Over a Third of U.K. Online Viewers ‘Will Not Watch Broadcast TV in Five Years Time’

LONDON—Ofcom’s latest Media Nations report has found that 38% of viewers who watch content online say they “can’t imagine watching broadcast TV in five years time.”

The figure is among a number of key findings in the report, which looks at the state of U.K. TV viewing in 2019.

The report also found around half of U.K. homes now subscribe to a streaming service.

The number of viewers signed up to the most popular platforms—Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Now TV—increased from 11.2 million in 2018 to 13.3 million in 2019.

Ofcom also found that while traditional viewing still amounts for 69% of TV watching time, that figure is rapidly declining. U.K. viewers are currently watching on average 3 hours and 12 minutes of traditional TV a day, 11 minutes less than 2018 and 50 minutes less than in 2010.

Daily viewing of streaming services increased by seven minutes in 2018, to 26 minutes, while viewing of YouTube increased by six minutes, to 34 minutes. For the first time, young people now spend more than an hour on YouTube every day (64 minutes, up from 59 minutes).

Two in five U.K. adults now consider online video services to be their main way of watching TV and film.

The report is available to read on Ofcom’s website.

Jenny Priestley

Jenny has worked in the media throughout her career, joining TVBEurope as editor in 2017. She has also been an entertainment reporter, interviewing everyone from Kylie Minogue to Tom Hanks; as well as spending a number of years working in radio. She continues to appear on radio every week and occasionally pops up on TV.