Ofcom – Subscription Streaming Services in UK Homes Have Plateaued

The telecoms and media regulator, Ofcom, has this morning published their Media Nations 2026 report, which reveals how viewing of traditional linear television channels continues to decline in favour of broadband-based video streaming platforms (particularly Netflix). But on-demand content from traditional UK broadcasters has held up well and grew 9% year-on-year.

The latest report is particularly interesting as it provides some of the contrast for the UK Government’s recently proposed plan to switch-off terrestrial TV signals in either 2034 (i.e. the favoured option) or 2044 as part of a wider change to reflect the move toward internet-based video streaming (here).

The study highlights how 26% of viewers say Netflix is now their first choice when looking for something to watch, with the BBC in line at 25%, followed by ITV (15%) and YouTube on just 10%. Suffice to say that traditional UK TV broadcasters are under significant pressure, but the regulator noted how they are showing “signs of resilience“.

Viewing of broadcaster-owned on-demand services such as BBC iPlayer, ITVX, Channel 4 Streaming and 5 streaming increased by 9% year-on-year, making them the fastest-growing category of television service. By contrast, subscription streaming services’ presence in UK homes has largely plateaued at around 70%, following years of rapid growth during the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, growth in broadcaster on-demand viewing has not been enough to offset the continued decline in audiences for traditional linear television channels. Last year, 70% of people in the UK watched content from traditional broadcasters – including live TV, recorded playback and on-demand services – for at least 15 minutes in an average week. But this has fallen steadily from 73% in 2024 and 78% in 2022, with declines seen across all age groups, including viewers aged 75 and over.

Kate Davies, Group Director for Strategy and Research at Ofcom, said:

“As audiences increasingly benefit from an incredible choice of content, competition between traditional broadcasters, streaming services, video sharing platforms and other forms of digital media is fierce.

But in face of these challenges, traditional broadcasters are showing resilience with the power to bring millions of us together to watch or listen for big, national moments, as well as growing their digital offerings.

To thrive and survive in the current media landscape, it’s more important than ever for companies to continue to understand changing audience habits and adapt their strategies to meet people where they are.”

The Full Report covers a mass of different aspects and figures for national TV, video, radio and audio consumption, but we’ll summarise a few of the key headline details below.

Take note that in the financial year ending in 2025, households in the UK spent over £1bn a week on subscriptions, media and content and devices (such as smartphones and TVs) to access it on, as well as related live experiences such as spectator sports, cinema and live music.

Summary of Ofcom’s Key Findings

TV AND VIDEO VIEWING

Broadcaster content still accounts for the majority of video watched in UK homes, despite the continued rise of streaming and online platforms

• A century on from the first demonstration of broadcast television, content provided by broadcasters – whether watched live, recorded or accessed via a broadcaster’s video-on-demand (BVoD) service – made up 53% of the daily average of 4 hours and 27 minutes that people in the UK spent watching video in their homes in 2025.

Fewer people watch linear TV each week… but more people watch BVoD

• Overall, a weekly average of 70% of people in the UK watched programmes – live, recorded or on-demand – from broadcasters in 2025, down from 73% in 2024 and 78% in 2022.

• While the proportion of people watching live or recorded television has fallen in recent years to a weekly average of 54% in 2025 (down from 71% in 2022), there has been consistent growth in the reach of BVoD, with 46% of people watching it at least weekly in 2025 (up from 38% in 2022). Time spent watching BVoD has also grown – up by three minutes a day in 2025.

• Live events, such as sports and time-sensitive entertainment programmes, continue to generate large audiences for broadcasters. The BBC’s The Celebrity Traitors was the third most watched title in 2025, while ITV and the BBC reported peak audiences respectively of 18 million and 24 million for England’s quarter and semi-final games in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Overall satisfaction with public service media remains high among adults and children

• Seven in ten public service broadcaster (PSB) viewers said they are satisfied with public service broadcasting. They are seen to deliver well for most features, in particular delivering ‘a wide range of different types of programmes and content’ (73%), ‘programmes and content made for UK audiences’ (72%) and ‘high quality and creative programmes and content’ (72%).

• There are similarly high levels of satisfaction among children with PSB viewers aged 8-16 and the parents of younger children (aged 3-7) agreeing that PSBs overall provide ‘high quality programmes they enjoy’ (72%) and ‘programmes and content that helps them learn’ (71%).

Video-sharing platforms (VSPs) such as YouTube provide people with a wide range of content both on and off the TV set

• VSPs include content from a wide range of outlets, including independent creators, the PSBs and other media groups. People spent an average of 51 minutes viewing VSPs across all devices in the home in 2025, unchanged since 2024 but up from 43 minutes in 2022. YouTube accounted for 41 minutes of this viewing in 2025, up 18% year on year.

• Much of the growth of in-home viewing of YouTube since 2022 can be attributed to an increase in watching on a TV set, with the average time spent viewing the service this way increasing by 111%, from 9 minutes per day in 2022 to 19 minutes in 2025.

TV AND VIDEO INDUSTRY

The UK commercial TV and online video market exceeded £18bn in 2025, driven by online platforms, but commercial broadcaster revenues declined

• The UK commercial TV and online video sector grew again in 2025, with total revenues increasing to £18.4bn, up from £17.1bn in 2024 (+7%), driven by growth in online video. But despite a 9% nominal growth in BVoD revenues, commercial broadcaster revenues (which includes the commercial PSBs) declined in 2025, falling from £4.98bn to £4.83bn due to declines in traditional TV advertising.

• UK subscription revenues for pay TV and subscription video-on-demand (SVoD) grew by over £1bn to £11.4bn in 2025. However, as subscriber numbers plateau, growth has been driven by price increases and bundled offerings. SVoD platforms are also building advertising, diversifying their revenue bases. Seventy per cent of UK households had at least one SVoD subscription in Q1 2026, an increase of only two percentage points since Q1 2022.

Despite revenue challenges, the PSBs have broadly maintained their investment levels and continue to act as the cornerstone for investment in UK TV and TV-like content

• Excluding sports, first-run UK-originated spend by PSBs increased by 2% in 2025, suggesting relative stability in investment despite ongoing pressure on broadcaster revenues.

• Total PSB first-run UK-originated hours increased in 2025, rising to just over 31,400 hours (up by about 3% year on year), reversing two consecutive years of declining output. BVoD libraries have also expanded steadily and now offer more than 60,000 hours UK originated programming to audiences – more than SVoD and advertising funded video-on-demand services combined.

RADIO AND AUDIO

93% of UK adults listen to at least one type of audio content each week

• Music is the key driver of weekly listening, with 90% of UK adults listening to music audio, and 53% listening to speech audio such as podcasts or talk radio. Audio behaviours vary significantly between age groups, with 25-34s the most likely to listen to speech audio (65%).

• 27% of UK adults listen to podcasts each week with news and current affairs are the most popular genres, listened to by 47% of weekly podcast listeners.

Radio remains at the heart of UK media habits – especially in the car

• Just under nine in ten adults tuned in each week in Q1 2026. Of the 1 billion radio hours listened to in an average week, 55% were to commercial radio.

• In-vehicle listening has become increasingly important for radio, accounting for 26% of hours in Q1 2026, up from 21% in Q1 2022, while in-home’s share of listening declined. Just under a quarter of listeners only listen to the radio while in the car.

Overall revenues for the audio sector have continued to be resilient, with growth in both advertising (especially digital advertising) and subscription revenues

• Commercial radio revenues increased to £674m in 2025, up from £651m in 2024. National advertising revenues continued to outperform local, at £349m and £89m respectively, extending a longer-term structural shift in the market.

• Digital audio advertising expenditure on streaming services and podcasts was £317m in 2025, up from £287m in 2024.

• The large majority of consumer spend on recorded music is on streaming services, which accounted for over £2.0bn of the £2.45bn spent in 2025, up 3% year-on-year.