Use of mobile media devices in Latin America is rapidly rising, accounting for over 19 hours weekly – nearly one-third of total media time. The results come from the latest in a series of GfK single-source cross-media studies prepared for ESPN.

The new research also shows that, in Latin America as elsewhere, people tend to add media time to their days when more content becomes available to them. Despite the explosive rise of mobile usage in Mexico, for example, TV set time remained similar between 2012 and 2015 at over 20 hours per week. (See Chart 1.) Overall, Mexican consumers expanded their media time by over 16 hours per week, from roughly 41 hours in 2012 to over 57 in 2015.

Chart 1. Weekly Time Spent with Media (Mexico)
(see below)

GfK has conducted “All Day Every Day” studies for ESPN in the US since 2002, and in Latin America several times. The new study – covering over 9,000 respondents across five countries and six media platforms – is helping ESPN stay ahead of changes in media consumption in Latin America, and defines use of every ESPN property in each region. Countries included were Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Argentina, and Brazil.

“As broadband access and mobile device ownership grows in Latin America, we see media behavior there beginning to mirror trends in the United States,” said David Hobbie, Associate Director of International Research at ESPN. “We are discovering many of the same patterns in Mexico and Brazil that emerged a decade ago in the US – with consumers simply adding more media time to accommodate their growing passion for smartphones and tablets.  And we are glad to know, from a trusted source, that ESPN content is so valued across all platforms.”

The ability to measure cross-platform use via a single source also allows ESPN to estimate an unduplicated cume audiences and their distribution. For example, among the Brazilian ESPN audience, 69% watch ESPN on TV only; 22% watch ESPN on TV and use another ESPN platform; and 9% only consume ESPN on non-TV platforms.

Chart 2. ESPN Weekly Reach by Platform (Brazil)
(see below)

GfK’s David Tice (SVP, Media & Entertainment) and Hobbie discussed findings from the new study at the recent IIR Media Insights & Engagement conference.

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