The department commissions research into Australians’ usage, attitudes, habits and expectations about the things we watch and the technology and devices we use to watch them. This includes through the Media Content Consumption Survey and the Television Consumer Survey.
The 2025 Television and Media Survey provides information on the screen and media content engagement practices, habits, and expectations of Australians.
The 2025 survey maintains core questions from previous survey iterations and adds a range of new questions to address the changing media environment. The survey explores:
A total of 4,396 Australian adults and 809 Australian children participated in the survey between 15 September and 13 October 2025. Given the inclusion of children in the 2025 survey, the survey received ethics approval from a Bellberry Limited Human Research Ethics Committee (approval number: 2025-07-1099).
Previous iterations of the Media Content Consumption Survey and the Television Consumer Survey are available on this page.
Some of the documents on this page may not meet current WCAG requirements. For accessible copies, email media.reform@communications.gov.au.
In 2024, the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts (department) commissioned the Television and Media Survey, which provides information on the screen and media content engagement practices, habits, and expectations of Australians. Given the inclusion of children in the 2024 survey, the survey received ethics approval from a Bellberry Limited Human Research Ethics Committee (approval number: 2024-09-1207).
In 2023, the department commissioned the Television and Media Survey, which combined questions from the Media Content Consumption Survey (run since 2020) and the Television Consumer Survey (run in 2022). Given the inclusion of children in the 2023 survey, the survey received ethics approval from a Bellberry Limited Human Research Ethics Committee (approval number: 2023-07-875).
The 2023 Television and Media Survey questionnaire instrument is also available.
The Media Content Consumption Survey provides information on the screen and media content viewing practices, habits, and expectations of Australians. Now in its third year, the trends observed highlight the changing nature of how Australians are consuming screen content.
The Television Consumer Survey collects intelligence on the attitudes, expectations, and behaviours of Australians in relation to accessing screen content via televisions and other devices (including on various platforms such as free-to-air, online subscription services, and on-demand television).
The 2021 survey was conducted by the Social Research Centre from 14 September to 5 October 2021, with 4,135 respondents.
The 2020 survey was conducted by the Social Research Centre from 14 September to 28 September 2020, with 4,096 respondents
We commissioned the below research reports to assess the technical capabilities of television (TV) devices in Australian homes and those available in the market. Together, these reports provide insights into the adoption of broadcast and internet-enabled technologies, consumer trends and demographic factors associated with technology capability.
We commissioned OzTAM to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the technical capability of TV sets in Australian homes, with a focus on broadcast standards (Digital Video Broadcasting – Terrestrial (DVB-T) and its second-generation counterpart (DVB-T2)), video compression techniques (Moving Pictures Experts Group (MPEG)-2, MPEG-4 and High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC)) and internet capability.
The assessment found that, at the household level in 2024, virtually all sets (99%) were capable of receiving DVB-T broadcasting using the MPEG-2 compression technique, and that the majority of sets were capable of receiving DVB-T broadcasts using the MPEG-4 compression technique (84.1%) and connecting the internet (83.4%). Over half of sets were capable of using the more advanced DVB-T2 standard (56.7%) and HEVC compression (53.1%).
The report found no significant correlation between location and set capability (those in regional areas were just as likely as those in metropolitan areas to have a TV with more advanced technical capability). There was a positive correlation between income and set capability (i.e. higher income households were more likely to have at least one set with more advanced technical capability), and a negative correlation between age and set capability (i.e. households with older members were less likely to have at least one set with more advanced technical capability).
View the Capability Assessment of Australia’s Television Fleet Report 2024.
We commissioned the Sapere Research Group to undertake a comprehensive analysis of the technical specifications of different models of TV sets and connected TVs available in the Australian marketplace, and current consumer trends in TV purchasing.
The report found that, as at July 2024, 9 out of 10 TV sets available for sale in Australia were smart TVs (capable of connecting to the internet and running a variety of app software). 77% of TV sets were capable of receiving Digital Video Broadcasting – Terrestrial (DVB-T) broadcasts using the Moving Pictures Experts Group (MPEG)-4 compression technique, 73% were capable of decoding broadcasts that use the High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) compression technique, and 63% were able to receive DVB-T2 broadcasts.
The report found that TVs purchased by Australians were more technically advanced, on average, than those available for sale. In the 12 months to July 2024: 99% of TVs were ‘smart’ TVs; 95% were capable of decoding MPEG-4 services; 88% were capable of receiving broadcasts using the DVB-T2 standard; and 93% were capable of decoding broadcasts using HEVC.
Certain demographic factors were found to be associated with the purchase of less capable TVs. For example, in terms of TV sets that were not DVB-T2 capable (as an example of a less technically capable set), these were more likely to be purchased by low-income consumers, those without a university degree, those located in remote and regional areas, and those over the age of 65 years.
