Marketing communications company Core says that a surge in screen time during lockdown in Ireland means people are spending an average of two hours and 44 minutes each day watching live TV.

Core has produced a report showing that Level 5 restrictions have led to live viewership growing by 6% year-on-year since the highest level of restrictions were introduced, reversing the previous trend of declining viewership. 

The report shows that habits differ from generation to generation, with those aged 15 to 34 increasing viewing time by 9% year-on-year, mainly news and current affairs and new schedules for all broadcasters. Sport was also top of the list of programmes from 22 October to 3 November, with both of Ireland’s Six Nations games appearing on the charts, reinforcing the importance of sport for broadcasters.

Managing director Colm Sherwin said: “A media evolution has taken place in a few short months. During this period of pandemic-induced social isolation, it’s no surprise that people are consuming vast amounts of media. 

“Regardless of what type of content we are consuming, every generation is relying on their devices to inform and distract more than ever before, creating a huge opportunity for media companies to engage and captivate audiences.”

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Supporting local Irish businesses and shopping locally is a trend seen in search traffic and on social media. Social media advertising grew throughout October, and ad revenue growth beat all expectations for Q3 2020 for  Facebook, Google, and Amazon.

In radio, listenership stayed high but people were tending to migrate from local radio to national, news-based stations, which saw listenership grow by 2% year-on-year. ‘Morning Ireland’ remains Ireland’s most popular radio show, with significant growth in numbers reflecting a general migration toward news content during lockdown.