Between 30 and 49 per cent of the
population in provincial towns access the Internet on a daily basis in 30
provinces across the country, a survey found.

Students are some of the largest users of internet services. Between 30 and 49 per cent of the population in provincial towns access the internet daily in 30 provinces across the country. (Photo: VNS)

Survey findings
released yesterday, April 17, said the people go online to read news, google information,
send emails and listen to music just like their counterparts in the country’s
key cities, the survey noted.

Conducted by TKL
Media, a media subsidiary of Viet Nam’s leading advertising company Dat Viet VAC
Group Holdings, the survey interviewed high and middle-income people aged
between 23 and 45 in four parts of the country: the north, centre, south-east
and the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta.

Pollsters of project
Gamma, as the survey was called, presented interview questionnaires to 50
households in each province during last December and January. This is the first
project of its kind in the country, according to Nguyen Thi Truc Mai, managing
director of TKL.

The project aims to
compare media habits in provincial towns with those in key cities like Ha Noi,
Hai Phong, Da Nang, Nha Trang, HCM City and Can Tho.

Usually, statistics
were only available for the six key cities, not the smaller towns, she added.

The survey’s findings
testify to the increasing role of the Internet, which has become the second most
popular media in the country after television.

Television is still
the king of media in the provinces. Four in five respondents said they switch on
to TV channels everyday to follow news, serials and movies. Among the
broadcasters, Viet Nam Television (VTV) has biggest market shares in the north
and central regions of the country at 60 per cent and 51 per cent respectively.

HCM City Television (HTV)
and Vinh Long Television (VLTV) are most popular broadcasters in Southeast and
Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta respectively, accounting for 43 and 29 per cent of the
viewership in these regions.

Cable television
packages are gaining ground, the survey noted, especially in provinces
neighbouring HCM City. Almost half of the survey respondents said they watch
cable channels every day.

In northern
provinces, more than 50 per cent of the population subscribe to either cable or
digital TV.

Regarding the print
media, 54 per cent of respondents said they read newspapers everyday, while just
one-fifth listened to the radio.

Poor programmes were
blamed for the lack of interest in the radio.

The Gamma project was
carried out at a cost of VND600 million (US$29,000). TKL Media said they would
try to conduct the survey every two years to keep up with latest developments in
local media habits.

VietNamNet/Viet
Nam News