Patterns of Media Use in Europe: Identifying Country Clusters

Abstract

The study sought understanding of the range of media environments within which current European television systems operate. The data included 20 media indicators and characteristics from 16 television systems in Western Europe originally gathered by the Group of European Audience Researchers (GEAR) in 1985. Indicators included TV reach, newspaper penetration, VCR penetration, daily radio listening, population size and the like. Three country clusters were identified utilizing Q factor analysis. Factor I was composed of Finland, Norway, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, Sweden, Ireland and Portugal — the least populated countries of Europe. Factor II clustered the large and dominant countries, including United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, France and Spain. Factor III clustered Dutch-speaking Belgium, French-speaking Belgium and the Netherlands. The differences between the country factors were analysed by examining the media indicators and population characteristics for each group.