Report: U.K. Broadcast TV Viewing Decline Resumes

Following a pandemic-inflated boost in 2020, broadcast TV viewing in the U.K. resumed its downward trajectory in 2021, according to Enders Analysis.

Throughout the pandemic, TV set usage rose dramatically. Initially, during the first U.K.-wide lockdown, the increase was split relatively evenly between broadcast TV viewing and so-called “unmatched activities.” Soon, the former reverted to its pre-pandemic downward trajectory, while the latter has remained elevated ever since.

According to Analysis, the return of broadcast TV viewing to its pre-pandemic level by the middle of 2020 was likely accelerated by the “staleness” of the linear TV schedule, with most TV production suspended at that time, compounded by the absence of live sports.

In 2020, consolidated TV viewing increased by 5.1 percent overall—but only because of older audiences: all age groups under 45 posted declines in 2020. In 2021, consolidated viewing was down 10 percent year on year and down 5.4 percent versus 2019. The very oldest viewers (over-65s) continued to watch more linear TV in 2021 than in 2019 (1.6 percent), although this was the only age group to do so.

The decline of linear TV viewing in 2021 was a return to the downward trajectory witnessed over the last decade: Across 2021, average consolidated viewing was 2 hours 53 minutes per person per day, a reduction of nearly 30 percent since its peak in 2010-2012, driven by younger age groups (although even 35-44s are now at 50 percent of their 2010 level, and 45-54s have shed a quarter of their linear TV time). The decline between 2010 and 2021 was 70 percent for under-25s, nearly 60 percent for 25-34s and half for 35-44s.

Broadcast TV’s average weekly reach in the U.K. declined to 86.2 percent in 2021 across the TV-owning population, following record declines of 2 percentage points in each of the last two years (despite the boost to viewing time in 2020).

In households that take some sort of video streaming service, the average number of services taken is very marginally under 2 (1.98 in Q4 2021). The arrival of Disney+ moved this figure up slightly over the past two years, although nearly all Disney+ subscribers already took another service. In Q4 2021, 31 percent of streaming households only had a single service, over 95 percent of which had just either Netflix or Amazon as their single service (98 percent of streaming households had either Netflix or Amazon; 87 percent had Netflix). All other services are basically additional to these main two, and secondary in terms of engagement (although Disney is challenging that).

Total TV time in 2021, at 4 hours 15 minutes per person per day, was still somewhat inflated versus pre-pandemic (up 6 percent), due to the lockdown from January to April last year.