New Nielsen data reveals diverse media landscape in Asia

Ahead of its “Future of Media 2024 Conference”, Nielsen, a leader in TV, digital and streaming measurement in Asia, has released its latest data on the region’s changing media landscape.

Nielsen’s Consumer & Media View (CMV) data reflects Asia’s rapid adoption of digital platforms, with 64% of viewers now opting for streaming video services.

Despite this surge in digital demand, linear TV still attracts the big bucks when it comes to advertisers. From January to October this year, US$107 billion in ad revenue was injected into Asia’s media industry, with TV attracting the lion’s share (68%), followed by digital (16%) – a demonstration of digital’s ascendency, while simultaneously asserting TV’s dominance.

According to Nielsen, smartphone penetration across Asia has now reached 90%, cementing the changing media consumption and interaction habits of the region.

Indonesia and Thailand are the biggest consumers of content “on-the-go”, with viewership on smartphones hitting 62% and 64% respectively.

Key Market Insights
TV Usage

Traditional TV viewership remains strong, with Taiwan the largest at 98%, followed by Malaysia at 86%

Internet Usage
South Korea (98%), Taiwan (98%), and Malaysia (95%) lead the way

Mobile Streaming
As mobile streaming grows rapidly across Asia, some markets are emerging as standouts. The leaders are: Indonesia (69%) and Malaysia (86%) – both huge users of streaming services

The disparity between linear TV viewership and internet usage highlights the unique dynamics of Asia – a consequence of the region’s diverse market and demographics.

However, it’s not uniform. In South Korea – a market with 98% internet penetration, linear TV still commands a whopping 97%.

President of Commercial for Asia, Arnaud Frade, said: “As budgets get tighter, and pressure grows to be seen and heard, marketers in Asia are doubling-down on targeting the right audiences. In our region, multi-screen viewing is already the norm – and streaming channels are only going to grow. I look forward to covering this in more detail at our conference this week, but the key is leveraging this, which means effective cross-media measurement, which Nielsen is actively working to deliver in key markets across the region”. Nielsen