Television Viewing Reaches Ten Year High
Television viewing for the third quarter of this year reached its highest level for more than a decade thanks to the increasing popularity of digital channels, according to the latest figures from the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising.
The Trends in Television report for the three months to September reveals the highest level of recorded viewing since 1992, despite a poor performance for ITV1, which saw its overall audience share dip to a near record low.
The UK’s largest commercial broadcaster saw its share of viewing decline by 2.2% points year on year to 21%, as BBC One’s hugely popular Olympic coverage and a strong performance from reality-TV focused Channel 4 took its toll.
A successful summer of sport helped push BBC One’s share of viewing 0.3% points higher during the third quarter to 25.4%. Meanwhile, Channel 4 rose by 0.4% during the same period to 10.5% following a run of record ratings for this year’s Big Brother.
Channel Five put in a rather uninspiring performance in the three months to September with viewing dropping by 0.1% points to 6.4%. BBC Two also faltered with its audience share dipping further below the 10% mark to 9.8%, down from 11% in the same period the previous year.
However, the figures show that multi-channel broadcasters continue to go from strength to strength with their overall share of viewing climbing by a healthy 2.8% points year on year to 26.9%. Digital channels now command a higher audience share than any of the non-terrestrial channels.
Commenting on the figures, Lynne Robinson, research director at the IPA, said: “The latest quarter’s figures demonstrate the growing strength of digital television both in terms of its penetration and its positive effect on overall viewing levels.”
Digital terrestrial television continued to be the fastest growing multi-channel platform with penetration jumping from 1.7 million homes in the third quarter of 2003 to just under 3.5 million in the same period this year. Digital satellite homes also pushed past the 12 million mark as the Government proceeded with plans to switch off the ageing analogue signal by 2012.
Many countries have experienced impressive growth in the popularity of digital television over the last few years, but a new report from Informa Media Group suggests that none are expected to have 100% digital penetration until 2014 (see Full Digital TV Penetration Not Expected Until 2014).
IPA: 020 7235 7020 www.ipa.co.uk
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