Media Viewing Time Turns to a Decrease: 'Taipa' Orientation and AI Diffusion Accelerate Changes in Consumer Behavior, per BCG Survey

Management consulting firm Boston Consulting Group (hereinafter BCG) has announced the results of its '2025 Media Consumer Behavior Survey,' conducted among 3,717 media users aged 15 to 69 across Japan. Following the surveys in 2022, 2023, and 2024, this study aims to observe changes in individual content contact time and service usage, focusing on TV, OTT (Over-The-Top, internet-based content delivery services), and SNS.

Total viewing time turns to a decrease, with the decline in TV viewing time continuing unabated

From the start of the survey until the previous fiscal year, the total daily media viewing time (the sum of TV, SVOD [Subscription Video On Demand], AVOD [Advertising Video On Demand], and SNS) had remained stable at about 4.5 hours. However, in the latest survey, it decreased to 4.1 hours from 4.4 hours in FY2024 (Figure 1).

This background is believed to be due to the establishment of behavior emphasizing 'time performance' (taipa) among consumers, as well as changes in information acquisition routes accompanying the spread of generative AI. The desire to efficiently obtain information and entertainment within a limited time has strengthened, shifting from traditional passive media contact to more selective and active content consumption. Looking at the breakdown by media, TV viewing time decreased from 1.9 hours in FY2022 to 1.5 hours in this survey, a trend seen not only among younger generations but across all age groups.

Reasons for using SVOD and AVOD also clearly show a 'taipa' orientation, with elements such as 'viewing in spare moments' and 'double-speed playback' cited as important factors for efficient consumption (Figure 2). This trend also affects the length, structure, and delivery format of content, which is expected to bring changes to the future of content production and distribution.

Viewership proportions for dramas and news drop significantly

By genre, the viewership proportions of dramas and news—areas traditionally considered TV's strength and optimal for 'real-time viewing'—have seen particularly significant drops. It can be said that not only has the viewing destination shifted from TV to SVOD and others, but the overall number of viewers for dramas and news has also decreased (Figure 3).

In the sports field, there is a global excessive competition for broadcast rights, and there has been a pre-existing trend of viewing routes shifting from TV to SVOD and AVOD. The move away from TV for major content is progressing, as highlighted by the exclusive streaming of the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) on an SVOD service becoming a hot topic. Regarding access to sports content, discussions from the perspective of universal access rights (a system introduced mainly in Europe to ensure citizens can widely watch matches of high interest) are also increasing in importance.

Furthermore, regarding news reporting, which is one of TV's social roles, trust in TV news has not recovered since it declined last year and remains at a low level.

AI diffusion expands the trend of actively acquiring information according to purpose

Meanwhile, consumers' information acquisition behavior is changing. In addition to traditional search engines and news sites, acquiring information through generative AI is becoming widespread. Especially among the youth, there is a growing trend to use AI for research and information organization. Consumers who use AI tend to have longer SNS, SVOD, and AVOD viewing times and shorter TV viewing times, actively selecting information sources according to their purposes. Currently, generative AI is often used in a chat format as an alternative to search, and it is considered to have a high affinity with consumers who actively collect information (Figure 4).

Smartphones remain the central device, while paper media remains steady

Looking at usage by device, smartphones remain central, while in areas such as books, magazines, and newspapers, there is a tendency to prefer paper media, with usage rates remaining steady (Figure 5). Even as digitalization progresses, the value of paper media is maintained depending on the characteristics of the content and the usage scenes, indicating that media consumption is not a uniform digital shift but rather a differentiated use according to purpose.

Ayaka Kurokawa, a partner at BCG's Tokyo office who was in charge of this survey, commented as follows: 'This survey revealed that in addition to media contact time turning to a decrease, consumers' behavior is becoming more active and selective due to the entrenchment of "taipa" orientation and the expansion of AI utilization. For media companies, in addition to ensuring reliability, how to deliver valuable content within a limited time, and how to establish a position within a new information distribution structure that includes AI, have become critical challenges. Without being bound by traditional premises, they are required to rebuild strategies in line with changes in consumer behavior.'