Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/811845
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 16 APRIL 2017 6 News YANNICK PACE DATA from a survey commissioned by the Malta Communications Authority (MCA) has confirmed that the vast major- ity of people (81%) in Malta are using the internet regularly and becoming increas- ingly more reliant on the internet for re- searching products and following brands, in addition to buying products. In fact, 70% of respondents said they check prices and reviews on the web be- fore buying a product. Only 19% claim to physically visit shops to obtain informa- tion prior to buying a product or service. Similarly, 70% said they had bought an item online in the last three months and those who said they bought something off the internet every week quadrupled since 2014 (3% to 13%). While the UK remained the country of choice for Malta's online purchasing, Chi- na's share of sales increased by a whop- ping 41%, with 62% of respondents saying they had purchased items from China – a sign of the growing popularity of the on- line Alibaba.com supermarket. Online purchases from Maltese retailers were the only category to have decreased. According the survey, most respondents (55%) did "not feel the need to buy from local online shops" while 32% complained of uncompetitive prices and 29% of lack of choice. Clothes and shoes (77% of respondents), flights (74%) and holiday accommodation (74%), from international websites were the types of products most commonly pur- chased online. Of the sales made through local online services, flights (24%), event tickets (23%), and accommodation (21%) where the most frequently purchased. On the whole, the trends observed showed a population that is embracing new technologies with each passing year, especially among younger people. The number of respondents who identi- fied as internet users increased across all age groups between 2010 and 2016, most significantly among those aged between 50 and 65. Males identified as internet users more often than females by a margin of 12% (87% vs 75%). The survey also showed the increase in popularity of mobile devices as a means of accessing the internet, with 40% say- ing they used a tablet, up from 23% in 2014, and 59% accessing the web through their mobile phone. The use of laptops or standard desktops saw a slight, 3% in- crease on 2014. Facebook remained the most popular type of social for media for the 87% of re- spondents who said they were on social media, followed by Instagram and Linked- In. YANNICK PACE THERE'S a digital revolution in the air. In 2016, the Malta Communications Au- thority recorded a dent in paid TV sub- scriptions, a 1.1% drop in a strong market that today has over 147,000 subscribers. The drops were almost entirely across the board. The robust Melita, at over 71,000 cable subscriptions, fell by just 1%, but GO's digital terrestrial TV (DTTV) – which is transmitted by aerial – fell by 11%. A corresponding increase however came with GO's internet-protocol TV service (IPTV), which jumped by 32% to 25,000 subscriptions, as well as a 7% in- crease in pay-TV packages, enjoyed by at least 86,000 television subscribers from both GO and Melita. But the numbers mask the fast ascend- ance of so many digital entertainment alternatives made possible by faster broadband speeds. Results from the Broadcasting Authority's Audience As- sessment in February showed that 49% of the population are using TV services other than paid subscriptions or free to air trans- missions. It's no secret that the shift away from subscription TV packages is largely the ef- fect of TV services provided by off-market satellite subscriptions, the Kodi streaming programme hardwired into so called 'An- droid' boxes, and streaming services like Netflix now also available on Smart TVs. In 2012, the average revenue per TV sub- scriber was over €171. Today, average rev- enue has fallen to €164 per user. The BA's audience survey extrapolated that over 338,000 – 90% of the island – owns a paid subscription. When compared to the MCA's precise statistics obtained from service providers, this translates to at least two users per paid TV subscription. The rest of the surveys points to a new reality: over 63,000 say they use Android boxes, 53,000 use laptops and mobile phones to stream video, almost 40,000 watch satellite TV, and the budding Net- flix service, introduced to Malta only last year, has over 28,000 viewers. The use of multiple services is highest among those aged 16-30, the more digi- tally connected part of the population. The BA's survey, carried out by the Na- tional Statistics Office among 1,240 re- spondents, suggests that 'users' outweigh the actual number of paid subscriptions. But it shows that even with the burgeon- ing spending power of the 16-30 age group, the preference is to avail themselves of multiple TV services, evidenced by the growth of broadband users – over 171,000 paid subscriptions according to the MCA (78% of which come as part of a GO and Melita package), but with a growing aver- age revenue of €199 per user. It is a reality that the MCA is aware of, in the past having told MaltaToday that "the market for content was facing both legal and illegal competition, primarily from over-the-top online sources." Indeed, the BA survey suggests fewer are even using their paid TV subscriptions to actually watch television. According to the results, 31.2% of the population does not watch television. Of the 68.3% that do, 38.64% named TVM as one of the stations they had watched in the last 24 hours. The second most popu- lar TV station was ONE, followed by NET TV. And that corresponds to the finding that news is the most popular 'genre', with 65% of respondents saying they liked to watch local or foreign news programmes, compared with 42.2% who said they en- joyed local drama and 29.3% who followed discussion and current affair programmes. ypace@mediatoday.com.mt How Internet killed the Cable TV star (and more) Malta continues to embrace online shopping 49% of the population says it is not satisfied with local TV options while 31.2% doesn't watch TV 70% of consumers go online to check prices and reviews before buying a product Countries digital buyers purchase from Country 2014 2016 UK 91% 95% China 21% 62% US 24% 33% Malta 33% 31% Hong Kong 23% 30% Italy 9% 22% Germany 9% 19% Other EU countries 3% 9% Rest of the world 3% 4% Maximum entertainment Service % No. of users Paid Subscriptions 89.9 338,183 Android box internet based services 16.9 63,472 Others – laptop, mobile, or tablet streaming 14.1 52,901 Satellite 10.5 39,588 Netflix/IPTV Streaming services 7.5 28,147 Free to Air 4.1 15,291 Source: Broadcasting Authority Audience Assessment, February 2017 Favourite social media platforms % of users Facebook 85% Instagram 29% LinkedIn 20% WhatsApp 16% Pinterest 15% Google+ 15% Twitter 15% Internet users by age Age Usage Increase since 2010 18-29 100% +3% 30-39 98% +10% 40-49 92% +12% 50-65 74% +29% 66+ 37% +17%