This paper reports the results of the November 2019 Survey on Media Use. The author explores how users perceive and make use of drastic changes in the media landscape including the commencement of simultaneous online distribution of broadcast programs as well as flourishing digital media utilizing the internet such as video streaming, social media, and internet news. The paper looks into how people trust traditional mass media and internet media to study the relationship between the trust level and the utilization ratio. The survey results show that as the number of television sets connected to the internet gradually increases, more people use video streaming services on TV. It is also found that the trust level for internet news has come closer to that for traditional mass media among young people. The author presumes the boundary between traditional media such as broadcasts and internet media such as streaming services is being further lowered for the users. In addition to this, the paper analyzes user trends by a chronological review of the survey results over the past four years including people’s willingness to use the simultaneous online distribution of broadcast programs and recognition of 4K/8K broadcasting.
On top of this, as of now (early May, 2020) Japan is in a nationwide state of emergency due to the spread of the coronavirus infections. Each streaming service providers have started to take actions in response to the situation. The author overviews these initiatives that may impact the future roles of media.