Thai, Media, Consumption, During, Political, Protests

A study published today from research firm Nielsen addresses media consumption in Thailand following the recent political unrest in Bangkok.

From a social media perspective, the findings make interesting reading as Nielsen claims to have observed “changes in consumer behaviour and media consumption during that time including how consumer behaviour is expected to change going forward.”

Before analysing the results it is important to bear in mind that the report comprises insights from an online survey (targeting 500 internet users aged 18 and above) in addition to Nielsen’s own retail audit, consumer panel, TV audience measurement and radio ratings.

From the report…

TV and the Web key places for information

When asked what main sources of information were relied on during the unrest, most Thai consumers claimed TV (95%) was their key source of information, followed closely by Internet (94%), Newspaper (76%) and Radio (43%) respectively.

That TV is the most popular medium is of little surprise, it is the area in which consumes the bulk of advertising budgets in Thailand which serves as indication it has the larger reach than other media in the country.

It is, however, surprising that in a country with a low 25% internet penetration rate 96% of those surveyed followed developments on the web.

Thailand’s ‘digital divide’ between those with sophisticated technology – smartphones, laptops, notebooks, etc – and those with no access the internet is huge. It is also highly polarised, many in urban live are more affluent and therefore able to afford technology whereas more rural communities are less able to afford to be internet-connected.

It seems likely these statistics are somewhat skewed towards the urban population, the survey probably includes much of Bangkok and other developed areas.

Interestingly, consumers also indicated non-traditional sources of news such as online blogs (35%) and Twitter (25%) were important channels too, perhaps reflecting a need to engage and interact with one another.

As with the high response rate for internet, these statistics don’t represent the population as a whole but nevertheless a high reliance on social media and the blogosphere reflects the record rise in Facebook users and high levels of Twitter traffic (and emphasis) during the protests.

Of less surprise is the increase in traditional media consumption.

Increased TV viewing and Radio listenership

During May 13-21, 2010 the number of people in Bangkok who watched TV increased by 23 percent compared to the same period in 2009. On Wednesday May 19, when the red shirt sites were reclaimed and the curfew started, the number of people watching TV increased by 36 percent compared to the same day last year.

The emphasis on TV explains the government’s motivation for closing People TV, the anti-government protesters’ TV channel, given the potentially huge reach it had.

Similarly, the number of people who listened to the radio in May 2010 increased by 14 percent.

Radio remains well used in rural areas and was a media heavily used by anti-government red shirt protesters.

Conclusion

What will be interesting to note is how this media consumption will shift now that the protesters have left Bangkok?

It seems likely consumption of news on the internet and through social media will continue to grow as more people learn about the likes of blogs and social Facebook and become compelled to follow the conversation and join.

With smartphone numbers growing steadily but not explosively the country is slowly growing more ‘internet connected’ though using mobile more than traditional computer access.

Though its TV censorship the Thai government still views traditional media as the most powerful, however the establishment of a ‘Cyber Crimes’ unit is testament to a new focus on the rising influence of the internet.

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