August 2012
From a Public Opinion Survey “The Japanese and the Media” and the Survey of Media Industry
Yumi Yoshitsugu / Ken-ichi Kobayashi
The NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute has been carrying out a public opinion survey called “The Japanese and the Media” since 2006 to understand the development of digital broadcasting, along with the survey of media industry that aims to explore the trends of broadcasters and other information senders. In the latest research, the results of the public opinion survey suggested that (1) digitalization of main TV sets are almost complete, and the second or other sub-TV sets are also being digitalized in a certain pace, (2) diversification of the means of information-gathering and communications is progressing, represented by the rapid spread of smart phones and SNS, especially among young people, and (3) young people are becoming relatively tired of watching broadcasts on television, compared to older generations, but are interested in TV broadcasts as content software. The survey of media industry revealed that (1) digital terrestrial broadcasters acknowledge the transformation in viewers’ attitudes that are shown in the public opinion survey but (2) they are rather slow to react in terms of specific efforts such as introducing services for smart phones or the utilization of SNS’s characteristics. Having entered in a new phase of post-full-digitalization, we are faced with pressing issues such as (1) developing fine-tuned services for new devices and (2) reflecting users’ opinions to take advantage of the characteristics of SNS and other new communication tools.