Ofcom reports big changes in media consumption

OUT-LAW News, 19/08/2008

The number of people using the internet to watch television on demand has more than doubled in a year, according to communications regulator Ofcom, while the number of people listening to the radio on the internet has increased by a fifth.

Use of internet-connected machines to access broadcasting changes is on the increase in the UK, Ofcom's annual report on communications use has found.

The report found that while 8% of viewers accessed television content on demand over the internet in 2006, that figure rose to 17% in 2007. The phenomenally popular BBC iPlayer software for re-playing BBC content was launched in 2007.

The report also found that on-demand viewing was more diverse than broadcast viewing, where mainstream BBC1 programmes dominated.

"The BBC’s top twenty broadcast programmes in April 2008 were all scheduled on BBC One; 95% of them were Drama (and 80% were EastEnders)," said Ofcom's report. "But there was more diversity in the programme genres consumed through the iPlayer – Factual accounted for 60% of the top 20, with Drama making up the remaining 40%."

"The range of shows was also broader, with 11 different programmes in the top 20 and no one programme accounting for more than a quarter of the total. And shows scheduled on the BBC channels with lower reach (e.g. BBC Two, BBC Three) also featured in iPlayer’s most popular 20 programmes," it said.

The report also found that consumers' use of communications services in general is increasing and the prices paid for services are decreasing. Use of mobile phones has doubled since 2002, while time spent on computers has quadrupled in the same period.

The cost of this increased activity has been falling. Household spending on communications services in 2007 was £93.63, £1.53 cheaper than the previous year and £4.31 cheaper than in 2004.

The report shows that people are using phones more than ever.

"The number of mobile minutes has risen by over 90% in the last five years – but … fixed-line call volumes have fallen by just 10% in the same period, and still account for 60% of all voice volumes," said Ofcom chief executive Ed Richards in the report's introduction. "While the internet has transformed the world we live in, the 160-character SMS is the most widely used data application in the UK, with 44% of UK adults using text messaging on a daily basis compared to 36% who use the internet."

Money as well as viewers are moving online, with online advertising spending increasing by 40% in 2007. In that year £2.8 billion was spent online and for the first time that figure was higher than the amount spent on terrestrial analogue television advertising in the UK.

See: The report

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