet, at home or somewhere else not including podcasts; None of these (exclusive); Don’t know (exclusive); Refused(exclusive).

Note: ‘Metropolitan’ refers to those who live in Australian capital cities and ‘Regional’ refers to those who live in the rest of the state, as defined by the ABS’s Greater Capital City Statistical Area definition.

Source: ACMA annual consumer survey, 2017 to 2020.

Table 14: Research sample sizes for the average time spent listening to music streaming services in the past 7 days (by all respondents, age group, gender and location, 2017 to 2020)

‘Don’t know’ and ‘refused’ responses are excluded from analysis.

Chart base: Australian adults aged 18 and over who streamed music in the past 7 days.

QH5. Which of the following online services have you used to stream music in the past 7 days? This may include using apps; Apple Music; Google Play Music; iHeartRadio; iTunes Radio; Spotify; ABC listen exploring;   TuneIn; YouTube Music; Amazon Music; Some other music service (please specify); I don’t stream music (exclusive); Don’t know (exclusive); Refused (exclusive).

Note: ‘Metropolitan’ refers to those who live in Australian capital cities and ‘Regional’ refers to those who live in the rest of the state, as defined by the ABS’s Greater Capital City Statistical Area definition.

Source: ACMA annual consumer survey, 2017 to 2020.

The key findings in the Communications and media in Australia: How we watch and listen to content interactive report describe the data and show how we interpret it.

Results from the data sets were analysed using:

• descriptive analysis techniques
• demographic, gender and locational factors.

Guidelines for reading the digital report:

• All percentages are based on weighted survey estimates.
• All percentage labels are rounded to the nearest whole number. As a result, there may be discrepancies between sums of the component items in a table or chart, and the total.
• Base sizes are shown as the unweighted number of respondents on which the weighted estimates and proportions are based.
• Categories with low sample sizes (less than n=100 interviews) should be interpreted with caution.  
• Terminology of ‘use of an activity’ in key findings refers to measuring prevalence of an activity being undertaken, rather than frequency. 
• All key findings highlight results that have been tested for statistical significance at the 95% confidence level.
• The ACMA annual consumer survey research:
  • Often asked about ‘the past 6 months’ – this is the period before the data was collected. For the 2020 survey, this was from approximately December 2019 to June 2020.
  • Included some questions that have been filtered depending on the respondent’s previous responses (for example, a question asked only of those who undertook an internet activity in the past 6 months). This is noted in descriptive language in the chart’s ‘base’ notes and the corresponding methodology tables. Care needs to be taken when interpreting the results so that the data is read in the correct context.
  • Included some questions that invited a multiple response. Total responses may sum to more than 100%.
  • In some cases, ‘don’t know’, ‘refused’ and other responses with only small levels of responses are not shown or excluded from the analysis. These are noted in the methodology tables.