TELEVISION AUDIENCES

UK study shows how younger people are moving away from linear TV

By our African Marketing Confederation News Team | 2024

Broadcast TV remains popular with most people in Britain, but younger audiences have moved to streaming and video-sharing platforms.

While overall viewing of TV and video in the UK increased in 2023, less than half of 16-24-year-olds were watching broadcast TV in an average week. This is according to a study released by Ofcom, Britain’s regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting industry.

Photo: August de Richelieu from Pexels

Ofcom’s findings show that linear TV (television that is programmed and delivered to a schedule) continues to account for most (87%) viewing of broadcaster content. But this is skewed towards an older demographic, and the battle to pull in a younger audience remains ongoing in the face of the attractions of streaming and video-sharing platforms.

The latest study, called ‘Media Nations 2024’, charts a sharp decline in broadcast television viewing by younger audiences over the past six years – declining from 78% watching weekly in 2018 to just 48% in 2023.

When they are watching broadcast TV, 16-24-year-olds in the UK are doing so for shorter periods, at only 33 minutes each day (down 16% year-on-year). Notably, just 20 minutes of that 33 minutes is spent watching live TV.

Children aged 4-15 are also tuning out of broadcast TV, with only 55% watching each week in 2023, compared to 81% in 2018.

Combined viewing of TV and video content has increased

Taking TV and video content together, people in the UK averaged 4 hours and 31 minutes of viewing a day in 2023, which is an increase of 6 minutes, or 2%, since 2022.

This was primarily driven by an increase in daily viewing on video-sharing platforms (up 12% to 49 minutes) and on broadcasters’ video-on-demand services (up 29% to 20 minutes).

Thirty-four percent of time spent watching YouTube at home is now on a TV set – up from 29% in 2022. This increases to 45% among children aged 4-15 – up from 36% in 2022. 

Comments Ian Macrae, Ofcom’s Director of Market Intelligence: “Gen Z and Alpha are used to swiping and streaming, not flipping through broadcast TV channels. They crave the flexibility, immediacy and choice that on-demand services offer, spending over three hours a day watching video, but only 20 minutes of live TV. It’s no surprise that the traditional TV is fast becoming a device of choice to watch YouTube.

“But while live TV may not have the universal pull it once did, its role in capturing those big moments that bring the nation together remains vital.”

You can download the report here.

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