No, It's Not Just Your Screen Time That's Increasing. Global Media Usage Grew in 2022

Media usage grew to an average of 55.81 hours per week last year — an accelerated rate of 2.7% — according to a new report from PQ Media.

The fast pace, which follows a deceleration in 2021 from the “pandemic-fueled surge” in 2022, was “fueled by new, more compelling original content releases, various international sporting events and federal elections in several of the top 20 global media markets,” as described in PQ Media’s 10th annual Global Consumer Media Usage Forecast 2023-2027.

Ad-supported media continues to decline, however, as worldwide it accounted for 53.7% of the time spent in 2022. This number is expected to dip below 50% by 2027.

“As consumers continue to cut discretionary spending in 2023 amid current consumer sentiment and other key macroeconomic conditions, media companies have had to readjust profit projections and act accordingly,” says Patrick Quinn, PQ Media CEO.

Another key finding from the report was in traditional media usage, which was generally flat in 2022 but saw growth in print books, OTA radio, and print newspapers.