Time Shift viewing on the rise as TV figures sustain record high in 2011

The figures, according to the Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board (BARB), found that the average viewer watched 28 hours and 14 minutes a week.

Commercial TV channels were largely responsible for maintaining the figures, accounting for 64% of all linear TV viewing, an increase of 1.3% on the previous year.

Meanwhile, time-shifted viewing accounted for 9.4% of the UK’s TV consumption, rising from 7.6% in 2010 due to more households owning Sky+ or Freeview+, while half of UK households are said to now own a DTR device.

Of those who own a DTR set, 84.7% of content was watched live, while 15.3% was time-shifted within seven days.

As a result of the increase in commercial viewing, television advertising viewing also grew during 2011, with commercial impact rising by 2.6%, with the average viewer watching 47 adverts a day last year.

Lindsey Clay, managing director of Thinkbox, commented: “These figures explain why so many tech companies want to join the TV industry. Many companies are flocking to launch new TV services or social media services that feed off people’s love affair with TV.

“It is obvious that people want to watch TV programmes on the best screen in the home if they can and 2012 will bring more opportunities to do that with the sale of connected TVs and more catch-up TV services to the TV set. And alongside that there is now a wide variety of personal screens to watch TV on which make TV even more convenient; tablets are really delivering an excellent mobile TV experience.

“TV continues to be the most effective form of advertising there is and the instant responses that 2nd screens enable is making it even more so.”

The figures will be published in March as part of Thinkbox’s Annual Review.