In 2024, 52.3% of people in the UK watched TV for more than three hours daily, down from 58.8% in 2022, according to the “2024 UK Media Consumption” report by Attest. The most popular daily viewing time has shifted from 3-4 hours to 1-2 hours. Younger consumers, particularly those aged 18-24, watch significantly less TV, with only 26% watching for 2-3 hours daily compared to 34.2% of those aged 25-34.
Live TV viewing time has also decreased, with just over 22% of consumers watching live TV for 30-60 minutes daily. In contrast, 60.6% of consumers spend at least an hour daily on streamed TV, compared to 36% for live TV, indicating a shift towards streaming services, especially among younger demographics.
Netflix's crackdown on password sharing has led to a decline in viewership, with weekly viewers dropping by 5 percentage points to 71.8%. This decline is particularly evident among the 18-24 and 55-64 age groups, and the platform may see further declines following the removal of its Basic ad-free tier in the UK. Disney+'s price hike to £10.99 per month has also led to a reduction in its core Gen Z audience, with weekly viewers in the 18-24 age group dropping to 48.2%. In contrast, Amazon Prime has gained popularity among Gen Z, now their preferred platform after Netflix. BBC iPlayer has overtaken Netflix as the top streaming service for consumers aged 55+, with nearly 57% watching iPlayer weekly, as older viewers show a preference for free on-demand TV.
In the audio sector, daily music streaming has seen a slight dip, with 31.9% of UK consumers streaming music daily, down by 3.1 percentage points. The abandonment of streaming is most notable in the 45-54 age group, though consumers under 35 are more likely to stream music daily than listen to the radio. Spotify’s regular user base has decreased by 5.1 percentage points to 47.6%, with significant drops in the 45-54 and 55-64 age groups. Despite the decline, Spotify remains the most popular music streaming service in the UK. Daily radio listening has continued its slow decline, now at 35.4%, with younger demographics tuning in less frequently. Conversely, podcast listening continues to grow, with 11.4% of consumers listening daily and 34.3% never listening, down from 41.5% in 2022. The 25-34 age group are the biggest podcast consumers, favoring comedy and sports genres.
Social media usage among older demographics is also seeing a decline. The 55-64 and 45-54 age groups are spending less time on social media, while Gen Z remains the most active, with significant percentages spending 3-4 hours daily. Instagram usage has dropped by 5.7 percentage points to 42.3%, particularly among 18-24-year-olds. Instagram’s trial of unskippable ads might further reduce usage among younger users. The rebranding of Twitter to X has driven away users, with daily usage dropping from 26% to 19%. Despite the decline, X maintains a consistent level of daily usage across all age groups. TikTok’s user growth has plateaued, but daily usage among 25-34-year-olds has increased to 41%. TikTok has overtaken Instagram as the preferred platform for targeting Gen Z.
Digital content subscriptions have declined among older consumers, particularly those aged 55-64, while younger consumers (18-24) are more likely to pay for digital content subscriptions. Weekly readership of printed newspapers has increased to 23.5%, driven by the 25-34 age group, while the 55-64 age group remains the biggest consumers of printed news. Daily digital news consumption has increased among the 45-54 age group to 47.7%, though overall digital news consumption remains flat due to declines in other age groups. Weekly consumption of printed magazines has risen to 23.5%, equal to digital magazine content, with the 35-44 age group reading printed magazines most frequently.
Attest concluded that understanding these media consumption shifts will become crucial for advertisers and media planners to effectively target their audiences and allocate their budgets. Knowing these trends will help in crafting strategies that resonate with the changing preferences of UK consumers.
Related News
