Social Trends Reveals Non-Terrestrial TV Boom

The Office of National Statistics (ONS) has published its annual Social Trends document, which documents the changing lifestyle and population statistics of the UK.

The document notes a steep increase in the uptake of non-terrestrial TV services since 1996/7. Almost 4.5m households now subscribe to satellite television, an increase of 51% on 1996/7, while 3.3m subscribe to cable TV, up 94% compared to five years ago.

The result of this growth is that during 2000-2001, around 45% of households had access to some form of non-terrestrial TV service, compared to 21% in 1996/7. The increase has been seen across all the social classes, but particularly among professionals. In terms of what we watch, Drama and Light Entertainment were found to be the most popular choice across all age groups. Watching TV is also high among the leisure activities we are most likely to participate in.

As if travelling on a train wasn’t enough proof, the ONS has confirmed that the proportion of households owning a mobile phone has nearly tripled since 1996/7, now standing at 47%. The percentage of households that own a PC now stands at 44%, while DVDs have proved the fastest growing consumer electronic product of all time, with over 800,000 units sold in 2000, compared to under quarter of a million in the previous year.

The full document is available from the ONS or on the ONS website (see below)

Office of National Statistics: 020 7533 5888 www.statistics.gov.uk

Subscribers can access ten years of media news and analysis in the Archive