Research |
Linear broadcast slump as UK boomers switch to streaming
The media diets of viewers
and listeners in the UK
appear to be more diverse
and fragmented than ever ,
according to broadcast
regulator Ofcom ’ s latest
annual report on the TV , online
video , radio and audio sectors .
As competition for the
nation ’ s attention intensifies ,
Media Nations 2023 finds
that the proportion of viewers
who tune in to traditional
broadcast TV each week has
seen the sharpest ever annual
fall – from 83 % in 2021 to 79 %
in 2022 . BBC One remains
the only channel to reach
more than half of the viewing
population every week .
Time spent watching
broadcast TV is down 12 %. A
similar decline is evident in
the average time that viewers
spend watching broadcast TV
each day – down from 2 hours
59 minutes in 2021 , to 2 hours
38 minutes in 2022 ( -12 %). For
the first time , there is evidence
of a significant decline in
average daily broadcast TV
viewing among ‘ core ’ older
audiences ( aged 65 +) – a drop
of 8 % year on year , and down
6 % on pre-pandemic levels .
Ofcom data also suggests
that older viewers are
diversifying their viewing
and becoming more likely to
take up streaming services ,
although household takeup
of these services overall
appears to be plateauing .
The proportion of over-64s
subscribing to Disney +, for
example , increased from 7 % in
2022 to 12 % in 2023 .
The report reveals another
notable shift in the broadcast
TV landscape – a steep decline
in the number of programmes
attracting ‘ mass audiences ’.
The number of programmes
with more than 4m TV viewers
has halved over the past eight
years , from 2,490 in 2014 , to
1,184 in 2022 .
While the number of
programmes with large
audiences is down across all
genres , these declines are
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a reflection of fewer people watching the main early and late evening TV news bulletins , as well as a steady decline in viewing figures for the three most popular soaps : Coronation Street , EastEnders and Emmerdale . Since 2014 , news programmes attracting 4m plus viewers are down 72 % – from 537 to 148 programmes , while mass audience soap episodes are down 42 %, from 754 to 438 programmes .
In comparison , only 48 programmes averaged more than 4m TV viewers on streaming platforms in 2022 , with Netflix accounting for the vast majority . High levels of viewing to these services are spread across the tens of thousands of episodes available in their libraries , illustrating just how fragmented the viewing landscape has become .
Despite the continuing decline of traditional broadcast TV viewing , BBC One ( 20 %) and ITV1 ( 13 %) are still the top two first destinations for viewers when they turn on their TV , with Netflix coming in third ( 6 %). In addition , watching broadcasters ’ content - either live , on recorded playback or streamed ondemand – still accounts for the greatest proportion of all time spent each day watching TV and video ( 60 %, 2 hours 41 minutes per person , per day ).
With broadcasters digitalising their services to meet audiences ’ changing needs , use of their video-ondemand services , such as BBC iPlayer and ITVX , continues to grow . ITVX accounted for 10 % of ITV ’ s total viewing in
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the first half of 2023 , up from 7 % across 2022 . BBC iPlayer rose from 14 % of the BBC ’ s total viewing to 18 % during the same time period .
Public perception of the public service broadcast channels remains positive , with seven in ten viewers ( 69 %) saying they were satisfied with them overall . Viewers also recognised the contribution of these channels in delivering ‘ broadcast events that bring the nation together for a shared viewing experience ’ – with sentiment increasing from 61 % in 2021 to 65 % in 2022 . PSBs ’ programmes of this nature dominated the list of most-watched programmes in 2022 , with England ’ s quarter-final in the FIFA World Cup ( 16.1m viewers ), HM Queen Elizabeth II ’ s state funeral ( 13.2m viewers ), and the Platinum Jubilee ( 13.2m
viewers ) holding the top spots .
In 2022 , the PSBs were able to return to full production schedules . As a result , PSB spend on first-run original programmes totalled £ 2.9 billion (€ 3.6bn ), up 10.3 % year on year , and 14.2 % greater than in 2019 , while hours broadcast climbed to their highest point since 2016 – totalling 32,712 .
Children and young adults under 25 have collectively decreased their average daily broadcast viewing by 73 % since 2012 . For the first time , 16-24-year-olds watched less
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broadcast TV on average than children aged 4-15 ( 39 minutes per day compared to 41 ). Evidence suggests they ’ re tuning in for only one or two programmes per day , mainly for genres such as sport and popular entertainment or reality programming .
Social video platforms remain a major part of youngsters ’ daily media habits . In March 2023 , 5.2m 15-24-year-olds visited TikTok , spending an average of 58 minutes per day on the platform . This was followed by Snapchat ( 52 minutes ), YouTube ( 48 minutes ) and Instagram ( 25 minutes ).
‘ Snackable ’ short-form video content lasting less than 10 minutes is particularly popular . Nearly seven in ten ( 68 %) 15-24s claim to watch short-from videos daily , with YouTube the most popular
destination for this kind of content .
“ Today ’ s viewers and listeners have an ‘ all-you-caneat ’ buffet of broadcasting and online content to choose from , and there ’ s more competition for our attention than ever ,” notes Yih-Choung Teh , group director , strategy and research at Ofcom .
“ Our traditional broadcasters are seeing steep declines in viewing to their scheduled , live programmes – including among typically loyal older audiences – and soaps and news programmes
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16 EUROMEDIA |