Weekly Bulletin issue 24, 1996

TV viewing up, video watching down

Norwegians are watching more television and fewer videos, read just as many newspapers and are using their home computers less, according to the latest media barometer.

The most remarkable finding is that the percentage of the population using a home computer every day dropped from 11 per cent in 1994 to nine per cent in 1995. Despite the decline, the proportion with access to a PC or Mac in the home increased from 33 to 39 per cent during the same period.

More time in front of the TV

The Norwegian equivalent of John and Jane Doe, Kari and Ola Nordmann, last year watched television an average of two hours and four minutes a day. This is 11 minutes more than in 1994. Eighty-four per cent of the population watch TV every day, an increase of two per cent since 1994.

Eighty-four per cent read newspapers every day, 66 per cent listen to radio and 38 per cent listen to records, cassettes or CDs.

The percentage watching videos every day has sunk three per cent to eight per cent in 1995.

Decline in NRK viewership

The state-owned Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) is the still the dominant channel in Norway, while the commercial channel TV2 has increased its viewership gradually, from 23 per cent in 1992 to 55 per cent in 1995. As a result, other channels put together now claim for the first time a larger daily viewership than NRK.

NRK is the most watched channel among the elderly, TV3 is most popular among children. TV2 and TVNorge appeal more to all members of the family, although TV2 has a higher percentage of men viewers.

New statistics

Norwegian media barometer, 1995.

Statistics are published every year in the Weekly Bulletin of Statistics and in the series Statistical Analyses (SA 12/96). More information: Odd Frank Vaage, tel. +47 21 09 46 69, e-mail: ova@ssb.no.

Weekly Bulletin issue 24, 1996