TV still preferred by Filipinos, says survey

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) - Television remains the Filipino's go-to media platform for consuming content despite growing internet usage in the country.

In a 2016 survey conducted by media intelligence firm Kantar Media, 96.6 percent of Filipinos watch TV daily from 91.2 percent in 2014.

Filipinos also spent longer time in front of their TV sets, devoting 3.7 hours to watching their favorite programs last year.

But digital media is fast catching up as a preferred platform for accessing content, with internet access rising close to 43 percent in just two years.

Because of improving internet access, almost 30 percent of Filipinos are now streaming videos. Visiting social media sites remains the top activity of Filipinos online.

Kantar Media Philippines commercial director Jay Bautista said TV will likely remain the most dominant medium in the country for many more years because it is easily accessed by Filipinos, especially in the rural areas.

"'If you look at the population profile, half of the country is still rural. So I'm sure the infrastructure for digital will take some time before it reaches our rural countrymen. TV will still remain primarily because they are the ones who produce the content. So all the programs we watch and the news are still produced by the TV networks," Bautista said.

"I don't think that TV will die anytime soon," he added.

It's a different situation for print as newspaper readership continues to decline.

The number of Filipinos who read newspapers daily has gone down by more than half from nearly nine percent in 2014 to just 3.2 percent in 2016.

Bautista said getting advertisements will be challenging for print in 2017 since the elections are over.

"Television will remain to be a major advertising platform in the Philippines. What would be interesting is how the press will fare this year," Bautista added.

"This year there will be no political advertising we'll probably see a decline in press advertising," he added.