Executive Summary

We forecast that consumers in Germany will spend nearly 10 hours consuming media every day this year. These users are also increasing their time spent with digital activities, but many of them—especially older age groups—still tune in to broadcast radio and TV, as well as read traditional print newspapers.

How much time will adults in Germany spend with digital media in 2019?

We estimate that the average daily time spent with digital media will be 3 hours, 53 minutes (For simplicity’s sake, our style for expressing such a number in the text that follows will be 3:53.) this year—a 4-minute gain from 2018.

How does digital time spent compare with TV time?

Since 2017, adults in Germany have typically devoted more time to the internet than to TV, and that gap is widening. We estimate that the average time spent with TV per day in 2019 will be 3:33—20 minutes less than online time.

What’s happening to traditional media consumption?

Traditional formats—TV, radio and print—still maintain substantial audiences in Germany, partly because the country’s population skews older. That said, time spent with these media will decline slightly over our forecast period.

What is the fastest-growing component of total media time?

Time spent with nonvoice activities on mobile devices will increase faster than any other type of media consumption this year. Mobile video viewing and social networking will continue to boost mobile time.

Is the total time spent with media still rising?

Yes. But the overall time that adults spend with major media is now barely increasing year over year. Instead, digital media activities are replacing nondigital ones.

WHAT’S IN THIS REPORT? This report contains our latest estimates and forecasts for time spent with media in Germany, including traditional and digital platforms and devices. It also analyzes some key trends shaping those forecasts.

KEY STAT: Digital media will account for the biggest single component of major media consumption by adults in Germany in 2019, at nearly 4 hours per day on average. But altogether, TV, radio and print will occupy more than 6 hours.

Behind the Numbers

eMarketer’s methodology for its Germany time spent with media forecast is based on an analysis of 715 metrics from 47 sources. This analysis involves the collection of third-party data—primarily survey data—from adult respondents, asking them about their media use habits. Data is also sourced from online and mobile activity tracking services, government data and interviews with industry experts.

Using a bottom-up analysis, we assess and analyze reported time spent with each device and media activity across various sources. And where definitions differ, the data is normalized and interpreted in terms of our definition (i.e., the population in Germany ages 18 and older). The data is then aggregated with the time contributions from each device and media type to arrive at an estimate for average time spent with media per day.

In order to arrive at forecasts for growth rates by media and by device, this analysis is followed by extensive assessments of historical and expected future growth patterns with regard to device adoption, multiple and overlapping device usage, population and demographic factors and competitors to existing devices and activities.