As revealed in Ofcom’s latest annual report, YouTube has officially become the second most popular media service in the UK, following the BBC and surpassing ITV.
According to the regulator, in 2024, the average person spent around four hours and 30 minutes daily consuming TV and video content from home, with broadcast television still accounting for 56% of total viewing hours.
However, YouTube is at the forefront of the shift towards streaming on TV sets, emerging as the first destination for younger viewers when they turn on their televisions. On average, individuals dedicated 39 minutes daily to YouTube, with 16 of those minutes spent on their TV.
The trend is particularly pronounced among younger adults aged 16 to 34, who watch an average of 18 minutes of YouTube daily. Additionally, one in five children between the ages of four and 15 (20%) are immediately drawn to the app upon switching on the TV.
Notably, people over 55 have nearly doubled their YouTube viewing time on TV, increasing from six minutes per day in January 2023 to 11 minutes in December. According to Ofcom, the growth in YouTube’s popularity is attributed to the platform’s evolving content, with half of its top-trending videos now resembling traditional television formats, featuring long-form interviews and game shows. Overall, viewers have reduced their time spent watching broadcast TV on television sets by 4% compared to 2023, dropping to an average of two hours and 24 minutes daily.
Ofcom’s interim group director for strategy and research, Ed Leighton, noted, “Scheduled TV is becoming less relevant to younger audiences, with many turning to YouTube first when picking up the TV remote.” He added, “We’re also witnessing an increase in older adults incorporating the platform into their daily media habits. Public service broadcasters are beginning to address this shift, striving to engage audiences in the digital spaces where they increasingly spend their time.
However, more ambitious efforts are needed to ensure that the public service media valued by viewers continues to thrive in the future.” In terms of popular content, the most viewed programs and films of 2024 included “Gavin & Stacey,” “Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl,” and “Mr. Bates vs The Post Office.” “Gavin & Stacey: The Finale” topped the charts as the most-watched program of the year, averaging 18.6 million viewers on BBC One and BBC iPlayer combined on TV sets.
