MAKATI CITY, Philippines ? There is now an evident decline in traditional television viewing and print readership among Filipinos, a survey done byYahoo! Philippines and research firm Nielsen showed.

The survey also revealed that more Filipinos, especially the younger population, are favoring the Internet more than television and print.

The Yahoo!-Nielsen Net Index survey was conducted from October to November 2008.

It showed a slight decline in TV viewership from 98 percent in 2007 to 92 percent in 2008, out of 1,200 people sampled.

Readership of newspapers also showed a decline from 19 to 15 percent between 2007 and 2008.

Magazine readership also went down from 16 percent in 2007 to just seven percent in 2008.

Meanwhile, Internet usage increased from 23 percent in 2007 to 28 percent in 2008.

Overall, 28 percent of the 1,200 people surveyed have used the Internet for various purposes, mostly for email, instant messaging and search.

Another 51 percent of those surveyed used social networking sites. One out of three users also has blogs.

Nielsen Executive Director Jay Bautista said the decline in TV viewing is largely due to the changing viewing habits of Filipinos who are now watching their favorite shows on home video.

"It's not that they're not watching TV anymore but they're watching TV in a different way," he said.

Meanwhile, there is ?little to no new markets? that are being tapped by print publications, whether newspapers or magazines, which is causing the decline in print readership, Bautista said.

He said the availability and accessibility of information from the Internet is also drawing markets away from print publications.

"The current reading market is aging and youths are not picking up the habit," Bautista said.

Bautista said the changing consumer landscape is challenging media organizations to adapt.

With relevant content still found in traditional forms of media, these can be migrated online for new online consumers, he added.

On the other hand, Bautista said majority of Filipinos are not yet online, thus giving media organizations enough market to provide their core offerings.

"But as early as now the media landscape is fast changing and some are broadening their horizons, adapting to the Internet," Bautista said.

Yahoo!, on the other hand, sees the results of the survey as a way to convince advertisers to widen their marketing strategies to an online platform.

The company has already moved towards direct marketing of its online advertising services from a reseller model.

Yahoo! Philippines General Manager Jojo Anonuevo said the survey addresses the "marketing confidence gap," where advertisers are still trying to catch up with consumer behavior.

Anonuevo said advertisers would have to know more about the behavior of users to come up with better marketing strategies for new media, which continues to grow exponentially.

"As the increase in consumer demand from the Internet increases, it will bode well for online advertisers," Anonuevo said.