Broadcast Media Usage Survey Released by the Broadcasting, Media and Communications Committee
TV Usage Increases Across All Age Groups Except Those in Their 30s
OTT Usage via Smartphones Drops by 7.6 Percentage Points
Eight out of ten people in Korea are using online video services (OTT), and recently, the proportion of people watching OTT via TV has been increasing.
According to the "2025 Broadcast Media Usage Survey" announced by the Broadcasting, Media, and Communications Committee on the 30th, the proportion of OTT viewing via TV has increased this year. ChatGPT image creation
The Broadcasting, Media and Communications Committee and the Korea Information and Communication Promotion Association announced the results of the "2025 Broadcast Media Usage Behavior Survey" on the 30th. This survey, conducted annually since 2000, targeted 8,320 men and women aged 13 and older from 5,566 households, sampled from 17 metropolitan cities and provinces nationwide.
The most notable trend this year is that smartphone usage rates have plateaued, while TV usage rates have seen a slight increase. The rate of using smartphones at least five days a week was 92.0%, similar to last year’s 92.2%, whereas TV usage rose to 70.9%, up 1.8 percentage points from 69.1% the previous year.
TV usage increased across all age groups except those in their 30s, and more than 80% of people aged 50 and above reported using TV at least five days a week.
The perception of essential media in daily life showed that smartphones were considered essential by 74.9% of respondents, a decrease of 0.4 percentage points from last year’s 75.3%, while TV was considered essential by 23.0%, an increase of 0.4 percentage points from last year’s 22.6%.
In particular, the proportion of people recognizing TV as an essential medium during disasters or emergencies was high. TV broadcasts were the most trusted medium in disaster situations (59.1%), followed by portals and newspapers (17.1%), messenger services (7.7%), and government or local government websites (5.3%).
The average daily TV viewing time among all users was 2 hours and 28 minutes, an increase of 1 minute compared to the previous year, while smartphone usage time was 2 hours and 5 minutes, a decrease of 1 minute. For single-person households, average daily TV viewing time was 2 hours and 23 minutes, up 8 minutes from the previous year, and smartphone usage time was 2 hours and 10 minutes, down 17 minutes.
Notably, OTT usage via smartphones decreased by 7.6 percentage points from 91.2% last year to 83.6% this year, while OTT usage via TV increased by 12.6 percentage points from 23.8% to 36.4%.
This shift in OTT usage patterns appears to have influenced both TV and smartphone usage times.
The overall OTT usage rate continues to rise, reaching 81.8%, and the rate of paid OTT usage has also increased significantly to 65.5%. The continued increase in OTT usage is evident not only among those in their teens to 30s but also among those in their 40s and older, with a particularly sharp rise among people in their 40s (98%) this year.
Subscription rates for paid broadcasting services are on the decline, partly due to increased OTT usage. In particular, the digital cable subscription rate fell by 1.3 percentage points from the previous year to 32.8%.
While the usage rate of online audio content such as music streaming, podcasts, and audiobooks had been decreasing, this year it rose by 1.7 percentage points to 20.1% compared to the previous year. The main reason is the increase in music streaming usage, attributed to the global spread of K-content, which has led to greater use of music streaming services.
This survey report can be accessed through the Broadcasting, Media and Communications Committee website and other channels.
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