The latest report from NZ On Air shows that Kiwi audiences continue their steady migration online, with Netflix now attracting more people than free-to-air TV channels Three and TVNZ 2.

The report, released every two years, surveyed a representative sample of 1414 New Zealanders to gain an understanding of what media Kiwis engage with on a typical day.

This time we saw a continuation of the trends taking shape when NZ On Air last released its results in 2016.

With a reach of 67 per cent, broadcast TV remains the media channel reaching the most people on a daily basis. However, based on the trend showing a decline from 83 per cent in 2014, this could well be the last time TV retains the spot on the top of the pile.

This downward trend has also hit live New Zealand radio, which slid from a daily reach of 67 percent in 2014 to 55 per cent in the latest figures. It is, however, worth viewing these figures in light of the GFK survey results, which in July showed that 86 percent of New Zealanders continue to tune into radio on a weekly basis. There is also a positive to be seen in the fact that online radio listening (through services such as iHeart Radio) rose from six per cent in 2014 to 9 per cent in the latest rundown.

Countering the declines in live television and radio consumption, the report shows growth for the digital channels: online video, which includes YouTube and Facebook, has risen from 30 to 45 per cent between 2014 and 2018; music streaming via channels such as YouTube and Spotify has risen from 23 to 39 percent; and SVOD viewing (subscription video on demand services such as Netflix and Lightbox) has gone from 17 to 28 per cent.

When it came to individual channels, TVNZ 1, somewhat surprisingly, bucked the downward trend, growing its daily reach from 40 per cent in 2016 to 43 per cent in the latest figures (this is, however, down on the 48 per cent in 2014).

This saw the free-to-air channel stay narrowly ahead of YouTube, which came in at second place at 42 per cent. Further back was Facebook on 32 per cent, Netflix on 27 per cent, MediaWorks-owned Three on 25 per cent and TVNZ 2 on 20 per cent.

This, in turn, means that Netflix is now bigger than two of New Zealand's major free-to-air channels – providing a strong indication of how much New Zealand's viewership habits are changing.

Earlier this year, MediaWorks chief executive Michael Anderson noted in a letter to a ministerial advisory group that his company might have to pull out of television in the future due to the continued challenges of operating in the local market.

While Anderson subsequently assured staff that there were no immediate plans to pull out of television, the latest NZ On Air figures show how challenging the environment is for MediaWorks, which not only has to compete with a state-backed competitor but also with the bottomless money pit that is Netflix.

Read the full story on nzherald.co.nz HERE