Page 60 - myanmar

SPOTLIGHT ON
MEDIA CONSUMPTION
Myanmar is largely bypassing fixed- line telephony, desktop computing and basic mobile phones. Private internet connections are prohibitively expensive, with installation fees of up to $500, so many people’s first phone of any kind is a smartphone, and this is also their first tool for going online.
The national census tracked mobile phone penetration at 39 per cent during 2014 fieldwork, but that figure is already at 74 per cent due to the mobile revolution of the past year. There are now three mobile networks vying for custom – the Qatar-backed Ooredoo and Norwegian-backed Telenor now compete with MPT, and deregulation has brought the cost
of a SIM card down from $2,000 on the black market to just $1.50 by legitimate means.
But what mobile connectivity gives the people of Myanmar is less about calling and texting each other and more about social media, specifically, Facebook. The number of Facebook users is estimated to be between
6.4 million and 7 million, which means just about everyone with a smartphone is on Facebook.
When President Thein Sein conceded that the National League for Democracy had been victorious in the November 2015 election, he made the announcement via Facebook. Consider that until late 2011, Facebook was not officially available in Myanmar and this is quite remarkable.
For those with access, the mobile internet and social networking is becoming their primary source of news. Facebook is used as a search engine in Myanmar, and many businesses have a Facebook page but not a regular web site.
In fact, Social Bakers says the three most popular Facebook pages in Myanmar are media outlets, led by 7Day News Journal, which has more than 5 million fans – up from a little over 3 million just six months ago.
It is telling that the three biggest brands on Facebook are mobile phone network providers – Telenor Myanmar, MPT and Ooredoo Myanmar are ranked first, second and third based on their number of fans.
Watching TV is the number one way to spend free time in Myanmar Top 3 ways to spend free time (%)
Media Habits
Hobbies
Social Activities
34 Reading 25 Listening to Music
25 Sleeping
14 Attending Religious Activites
13 Shopping
64 Watching TV/Movies
16 Spending time with parents
14 Spending time with boy/girl friend / spouse 14 Attending Religious Activites
Perspective: Interestingly, across Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar some of the most popular free time activities are “doing nothing” and sleeping. In Cambodia, “resting” (17%) is one of the most popular activities, while in Vietnam “not doing anything” (30%) is the third most popular activity after watching TV and spending time with siblings. There appears to be a stark shortage in relevant/ affordable entertainment options across all three countries.
Source: TNS Consumer Overview Report
Access to communication devices
Computer
3.5%
Mobile phone
74%
Landline phone
4.8%
Internet at home
6.2%
Radio
35.5%
Television
49.5%
% with all of the items
0.5%
% with none of the items
30.3%
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Source: Census and Telenor