Young people in the UK are spending more time scrolling social media site TikTok than watching broadcast television, according to an Ofcom report on Wednesday, highlighting the divide, according to an Ofcom report on Wednesday. Growing generational divide in media usage habits.
In Its annual survey of consumer trendsThe media regulator found that 16- to 24-year-olds spend an average of 53 minutes a day watching traditional TV, just a third of what it was a decade ago.
In contrast, over-65s watch channels like BBC One or ITV seven times longer, watching nearly six hours’ worth of TV a day – a number that has increased since 2011.
Youth’s faster adoption of streaming services and social media poses an ever greater challenge for broadcasters as they try to cope with the economic downturn, delighting viewers. most loyal elders and invest to keep pace with rapidly changing consumption habits.
Ofcom says the increase in traditional TV consumption caused by the pandemic has largely disappeared, with time spent watching broadcasters – either live or through on-demand platforms – dropping by nearly 9% since 2020.
While public service broadcasters including the BBC and Channel 4 are appreciated by young people, their weekly reach is dwindling by those age groups. In 2021, for example, less than half of 16-24 year olds watched at least 15 minutes of programming per week on a public service channel such as the BBC, ITV or Channel 4.
Meanwhile, the reach of subscription streaming services, such as Netflix and Disney Plus, and social video platforms, including YouTube and TikTok, has grown rapidly over the past decade.
A study for Ofcom by polling company Ipsos estimated that 15- to 24-year-olds spend 57 minutes a day on TikTok alone. This is more than the 53 minutes the 16 to 24 age group spends watching broadcast television, according to a separate survey for Ofcom by BARB, an audience ratings agency.
The challenges of the looming recession have become clear, to broadcasters and streamers alike.
Revenue from the largest subscription streaming services continues to grow rapidly in 2021, with an estimated 27% increase driven primarily by price increases. But the percentage of households paying for at least one service fell in the second quarter of 2022.
The pressure in the market has been offset by some families being more open to receiving multiple registrations. Around 5.2 million UK households – almost a fifth of the overall total – pay for all three of Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney Plus, which costs almost £300 a year.
Traditional television continues to host the majority of its most-watched programmes, including major sports competitions and hit dramas such as Quest Line.
However, broadcasters are struggling to keep up with their US rivals in terms of streaming. Although the BBC’s iPlayer has set a new audience record, reaching 6.5 billion views in 2021, it is still behind Netflix, where last year attracted around 20 billion views.
