Global Media Consumption Will Decline This Year For First Time Since 2009

Fueled by national elections in more than a dozen countries and mass tune-in for the Summer Olympics in Paris, global media consumption rose 2.4% in 2024 but it is heading for a fall.

That’s one key takeaway from research firm PQ Media‘s 12th annual Global Consumer Media Usage Forecast for 2025 to 2029. The report sees total consumption falling 0.3% this year compared with 2024, which would be the first decline since 2009, during the financial crisis. One drag on consumption is the fact that digital device penetration rates have peaked in major markets including the U.S., the report noted.

“Also contributing to the media consumption decline in 2025 is expected deceleration in discretionary spending on media devices and content, as consumers worldwide tighten their overall budgets due to an expected rise in inflation and possible recession due to the tariff wars instigated by the new Trump administration in the United States,” PQ Media CEO Patrick Quinn said.

In 2026, with more elections on tap along with the Winter Olympics in Italy and the FIFA World Cup in North America, Quinn said, total usage will climb again.

The average global consumer spent 8.17 hours per day with media in 2024, up from 7.36 hours in 2019. In some markets, like Japan and the Netherlands, daily media usage exceeded 12 hours per day, according to the study.

Television (including live, digital, streaming and over-the-top video) leads all 11 media categories tracked by PQ Media in terms of consumption, reaching 28.07 hours per week in 2024.

One ongoing trend evident in the report is the shift from traditional media to digital media, with digital rising to 39.7% share globally, up from 37.3% in 2023 and 28.6% in 2019. While that number may appear modest at first blush, PQ Media emphasized that the statistic stems from data from China and India, each of which has populations of more than 1 billion, with many residents too poor to afford internet access and mobile phones. In 11 of the top-20 markets, including the U.S., South Korea, the Netherlands and Spain, digital media usage accounts for more than 50% of overall consumption.

Ad-driven media consumption tops 50% in more than 11 global markets, led by Spain and Japan at 57.9%. On average, it accounted for 52.7% of time spent in 2024, down from 55.5% in 2019.

A new group of media consumers is identified in the report: the “AI-Gen,” which is comprised of individuals born between 2025 and 2039, the first generation to live its entire life with artificial intelligence.

“Compared with previous generations, the AI-Gens will be introduced to digital media at an earlier age, as broadband, smartphone, and tablet penetration rates have emerged as the highest ever in 2025, with children knowing how to use smartphones and tablets almost from the time they can walk,” Quinn said.