News, music and films now consumed on mobile phones

2017. 02. 07.

Almost 4.5 million people now use smartphones in Hungary, and 90% regularly consume content of some kind on their mobile phones. Smartphones can replace all other devices as they are used not only to read news and articles and listen to music, but also to watch short videos and even full movies. And such content increasingly comes from online sources instead of files saved on the phone. These are the findings of eNET – Telekom’s latest research study in the series titled “Report on the Internet Economy”. The current report is focused on content consumption with smartphones.

4.5 million smartphone users in Hungary

According to eNET’s online research conducted in October 2016, smartphones are used by almost 4.5 million people, i.e. 86% of adult Hungarian Internet users. Within this group, 95% (4,260,000 people) use wifi connections, and now as much as 79% (3,530,000 persons) use a mobile Internet connection.

All content on one gadget 

Thanks to their portability and easy operation, smartphones have become crucial tools in obtaining information and keeping in touch with others, and also in content consumption, which is possible any place and any time thanks to mobile Internet access. Nine out of 10 smartphone users consume some kind of content on their devices: 3.4 million people read news, articles and/or e-books; 2.4 million listen to music and other audio content; and 1.8 million regularly watch films and videos (as well).News above all

The category of news, articles and e-books read on smartphones is dominated by news portals and social media (86% and 80%, respectively); these are usually visited daily on mobile phones. Electronic newspapers and magazines are a distant second (39%), followed by blogs (29%) and finally e-books (14%).

Among the people who visit news portals on their smartphones (as well), Index and Origo are the most popular (64% and 55%, respectively), along with Hir24 (45%) and HVG (40%). But seven out of 10 site visitors read the news in their browsers instead of downloading the portals’ mobile applications.

Music via smartphones: mp3 no longer rules supreme

The popularity of listening to music on smartphones is not surprising; but instead of the previous dominance of mp3 files that do not require an Internet connection, now just as many respondents, i.e. 76% take advantage of free online music (e.g. on YouTube). Other online music providers are also gaining ground: 25% of the respondents use their mobile phones to listen to live web radio, and 13% opt for subscription-based online music streaming (such as Spotify, Deezer, or Google Play Music).

Even though nine out of 10 people visit music streaming sites via their smartphone’s wifi connection, the share of those who (also) use a cellular connection has reached 42%. About 22% occasionally save their playlists in order to listen to their favourite music offline.

Smartphones are now used to watch not only short videos but also full movies

Films and videos on smartphones present a more interesting issue. While phone screens have been growing steadily, they remain tiny compared to a TV or laptop monitor. On the other hand, phones provide access to motion pictures anywhere and any time, even during or instead of conventional television. This is supported by the ongoing proliferation of streaming services.

Most of the films and videos watched on smartphones come from free online sources (83%), and only 46% of the respondents watch downloaded videos in apps. Watching TV programs is also becoming wide-spread, with as many as 31% of the survey participants watching live online TV on their smartphones. And 29% watch previously broadcast TV programs. But only 4% use subscription-based streaming services as yet.The range and duration of content watched on phones keep on increasing. In addition of short funny videos, music clips, concert recordings and videos shared in social media, almost half of the respondents watch films; one third watch TV series, and 25% watch other TV programs (as well).

Similarly to music consumption, films and videos are primarily watched using wifi connections, but one third of the respondents use both wifi and mobile Internet connections.

Smartphones do it all

The key to the success of smartphones in Hungary is that they are always at hand, unlike other devices. With a mobile Internet connection, content can even be consumed online, whenever and wherever desired. And smartphone users do take advantage of the opportunity as nine out of 10 people consume some kind of content on their mobile phones; more and more people take advantage of the opportunities offered by the online world, not only for reading news and articles or listening to music, but also for watching films or TV programs.

eNET – Telekom