UK viewers watch two months of TV per year, time-shifting on the increase

The popularity of time-shifted viewing continues to grow in the UK, as do the number of devices being used to watch TV, according to research conducted for TV Licensing.

Time-shifted viewing accounted for 9.1% of total TV viewing in the UK last year, up from 7.1% in 2010. In total, UK viewers watched an average of four hours and two minutes of TV daily, which equates to around two months of the year.

The number of devices capable of delivering TV services is increasing, with the average household owning 2.34 TV sets compared with 2.17 in 2007. The biggest increases have been in so called ‘second-screen’ ownership, with laptop ownership increasing by 37% to an average of 1.51 per household, smartphone ownership increasing by 64% to 0.77 per household and tablet ownership up by 45% to 0.33 per household. By the end of the year, 79% of households had watched TV on a PC or laptop, while 39% has used a smartphone and 14% had used a tablet to watch TV.

TV Licensing also revealed that connected TV sets accounted for 16% of all TV sales last year, compared with 9% in 2010. Around 40% of all TVs with screens larger than 33 inches have internet access. Over 700,000 3D TV sets were sold last year, compared with just 125,000 in 2010.