Audiences are now watching more minutes of streamed programmes than recorded ones according to Ofcom’s latest report into the UK’s media habits.
The regulator’s Media Nations report for 2024 finds that households watched just 23 minutes of recorded shows per day compared to 25 minutes via broadcaster owned catch-up apps ITVX, Channel 4, 5 and iPlayer.
Once the only option to watch shows post broadcast, recording is increasingly absent from new viewing platforms such as Freely and Sky Glass and there are few new options for Freeview and Freesat households looking to replace their existing recording boxes.
Decline in Live TV viewing
With 102 minutes per day, live TV remains the most popular way to watch TV overall but this number is down 4% on 2023 and varies significantly between age groups, with Ofcom’s research showing that young adults (16-24 year olds) watched just 17 minutes of live TV per day.
For 25-34 year olds the number is 27 minutes and rises to 51 minutes for 35-44, 101 for the 45-54 age group, 158 for 55-64, 283 for 65-74 and peaks at 283 minutes for 75+.
While live viewing is still popular with older audiences, this group is also increasing its use of broadcaster apps – the report finds that such viewing among over-74s grew by 67% from 12 minutes in 2023 to an average of 20 minutes a day in 2024.
YouTube’s rising popularity
Ofcom also finds that YouTube is now the UK’s second most popular streaming app – behind only iPlayer – with audiences watching 39 minutes on the platform each day in 2024, with 16 minutes of this being on their TV.
For 16-34 year olds the number is 18 minutes while over 55s watched nearly double the amount of YouTube content on their TVs compared to the previous year – 11 minutes per day in 2024, up from just 6 minutes in 2023.
The continued popularity of the platform has seen both ITV and Channel 4 reach deals to distribute whole series via YouTube.
However, rather than taking its content to viewers on the apps they favour, the BBC tends to restrict its use of YouTube to offering clips and trailers, with audiences only able to watch full shows on iPlayer.
While iPlayer is currently the UK’s most watched app, the BBC has seen continued falls in the numbers willing to pay the Licence Fee with a decline of around 800,000 over the past two years.
At £14.50 per month, the Licence Fee is now more expensive than most of the big streaming platform’s premium subscription tiers and is available on less flexible terms, with audiences unable to easily opt in and out when their favourite shows return.
While the UK’s Public Service Broadcasters – BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 – often cite the competition they face from global streaming platforms, few of their apps try to compete on picture or sound quality.
Of all the PSBs, only the BBC offers any 4K content to stream and even this is restricted to a subset of platforms, while many of the apps are limited to just 2 channel stereo sound.
In contrast, YouTube and the paid streaming apps offer formats such as 5.1 sound or better plus 4K image quality and multiple versions of HDR.
Ed Leighton, Ofcom’s Interim Group Director for Strategy and Research, said: “ScheduledTV is increasingly alien to younger viewers, with YouTube the first port of call for many when they pick up the TV remote. But we’re also seeing signs that older adults are turning to the platform as part of their daily media diet too.
“Public service broadcasters are recognising this shift – moving to meet audiences in the online spaces where they increasingly spend their time. But we need to see even more ambition in this respect to ensure that public service media that audiences value survives long into the future.”