The Tablet Revolution and What it Means for the Future of News

The Tablet Revolution and the Future of News HIGHLIGHTS FROM A SURVEY REPORT BY PEW RESEARCH CENTER'S PROJECT FOR EXCELLENCE IN JOURNALISM IN COLLABORATION WITH THE ECONOMIST GROUP Tablets computers are one of the fastest-growing new technologies ever introduced. Their portability and enhanced interface have spurred an immediate public following. At the same time, the news industry has embraced the platform, sensing new possibilities for audience and revenue. Roughly a year and a half after the launch of the iPad, 11% of Americans report owning some brand of tablet device, and consuming news is a big part of what they do on these devices. Tablet users 53% spend an average of 77% USE THEIR TABLET DAILY GET NEWS ON A TABLET EVERY DAY 1 hour 35 min. on their tablets daily News is defined as "everything from the latest headline to in-depth articles and commentary." Tablet Users' Daily Tablet Activities Getting news on the tablet is nearly as popular as email and easily beats out most other activities including Percent of tablet users who do these activities daily Email 54% Play Games 30% social networking and gaming. Read Books 17% Get News 53% Use Social Networks Watch video 39% 13% Who Tablet Users Are TABLET USERS GENERAL PUBLIC 51% * 28% College graduate+ Educated, Employed and Earning Money but not Necessarily Young 53 Y 28 Family income of $75,000 or more 62 A 44 Employed full-time 22 22 18-29 46 35 30-49 Age 32 43 50+ Tablet Users are Heavy News Consumers and Follow news all the time Prefer reading/listening to the news over watching Particularly Drawn to the Written Word TABLET USERS 68% 71% TOTAL POPULATION 56% 45% Getting News on the Tablet Tablet News Users Read Percent of Tablet News Users Who Regularly... In-depth Articles, But Share News Less Participatory news is a part of the mix but less popular even among the young. Just 19% of 18-29 year olds regularly share news on the tablet. Check headlines 52% Read in-depth articles 42% Share Watch news on news social networks 16% video 16% Tablet news users are defined here as those who consume news on their tablets at least weekly. Brand Matters People turn to a fairly narrow range of sources on their tablets-sources that tend to be well-known national brands like CNN, USA Today and the New York Times. Even the new sources people are trying out tend to be familiar names. 65% 33% 84% REGULARLY TURN TO 1-3 NEWS SOURCES ON TURN TO NEW SOURCES OF THOSE WITH NEWS APPS THEY DIDN'T USE BEFORE SAY THE NEWS ORGANIZATION IS A MAJOR FACTOR IN DECIDING WHAT TO DOWNLOAD THEIR TABLET Replacement People are already using the tablet to get news they used to get elsewhere, primarily their desktop or laptop. Percent who get news on their tablet that they used to get from... A DESKTOP OR LAPTOP 79% A PRINT NEWSPAPER OR MAGAZINE 59% TELEVISION 57% Incidental Reading is High Of those who read long 88% read long articles they were not originally looking for. 41% went back and read saved articles or tagged them to read later. articles on their tablet in the last seven days... High Levels of Satisfaction The tablet is already the platform of choice for both headlines and longer articles. Platform preferred for.. .checking headlines .reading longer articles TABLET 43% TABLET 55% DESKTOP/LAPTOP 23% PRINT 22% SMARTPHONE 14% DESKTOP/LAPTOP 20% Overall, tablet users are much more likely to be positive than negative about their tablet news experience. On the tablet Learning new things is... Enjoyment getting news is ... Time spent with news is... 38% 31% 30% 57% greater 60% greater 65% easier same same same 4% harder 8% less 4% less When asked specifically, what news users say they like most was better access to news and to their favorite sources. The main complaint was the lack of Flash technology. Revenue Potential Tablet news users were less Worth the same 78% willing to say news was worth more on the tablet than elsewhere. Worth less Worth more 16% Among those who have NOT paid directly for content... 14% 21% would pay $5 a month* 10% would pay $10 a month* HAVE PAID DIRECTLY FOR NEWS ON THE TABLET IA 05554123 A TIUR UNIT STTES Al "Asked of one or the other. not both CL du739922 A ТиELNITEDSI L12 App Versus Browser Use For News Apps have not taken over as the primary way to get news on the tablet. 36% of tablet For consuming news on their tablet, percent who use... news users have no news Mainly Apps 21% Mainly Browser apps at all. 40% DK 8% Both equally 31% Those Who Rely on Apps Are Power News Users I Mainly Apps I Mainly Browser 81% 63% 58% 43% 19% 16% Consume news daily Now spend more time consuming Get news from new sources news And They are More Satisfied With Their Tablet News Experience 53% 46% 26% 21% 22% 11% Easier to learn Enjoy the The news is worth more new things news more Book Reading Do you enjoy reading books... More in More on your Tablet news users are print 23% tablet 36% split when it comes to book reading. About the same in both 41% PROJECT FOR EXCELLENCE IN JOURNALISM The Economist Group Read more: www.journalism.org/tabletnews O PEW RESEARCH CENTER, OCTOBER 2011