Television and newspapers

Television began in most of the selected countries in the decade or so after World War II, but although in many ways it is now a mature industry, the penetration of television sets continues to rise inexorably. Between 1970 and 2000 the number of television sets per 1000 people more than doubled across the 18 countries. In all except Italy and Ireland, there is at least one set for every two people.

If present trends continue, there will be more television sets than people in America before the year 2020. Australia ranked third in Table 13.1, despite the relatively high cost of purchasing a television there (Table 16.23). According to figures from the ratings company A. C. Nielsen, around 60% of Australian metropolitan households have two or more television sets, even though just over 20% comprise a single person. The increasing number of televisions seems mainly a matter of convenience because although good comparative data is lacking, it appears that the average amount of television viewing is not increasing.

While the upward trend towards purchasing more television sets is all but universal among these countries, newspaper circulation rates show much more variation, but the dominant trend is down. Fourteen of the 18 countries had lower penetration rates in 2000 than in 1970.

By far the most commonly cited source for comparisons of daily newspaper circulation is the UNESCO Statistical Yearbook, whose final edition appeared in 1999.