Advanced Television

UK kids topping up TV viewing with online content

November 25, 2014

kids-with-ipadOfcom research reveals the extent to which children are topping up traditional live TV viewing by watching online video clips and catch-up TV.

Ofcom’s Digital Day 2014 study shows that older children aged 11-15 are watching half the amount of live TV per day as adults (1 hour 32 minutes versus 2 hours 58 minutes).

In contrast, older children are spending six times longer than adults watching short online video clips on sites such as YouTube and Vimeo (33 minutes versus 5 minutes).

This research involved children aged 6-15 filling in a three-day diary on their media and communications habits.

Half (45 per cent) of 11-15 year olds watch online video clips on websites every week compared with 20 per cent of adults. These video clips account for around a fifth (19 per cent) of overall viewing time for this age group compared with just 2 per cent for adults.

Children aged 11-15 watch a similar amount of free on-demand TV – from services such as BBC iPlayer and 4oD – to adults each day (13 minutes versus 12 minutes). But a greater proportion of adults are likely to watch these services each week (38 per cent, compared with 26 per cent of 11-15 year olds).

The study also found that nearly all UK adults reported watching live TV every week over the course of a week (94 per cent), compared with just over three-quarters (78 per cent) of children aged 11-15 and 90 per cent of 6-11 year olds.

Categories: Articles, Consumer Behaviour, OTT, OTT, Research