Julia Stoll
Research expert covering TV and video media
Broadcaster video-on-demand in the United Kingdom - statistics & facts
While the consumption of traditional TV declined in recent years in the UK, broadcasters’ online platforms increased in popularity among consumers, content owners, and advertisers, albeit not enough to offset the revenue and viewer losses of linear channels. The average daily viewing time of BVOD content grew from 2021 to 2022, while other forms of viewing, such as subscription-based services and live TV dropped. A forecast even shows that BVOD will likely outpace SVOD in terms of viewership in 2023.
In contrast to SVOD platforms which tend to provide American and/or international content, BVOD is mostly used as catch-up services for content from national broadcasters. The consequence is that the majority of TV shows and movies on the main BVOD platforms in the UK are produced locally. The streaming offer of UKTV recorded the highest share of content hours originated in the UK at over 80 percent, while nearly 60 percent of content hours on Channel 4 and ITVX were produced in the country.
BVOD services and their content
However, SVOD remains important to the British video streaming industry as flexible monetization models could become standard. One of the most recent examples is broadcaster ITV relaunching its streaming services ITV Hub, ITV Hub+, and BritBox all together as platform ITVX in December 2022. Consumers now have access to live TV content, originals, and other entertainment options via ad-based or subscription plans. As a result, the broadcaster expanded its catalog by over 5,000 content hours in just one year and can consequently compete with the UK’s largest BVOD offerings of the BBC and Channel 4, with drama accounting for the highest growth.In contrast to SVOD platforms which tend to provide American and/or international content, BVOD is mostly used as catch-up services for content from national broadcasters. The consequence is that the majority of TV shows and movies on the main BVOD platforms in the UK are produced locally. The streaming offer of UKTV recorded the highest share of content hours originated in the UK at over 80 percent, while nearly 60 percent of content hours on Channel 4 and ITVX were produced in the country.
BVOD’s target group
Broadcasters in the UK are not only using streaming services to extend their reach, but also social media platforms. It comes as no surprise, then, that younger consumers are the main drivers pushing online TV. While BVOD accounted for 11 percent of the total broadcast viewing time among the population in 2022, this share was more than twice as high among people aged 16 to 34 years. The surge in adaption of BVOD, especially among younger audiences, has also attracted the attention of advertisers – advertising spending on broadcaster’s streaming services in the country continuously increased in recent years, peaking in 2022 at over 845 million British pounds.
