In its first-ever separate report on co-viewing, Media Technology Monitor (MTM) found that online Canadians enjoy watching content with others, with half of the respondants saying they do it multiple times a week. Three-quarters co-view something at least once a month. And while co-viewing is more common in multi-person households, three in ten Canadian adults that live alone still take time to co-view weekly.
Those aged 35-to-49 (73%) are most likely to be co-viewing, as well as being the most likely to have families living with them, in particular kids. More than two-thirds of people with kids in the household co-view in a typical week. Men (57%) are as likely as women (59%) to co-view.
TV is the screen used the most for co-viewing content. More than four-fifths (82%) of co-viewers say they use a TV and 53% say it’s the only screen they use. Those who co-view less often are more likely to use computers (30%) and smartphones (30%) than those who co-view more frequently on a weekly basis.
Computers and smartphones are more popular screens among younger co-viewers. While TV sets still represent the most common screen for co-viewing among the 18 to 34 demo (67%), nearly half in this age group do so on computers or smartphones. Adults 65+ are the most likely (95%) to co-view via TV in a typical month, followed by those 50 to 64 (86%), the 35 to 49 demo (85%) and those 18 to 34 (67%).
MTM employs large sample sizes, which includes Canadians with landline telephone service and those who rely solely on a cell phone. The organization measures Canadians’ media technology adoption and use at two points in time: In the Fall, telephone interviews are conducted with 8,000 Canadians (4,000 Anglophones and 4,000 Francophones).
To monitor changes in the media landscape over the year, a telephone survey with an independent sample of 4,000 Canadians (2,000 Anglophones and 2,000 francophones) is conducted in the Spring. The results reported here are based on the Spring 2024 survey of 2,731 anglophone respondents (including 1,324 cell phone only) across all regions of Canada including the Territories. The response rate was 23%. The interviews were conducted from March 14 to May 22, 2024 by Forum Research.
MTM is a product of CBC/Radio-Canada Research and Analysis.
