Montréal, September 10, 2024. – How do people who consume TV shows and movies, music, books, or podcasts in Québec discover these products online? How and through what sources do people discover Québec content in French?
That’s what the Institut de la statistique du Québec’s Observatoire de la culture et des communications sought to learn in the Québec Survey on Cultural Product Discovery and Digital Technology. This survey of 2,750 people aged 15 and over has made it possible to compile the first statistical data on digital discovery methods in Québec.
Note: Given that the survey aimed to collect data on online cultural product discovery, these results are mainly focused on people who consume cultural products with a certain regularity and who use the Internet to discover them. This methodological approach enabled a more precise understanding of the digital discovery practices used by the relevant demographic (Internet-using audience). People who do not use the Internet to discover cultural products were filtered out (non-Internet users or non-audience members).
In summary:
- 87% of Quebecers watch TV shows or movies, and 59% watch TV shows or movies and use the Internet to discover them.
- 92% of Quebecers listen to music, and 61% listen to music and use the Internet to discover it.
- 58% of Quebecers read books, and 25% read books and use the Internet to discover them.
- 25% of Quebecers listen to podcasts, and 20% listen to podcasts and use the Internet to discover them.
Distribution of the population1 by cultural product consumption and use of Internet in discovering those products, Québec, 2023
Note
1. Population 15 years and over.
2. Audience comprised of people who consume cultural products at least monthly for TV shows, movies, music, and podcasts, and at least annually for books.
Source
Institut de la statistique du Québec, Québec Survey on Cultural Product Discovery and Digital Technology, 2023.
TV shows and movies
In 2023, 59% of Quebecers watched TV shows and movies at least a few times per month and used the Internet to discover them. Of those:
- 92% used on-demand media platforms, 77% asked those around them, and 76% watched trailers or clips to discover TV shows and movies.
- 44% used mainly French and 23% used French and English equally to discover TV shows and movies online.
Music
In 2023, 61% of Quebecers listened to music at least a few times per month and used the Internet to discover it. Of those:
- 81% did a keyword search on a search engine, 76% used an on-demand media platform, and 62% discovered music by asking those around them.
- 36% used mainly English, 26% used mainly French, and 34% used French and English equally to discover music online.
Books
In 2023, 25% of Quebecers read books at least a few times over the last year and used the Internet to discover them. Of those:
- 46% used on-demand media or sales platforms to discover e-books or audiobooks.
- 70% did a keyword search on a search engine, 66% asked those around them, and 64% went to physical locations like bookstores, stores or libraries to discover books.
Podcasts
In 2023, 20% of Quebecers listened to podcasts at least a few times per month and used the Internet to discover them. Of those:
- 67% used on-demand media platforms, 62% listened to clips, and 60% used social media to discover podcasts. Only 53% got podcast recommendations from those around them.
- 43% used mainly French and 24% used French and English equally when searching the Internet to discover podcasts..
Discovery methods vary by age
Unsurprisingly, 15- to 29-year-olds who consume cultural products and use the Internet as a discovery tool are more active than older demographics in looking for cultural content. They are more likely than older groups to use online discoverability features and to consult family, friends, and social media to discover cultural content. .
Moreover, younger demographics are more likely to use French and English equally to search for cultural products online. Older groups are proportionally more likely to search using only French.
Not all French-language Québec content is equally easy to find on foreign platforms
Except for podcasts, family, friend, and coworker recommendations prevail as the most likely way for people to discover French-language Québec cultural content online.
Québec TV shows and movies are the most difficult cultural products to find on foreign on-demand media platforms: 60% of people who consume cultural products and use the Internet to discover them reported difficulty in finding these contents on on-demand media platforms that are not from Québec, compared with 32% for music and 28% for books.
Read the full report (PDF, 3,55 Mo) (in French only)
Québec Survey on Cultural Product Discovery and Digital Technology
Consistent with Québec’s Digital Culture Plan and the goals of the France-Québec mission on discoverability, the Observatoire de la culture et des communications du Québec was mandated by Québec’s Ministère de la Culture et des Communications to conduct a survey.
The results of the survey will help the political and cultural spheres better understand how different Internet audiences seek out cultural content, identify ways to reach these audiences, and make Québec content easier to find by leveraging the digital technologies—particularly algorithms—that influence how cultural products are indexed, recommended, and highlighted.
For 25 years, the Institut de la statistique du Québec has been producing, analyzing, and disseminating official, objective and high-quality statistical information on various aspects of Québec society. It is responsible for conducting all statistical surveys of general interest. The relevance of its work makes it a strategic ally for decision makers and an essential source of information for all those wishing to learn more about Québec.