10 / Myanmar's media from an audience perspective
TV triumphs
Television is clearly one of the most popular
mediums in Myanmar. More than half of
the people who participated in the study
watch television every day. Women in particular seem to be favoring television over
other mediums with 6 out of 10 watching
television every day. The internet and radio
come in second and third place with a
little over a third using the internet and
little below a third of the participants using
radio every day. However, there are big
variances depending on the age of the user.
Whereas the younger participants favor the
internet (about 6 out of 10 between the ages of
16 and 34 use the internet everyday), the older
generations favor the radio (4 out of 10 above
44 years old listen to radio daily).
As in many other countries, the use of newspapers is
low compared to other media. Newspapers
in Myanmar have reported drops in print
circulations over the last couple of years
and the findings from the audience study
ref lect this trend. Less than 2 out of 10
participants stated that they read a printed
newspaper every day – and almost half of the
participants say that they “rarely” or
“never” read printed newspapers. Men,
particularly those between the ages of 45
and 55, seem to consume print news to a
higher degree than others. But on an overall
level, printed newspapers are not a heavily
consumed medium.
“I used to read newspapers and
watch television, but I cannot read
anymore as I have some problems
with my eyes. [...] Radio is the
main source to get information or
news for me. [...] I ask my friends
to confirm the news to see
whether the things I have heard
on the radio has also been
broadcasted on the television.”
(50-year-old woman from urban Mandalay)
“I prefer to watch news on
television because I have to give
time to read a printed
newspaper. I can watch news on
television and work at the same
time. So, I prefer to watch news on
television.”
(41-year-old man from urban Kachin)
Interestingly, when looking at preferred news sources, the image somewhat changes. People’s
media repertoires slightly change when it comes to seeking out news and information.
While television continues to be an all-time favorite, radio comes in a clear second place
followed by social media (third place), the internet (fourth place), friends and relatives
(fifth place), printed newspapers (sixth place) and online newspapers (seventh place).
However, for many participants other past times are often preferred to news watching, as a 28-year-old
woman from rural Rakhine explains: “I can only watch TV at 7 pm when the power [electricity] is
available, but mostly we watch movies at that time from DVD too. So, the news watching time
is not that much.”