TV viewing reaches a record high
As the industry contemplates the future of television following Ofcom’s PSB review and ahead of the imminent publication of Lord Carter’s ‘Digital Britain’ report, new figures show that broadcast TV viewing reached a record high last year.
TV viewing figures from BARB show that the average person watched 26 hours and 18 minutes of TV each week in 2008, up 48 minutes on 2007, which matches the previous highest broadcast viewing figure on record.
The growth was largely driven by commercial TV channels, which now account for 63% of all broadcast TV viewing – an increase of one hour, 20 minutes a week in the last ten years, according to a new report by Thinkbox.
The latest figures also show that the total number of TV ads watched at normal speed reached an all time high in 2008, up 6.3% year on year, with 2.4 billion ads watched a day.
Thinkbox’s report claims that “TV remains by far people’s favourite medium, representing 54% of our daily media consumption” – which is significant due to the rise of alternative on-demand TV viewing services, such as BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, 4OD, Sky Player as well as IPTV platforms such as Virgin Media and BT Vision.
However, the report also notes that broadcast TV viewing is growing simultaneously with online TV – “viewers are watching them for different reasons,” the report said.
Thinkbox’s research shows that 78% of online TV is to catch-up with broadcast TV and that online TV actually increases viewer loyalty to channels and programmes.
A number of factors have contributed to the growth of linear broadcast TV over the past year, including the rapid take-up of digital TV services, digital television recorders, online TV, big entertainment shows such as The X Factor, bad weather and the economic downturn, according to Thinkbox.
Tess Alps, Thinkbox’s chief executive, said: “TV remains people’s favourite form of entertainment, whatever technology delivers it. These figures show that people rely on channels and schedules to help them find the TV they want to watch.
“At a time when we are lucky to have more excellent TV to choose from than ever, trusted channels remain crucial to guide people through the choice. Watching live is driven by human need not by technological limitation.
“The figures are also great news for advertisers. TV is proven to be the most effective ad medium and advertisers have a growing audience to engage with – as well as new audiences on other TV platforms like the web. The broadcast audience may not always be watching the same programme at the same time as it did when there were a handful of channels, because TV now offers them more choice and control,” she concluded.
Thinkbox: www.thinkbox.tv