Catch-up TV now accounts for a fifth of UK TV viewing YouView research finds
Catch-up TV on demand platforms such as BBC iPlayer and ITV Player now accounts for a fifth of the UK's television viewing, according to research released by YouView.
The study conducted by YouView, was carried out by YouGov and involved 2,000 people in the UK who were asked about their use of on demand TV. This found that catch-up, on demand viewing made up to six hours of the average household's TV viewing each week, watching 10 programmes a week.
It was also discovered that a fifth of adults said they now watched more TV and that over a quarter (26 per cent) said that they owned six or more devices on which they could watch TV.
However, only nine hours of TV were recorded each week by the average viewer, while that rises to nine hours and 20 minutes a week for 18-24 year olds, just under a third of their TV viewing.
Parents questioned also revealed that they estimated their children, under the age of 16, watched seven hours if catch-up per week and that over 55s spent 14 per cent of their TV viewing time using catch-up.
Over three quarters of respondents (77 per cent) said that they still used their TV more often than any other device, although the average household now has four different devices on which they can view TV. That number rose to six however for 18-24 year olds questioned.
A 40 per cent increase in send through subscription TV services has also been recorded over the last five years, with the average household paying £29.89. Just under a quarter of households spent over £50 a month on subscription TV, while downloads through iTunes saw average spend at £1.56 while Google Play Store saw men spend £2.03 and women spend £1.13.
Steve Conway, head of marketing at YouView said that TV was still "a huge part of British life" but added that viewing habits were changing.
"What is becoming important to TV fans is being able to watch what they want, whenever they want it and this research supports that," he continued.
“Among 18-24 year olds, 37 per cent said the ability to watch on demand TV was very important compared to a quarter nationally and as a nation we are craving more and more time with our favourite programmes, on our own terms."
Also discovered was that over half of respondents (57 per cent) said they used their computer to access TV content, with 14 per cent using their Playstation 3 or Xbox 360, while a quarter used their tablets.