Jakarta. A recent study has revealed that Indonesians are spending more than half of their digital time on the open internet, be it binge-watching their favorite shows or catching up with the latest news updates.

The open internet refers to news websites, online games, over-the-top (OTT) content, and music streaming platforms. As the name suggests, the open internet is free and open to all. 

Digital advertiser The Trade Desk and data analytics firm Kantar recently conducted industry research on the open internet. According to the report, there are over 190 million Indonesians on the open internet. The average Indonesian spends 283 hours on digital media in any given month, and more than half of those hours go to the open internet. 

“Our study shows that Indonesians spend 55 percent of that 283-hour digital time on the open internet,” Florencia Eka, the country manager of client services of Indonesia at the Trade Desk, told reporters in Jakarta on Wednesday.

Florencia added that the rest of the average Indonesian's digital time went to social media, user-generated content (UGC), and live game streaming.

Indonesia is also witnessing an increase in open internet usage.

“About seven in 10 Indonesians admit that they have used more open internet over the past year. OTT and CTV [connected TV] are leading this open internet usage growth. This should come as no surprise since Indonesians are really into Korean dramas, reality shows, etc.,” Florencia said.

Indonesian OTT users have jumped by 26 percent or about 17 million new OTT viewers, the report stated. 

The Trade Desk and Kantar report also shows that Indonesians are using more than half of their commuting time on the open internet.

The Trade Desk attributes this to the incredibly long commute time, which averages 71 minutes in Jakarta. News websites and blogs get the busiest during the morning commute hours. Activities on news, websites, and blogs exceed the average channels by 35 percent from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. or before lunch, according to the study.

People with their headphones on have become a common sight on public transportation. The study reported that music streaming accounted for 17 percent of the commuting time spent on the open internet, second to news websites and blogs (19 percent). Followed by OTT/CTV (12 percent) and online games (9 percent).

Online gaming, however, becomes the most popular activity on the open internet during the remaining work hours (1 p.m. to 7 p.m.).

Many Indonesians are tuning in to OTT contents from 7 p.m. to 12 a.m., during which people have most likely returned home.

“Half of the daily OTT viewing takes place during that time. They are probably watching OTT platforms with their loved ones such as friends and family members,” Florencia said. 

In this study, The Trade Desk and Kantar surveyed 1,000 Indonesians aged between 16 and 65 who have used at least two ad-supported media channels in the past three months. 

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