New research by the non-profit media education organization Media Awareness Network (Mnet) released yesterday reveals that 94% of kids as young as Grade 4 access the Internet from home. The report, entitled Young Canadians in a Wired World (YCWW), also found:
* 20% of grade 4s access the Net through their own PC
* 43% of grade 5s and 86% of grade 11s use instant messaging daily
* 28% download TV shows and movies from the Web
YCWW found that more youth are creating personal Web pages and blogs. They also participate in social networking sites. The study looked at the opinions of 5,200 young Canadians from grades 4 to 11, and noted that this group is among the most connected in the world.
http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/research/YCWW/phaseII/

Vancouver-based youth marketing and research agency Synovate YC has released a study on Quebec youth. As reported in the latest edition of Edge, the company’s quarterly study, it was found that 61% of youth (ages 15-24) in la belle provence watch TV most often in French. Other findings include:
* 7% who claim they don’t read any magazines
* less than 1% of Quebec youth claim they don’t use the Internet
* video game penetration in Quebec was lower than the national average, coming in at 22% versus 38% nationally
The report also found that 53% of youth in the province believe in the statement: ‘I am not Canadian. I am Quebecois.’ The report looks at the influences and historic context that have created their cultural climate today and how this has translated to the brands they choose. Quebecers account for 24% of youth in Canada and spend nearly $400 million annually.
http://www.synovate.com/edge/

Canucks were a proud bunch at the 20th Annual London International Awards held yesterday, scoring ten awards, some of which were notable for media innovation. Nike’s ‘Bernard wall, Perdita jumping, Bernard crashing’ (done by Taxi Toronto) broke through the clutter – and even through the glass. In one transit shelter execution, the athlete looks as if he’s crashing through a glass wall. That campaign garnered nods in the poster and outdoor category. The Contemporary Art Gallery’s Button Wall, created by Rethink Vancouver, also gained a nod in the ‘spectacular’ OOH subcategory.

Other winners include: Science World’s ‘questions’ (radio) and ‘boardroom’ (TV) by Rethink; Epson Photo Printers’ ‘Jed’ (radio) by DDB; Volkswagen’s ‘clipper’ (print) by Arnold Worldwide; Halls ‘doctor’s office’ (TV) out of JWT, Toronto; Wrigley Canada’s Freedent DM by Leo Burnett, Toronto (the agency also scored a print trade nod for its self-promo). CMT took the media promo award for ‘dueling sitars’ (TV) by Zig Toronto.

* 2.9 million Canadians (11%) participate in Internet discussion or chat groups occasionally/frequently.
* 61% are under 24 years old (3 times the national average).
* 64% are single (2.3 times the national average).
* 44% spent more than 6 hours on the Internet on an average week (1.8 times more than the national average).
* Other activities on the Internet:
o Download music/MP3 files (3 times the national average).
o Access radio station Web sites (2.4 times more often).
o View TV via streaming video (2.6 times more often).
o Listen to radio via streaming audio (2.4 times more often).
o Read online magazines (2.3 times more often).
o 2.6 times more likely to visit online dating sites.
* In terms of yesterday’s exposure, the top 3 media for Canadians who participate in Internet discussions/chats occasionally/frequently are: TV (89%), Internet (77%, 1.5 times the national average), and radio (76%).
* News/talk (20%), adult contemporary (15%) and mainstream top 40/CHR (9%) are their favourite radio programming formats.

Source: BBM RTS Canada Fall ’04 / Spring ’04, individuals 12+

Rachel Fulford has been promoted to director, original production for Showcase. Fulford, who has been with the net since 1999, was most recently production executive on original series Trailer Park Boys.

European car in household; by occupation

Canada’s telecommunications industry experienced a 4.7% year-over-year increase in revenues in 2004 for a total of $33.3 billion. Most of the growth can be attributed to Internet and wireless services, according to the CRTC Telecom Report 2005 released earlier this week. More than 98% of Canadian households have telephone service with the local wireline market making up the biggest piece of the telecom pie (29% of revenues). On the traditional side of the business, the long distance market declined by 6.0% between 2003 ($5.9 billion in revenues) and 2004 ($5.6 billion) although the total number of long distance minutes increased by 6.0%.

The Internet is one of the fastest growing segments with 59% of households having an Internet subscription. Broadband access is now available to approximately 89% of Canadian households and 46% of those households actually subscribe to high-speed Internet services. Wireless, the other strong segment, increased 12.9% over the previous year to a total of 15 million subscribers in 2004. Wireless revenues jumped 17.6% from $8 billion to $9.5 billion.

The consumer survey portion of the report, based on 2005 data collected on behalf of the CRTC by Decima Research, reported:
* 64% of Canadians believe they have benefited from the availability of competition in the telecom industry.
* 70% of households with wireless service say the ability to keep their wireless telephone number was important when switching between service providers.
* 52% of households spend more than $75 per month on telecom services.