24 December 2009: A new analysis of TV data by Thinkbox has revealed how TV itself and the way we watch it have changed during the first decade of the 21st century.

The picture that emerges is that UK households have embraced new technologies to enhance their enjoyment of TV viewing, and that TV remains as central to our lives now as it was a decade ago. We watch as much broadcast TV now as ever – and that doesn’t include all the new on-demand ways we watch via the internet.

The key facts are:*

• Daily broadcast TV viewing has increased by 3 minutes since 2000 to 3.72 hours.
• Daily viewing of commercial TV has increased by over 5 minutes to 2.37 hours.
• Commercial TV now accounts for 63.6% of our TV viewing, up from 62.1% in 2000.
• We watch more TV ads at normal speed than ever before, up from 33 a day per person to 43 over the decade, adding up to a staggering 2.45 billion ads a day in total in the UK.
• In 2000, only 31.6% of households had multi-channel TV; now 90.7% have it as digital switchover approaches.
• In 2000 we had a choice of up to 252 channels; we now have 495, nearly double (source: Ofcom).
• The average household now has 2 TV sets, the same as in 2000 (1.96). However, other screens which once didn’t deliver TV now can: PCs, Macs, laptops and mobile phones.
• In 2000, High Definition TV didn’t exist; now 49% of households own an HD ready TV (source: Screen Digest).
• In 2000, no one had a digital TV recorder. VHS reigned. Now, 39% of households have a digital TV recorder (such as Sky+ or Freeview+) and watch 17% more TV as a result. (sources: Ofcom, Screen Digest, Skyview).

Tess Alps, chief executive of Thinkbox: “The changes in the way we watch TV have been driven by human need liberated by technology. The story of the TV decade is that new technologies have encouraged us to watch even more TV because we have more choice and more control. The TV set has become a thing of beauty in our homes and there are no signs that we want to give it up. In fact, we want to watch more - and in new places - via online TV services. 

“The last 10 years have reasonably been dubbed the age of the internet, but we end the decade with the realisation that TV’s relationship with it is highly positive.  Whether enabling instant chat or search in response to TV or simply by being a technology that distributes TV, we enter the next decade understanding that the internet is TV’s friend.  We can’t predict exactly what will happen to TV over the next 10 years but we can be confident that TV will be as popular and influential as ever.”

-ends-

Press contact: Simon Tunstill | simon.tunstill@thinkbox.tv | 020 7630 2326

About Thinkbox
Thinkbox is the television marketing body for the main UK commercial broadcasters - Channel 4, Five, GMTV, ITV, Sky Media, Turner Media Innovations and Viacom Brand Solutions. It works with the UK marketing community with a single ambition: to help customers get the best out of television. Thinkbox was launched in February 2005

TV today has more to offer advertisers than ever before, not least because this growing medium remains at the heart of popular culture and advertising effectiveness. From understanding how audiences engage with TV advertising, explaining innovative and affordable solutions, to providing the rigorous proof of effectiveness that advertisers need, Thinkbox is here to help customers meet their marketing objectives.