This is how media penetration in Spain has evolved

The latest data from the General Media Research (EGM) conducted by the Association for Media Research (AIMC), presented this past April 18, allow to see how the penetration of the different media in Spain has evolved during the last two decades.

Television is still the media most used by Spaniards. It currently has a penetration of 85.3% among the population over 14 years. It is five points less than 15 years ago (in 2003 its penetration was 90.7%).

The media format that has gained most ground with difference during this period is the internet, which continues to increase its penetration year after year. Currently it is located in 76% of people who connect every day.

Newspapers maintain their downward trend. If in 2008 42.1% of Spaniards read a newspaper, today that percentage has been reduced to 24.2%. In the case of press supplements, the fall is even more pronounced: it has gone from 32.4% penetration in 1997 to 8.3% in 2018.

Magazines also lose readers in Spain. They have dropped just over 20 percentage points in just a decade. In 2008, the penetration of the magazines was 52.3%; today it is 31.9%.

The history of the radio is different: it was gaining ground until 2012, when it stood at 61.9% penetration, and since then it has been giving some ground, but little, ranking this year at 59%.

The following graphs show in detail the penetration of each media in 2018 and its evolution during the last two decades:

The EGM applies the following scales for each media:

  • Newspapers: readers / day
  • Supplements: readers / week
  • Magazines: readers / publication period
  • Radio: listeners / day
  • Television: spectators / day
  • Exterior: supports seen / week
  • Cinema: spectators / week
  • Internet: users / day