In U.K., People Watch Less TV as Online Video Becomes More Popular

LONDON,
November 27: According to a BBC News Survey, people in the U.K. are starting to
watch less television as online video grows in popularity.

Some 43 percent of U.K. viewers who
watch video from the Internet or on a mobile device at least once a week said
they watched less conventional television as a result. And online and mobile
viewing is rising—three quarters of users said they now watched more than
they did a year ago.

This data comes from a series of
specials on the future of television that the BBC News website starts offering
today. The survey also suggests that online video viewers are still in the
minority—only 9 percent of people questioned said they did so regularly. Another
13 percent said they watched occasionally, while a further 10 percent said they
expected to start in the coming year. But two-thirds of the population said
they did not watch online and could not envisage starting in the next 12
months.

One in five people surveyed who watched
online or mobile video at least once a week said they watched a lot less TV as
a result. Another 23 percent said they watched a bit less, while just over half
said their TV viewing was unchanged. Some 3 percent said online video inspired
them to watch more TV.

16- to 24-year-olds watch far more
online and mobile video that any other age group, with 28 percent saying they
did so more than once each week. An average of 10% aged 25 to 44 were net video
regulars, with that figure falling to just 4% of over-45s.