Are Mobile Apps Responsible for the Reducing Popularity of Television?

The use of mobile applications has increased like never before largely because of the rise in production of mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. In a busy and competitive world of today’s, working on the go is no longer a luxury for most enterprise workforce; it is rather a compulsion for employees to stay connected with the senior management and target audience while on the go. Mobile application usage had long surpassed desktop web browsing, but the fact that these software tools are also posing a challenge to the most popular form of media, the television, has come across as a surprise to market researchers.

According to figures generated from a survey concluded in the recent past, people spend 127 minutes a day using the applications running in their mobile devices. A similar study conducted in the year 2011 showed that the audience used to spend only 94 minutes per day behind their mobile apps. There has been a steep rise in the usage percentage, with close to 35 percent more time devoted behind mobile applications in the span of just one year. In comparison, the television audience has reduced the total time spent for watching TV. Though television continues to lead with people spending almost 168 minutes for watching programs telecast here, the popularity of this form of media has diminished in the span of just two years. On the other hand, browsing websites on a desktop or laptop also takes up only 70 minutes of a person’s total time during the day; this is 2.4 percent less as compared to 72 minutes in 2011. The figures are proof of the fact that mobile apps are the most used tools when compared with browsing mediums such as desktops and laptops; they are also rapidly getting more popular than television.

The reason why smartphones and tablets are gradually replacing the television in the lives of the average audience is because most programs telecast on TV can also be watched on the larger screens of the modern mobile devices by using the facility of video streaming. Gone are the days when a sports lover has to sit in front of his/her TV set to enjoy a live cricket match. In spite of being out on rounds to meet up with clients or remaining unwontedly blocked in an underground subway, it is now possible to watch a live match with the assistance of internet facilities on your portable device. Therefore, mobile applications are gradually establishing themselves as dominant channels for media consumption, replacing television that was the earlier favorite medium.

In the words of eminent mobile market analysts, wherever there is growth, there is a mobile application. It is now difficult to find a larger user base in any other form of media, say the researchers. In fact, if predictions are to be believed, mobile apps will topple the position enjoyed by the TV set and will be our most favored software tool. Contrary to the belief that the market for mobile apps is slowly saturating and developers are running out of ideas for designing new forms of software, mobile technology still has a long way to go before its popularity can diminish. Though it is challenging to win the attention of potential mobile customers with new forms of technology, entrepreneurs are prepared to invest in releasing more app ideas.