UK leading new viewing habits, Ofcom reveals

A new report from UK media regulator Ofcom shows that the country is ahead of other countries including Japan and the US for catching up with TV online and is at the forefront of using new technology such as smart TVs and digital video recorders.

According to Ofcom’s seventh International Communications Market Report, which examines take-up, availability, price and use of broadband, landlines, mobiles, TV, radio and post across 17 major countries, almost a quarter (23%) of UK internet users claimed to access TV services over the internet every week.

The US ranked second with 17%, with Spain third with 16%.

The UK also has one of the highest proportions of TV homes with high definition at 41%, higher than France (18%), Germany (28%) and Japan (31%), but behind the US (49%).

UK consumers are also embracing smart TVs with 15% saying they own one. This is the same as France and compares to 10% in the US.

The average UK viewer watches 242 minutes of TV every day, with only the US at 293 minutes and Italy at 253 minutes watching more.