Online media: Expanding reach

With news and information now at our fingertips, it is understandable why media consumption habits of Filipinos have significantly changed. Mobile phones are the most common means of communication, even with connectivity still a challenge in many parts of the country.

Telecommunication companies have provided special data packages making it affordable for people to make calls, send messages, and go on social media or online. Since the pandemic in 2020, going online has been the alternative to reading newspapers, listening to radio, or even watching TV after restrictions to mobility were strictly imposed.

Of 116.5 million Filipinos in January 2023, 97% used their mobile phones to go online, with 72.48% active on social media, which has become the preferred source of news and information.

This change in habit pushed most legacy media owners to cross platforms and launch their own websites. These sites not only mirrored what was on print, TV, or radio, but enabled them to publish news stories in real time as it happens or immediately after an event or situation takes place.

With online presence, a media outlet’s audience reach is no longer confined to the domestic market, but through technology has expanded to the global market.

And while most media companies now have online presence, brand recall remains very strong among Filipinos and the sites that get the most traffic and rank highest are still the online versions of familiar publications, networks or stations.