ARD/ZDF research reveals online media use in Germany fell from 2022 peak

The use of online media content and streaming services in Germany has declined from a peak in 2022, according to a study by public broadcaster ARD/ZDF.

Florian Kumb

The average has now dropped to 139 minutes per day, down 21 minutes on 2022. Falls were recorded in all age groups and were explained, in part, by the removal of Covid-19 restrictions.

It is not only the intensity of use that is declining this year but also the number of people using media via the internet.

Across all age groups, however, the figures remain above the level of the Covid year 2021, with daily internet media use falling slightly to 65% (down seven percentage points).

Among 14- to 29-year-olds, 82% watch videos on the internet on a normal day, compared to 65% of 30-49s. The daily reach of audio online is also declining slightly, by five percentage points to 37%. Music streaming is still the most widespread application here (41% use this service daily or weekly), followed by listening to the radio online (25%) and listening to podcasts or radio programmes on-demand (29%).

The study also concludes that the Mediatheken streamers of ARD and ZDF were able to further expand their user base. At 54% (ARD) and 55% (ZDF), they reach more than half of the population. At least once a week, 22% (ARD) and 21% (ZDF) watch programmes and films in the two public Mediatheken.

In terms of video streaming services, Netflix and Prime Video continue to clearly lead the market, with 36% of people using Netflix at least once a week. Amazon Prime Video is at 26%, ahead of Disney+ (13%) and Sky’s digital offerings (11%).

“The increase in internet usage during the coronavirus pandemic has normalised. This makes competition between digital media providers tougher,” said ZDF head of planning Florian Kumb.