Q3 2007 TV Viewing At Almost 3.4 Hours Daily

Average television viewing now stands at almost 3.4 hours a day, with BBC One, BBC Two, Channel 4 and Five all losing viewers in Q3 2007, according to the IPA’s latest viewing report.

Terrestrial channels in the UK continue to lose viewers to digital channels as the national analogue switchover becomes a reality (see Digital Switchover Begins Today), with the exception of ITV, which remained stable with 18.8% of the audience.

BBC One, still reeling from its Blue Peter phone competition scandals and the exit of controller Peter Fincham following ‘Crowngate'(see Fincham Quits Following Queen Doco Shocker), saw the biggest drop in the period – down more than 4% to 21.3% total viewing.

In contrast, growth in non-terrestrial stations – including all Sky and Virgin Media services – helped propel overall TV viewing to record year on year growth, totalling 37.9% of the market.

“It is encouraging to see continued growth in the television market,” said Lynne Robinson, research director at the IPA.

Digital reception has now reached 78% of all homes and, at 40% penetration, digital terrestrial remains the fastest growing platform, driven by the take-up of Freeview.

Demographically, the non-terrestrial audience commands the attention of younger groups although its consumption is up across the board to reach 70% of all individuals.

The IPA’s Q2 2007 report showed the first year on year increase in average daily viewing levels for some time, at 3.46 hours, up from 3.43 hours for the same period last year (see Q2 2007 TV Viewing Stabilising).

However, the previous quarter’s report indicated that people were spending an average of 3.85 hours each day watching television, less than they had for almost a decade (see Viewing Levels Lowest For Almost A Decade).

IPA: 020 7235 7020 www.ipa.co.uk