In 2024, the average time spent per individual watching broadcast television in the UK amounted to ****minutes per day. Despite an initial short spike in viewing time in 2020, likely due to the onset of the global coronavirus pandemic, broadcast TV consumption declined each year since then. Older audiences tended to consume traditional TV more than their younger counterparts, with people aged 65 years and over watching TV for roughly **** hours on a daily basis, compared to less than ********among 16 to-24-year-olds. Internet-connected devices transform the TV market The television continues to be crucial to the UK’s media landscape, regardless of declining TV viewing time. The most recent data showed that the number of TV households in the region increased from **** million in 2017 to more than ** million in 2021, as smart TVs and connected TVs become the devices of choice. In 2022, the penetration rate of smart TV sets peaked in 2021 and 2022 at ** percent. Alteration of consumer habits While traditional TV consumption has declined lately, online TV services provided by broadcasters have increased in popularity. The average daily viewing time of broadcaster video-on-demand (BVOD) in the UK doubled between 2018 and 2022. Additionally, online audiovisual revenues grew by nearly **** billion British pounds during the same period, demonstrating the recent shift from linear TV towards online video alternatives.

The results of a survey carried out in the United Kingdom (UK) between 2019 and 2020 revealed that younger generations are more likely to use social media while watching TV. Individuals aged from 18 to 24 years old made up over a third of respondents saying they always used social media sites while watching TV, whereas **** percent stated they never did.

TV usage in the UK

The number of TV households increased in the UK between 2004 and 2019, reaching nearly ** million households in the latter year. Nevertheless, the average time spent per individual watching broadcast TV has been declining continuously since 2010, recording a decrease of almost an hour by 2019. In general, the time spent watching broadcast TV is higher among older individuals. Adults aged 75 and above spent the most time watching broadcast TV daily.

Online TV

The revenue generated from online TV in the UK increased exponentially between 2006 and 2019. As of 2019, online TV revenue exceeded ***** billion British pounds. In the first half of 2018, BBC iPlayer was the leading online television service in the UK, with approximately one third of UK adults using this service. This was followed by Netflix and YouTube, with respective shares of ** percent and ** percent.

This statistic displays the genre breakdown of television viewing in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2020. In 2020, entertainment content accounted for **** percent of viewing, while documentaries accounted for ***** percent of viewing.

This statistic displays the total weekly television reach in the United Kingdom (UK) from 2012 to 2020, broken down by demographic. Of women in the UK, **** percent were reached by television in 2020.

This statistic provides the results of a survey on traditional television watching habits in the United Kingdom (UK) in November 2018, broken down by age group. The survey found that ** percent of UK viewers aged 56 years and above watched linear TV on a weekly basis compared to ** percent of those aged between 15 and 25 years.

In 2019/2020 in the UK, a third of respondents aged 18 to 24 said that while watching television they often looked online for something not related to what they were watching on TV. Over half of those aged 25 to 34 said they often or always did so.

This timeline presents the broadcaster share of total TV viewing across all screens in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2010, with a forecast to 2025. Among individuals in the UK, broadcasters accounted for 98 percent of all TV content consumed in 2010. This figure is expected to drop to 83 percent in 2025.

The results of a survey carried out in the UK in 2019/2020 show how often different generations participate using program-specific apps (e.g. I'm a Celebrity, X Factor) while watching TV. **** of those aged 25 to 34 said they never do this. A ******* of respondents aged 18 to 24 said they do sometimes.

This statistic displays the devices mostly used to watch live TV in the United Kingdom in 2013, by age of viewer. According to YouGov, ** percent of respondents between ** and ** reported mostly watching live TV on a traditional TV set.

This statistic shows the distribution of TV viewing time in the United Kingdom in 2014 and 2015, broken down by type. Among individuals in the UK, ** percent of time spent consuming broadcaster television content was done live in 2015.

This statistic illustrates the monthly television viewing habits in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2015, broken down by age group. As of the most recent survey, ** percent of respondents aged between 16 and 24 reported viewing online catch up at least monthly.

This statistic shows the impact of mobile video use on TV viewing habits in the United Kingdom in 2012. The majority of Brithish smartphone users stated that their traditional TV viewing habits were unaffected by the adoption of mobile video usage.

This statistic shows the average minute per day of TV viewing time in the United Kingdom in 2014 and 2015, broken down by type. Among individuals in the UK, *** minutes were spend on consuming live TV on average per day in 2015.

In the second quarter of 2025, Netflix ranked first among the most popular TV channels and video streaming services in the United Kingdom, with ** percent of respondents giving a positive rating for these platforms. Channel 4 came second, followed by ITV.

The results of a survey carried out in the UK in 2019/2020 show that younger generations are more likely to message friends and family while watching TV. Almost a ***** of respondents aged between 18 and 24 said they always did so.

The results of a survey carried out in the UK in 2019/2020 show that younger generations are more likely to play games while watching TV. Just ** percent of those aged 18 to 24 said they never played games while watching TV, compared to ** percent over over 65s.

In the UK, over ********* of television viewers mostly used cable, satellite, or antenna to watch live sports programming, according to an early 2024 survey. In comparison, ** percent of respondents stated to watch sports content mostly on streaming apps, while **** percent said to only consume via these services.

This statistics displays the online TV services used weekly to watch TV programmes in the United Kingdom in 2013, broken down by age of viewer. According to YouGov, 23 percent of total UK respondents reported using YouTube weekly to watch TV programmes.

This statistic shows the results of a survey on the professional sports viewing habits of Millennials in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2017. The survey found that ** percent of UK Millennials admitted to having watched sports via unofficial streaming services, whereas only ** percent of Non-Millennials had done so. Millennials were also less likely to have be subscribed to a paid sports channel, at ** percent, compared to ** percent of Non-Millennials.

A survey conducted in the second quarter of 2025 in the United Kingdom showed that the highest-ranked TV show was "Fawlty Towers," with 72 percent of respondents giving it a positive rating. The shows "Planet Earth," "The Flintstones," and "The Simpsons" followed with a 70 and 68 percent popularity score, respectively.