Ofcom: Linear TV under threat
The latest Ofcom Media Nations report shows a 12% decline in time spent viewing TV and Video – the biggest ever annual fall – with viewing levels now 16% lower than pre-pandemic levels. Among younger people, the drop is even steeper, falling 21% year-on-year for those aged 4-34.
VOD subscriptions also under pressure: 66% of households now use a streaming service, down from 68% in 2021, with the rate of take-up slowing and business models changing to reflect consequent pressure on finances – for example, Netflix is now taking advertising.
It’s not just the platforms themselves that are facing increased irrelevancy; Ofcom’s analysis of the content that viewers watch in the UK makes for difficult reading if you are in the mass entertainment business:
The number of transmissions achieving ‘mass audiences’ is in steep decline. In 2014, 2,490 transmissions attracted more than four million TV viewers, but in 2022 there were only 1,184 – a 52% drop. Transmissions attracting more than...