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Season 4 of True Detective , which has had 10m viewing hours since it launched on Sky in January 2024 , 46 % of which was on demand . This compares starkly to True Detective Season One which launched on Sky ten years ago and at the time received 9 % of viewing via on demand .
Whether watching live or on demand , the UK is a nation of multitaskers when viewing – 63 % are doing something else whilst we watch TV . Two in five ( 41 %) are actually searching about the TV show as they watch , leading to surges in Google traffic .
• Searches were up 164 % for Mary and George Villiers , the main characters of Mary and George , the month of launch vs the previous month .
• Searches for Auschwitz in the UK increased by 107 % in line with The Tattooist of Auschwitz airing on Sky – with over 230,000 searches in the month of launch , the highest in 20 years . Overall , viewing of Sky Sports was up 17 % in 2023 . Over the last six months , sports fans watched 1 billion hours of sport on Sky . The audience is expanding too – in 2023 , female viewing of Sky Sports was up 18 % and under 35 viewing was up 26 %. Some of sports that have been capturing the attention of people across the UK , include : Football remains at the heart of our sporting culture
• In total , 313m hours of live football were watched by Sky viewers from January to June
• Across the Premier League , English Football League , Scottish Professional Football League and Women ’ s Super League , viewership was up 9 % in the 23 / 24 season
• Football is also the single biggest driver in traffic for Sky Mobile Darts is expanding its fan base
• The PDC World Darts Championship final enjoyed a 204 % increase in viewing , with average viewing for the final at 3.1m
• Outside of football , it was the most-watched event in Sky Sports history
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• With Luke Littler becoming
one of the most watched
individuals on Sky Sports web
and app with average views
across his videos reaching
23.6k – more than Harry Kane
( 12.5k ) and Erling Haaland
( 19.2k ).
• Premier League Darts
viewership was up 189 % this
year
“ This report shows that as our
viewing habits become more
fractured , the competition for
our attention is even greater ,”
notes Dana Strong , group CEO
at Sky . “ With UK households
watching over two billion hours
of content made by Sky , we ’ re
proud of the role that we play in
bringing entertainment content
and sporting moments to millions
of viewers .”
UK ad spend reached £ 9.2bn in Q1
The latest Advertising Association /
WARC Expenditure Report shows
UK ad spend increased 9.3 % to
£ 9.2 billion (€ 10.9bn ) during
the first three months of 2024
– setting a new high for a first
quarter period . Data reveals this
rise was almost three percentage
points ahead of forecast , due to
stronger-than-expected online
growth , with online formats
accounting for 79.7 % of all UK
spend in Q1 2024 .
The updated forecasts expect
UK ad spend to rise 9.2 % in Q2
( April to July ) this year to reach
£ 9.7 billion , a result of increased
spending around the Euro 2024
tournament and snap General
Election . This would equate to a
rise of 9.3 % during the first half of
2024 , to a total of £ 18.9 billion .
Expectations for both 2024 and
2025 have seen an uplift in the
latest dataset . The UK advertising
market is now expected to grow
by 7.7 % to reach £ 39.4 billion this
year , an upgrade of 1.9 percentage
points since AA / WARC ’ s April
forecast , owing to strong digital
results and increased investment
around Euro 2024 . Overall , this
year , channels expected to see
a boost include Out of Home
(+ 12.5 %), Search (+ 10.1 %) and
Radio (+ 5.5 %). Advertising spend
on the BVoD portion of TV is set
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to cross the £ 1 billion threshold for the first time ( an increase of 13.7 %), driven by a strong summer of sport including demand from Euro 2024 , and to a slightly lesser extent , the Olympics and Paralympics .
A further rise of 5.5 % is expected in 2025 , by when the UK ’ s advertising market is set to reach £ 41.6 billion , an upgrade of 1pp from the April forecast .
The online advertising market had a strong quarter from January to March , with search ( including retail media ) up by 12 % and online display ( including social media ) up 12.8 %. The latest dataset shows a return to growth for cinema (+ 6.4 %) and TV (+ 1.2 %), with BVoD seeing a continued strong increase at 19.2 %.
After allowing for inflation , real growth for adspend in Q1 stood at 5.5 %, indicating the UK advertising market saw a healthy £ 465m of organic growth , as inflationary pressures eased yearon-year .
The data shows that products within the Consumables sector saw 16.1 % growth in Q1 ( including food & drink , cosmetics and household FMCG ), with Services ( including leisure & entertainment , media and transport ) registering a rise of 8.9 %. All other major categories posted year-on-year declines for the period , however .
“ It is welcome news to see real-term growth and upgraded forecasts in the advertising market in Q1 this year , a positive sign that our industry is one of the driving factors in the UK ’ s economic recovery ,” says Stephen Woodford , chief executive , Advertising Association . “ This is a timely reminder of its dynamism as the new Government seeks to create an environment for growth , through political stability and a new industrial strategy . Advertising is a UK-wide industry , with three in five advertising jobs based outside of London and it is central to the successful development of the digital economy across the whole country .”
“ The race for AI adoption has intensified in the advertising industry , with major online platforms introducing their own solutions to market and
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subsequently reporting a positive
contribution to their bottom line ,”
adds James McDonald , director
of data , intelligence & forecasting ,
WARC . “ The true impact of these
tools will emerge in time , though
first quarter results were certainly
lifted by higher ad loads and
associated performance costs
online . That said , the enduring
strength of legacy display media –
chiefly TV , out of home , radio and
cinema – was also evident in the
first quarter , and we expect this
to have sustained into the second
due in part to short term stimuli
such as the Men ’ s Euros and snap
General Election . Overall , our
outlook for the coming year is
brighter than our last projection
in April , with a forecast 7.7 per
cent rise in total ad spend this year
ahead of the average rate recorded
before the pandemic .”
Gen Z continues to shun broadcast TV
For the first time , less than half
of UK 6-24-year-olds ( Gen Z )
are now watching broadcast TV
in an average week , according to
Ofcom ’ s annual study into the
nation ’ s media habits .
Just 48 % of young audiences
tuned in during an average week
last year , down from 76 % in 2018 .
Children aged 4-15 are tuning out
at a similar rate , with only 55 %
watching broadcast TV each week
in 2023 , compared to 81 % in 2018 .
Overall , the weekly reach of traditional
TV fell by a record amount
in the last year .
The decline in weekly reach
among middle-aged viewers ( 45-
54s ) also accelerated , falling from
89 % to 84 % in a single year . In
contrast , there has been relatively
little change among loyal older
audiences aged 65 +, with around
95 % continuing to tune in to
broadcast TV each week .
Younger audiences aged 16-24
aren ’ t just watching broadcast TV
less frequently , they ’ re also watching
for shorter periods at only 33
minutes each day – down 16 % year
on year . Of this , a mere 20 minutes
is spent watching live TV .
In comparison , they ’ re spending
three times as long each day
( 1 hour 33 minutes ) watching
video-sharing platforms such as
TikTok and YouTube .
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