UK media consumption report 2021

When we ran our media consumption survey last year, it was during the UK’s first lockdown. The data revealed a big spike in TV viewing as people resorted to bingeing box sets to pass the time while stuck at home. 

This year, we see a different picture. With data gathered during May, as we emerged into a newly-vaccinated reality, Brits’ TV viewing time was rapidly returning to pre-COVID levels. In 2020, 60% of people reported watching 3+ hours of live television a day, and 55% said the same about streamed TV. Today, we find a lesser 43% consuming that amount of live TV and 31% watching 3+ hours of on-demand TV. 

Other trends to emerge include the rapid adoption of new entertainment channels Disney Plus and TikTok among Gen Z Brits. Meanwhile, Millennials show the highest levels of interest in the burgeoning audio-only social media platform Clubhouse.

In this report, we’ve broken the data down by demographic, making it easy for you to see the best ways to access your target audience. Covering everything from printed publications to podcasts, this insight (from 1,000 UK working-age consumers) will help guide your media buying across TV, print, audio and digital. And, what’s more, you can slice and dice the data to your own specifications in our interactive dashboard.

Use this report to:

• Understand how to capture different demographics
• Help decide where to allocate ad spend
• Anticipate future media trends