Half of Canadians Watch TV on PC

Canadians are moving from simple email exchanges or instant messaging programs to richer Web applications like online video.

Online TV is another growth area with more and more Canadians watching TV from a computer, whether it's streaming or downloaded content.

Survey results commissioned by Rogers Cable Communications Inc. show that Canadians are embracing the power of the Internet, spending more time using the Internet for day-to-day tasks like paying bills and entertainment.

"Canadians are well-known as early adopters of new technologies and have taken to the Internet in record numbers and what's interesting to see in this survey, is that Canadians are using the Internet for the functional benefits as well as the fun stuff," says Max Valiquette, digital culture expert and professional researcher. "Activities like paying bills and sharing photos are things we used to do off-line, however these two activities saw the greatest growth in terms of online participation over the past year, showing that Canadians are using the Internet to their benefit."

The Internet has become the easiest way to communicate with a network of friends, family and acquaintances and the way that Canadians communicate online has also begun to change.

The survey revealed that Canadians are spending more time shopping, paying bills and watching videos or TV shows online compared to last year and many want to do even more. Of the Canadians surveyed, most are interested in exploring the Internet's potential with future technologies that could become a reality in the next eight to 12 months:

Activity % of Canadians
Watching live TV on a computer 50
Making video phone calls from a computer 49
Making and sharing videos with friends and family 46
Downloading and reading books online 39
High quality videoconferencing by webcam 34

How Canadians Spend their Time Online:
The average Canadian spends up to 17 hours per week online. Interestingly, this increases to 18 hours per week for Canadians who are very satisfied with the Internet experience and decreases to 15 per week for those who are only somewhat satisfied.

Below is a snapshot of where Canadians spend their time online now compared to one year ago:
Activity % of Canadians
1 year ago Today
Communicating with friends and family (i.e. Facebook, MySpace)
85 89
Shopping online
62 65
Pay bills
59 65
Download and listen to music
43 44
Upload, manage and share photos
39 47
Play online games
38 38
Stream videos, music, shows
24 31
Download TV shows, movies, games
16 20

The Findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of Rogers from April 3 to April 7, 2008.

This online survey of 1,030 adult Canadians with at least one bank account was conducted via the Ipsos I-Say Online Panel, Ipsos Reid's national online panel.

The results are based on a sample where quota sampling and weighting are employed to balance demographics and ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to Census data. Quota samples with weighting from the Ipsos online panel provide results that are intended to approximate a probability sample. An unweighted probability sample of this size, with a 100% response rate, would have an estimated margin of error of +/- 3 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

Rogers Cable is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rogers Communications Inc.

© 2008 Business Information Group.