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EMARKETER, Publicis Media, GWI Release Global Media Intelligence Report 2025
Comprehensive annual report details how device usage and consumer media habits shifted this year across 7 regions and 50 markets
October 31, 2025 (New York, NY) – EMARKETER, Publicis Media, and GWI today released their Global Media Intelligence Report 2025, a robust annual guide detailing media and device usage in 50 markets.
Each of the seven regions’ media habits and behaviors is analyzed by the following metrics: device ownership, smartphone and tablet owners, smart TV owners, average time spent with media, traditional media users, TV viewers, video-on-demand (VOD) viewers, social media/messaging users, digital audio listeners, and voice assistant/search users. New metrics this year include time spent with short video and mobile gaming, and perceptions about artificial intelligence (AI).
“Brands and agencies tell us they use the GMI collection of reports to help develop media strategies and allocate budgets for campaigns,” said EMARKETER principal analyst Paul Briggs. “The insights covered enable media buyers to align their channel mix to regional media habits and shift spending to growth formats in mobile-first markets.”
“For the first time this year, we’ve asked consumers about AI, and the results aren’t necessarily what you’d expect. Enthusiasm for artificial intelligence doesn’t follow the traditional lines of wealth or connectivity, but rather an openness to emerging technologies. Markets like Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa stand out for their excitement and curiosity, even as they lag wealthier nations in digital maturity. What we’re seeing is that younger populations are driving a mindset shift: optimism, experimentation, and a readiness to adopt new tools are outpacing infrastructure itself. It’s a clear signal that technology adoption today is less about what people have access to, and more about how they feel about what’s next. For brands, understanding where this openness exists is key to identifying where the real opportunities lie,” said Jason Mander, Chief Insight Officer at GWI.
“The global media landscape is at a crucial moment in its evolution, as consumer habits continue to shift and new technologies emerge – and we see the rate of change and adoption varying in fascinating ways across regions and markets,” said Eddie Parker, Executive Vice President, Head of Growth Planning, Publicis Media-Starcom. “Our teams rely on the Global Media Intelligence Report to shape client media strategies by market and ensure that our ads are delivered to consumers in the right environments where the message will resonate. This year’s edition reinforces just how dramatically consumer habits have shifted all over the globe, and sheds light on the impact that AI and other new technologies are having across regions. Truly understanding what matters to people, why they are making choices, and how media platforms can unlock opportunities to inform, entertain, or provide utility will help set brands apart and drive positive business outcomes for our clients.”
Key findings this year include:
- Streaming Has Surpassed Live TV in Every Region
- Digital viewing is now the dominant format across regions, but broadcast TV is still strong in a handful of markets
- Short-Form Video Dominates in Mobile-First Markets
- Brazil, the Philippines, and South Africa set the pace, far exceeding the global weekly average of 6 hours, 45 minutes with the format
- Audio Consumption Is Highly Fragmented
- Radio, music streaming, and podcasts all capture significant listening time, although in some markets, radio time has diminished significantly. The US leads all countries in more than 15 weekly hours of listening time across formats
- The Creator Economy Operates Differently Across Regions
- Asia markets and Middle East countries tend to lean in to fan-funded ecosystems, while Western countries view it as ad-supported entertainment
- AI Enthusiasm Is Aligned with Younger Age Medians
- Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa show the strongest excitement—despite lagging digital maturity—while aging, wealthy nations in Western Europe and North America are more cautious
- Audiences increasingly stack formats rather than abandon old ones
- To reach full coverage, advertisers need blended strategies across streaming, broadcast, audio, and short video
Methodology: GWI surveys internet users ages 16 to 64 (ages 16+ in select markets) in more than 49 markets on a range of questions about their digital lives and lifestyles. The minimum sample size per quarter, per market is 1,250; bigger markets have larger quarterly sample sizes, with the maximum being 25,000 in China and the US. The final data set is weighted to interlocking age, gender, and education quotas which reflect the internet population in each country.
About EMARKETER: EMARKETER is the go-to forecasts, data and insights provider across the marketing, advertising, and ecommerce fields. We empower companies to make informed decisions that maximize revenue, optimize spend and anticipate digital disruption by providing actionable forecasts and context from expert analysts, carefully vetted data sources and our proprietary research methodology. Emarketer is a division of Axel Springer S.E.
About Publicis Media: Publicis Media harnesses the power of modern media through global agency brands Publicis Collective, Publicis Health Media, Spark Foundry, Starcom and Zenith, as well as global accelerator PMX and integrated platform-based technologies including CJ, CitrusAd, Epsilon and Profitero. A key business solution of Publicis Groupe ([Euronext Paris FR0000130577, CAC 40]), Publicis Media’s digital-first, data-driven global solutions deliver client value and drive growth in a platform-powered world. It is present in over 100 countries with over 23,000 employees worldwide.
About GWI: GWI is a global insights company that provides real data from real people to help businesses make winning decisions with speed and certainty. Available on-demand, with survey data representing the views, behaviors and interests of 3 billion people across 50+ countries, GWI is the go-to for sales teams, marketers, advertisers, researchers and decision-makers in customer-centric companies. With more and more decision-makers looking to AI for answers, GWI acts as the human layer of insight needed to ensure every strategy is grounded in truth.
For EMARKETER: Douglas Clark, dclark@emarketer.com
For GWI: Dani McCarthy, dmccarthy@gwi.com
For Starcom-Publicis Media: Olamide Aruwajoye, olamide.aruwajoye@publicismedia.com
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