Ofcom Charts YouTube’s U.K. Gains

Viewers in the U.K. spent an average of four hours and 30 minutes a day watching TV and video content at home last year, per Ofcom, with broadcast still holding a slight edge (56 percent) despite surging YouTube usage.

YouTube is now the first port of call for younger viewers as soon as they switch the television on, Ofcom reports. And among overall viewership, YouTube is now the second most-watched service in the U.K., behind the BBC and ahead of ITV.

Last year, viewers spent 39 minutes on YouTube every day, 16 minutes on the home TV set. This is being led by younger audiences, with those aged 16 to 34 watching 18 minutes of YouTube a day on TV. Further, 20 percent of children aged 4 to 15 head straight to the app as soon as they turn the set on.

These viewing shifts are also being seen among older audiences; over 55s are now watching 11 minutes per day, as compared with just 6 minutes in 2023. In 2024, 42 percent of all YouTube viewing by this age group was on a TV set, up from 33 percent in 2023.

The types of content viewers are turning to on YouTube are also shifting. Ofcom indicates that half of the platform’s top-trending videos “closely resemble traditional TV,” including long-form interviews and game shows. “This shift positions YouTube as a direct competitor to ad-supported TV services, while offering broadcasters a way to reach wider and younger audiences,” Ofcom said.

Partnerships between broadcasters and YouTube are key, Ofcom says, amid viewership erosion. People in the U.K. spent 4 percent less time watching broadcast TV in 2024 than the previous year, with daily viewership dropping to 2 hours and 24 minutes a day on TV sets. Young adults watched just 17 minutes of live TV daily. They are also watching less broadcaster content than older demos.

Ed Leighton, Ofcom’s interim group director for strategy and research, said: “Scheduled TV is increasingly alien to younger viewers, with YouTube the first port of call for many when they pick up the TV remote. But we’re also seeing signs that older adults are turning to the platform as part of their daily media diet too. Public service broadcasters are recognizing this shift—moving to meet audiences in the online spaces where they increasingly spend their time. But we need to see even more ambition in this respect to ensure that public service media that audiences value survives long into the future.”

VOD content consumption averaged to 40 minutes a day, led by Netflix.

Amid viewing shifts, the BBC and ITV had the three most-watched shows last year: Gavin and Stacy: The Finale, Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl and Mr Bates vs The Post Office.