James R | On 12, Jul 2016

On-demand services now make up one-third of young Brits’ viewing every day, reveals new research.

Data from Ofcom shows that people aged 16-24 have embraced VOD, spending around one-third of their daily viewing time on free (e.g. BBC iPlayer, All 4, ITV Hub) or paid (e.g. Netflix) streaming services.

Live TV, meanwhile, is becoming less popular, accounting for 36 per cent of daily viewing in this age group, down 14 percentage points from two years ago. Brits under 25 are now watching roughly 25 per cent less broadcast TV than in 2010, while the average viewing of those aged 55-64 has declined by only 5 per cent.

Indeed, while the average person watched 3 hours and 36 minutes of TV per day in 2015, Ofcom highlights the “widening generational gap” between the youngest and oldest UK audiences. For over-65s, for example, live TV accounts for 83 per cent of viewing time.

Overall, though, live TV viewing has dipped in recent years, with viewers now watching 26 minutes less a day than in 2010.

Paid on-demand TV and films, including SVOD services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, made up the majority of younger viewing (20 per cent), with short online clips on sites such as YouTube making up 14 per cent. Free on-demand services, such as BBC iPlayer, accounted for 13 per cent of viewing – ahead of DVD and Blu-ray (6 per cent) .

Nonetheless, the on-demand attitude is infectious; the proportion of GB adults who say they have watched a VOD service increased two-fold since
2010 to 59 per cent in 2015, found Ofcom, although reach has slowed since 2014. The largest proportion of VOD users are under 35 years
old, although there is also “high usage” among 35-44s, adds the study. Ofcom also notes that VOD use has “grown remarkably” among the oldest 65+ age group, from 1 in 10 (9 per cent) claiming to use VOD services in 2010 to 1 in 3 (35 per cent) in 2016.

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