A. Guttmann
Research Lead covering media
Online media usage in the UK - statistics & facts
Following a global trend, digital media revenue in the United Kingdom is poised to grow in the next few years. As of 2024, the country’s digital media market is worth more than 22 billion U.S dollars. The majority of this revenue is attributed to video games and video-on-demand, showing how strong these two segments are within the realm of online entertainment. So, while the time spent with traditional media is declining, gaming and video streaming is propelling media usage in the UK.
Today, entertainment behavior in the United Kingdom is circling around digital media and within that, the interest lies in video streaming and video gaming. These two sectors will be responsible for the growth of media usage in the country in the coming years.
Video gamers in the UK – state of play
Data shows that the United Kingdom boasts the largest number of video gamers in Europe, surpassing 36 million (compared to 27 million in France – the second biggest gaming market). The majority of UK gamers are aged between 20 and 39 years old. The gaming community is comprised of a fairly even distribution of men and women, although some sources indicate that the latter make up the majority. Mobile phones are the prevalent choice of device for gamers in the UK and this trend is strengthening, while consoles and TVs take the second spot. In fact, mobile gaming is considered the future of the video gaming landscape in the United Kingdom, with the highest potential for growth. In general, online gaming in the country is at a steady 68 percent since 2021 and shows no sign of declining.Video viewing – digital ad-supported in the lead
Since 2021, the reach of video-on-demand subscriptions in the United Kingdom has been oscillating around 19 million households. The viewership boom that started during the coronavirus outbreak has now transitioned into steady audience numbers. Video streaming in the UK remains strong, however, the market is pivoting from premium models to free ad-supported ones such as broadcaster video-on-demand (BVOD). The data shows that the viewership of BVOD services surpassed the SVOD viewer-base. Among many BVOD platforms, BBC iPlayer is by far the most popular ad-supported service in the UK, followed by ITV and All 4, showing the prevalence of local players. However, international services, such as Pluto TV, are slowly entering the market as well. In fact, while Netflix and Amazon Prime Video are losing viewer interest, Pluto TV is one of the platforms that experienced an increase in total content viewing hours between 2022 and 2023, indicating its growth potential.Today, entertainment behavior in the United Kingdom is circling around digital media and within that, the interest lies in video streaming and video gaming. These two sectors will be responsible for the growth of media usage in the country in the coming years.
