IGEM Digimonitor: Media Use in Switzerland is Changing

Experts in exclusive conversation with Werbewoche.ch about the most important findings from the IGEM Digimonitor 2023.

 

According to the study, 4.8 million people in Switzerland (72% of the population) use a social media platform at least occasionally. Half of them follow influencers, with the majority being under 40 years old. It is striking that there are hardly any people with an interest in politics among these followers.

Social shopping is gaining slightly in importance: 890,000 users (13%) at least occasionally buy something directly from a social media post, including mainly people between 30 and 40 years of age.

Instagram overtakes Facebook

Instagram increased by 150,000 users year-on-year and is now the most popular social media platform in Switzerland with 2.9 million users (42.2% of the population). Facebook, on the other hand, lost 180,000 users and now only has 2.8 million (41.7%). LinkedIn follows with 2.0 million (29%), Pinterest with 1.5 million (21%) and Snapchat with 1.2 million (17%). TikTok grows slightly, reaching 1.1 million (16%). Twitter, now with the new name X, records 740,000 user:in after a small loss (11%).

The average age varies greatly: The 290,000 users of BeReal (4%) are the youngest, with an average age of 21. Snapchat users are 24 years old on average, and TikTok users are 27 years old. On Facebook and LinkedIn, on the other hand, the average age is 46.

ChatGPT becomes popular tool overnight

The hype around ChatGPT is reflected in its usage: The AI-powered chatbot already has over 1 million users in Switzerland (15% of the population). 680,000 of these are men and 360,000 women. This means that every fifth man and every ninth woman in Switzerland is already a ChatGPT user. The tool has become particularly popular with younger people: just under half of all people in education use ChatGPT. The average age is 28.

YouTube, Netflix and Disney+ lose audience

The US market leaders in video streaming are all losing market share in Switzerland: YouTube has lost 370,000 viewers compared to the previous year, while Netflix has lost 300,000. While YouTube is losing audience share among men between 35 and 54, Netflix is mainly losing younger men under 35.

YouTube currently has 4.3 million occasional viewers (64% of the population), Netflix 2.9 million (43%). After a slight loss, Disney+ has 960,000 viewers (14%). The other foreign providers all have relatively small market shares: Twitch has 450,000 viewers:in (6.6%), Amazon Prime Video 420,000 (6.2%), Sky 400,000 (5.9%), Apple TV Plus 350,000 (5.2%) and RTL+ 280,000 (4.1%).

Streaming: SRF, RTS and RSI in the lead

Among the streaming providers from Switzerland, the SRF/RTS/RSI websites and apps are the clear leaders with 2.8 million viewers (42% of the population), followed by Play Suisse, the SRG streaming portal, with 1.3 million (19%). Blue+, formerly Teleclub, has 420,000 (6.2%) and MySports 340,000 (5.0%) viewers:inside. The Swisscom blue TV app has 1.2 million (18.4%), Zattoo 680,000 (10%) and the Sunrise TV app 620,000 Nutzer:innen (9.2%). The websites of private TV stations count 580,000 viewers:inside (8.6%) and Salt TV 250,000 (3.6%). Quickline TV and OnePlus, the streaming offering from 3+ and other broadcasters, both have just under 200,000 viewers (2.9%).

Television remains "the" mass medium

The popularity of classic television remains unbroken: With 6.3 million viewers (93% of the population), almost all of Switzerland watches television. This means that the audience is more than twice as large as for Netflix. Two out of three people (63%) switch on the TV every day, and TV is also popular with younger people: 3 out of 4 people under 30 (71%) watch at least once a week, and every third person even watches daily (36%).

The TV set remains the most important electronic device by a narrow margin: 6.1 million (90%) use a TV set and 6.0 million a smartphone (88%). The most common device connected to the TV set is a Blue TV box from Swisscom (25%), followed by the Sunrise TV box (incl. UPC) (17%).

Commercials on replay TV are overplayed, especially in French-speaking Switzerland

4.9 million (72% of the population) watch time-shifted TV at least occasionally. This is particularly popular among women between 35 and 54. Men under 35 do this least often. 3.9 million (57%) can fast-forward through commercials on at least some of the stations. This function is used primarily by women between 35 and 54 (69%) and people in French-speaking Switzerland (62%).

Entertainment is more popular than sports on pay TV

With the success of Netflix, pay TV has finally caught on. 2.5 million (36% of the population) pay for movies, series and entertainment. People under 35 and those with higher incomes are most likely to spend money on entertainment. At 1.2 million (18%), around half as many pay for documentaries, again mainly people under 35.

Sports content, on the other hand, is in much lower demand: 900,000 people (13%) pay for it at least occasionally, with above-average demand in Italian-speaking Switzerland (23%). Two-thirds of the sports content audience are men. People under 35 are most likely to pay for it - this applies to both men and women.

Cinema usage almost reaches pre-Corona levels again

Theaters are filling up again: 3.2 million (47% of the population) went to the movies in the last six months. That is 570,000 more visitors than in the previous year. Swiss cinemas thus reach 92% of pre-Corona attendance figures.

Younger people go to the movies more often: Two out of three people under 35 (65%) went at least once in the last six months. The cinema is particularly popular among people with a higher education or higher income.

Teletext grows by half a million users:inside

Teletext remains surprisingly popular, with usage up by 520,000 compared to the previous year. A total of 2.5 million (37% of the population) obtain information at least occasionally via teletext. 1.6 million (23%) even use the service at least once a week - one in four Swiss men and one in five women. Among men, teletext is already popular from the age of 35, while use among women increases from the age of 55. The average age is 54.

Teletext primarily appeals to people with an interest in sports, politics and business, as well as the audience of SRG, MySports and Blick TV.

Podcasts are the trend

Podcasts are still on the rise: Compared to the previous year, usage is up by 270,000 people. Of the total 2.9 million (43% of the population), most are occasional listeners. Only 400,000 people (6%) use podcasts daily. Podcasts have a relatively young audience compared to music streaming and radio: 54% of people under 55 listen to podcasts at least occasionally, and the average age is 44. The most frequently used podcast platforms in Switzerland are those of SRF/RTS/RSI (21%), Spotify (20%) and YouTube (16%). This puts SRG in the lead for the first time. For people under 35, however, Spotify and YouTube remain the most important podcast platforms.

Spotify accompanies the younger ones through everyday life

A total of 5.1 million people (75%) listen to audio streaming at least occasionally. The SRF/RTS/RSI websites and apps are the most popular audio platform across all population groups, with 2.84 million listeners (42% of the population). Spotify, on the other hand, is clearly in first place among the younger generations, gaining 140,000 new users and now has 2.8 million listeners (41%). 1.5 million (23%) use Spotify on a daily basis, with almost two-thirds buying the ad-free paid version. The average age is 36.

Radio cracks the 6 million mark

With 190,000 new listeners, traditional radio defies the streaming competition. With 6.1 million (90% of the population), the broad masses listen to the radio, 4 million (59%) even daily. This means that the medium has more than twice as many listeners as Spotify. The average listener is 51 years old, but younger people also listen to the radio: 83% of people under 35 listen occasionally and 35% daily.

Almost 90% read news online, but only 20% pay for it

The Swiss:inside also inform themselves very often on online news portals: 5.8 million (86% of the population) read news on the Internet at least occasionally. Swiss news portals such as 20min.ch, Blick.ch or Lematin.ch reach a total of 5.2 million people (76%). 1.4 million (20%) pay for a digital news subscription, with usage strongly dependent on income.

Swiss payment app Twint grows three times faster than Apple Pay

Mobile payment services are experiencing enormous growth and are now used at least occasionally by 4.3 million (64% of the population). There is a clear market leader: Twint is clearly in first place with 450,000 new users and 4.1 million (60%) in total in all population groups. The average age of users is 45. Apple Pay has grown significantly less, with 160,000 new users and currently 760,000 (11%). Google Pay has grown by 100,000 and now has 340,000 users (5%).

QR bill revolutionizes e-banking

E-banking is already part of everyday life for the vast majority of the population. With an increase of 380,000 new users, 5.4 million (80% of the population) now do their banking online. 3.7 million (55%) also use their smartphones for some of their transactions. With the introduction of QR billing, 870,000 new users scan QR codes. Already 5 million people (74%) do this at least occasionally.

Cryptocurrencies lose importance

The Bitcoin & Co boom is slowing down: With 370,000 people (5% of the population), 120,000 fewer use a cryptocurrency than in the previous year. On average, the users are 31 years old and three quarters of them are male. Men under 40 and with higher incomes are disproportionately more likely to be cryptocurrency users. Just under one in five men under 40 owns a cryptocurrency.

Metaverse remains a dream of the future

The Metaverse has hardly been able to gain a foothold in Switzerland yet. Only 88,000 people (1.3% of the population) use a Metaverse like Decentraland or The Sandbox at least occasionally, including 62,000 men and 26,000 women. At 23, the average age is very low.

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The Study IGEM Digimonitor has been surveying the use of electronic media and devices in Switzerland every year since 2014. The data is representative of the Swiss population aged 15 and over (6.8 million people), because offliners and people without a fixed network connection are also surveyed. The telephone and online survey took place from the beginning of April to mid-June 2023.

On behalf of IGEM Interessengemeinschaft elektronische Medien and Wemf AG für Werbemedienforschung, Link surveyed 2,087 people, 1,052 of them in German-speaking Switzerland, 797 in French-speaking Switzerland and 238 in Italian-speaking Switzerland. The confidence interval is a maximum of +/- 2.2 percentage points. Italian-speaking Switzerland was surveyed exclusively in 2021 and 2023. Therefore, comparisons with the previous year are only possible on a limited basis (German- and French-speaking Switzerland).