Internet Exceeds All Other Media In Growth Of Heavy User Groups.

The percentage of adults who spend at least an hour a day on the Internet is significantly greater than the percentage of adults who spend an hour a day with the print edition of a daily newspaper in the 85 metro markets surveyed by The Media Audit.

The growth of the Internet’s heavy user group “can be seen as an opportunity for newspapers and other traditional media,” says Bob Jordan, president of International Demographics, Inc., a 32-yearold market research firm that produces The Media Audit. “In the past two or three years,” says Jordan, “we’ve seen traditional media – primarily newspapers – build significant audiences on their web sites. Traditional media have come to see the Internet as an growth opportunity rather than a competitor.”

In 2001 23.0 percent of the adults in the 85 markets spent seven or more hours per week on the Internet. In 2002 the percentage increased to 24.6 and in 2003, through the first 54 markets surveyed, the percentage was 26.2. The total adult population of the 85 markets in 2002 was 131,417,000.

Growth of Heavy User Groups

“The growth of the Internet heavy user group becomes more significant when compared to other media heavy user groups,” says Jordan. “While newspaper and television heavy user groups achieved minimal growth from 2001 to 2002 they actually declined as a percentage of the adult population surveyed. Heavy users of radio and direct mail both recorded declines in actual numbers and percentage of adults surveyed,” says Jordan.

In the 85 markets, the newspaper heavy user group (60 minutes plus per average day) grew from 25,442,000 in 2001 to 25,750,000 in 2002, but declined from 19.8 to 19.6 percent of the total adult population. During the same period the television heavy user group (300 minutes plus per average day) grew from 26,165,000 to 27,016,000 and also increased from 20.4 to 20.6 as a percent of all adults. Radio’s heavy user group (180 minutes plus per average day) declined from 37,718,000 to 36,144,000 and from 29.4 to 27.5 percent of adult population. The direct mail heavy user group (reads ¾ of all received) declined from 28,721,000 to 27,576,000 and from 22.4 to 21.0 percent of adults.

Demographics Of Heavy Media Users

More than 60 percent of Internet heavy users have household incomes of $50,000 or more and 50.4 percent have one or more college degrees. By comparison, of those who have heavy exposure to radio, 45 percent have household incomes of more than $50,000 and 28.4 percent have at least one college degree. For newspapers, 45 percent have household incomes of $50,000 or more and 38.9 percent have one or more college degrees. Among heavy users of television, 32.4 percent have household incomes of $50,000 or more and 20.8 percent have one or more college degrees. For heavy users of direct mail (read ¾ of all direct mail received), 37.5 percent have household incomes of $50,000 or more and 26.2 percent have one or more college degrees.

The Internet heavy user group is also growing in numbers. In The Media Audit’s 85 markets they increased 9.4 percent from 2001 to 2002. The actual numbers were 29,547,000 in 2001 and 32,335,000 in 2002. “Usually,” says Jordan, “as a media audience grows, education and income levels trend down, but we see no sign of that with the heavy Internet users.”

Heavy Internet use varies among the 85 markets from 35 percent of adults in Ann Arbor to 17.8 percent of adults in Dayton.”

Top 25 Heavy Internet User Markets

The top 25 markets (of the 85 surveyed by TMA) in 2002 by percentage of heavy Internet users are: Ann Arbor, 35.0; Austin, 33.1; Washington, D.C., 33.0; Raleigh-Durham, 30.0; San Francisco, 30.0; Atlanta, 29.4; San Jose, 29.4; Boston, 28.3; Seattle-Tacoma, 28.1; Orlando, 28.0; Denver, 27.1; San Diego, 27.1; Norfolk-Virginia Beach, 26.8; Hartford, 26.7; Columbia-Jefferson City, 26.7; Allentown-Bethlehem, 26.6; Phoenix, 26.1; Colorado Springs, 25.9; Dallas-Ft Worth, 25.8; Des Moines, 25.8; West Palm Beach, 25.8; Jacksonville, 25.7; New Haven, 25.7; Baltimore, 25.5; Sacramento, 25.5.

The Media Audit, a syndicated media ratings service currently covering 85 markets, provides both quantitative and qualitative data for media web sites as well as for traditional media.
Traditional media – – print, broadcast and outdoor – have used The Media Audit data in sales,
marketing and management for more than 30 years. In 1998, the survey started providing data on
local media web sites. The surveys now contain more than 400 fields of qualitative information in
addition to quantitative measurements of local web audiences.