David Farnor | On 05, Jul 2014

4 in 10 Brits now use online services to watch TV, according to Ofcom.

The organisation’s latest report reveals that 39 per cent of internet users said they used the web to watch TV programmes online or download from TV broadcasters’ websites – a rise from 33 per cent in 2011.

That shift from linear to non-linear behaviour has particularly taken place among older viewers: 32 per cent of 35-54 year olds said they watched TV clips online in 2012. Now, 30 per cent of them do.

Of those who do use VOD for TV watching, more than half (57 per cent) said they did so at least several times a week. That rises to 69 per cent among 16-34s. Indeed, 17 per cent of that younger age group said they watched TV/films/video clips via the internet every day.

Among those who use on-demand services, the top three reasons for doing so were for catching-up on missed content (61 per cent), for added convenience (39 per cent) and for greater choice when there is nothing else on normal TV to watch (33 per cent).

Attitudes towards TV are changing too. 55 per cent of adults said that TV shows have stayed the same, but 3 in 10 said that programmes have “got worse” – a response more likely to come from older than younger respondents. The main reason for TV’s perceived decline in quality was cited as more repeats and a lack of variety.

While the web is always full of people declaring that TV is now better than film, Ofcom’s findings suggest a less dramatic national opinion: just over 1 in 10 viewers said TV shows have improved, rising to 16 per cent of viewers aged between 16 and 34. The reasons for this improvement were cited as a “wider range of programmes” and better quality.

Equally curious in a world where Game of Thrones is one of the most popular series going is that the majority of viewers felt current levels of sex (66 per cent), violence (59 per cent) and swearing (59 per cent) on TV are “about right”. In fact, since 2008, there has been a decrease in those saying there is too much sex, violence and swearing on TV.

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