Attest, a consumer research platform, has released the findings from the latest edition of its Quarterly UK Media Consumption Tracker. It provides continuous insights into how Brits’ habits across television, audio, news, and social media continue to evolve.

The effects of inflation can be seen in Attest’s Q2 UK media consumption tracker results, with the usage of paid content subscription services declining.

TV & Streaming Trends (UK)

TV streaming usage declines in Q2

• Attest’s research finds a 1.6 percentage point reduction in the number of people using a subscription TV streaming service; 12.3 per cent of UK consumers say they don’t watch any.
• Meanwhile, eight of the 11 paid-for TV streaming services in this survey recorded a drop in regular users, which could point to a loss of subscribers.

Netflix appears to be the most affected, but Prime Video & Disney+ also suffer

• The biggest loser was Netflix, which dropped 2.1 percentage points (to 74.3 per cent of Brits watching at least once a week), despite Stranger Things being named the number one show of the quarter. This new data comes hot on the heels of Netflix’s reported loss of 970,000 users in the last quarter, the first time in its history that the company had consecutive quarters of subscriber losses, as well as its newly-announced plan to launch a cheap ad-supported subscription option.
• Prime Video and Disney+ also both experienced a 1.7 percentage point loss in viewers during the quarter (to 45.7 per cent and 35.9 per cent respectively). It’s a very different picture to Q1, when all of these platforms chalked up growth.

Terrestrial TV usage increases

• On the other hand, the number of people watching terrestrial TV is trending up by 2.6 percentage points to 78.6 per cent. And people are watching live TV for longer, with a 1.4 percentage point increase in 4-hour-plus viewing sessions. This reverses the trend seen during the first quarter when live TV was in decline.

TV & Streaming Trends (US)

Netflix woes continue – usership slips

• Last quarter Attest found that Netflix had continued to grow its regular users, despite losing subscribers in the US.
• However, this quarter there was a 1.5 percentage point decrease in the number of Americans watching it at least once a week (to 69.4 per cent) – this comes despite Netflix’s Stranger Things being the most-named show in this survey, which was also released in Q2. This new data comes hot on the heels of Netflix’s reported loss of 970,000 users in the last quarter, the first time in its history that the company had consecutive quarters of subscriber losses.

Netflix is the only streaming service to see a decline in Q2

• Despite a worsening economic and inflationary environment, Netflix was the only TV streaming service to record a decline out of the 10 included in this survey (although it remains the most-watched platform).
• The biggest winners were Disney+ (up 5.3 percentage points to 37.7 per cent) and Paramount+ (up 3.1 percentage points to 21.4 per cent). Following the increase, Disney+ is rivaling Prime Video for third place, which sits just a few points ahead at 42.9 per cent.

Americans spend less time watching TV in Q2

• Overall, TV viewing went down during the second quarter. There was a 4.8 percentage point decrease in the number of Americans watching TV for 3-4 hours per day (to 28.1 per cent).
• Live TV also took a hit, with a 2.2 percentage point increase in the number of people who say they never watch it. That figure now stands at 26.6 per cent of the population, potentially highlighting that more and more Americans appear to be avoiding live TV, like news.

Social Media Trends (UK)

Social media usage drops in Q2, even for TikTok

• With the advent of spring in Q2, Brits spent less time on social media. Seven of the nine platforms in Attest’s survey saw usage go down. TikTok experienced the biggest loss (following a positive performance in Q1), with a 1.9 percentage point reduction in weekly users to 25.1 per cent, and a 1.6 percentage point uplift in people never using the platform to 52.2 per cent.

Twitter also sees a decline, while Pinterest & Snapchat buck the downward trend

• The ‘will he/won’t he’ drama around Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter (and the platform’s threatened lawsuit) hasn’t succeeded in gaining the site any more users. In fact, 41.3 per cent of Brits now never use Twitter, following a 1.9 percentage point decline in users.
• The only platforms to buck the downward trend were Pinterest, which grew daily and weekly users by 2.9 percentage points to 14.9 per cent, and Snapchat, which saw a 2.5 percentage point uplift in daily users to 21.3 per cent. Both platforms, however, are still small players when compared to the likes of Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, who dominate the top three.

Social Media Trends (US)

Twitter falls behind Snapchat & Pinterest

• According to Attest’s new data, Snapchat and Pinterest are now more popular than Twitter following a quarter of growth for the two platforms.
• The number of Americans who use Snapchat grew 3.5 percentage points to 50.3 per cent in Q2, while Pinterest also saw its number of users go up by 3.1 percentage points to 58.4 per cent.
• Despite ongoing drama regarding Twitter’s fate, it saw mixed results – a 2.1 percentage point increase in daily users was canceled out by a 2.7 percentage point decline in weekly. Overall usership remains static at 49.6 per cent of Americans.
• By applying a score to each platform based on the number of users they have and how regularly they use them, we see Twitter is now only the 7th most popular platform out of the nine in Attest’s survey.

TikTok continues its momentum, while Instagram struggles

• The platform that recorded the highest growth in Q2 of 2022 is TikTok. It recorded an impressive 6.5 percentage point jump in users to 59.8 per cent, combined with a 6.5 percentage point increase in the number of Americans using the platform daily (to 30 per cent).
• Facebook and Instagram, on the other hand, joined Twitter among the three platforms trending down during the quarter. Facebook saw the biggest loss, with a 3.1 percentage point drop in the number of people who use the platform (to 83.8 per cent) and a 2.3 percentage point net decline in daily/weekly users.
• YouTube remains the most popular social platform in America, with a 1.9 percentage point boost in daily users (with 54 per cent of Americans using the platform every day), while Facebook, Instagram and TikTok round out the top four.

Audio Trends (UK)

Brits tune out in Q2

• Brits have also switched off their radios in the second quarter of 2022. While the medium was trending up in Q1, we now see a 1.8 percentage point increase in the number of people who never listen to the radio (13.6 per cent). Daily listeners have decreased by 1 percentage point to 38.7 per cent, and weekly listeners have declined 1.1 percentage point to 33.1 per cent.

Podcasts see a drop in popularity & audiobooks continue to struggle

• Podcasts – another medium doing well at the start of the year – have recorded a 2.3 percentage point increase in people never listening (to 43.6 per cent), and daily/weekly listeners have fallen by 1.9 percentage points to 27.8 per cent. Meanwhile, Audiobooks are suffering even more, with a 4.7 percentage point increase in the number of people who never listen to them – now standing at a significant 64.7 per cent.

YouTube Music continues to grow

• Music streaming platforms did see growth during the period – with one notable exception. The number of people regularly using Amazon Music declined by 4.7 percentage points to 20.5 per cent, meaning it is no longer the UK’s second-most popular platform (behind Spotify). That title now belongs to YouTube Music, which made a small gain in regular users (following a Q1 loss) and now owns 23.8 per cent of the UK market.

Audio Trends (US)

Americans hit the shuffle button on Spotify’s dominance, YouTube Music takes top spot 

• Attest finds an interesting shuffle happened during the second quarter amongst music streaming platforms. YouTube Music chalked up a second quarter of growth, increasing regular users by 4.7 percentage points to 39.4 per cent. Meanwhile, Spotify suffered a small decline, taking usership to 38.3 per cent and making YouTube Music the new market leader.

Listening to music trends upwards, while podcasts & audiobooks see growth

• Nearly 41 per cent of Americans now listen to streamed music daily, following a 1.7 percentage point increase, and all the platforms in this survey besides Spotify recorded growth. The biggest gain was seen by Apple Music, which increased regular users by 5.5 percentage points to 20.9 per cent.
• Continuing this audio trend, podcasts and audiobooks saw increases in Q2. There’s been a 2.7 percentage point increase in the number of Americans listening to podcasts daily/a few times a week (to 26.1 per cent), while podcasts enjoyed a 4 percentage point increase in regular listeners (to 14 per cent).

Listening habits across music streaming and podcasts are trending upwards

• On the whole, streaming music is modestly trending up; with a 2 percentage point increase in people listening daily. Meanwhile, podcasts are also being listened to more frequently, with a 2.2 percentage point increase in people listening on a weekly basis. In a qualitative question, Americans were most likely to name The Joe Rogan Experience as their favorite podcast, consistent with Q1 results.

Categories: Articles, Consumer Behaviour, Digital Radio, Premium, Research, Social Media, VOD

Tags: Amazon, Disney, facebook, netflix, tiktok, youtube