Advanced Television

Survey: 37% Brits envisage no terrestrial TV in 20 years

January 14, 2025

Research commissioned by Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) polled the nation to discover how Brits envisage everyday life in 20 years’ time, with 61 per cent believing that life will be unrecognisable from the way we live today.

Half (49 per cent) think social media will be banned for under sixteens, while 37 per cent believe streaming services will bring the end of terrestrial TV (37 per cent). Other predictions for 2045 include social media coming with a health warning (36 per cent), driverless cars filling the nation’s roads (29 per cent), and teachers use AI to create learning plans for individual students (42 per cent) from the 2,000 Brits surveyed.

The research also revealed one in four (25 per cent) predict we will be able to go to a festival using a VR headset at home. And when it comes to sports, Brits believe that virtual reality will let remote audiences ‘sit’ courtside or in the front row, experiencing the event as if they were physically there (43 per cent).

Yet, there are certain elements of British culture and life that Brits think will be exactly the same – with the nation’s love of talking about the weather (72 per cent) the thing that is most likely to still be around in 2045. Other things unlikely to change include politicians still lying (65 per cent), going to the pub (44 per cent) and tea continuing to be a British institution (52 per cent).

Brits will also still be attending the theatre (36 per cent), Coronation Street will still be on TV (33 per cent) – and 24 per cent believe that TV presenter Claudia Winkleman will still be rocking a fringe.

Technology (62 per cent) is the area of life that Brits expect to change the most over the next 20 years, with 56 per cent admitting they are amazed by how much it has changed and developed over the last 20 years. Despite this, over a third (34 per cent) insist that as a nation, the UK is forward looking and ready to embrace new technological changes.

However, the jury is out when it comes to the ‘Turing Test’ – meaning a computer that will be able to show intelligent behaviour equivalent to, or indistinguishable, from a human – with one in three (35 per cent) believing it will definitely happen and over half (51 per cent) considering it as a possibility.

Mike Blackman, Managing Director of ISE, commented: “It’s clear from the research that while Brits anticipate life becoming unrecognisable in 20 years, they are excited about the possibilities the future holds, particularly with technology enhancing everyday life. It might not be recognisable for everyone, but audiovisual technology is the invisible backbone of modern life, shaping experiences and enhancing interactions in ways that impact us all—whether we own the technology or simply benefit from its presence in our everyday environments. The developments in technology they see will be highly beneficial for education and transformative for live events, festivals, and sports through innovations like VR and AI. Fortunately, we are at the forefront and can identify trends and developments several years in advance. We eagerly look forward to seeing which of the technological developments will finally influence and change our lives.”

Despite life changing, two-thirds (64 per cent) are excited about the future, with 46 per cent having faith that the world will be a better place in 20 years’ time.

Categories: AI, Articles, Consumer Behaviour, Research, VOD, VR

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