Ofcom has released its annual Communications Market Report, which has revealed some interesting facts about Britain’s television viewing habits. 40 million Brits are now using on-demand subscription services to binge-watch episodes of their favourite shows back-to-back, according to the report.
25% of those surveyed said that their telly binges are driven by the number of online spoilers and wanting to make it to the end of a series as quickly as possible without the ending being spoilt for them.
A third of the people surveyed go on a binge-watching spree weekly, while half do it monthly. A third also admitted that they’ve lost sleep due to the “just one more episode” culture that services like Netflix have instilled. The popularity of on-demand services has risen as more and more homes are receiving high-speed, quality broadband services and the streaming capabilities of smartphones and tablets increases.
The report also highlighted the diversity in viewing habits between young people and older people, with 11% of 16-24 year old’s saying they watch TV every single day, versus 0% of over-65’s.
Over three-quarters of 16-24 year old’s said they subscribe to some kind of subscription service, whereas just 19% of over-65’s could say the same. 59% of over-65’s also said they prefer to watch a series in the traditional way, with episodes being released once a week.
Ofcom also released usage statistics for the UK’s on-demand services, with BBC iPlayer the clear winner with 63% of the overall share. ITV Hub, Netflix, Amazon Prime and All 4 are also proving popular.
The survey also revealed that despite on-demand’s seemingly unstoppable rise in popularity, live TV and family viewing are still vital to a lot of viewers in Britain, with 9 out of 10 of those surveyed saying they watch live TV every week, while 30% said they sit down with family to watch TV together every day, and 70% doing the same at least once a week.
