State of the Media Democracy -

India

March 2010
Contents

3 Introduction

4 Sources of Entertainment

5 The Media in Advertising

6 Media products: ownership and preference

7 Gaming

8 Internet activities

9 Media Conversations

10 Future Media Attitudes and Expectations

2
Introduction
The State of the Media Democracy Survey - India
provides a generational ‘reality check’ on how
consumers are interacting with technology, purchasing
products, and responding to advertising, and what
they want in the future. The results of the survey reveal
insightful information which will be useful for virtually
all sectors of the business world including to the
enterprises in the advertising world.
The survey focused on consumers between the ages of
14 and 69 which were divided into the following age
buckets:
Millennials:
• Trailing Millennials - 14-19 years;
• Leading Millennials - 20-25 years;
Generation X - 26-42 years;
Boomers - 43-61 years;
Matures - 62-69 years.
The survey was commissioned by Deloitte and was
fielded in late 2009 by a renowned Research Firm
and covered cities in Tier I and II categories. Apart
from the Metro cities the other cities covered were
Bangalore, Lucknow, Ludhiana, Patna, Surat and Indore.
A combination of upper and middle class people were
surveyed in the aforesaid cities by way of face-to-face
interviews.
The survey provides keen insights on dozens of
evolving trends and detailed data on issues ranging
from advertising effectiveness and mobile adoption to
social media and internet usage. The results from the
survey provide critical insights which can help business
enterprises make smart, well-timed business decisions
and investments.
This publication contains a snapshot of some of the
results of the survey and is presented in a synopsis form
containing certain key and unique findings.
State of the Media Democracy - India 3
Sources of Entertainment

Just as changes in technology are affecting all sectors,
so it is changing the way an individual uses various
products for entertainment. There are abundant
choices – products and services, which are available to
a consumer. This has made the entertainment industry a
consumer centric industry.
Sources of entertainment include television, newspaper,
magazines, going to movies, radio, internet, live
performances, gaming, eBooks etc. In India the most
preferred medium of entertainment is the television.
Around 92% of the population surveyed rated television
as the preferred medium across all age groups. The
scores in all age buckets are near or above the 90%
mark. This may be due to the fact that television still has
a wider reach than any other medium and the ‘visuals’
of television have a greater impact to all irrespective of
their educational background, status etc.
In India, the growth of the DTH platform has ensured
that the remotest corner of the country can now get
hooked to the numerous soaps, sports, news and other
powerful visuals that modern day television beams out.
A point to note is that even the ‘senior citizens’ of the
country, which form part of the ‘Matures’ age bucket
rate television as the preferred entertainment medium
– their score being as high as 95%. Also, females watch
more television (93%) than males (91%).
Second place in the preferred medium is taken by
newspapers. Indians, unlike as in the western countries,
prefers to read their daily newspapers with their
morning cup of tea. This reading habit is more visible
in ‘Generation X’ and above (above 26 years), with the
maximum score of 68% returned by ‘Boomers’ (43 to 61
years). No wonder then that the newspapers still remain
‘king’ in the world of media!
Among the younger generations, going to the movies,
listening to music, listening to radio are high on their
next preferred medium of entertainment. The younger
generation is also more tech savvy being more inclined
towards internet, gaming, and cell phones as means of
recreation. The cell phone has become an important
entertainment device for the ‘Millennials’ (14 to 25
years) with an average score of as high as 64%. The
personal computer too has become an important
entertainment device for the ‘Millennials’, 46% of whom
rated the computer over the television. There is also an
observed trend that the males are more technology pro
as compared to the women.

Preferred media of entertainment

Generation Gender
Trailing Leading Gen
All Boomers Matures Male Female
Millennials Millennials Xers
% % % % % % % %
Watching television 92 92 85 92 95 95 91 93
Reading newspapers
58 50 46 63 68 62 56 62
(either printed or online)
Going to the movies 48 53 55 51 39 32 50 48
Listening to music (using any device) 32 37 34 34 27 23 35 31
Listening to the radio (any format/device) 18 21 24 13 17 24 18 17
Reading magazines (either printed or online) 17 6 10 19 27 21 15 20
Attending live performances 15 18 14 14 14 11 16 13
Reading books (either physical books or via an
5 12 6 4 3 7 6 6
e-book reader/online)
Using the Internet for social or personal interests 5 5 15 2 0 1 7 3
Playing videogames (handhelds, PC, console,
4 5 6 3 3 1 5 1
mobile/cellular/Smartphone, online)

4
The Media in Advertising

Enterprises are spoilt for choices when it comes to
selecting a media to use for advertising their products
and services. Advertising firms have a never-ending
job on hand to help their client decide the media or a
combination of media to maximise the impact of the
ad campaigns in this constantly changing world of
consumer preferences.
From a consumer’s point of view, the television
media appears to have the maximum impact on
them. Between the age buckets, ‘Matures’ (98%)
and ‘Boomers’ (96%) are more influenced by viewing
advertisements on television than the other media. Even
the ‘Millennials’ scored more than 90% when it came to
concluding that television is the preferred media which
creates the maximum impact.
Advertisements in newspapers come a close second
in creating impact on consumers. Here too the impact
is maximum in ‘Matures’ (95%) and ‘Boomers’ (92%).
The impact on the ‘Millennials’ is lesser. Although close
to 60% of the ‘Millennial’ mentioned that they will
read a printed magazine even though the information
contained therein is available online.
‘Leading Millennials’ are influenced more by
advertisements on the internet – their score is as high as
35% and is the highest among all age buckets. They are
most influenced by banner advertisements (>65%) and
more by advertisements relating to gaming (51%). 34%
of the ‘Trailing Millennials’ were willing to pay for online
content (news, sports, games etc.).
The medium of radio too seems to be picking up as a
medium which is being increasingly used by advertisers.
Here too the ‘Millennials’ are influenced more by
advertisements on the radio (18%).

Impact of Media in Advertising

Generation Gender
Trailing Leading Gen
All Boomers Matures Male Female
Millennials Millennials Xers
% % % % % % % %

Television (cable, satellite, broadcast or fibre optic) 94 94 92 95 96 98 94 96

Newspapers 89 86 80 92 92 95 89 89

Magazines 34 32 24 34 40 38 32 36

Mobile/Cellular/Smartphone 21 19 22 22 22 18 22 21

Radio 17 15 18 18 17 13 14 21

Billboards or outdoor advertising 17 16 18 18 15 23 17 17

Online/Internet 15 20 35 10 3 1 20 7

DVDs/Blu-ray Discs 4 6 5 5 4 3 5 5

In-theater advertising (pre-movie) 3 4 6 2 3 2 4 3

Videogames 2 5 2 1 1 2 2 2

State of the Media Democracy - India 5

Media products:
ownership and preference
With increase in the purchasing power, the consumer is
in a better position to own products of his requirements
as well as luxury products.
Cell phones were considered as a status symbol a few
years back but now are more of a necessity. At present,
cell phones, television, DVD players and radio are the
top four media equipments owned by majority of the
masses. 84% of the population surveyed own cell
phones.
The younger generation seem to prefer desktop PCs,
Macs, iPods, smart phones and laptops where as the
digicam and webcams are owned more by the older
generations. Usage of HD Radio, e-Book Reader and
Blu-ray players is negligible.
Flat panel televisions are gaining ground as opposed to
the old fashioned box television. However, at present
around 77% of the households surveyed owned the
box television, which is rated as the product valued the
most. The cell phone, DVD player, radio and desktop
computer form the remaining in the list of top five.
The ‘Leading Millennials’ are more engaged with the
new and advanced technology like iPods, smart phones
and laptops.

Media products and preferences

Generation Gender
Trailing Leading Gen
All Boomers Matures Male Female
Millennials Millennials Xers
% % % % % % % %
Mobile/Cellular phone
84 82 83 85 85 71 87 80
(basic phone for calling and texting)

Non-Flat Panel TV (CRT or Tube TV) 77 83 77 78 72 76 77 77

Standalone DVD player (in the home) 65 60 62 68 65 56 65 64

Radio (traditional AM/FM radio) 61 62 57 61 61 69 58 65

Stereo system 39 38 34 42 40 45 39 40

Desktop computer (PC or Mac) 31 44 42 25 26 22 37 24

Digital camera or camcorder (separate from your

25 18 23 27 28 36 25 25
mobile/cellular phone)
Flat Panel TV (LCD or Plasma) 23 19 24 21 29 25 23 23

Portable DVD player 8 9 10 8 6 7 7 10

6
Gaming

Video games are a favourite among the ‘Millennials’. Around 40% of the ‘Millennial’ polled for the mobile
The mobile phone is the preferred media used by the phone and computer. The seniors, ‘GenXers’ and above,
‘Millennials’ to play games followed by the computer. seems to stay away from video games.

Media used to play videogames

Generation Gender
Trailing Leading Gen
All Boomers Matures Male Female
Millennials Millennials Xers
% % % % % % % %

Mobile/cellular phone 32 45 40 32 22 5 36 27

Computer (PC or Mac) 19 41 40 12 3 0 26 11

Other Game Console 2 5 2 1 0 0 2 1

Smartphone (iPhone, Blackberry, etc.) 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 0

Playstation 2 1 2 1 0 0 0 1 0

Handheld (Nintendo DS, Gameboy, Sony PSP, etc.) 1 5 0 1 0 0 2 1

Have not played a videogame in the past 6 months 60 35 44 64 77 95 53 68

Played newly released videogame (favorite method)

Mobile/cellular phone 23 25 19 25 22 9 23 22

Computer (PC or Mac) 16 32 35 9 1 0 22 8

Handheld (Nintendo DS, Gameboy, Sony PSP, etc.) 1 5 1 0 0 0 1 1

No response 59 35 43 64 76 91 52 68

State of the Media Democracy - India 7

Internet activities

Usage of internet by people of different age groups,
gender depends upon number of factors such as: -
quality of internet speed, the activities for which internet
is used, benefits of using internet, publicity of the
internet content, online purchasing etc.
The activities for which internet is used can be
bifurcated into: - emailing, messaging, reading news,
seeking information, online gaming, watching/listening
to contents, using web cams, audio chatting etc.
Few users also use internet to their advantage. They
receive free products, money, discount vouchers etc.
for posting or creation of internet content like blogs,
photos, music or software while others use it to spend
money and make online purchases.
‘Millennials’ are way ahead in internet usage as
compared to the others, with 45% of ‘Leading
Millennials’ using the internet for emailing friends and
family. They are also highly active in using services like
webcams, audio chatting, online gaming, purchasing
products etc. In gender comparison men are leading the
women and ‘Matures’ use the internet the least.
As compared to other age groups close to 45% of the
‘Millennials’ perceive connection speed as an important
feature of internet and are even willing to pay a little
more if it helps them downloading videos at a faster
speed.
‘Millennials’ again lead the rest when it comes to
creation and maintaining of internet contents like
maintaining own web site, uploading photos and
videos on the internet, maintaining a profile on social
networking site, contributing to blogs etc.
All age groups preferred to spend more time on
professionally generated data rather than User
generated. More than 20% of the ‘Millennials’ have
learned of a new product while going online and
have 15% have made purchases made on online
recommendations. They lead the pack in the online
purchase world.

Internet activities
Generation Gender
Trailing Leading Gen
All Boomers Matures Male Female
Millennials Millennials Xers
% % % % % % % %

E-mailing with friends or family 19 28 45 13 7 3 29 10

Instant messaging with friends or family 18 25 40 12 7 3 26 8

Using search engines like Google,
17 24 36 12 5 2 26 6
Yahoo or Ask.com
Seeking personal interest information
14 24 30 12 4 1 21 7
(entertainment, travel/leisure, sports)
Socializing (via social networking sites, chat
13 18 26 10 4 2 19 5
rooms or message boards)
Researching for business or school 13 28 24 7 3 2 18 6

8
Media Conversations

Quite often, articles/news from newspapers, TV shows,
books, magazines, web sites, music, movies etc. find a
way in day-to-day conversations at home, workplace or
between friends.
Overall newspapers are the most discussed, with
maximum discussions being done by ‘Boomers’
(39%) followed by the ‘GenXers’ (36%) and ‘Leading
Millennials’ (35%). Television shows are the next most
important thing discussed by people in all age groups.
Music, movies and advertisement form the balance four
in the list of top five of discussion topics. The ‘Leading
Millennials’ lead the pack when it comes to discussing
music, movies and advertisement.

Media conversations: Summary of discussions on media

Generation Gender
Trailing Leading Gen
All Boomers Matures Male Female
Millennials Millennials Xers
% % % % % % % %
Newspapers 35 29 35 36 39 27 37 32
Television Shows 26 25 23 27 28 27 22 30
Music 19 20 22 20 13 13 20 17
Movies 11 11 13 13 8 10 11 12
Advertisements 10 11 10 11 7 6 10 9
Books 9 26 16 4 1 2 9 8
Magazines 6 4 7 6 6 6 6 6
Radio programming 5 3 4 6 6 11 6 5
Web sites 4 6 7 3 2 0 6 2
Videogames
4 7 7 3 2 2 6 2
(handhelds, PC, console, mobile/cellular phone)
Social networking sites 3 2 5 2 2 0 4 1
Virtual worlds 1 2 2 1 1 0 2 1

State of the Media Democracy - India 9

Future Media Attitudes and
Expectations
The advent of newer technologies on an ongoing basis
is the result of demands from various age groups and
gender. Users of these technologies wish that their
devices should provide them with features like GPS to
enable them to locate friends, shops, hotels etc. Other
technologies that are widely demanded are music and
video portability, getting product info by scanning
barcode by mobile phone, online availability on books
and newspapers etc.
Quite a few users are also interested in technology that
enables them to buy products on TV that are featured in
commercials, 3D televisions.
‘Millennials’ are more eager (>50%) compared to other
age groups for demand in technology relating to GPS,
locating friends, shops, hotels, music, movies portability,
online availability of books and newspapers etc.
‘Millennials’ surge ahead of other age groups when it
comes to demanding technologies like buying products
shown on TV, watching 3D movies at home, playing 3D
games at home with game controllers that react to users
body movements etc.
Also the Millennials are far more interested in integration
of TV and computer so as to view internet content on TV.

Future Media: List of desirable products

Generation Gender
Trailing Leading Gen
All Boomers Matures Male Female
Millennials Millennials Xers
% % % % % % % %
A feature on my mobile phone that would allow me
to physically locate my friends and for them to locate 44 57 55 40 35 22 48 39
me
A feature on my mobile/cellular phone that would
allow me to locate shops, restaurants, hotels, etc, 39 53 52 34 32 19 44 53
within a specified radius of my location
The ability to move my music, television shows, pod
casts, movies, etc. to any devices and platforms that 35 45 43 31 30 15 38 31
I own without any problems
The ability to access product information for a
product I’m interested in buying by simply scanning 33 42 43 30 26 22 35 31
a bar code with my mobile-phone/hand-held device
Books, magazines and newspapers will all be
available online, to downloaded onto your PC, 31 44 37 29 23 13 33 28
portable or handheld device
The ability to “click to buy” products on my television
29 39 39 24 23 17 33 24
that are featured in a TV show or commercial
Watching 3-D video in my home 29 36 38 28 22 20 33 25
I would like to have a videogame controllers that are
28 40 34 25 20 17 30 25
similar to real gear
An online service that recommends a product based
27 37 35 23 23 10 32 21
on other consumer’s preferences
I would like to have a videogame that does not
have a traditional controller, but reacts to my body 26 40 38 21 18 20 30 23
motions
Playing 3-D videogames in my home 25 34 32 21 20 15 29 20

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State of the Media Democracy - India 11
In this material Deloitte refers to Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India Private Limited (DTTIPL), a Company established under the Indian Companies Act 1956, as amended.

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© 2010 Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India Private Limited’

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