UK traditional TV viewing sees record decline, Ofcom report says

Traditional TV viewing successful the UK has seen its sharpest ever diminution implicit the past year, according to Ofcom.

The broadcasting watchdog's yearly study into viewing and listening habits showed the proportionality of radical who tune successful each week was down from 83% successful 2021 to 79% successful 2022.

Media Nations 2023, released connected Thursday, suggested older audiences are besides switching disconnected astatine the fastest rate.

BBC One continues to person the highest play scope of each TV channels (58%).

A BBC spokesperson said: "While semipermanent trends amusement accepted viewing and listening forms are declining implicit time, we are seeing grounds maturation for our integer services with BBC iPlayer streams up 11% connected past year, and BBC Sounds plays up 50% from the aforesaid play past year.

"So, portion the mode audiences are consuming contented is changing the BBC is starring the effect to this, making america good placed for the future."

But BBC One's fig is inactive 12 per cent little than successful 2017, arsenic much radical permission the telly turned disconnected successful favour of streaming shows online connected other, much modern devices similar laptops, tablets and astute phones.

A akin decline, the study showed, is evident successful the mean clip that viewers walk watching TV each day, down by 12 per cent from 2 hours 59 minutes successful 2021, to 2 hours 38 minutes successful 2022.

And for the archetypal time, determination appears to beryllium a "significant decline", it noted, successful the mean regular broadcast TV viewing among "core" older audiences (aged 65 years aged oregon more).

Older viewers whitethorn present beryllium much apt to instrumentality up streaming services alongside broadcast TV. Ofcom information suggests that the proportionality of online over-64s utilizing Disney+ accrued from 7% successful aboriginal 2022 to 12% successful aboriginal 2023 though the figures for Netflix (43%) and Amazon Prime Video (37%) were unchangeable compared with 2022.

The wide representation is that take-up of specified services appears to beryllium plateauing though the usage of video-on-demand services provided by accepted broadcasters continues to grow. ITVX accounted for 10% of ITV's full viewing successful the archetypal fractional of 2023, up from 7% crossed 2022. BBC iPlayer roseate from 14% of the BBC's full viewing to 18% during the aforesaid clip period.

At the different extremity of the property spectrum, children and young adults' mean regular broadcast viewing has fallen by a significant, if not surprising, 73% since 2012.

Teens and young adults spent an hr a time connected the societal media level TikTok, consuming "snackable" short-form content.

Ofcom said the UK's media fare was present much "diverse and fragmented than ever".

One of its directors of research, Yih-Choung Teh, stressed today's audiences person "an 'all-you-can-eat' buffet of broadcasting and online contented to take from", adding that "there's much contention for our attraction than ever".

"Our accepted broadcasters are seeing steep declines successful viewing to their scheduled, unrecorded programmes - including among typically loyal older audiences - and soaps and quality programmes don't person the mass-audience pulling powerfulness they erstwhile had," helium said.

"But contempt this, nationalist work broadcasters are inactive unrivalled successful bringing the federation unneurotic astatine important taste and sporting moments, portion their on-demand players are seeing affirmative maturation arsenic they digitalise their services to conscionable assemblage needs."

Also notable successful the study is the information that the fig of TV programmes pulling successful 4 cardinal viewers oregon much has halved since 2014.

That said, nationalist work broadcasters - specified arsenic the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 - inactive dominated the most-watched lists owed to their sum of "valued nationalist TV moments".

Most watched programmes of 2022

It was besides a pugnacious twelvemonth financially for the broadcast industry. For channels which trust chiefly connected income from advertising, the downturn successful the UK system successful the 2nd fractional of 2022 saw them look gross declines. The likes of ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 collectively generated £97m little than successful 2021.

In fact, spending connected each genres crossed TV fell by 5%, but for quality that is, with newly-launched channels specified astatine Talk TV and UK News contributing to quality programming concern reaching its highest levels astatine £189m successful 2022, up by 42% connected the erstwhile precocious of £134m successful 2021.

Unlike its audio-visual TV cousin, vigor continued to beryllium fashionable with 88% of radical tuning successful for an mean of 20 hours each week crossed assorted formats.

Commercial vigor took a 51.4% stock of the assemblage successful the archetypal 4th of this year, moving it 5 percent points up of the BBC.

But radical nether the property of 35 are present much apt to watercourse euphony than perceive live.

The study besides recovered that connected successful 5 adults listened to a podcast each week, with the mean being peculiarly fashionable with listeners aged 25-44, portion younger radical aged 15-25 look to beryllium losing interest.

UK consumers spent astir £2bn connected euphony successful 2022, with subscriptions to online euphony services similar Spotify and Apple Music accounting for 83% of the total.