Young Brits Prefer Laptops to TV Sets for Video Viewing

LONDON: Findings from GfK’s international ViewScape study indicate that Britons between the ages of 18 and 24 view most of their content on laptops rather than on the TV set.

For the British adult online population overall, TV is still the preferred viewing device. They spend 65 percent of their total viewing time watching via TV sets, and just 20 percent on PCs or laptops. Among those 18 to 24, however, 41 percent of viewing is done on PCs or laptops, and just 35 percent on TV sets.

Julia Lamaison, director of media research and insights at GfK, noted, “There are many reasons underlying these findings, including the trend for this younger age group to view less live or scheduled TV content and more on-demand and online-streamed video. Added to that is the fact that access to a TV set is lower amongst this group than for all adults: only 84 percent of these young adults say they own a TV set, compared to 95 percent amongst all adults.”

For British adults, about 55 minutes is spent viewing video content on a PC or laptop per day, and 67 percent of that is to watch traditional TV shows or movies. For the 18-to-24 set, the average daily viewing on a laptop or PC rises to 2 hours and 35 minutes, and 73 percent of that time is spent on TV shows and movies.

Lamaison added, “We are seeing evidence of real change in the ways in which audiences in the U.K. consume video content—and nowhere is this more evident than amongst young adults. Findings from our recently released ViewScape study show a new generation of young adults who are completely engaged with video, but who are viewing in a variety of different ways and using a wider range of devices than previous generations. This presents opportunities—and challenges—for broadcasters, producers and distributors, as they seek to enable audiences to self-curate their viewing options, in addition to traditional forms of linear consumption.”