In every country surveyed, broadband usage appears linked to a decline in conventional television viewing. On average around one-third of consumers with broadband access said they watch less television since going online. Conversely, internet access appears to have a positive effect on radio listening, offsetting a decline in hours spent listening to conventional broadcast radio.

China leads the world in viewing music videos and television programmes over broadband; 76% of Chinese broadband users watch downloadable or streaming music video clips and 70% watch TV over broadband.

Among 18-24 year old broadband users, the UK is second only to China in its enthusiasm for online video. 77% of UK 18-24 year old broadband users watch music videos online (87% in China) and 60% watch TV programmes via their broadband connections (82% in China).

UK adoption of new services such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP - phone calls over broadband) and Internet Protocol TV (IPTV – television programmes and video on demand over broadband) is slower than in other countries. 5.4% of French consumers use VoIP services and 1.6% subscribe to IPTV services, compared to 0.4% of UK consumers for each of these services.

Take-up of broadband is now higher in the UK (around 39% of households) than the United States (38%), France (38%) and Germany (28%), but behind Japan (44%), Sweden (45%) and the Netherlands (58%).