Online TV Catch-Up Viewing in the UK Shifting from PC to Connected TV

Vincent Flood 18 July, 2012 

OfcomA report released by Ofcom says that the growth of online catch up on the PC is slowing as more televisions become capable of delivering VOD on the big screen. This year saw an increase of only three percentage points year on year from 27% in Q1 2011.  Over a third (37%) of UK adults with home internet watch online catch-up TV, with viewers watching an average of four hours of video/TV per day, up from 3.7 hours in 2004.

TV ad revenues between the leading broadcasters were split along reasonably predictable lines, with the exception of Channel 5 who have had a bumper year due to a stronger sales strategy, more popular programming (particularly Big Brother), and the return of Aegis who have been buying media for major brands such as Asda, British Gas and Coca-Cola.

UK TV Ad Revenues by Channel, Ofcom Graph
 

Key Findings

  • Total TV ad revenues were up 2.1% to £3.6 billion (see graph below for breakdown by channel).
  • Five percent of UK homes now have a connected TV, although Smart TV sales have doubled and represent 20% of all TVs sold (2.9 million sets) since 2010. 65% of owners said they had used the internet connection on their TV, in spite of the fact that 47% said online functionality wasn’t a high priority for them when choosing a TV.
  • 14% of people intend to buy a tablet in the next year
  • 29% of UK adults claimed to consume audio-visual content online, compared to a reach of 97% of the adult population consuming it via a TV set
  • Total UK TV industry revenues increased by 4.9% year on year in 2011, reaching 12.3bn. This was driven by increases in subscriptions (up 8.3%) and advertising (up 2.1%)

As expected, growth in online and mobile viewing has continued, although the growth is far from explosive. However, it’s going to be very interesting to see these figures next year once YouView and the various OTT services (Sky’s Now TV launches tomorrow) start to gain more traction.
Video Consumption on Online and Mobile in the UK

 

2012-07-19T08:57:30+01:00

About the Author:

Vincent Flood is the Founder & Editor-in-Chief at VideoWeek.
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