Over a quarter of Australian homes have access to four screens: television, computer, tablet and smartphone. That is up from 16% a year ago. The latest Australian Multi-Screen Report from Nielsen suggests that television remains at the centre of these connected homes, but reading through the report it seems Australians are watching a little less television than the previous year.
There is no doubt that the viewing environment is changing. One in five homes in Australia has an internet connected television, up from 15% a year previously, while over half now have a digital video recorder, with 13% having two or more. Over 30% of homes have a tablet, more than double the number a year before. Over 60% of Australians aged over 16 have a smartphone, up from 48% the previous year.
Three quarters of Australians over 16 say they use more than one screen at a time, up from 60%. Among those, 79% say they do so at least once a week, while 54% say they do every day.
A laptop or netbook remains the most regularly used screen for multitasking, followed by a desktop computer, mobile phone or tablet, although use of mobile devices is growing in popularity, with tablet viewing expected to increase over smartphones.