The research, conducted in June this year by Australia’s telecommunications regulator, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), found that more than half (55%) of Australian adults reported accessing an online subscription service such as Netflix or Stan in the previous week, up from 49% in 2019.

In the same period, more than a third (36%) had viewed content through a catch-up TV service, up from 28% in 2019 - with ABC iview remaining the most popular catch-up TV service.

The research report - Trends in viewing and listening behaviour - also found that almost nine in ten (89%) of Australian adults who use the Internet watched video content online in the last six months to June 2020, with Netflix, YouTube and Facebook the most common services used to stream or download video content.

And of those who watched online video content, 40% reported just starting or increasing their viewing since the COVID-19 restrictions in March 2020.

The ACMA research also shows that more than three-quarters (77%) of online Australian adults had a subscription and/or pay-per-view service at home, up from 70% in 2019 - while Netflix was the service with the most subscribers, followed by Foxtel and Stan.

Consumption of online audio content was up as well, with 63% of Australian adults listening to a music streaming service in the previous week - up from 48% in 2019 - with one in five (20%) listening to a podcast in the previous week.