The folks at TV Licensing have issued a handy sort of an infographic (below) which sheds some light on what we watch, when we watch it and how. Some of the stats you could file under 'I think I probably knew that already' but it puts some interesting figures on emerging and persistent trends. For example we see at a glance that despite controversial storylines breathing fresh life into Eastenders over the past 12 months the traditional soap opera has well and truly lost pride of place in the listings to reality TV formats such as Britain's Got Talent (BGT).
The insight offered into consumption habits is also of interest. The radio audience still peaks at 8am - showing the continued dominance of breakfast show formats and news and current affairs shows such as the Today programme on Radio 4 - while television prime time peaks and plateaus for two hours between 8pm and 10pm as it always has. But the new kid on the clock is the BBC iPlayer peak audience which hits just as prime time starts running out of steam after 10pm. That would suggest a lot of content on-demand doesn't compete but complements our existing scheduled TV viewing - filling in some of the gaps and encouraging us to watch more television. This is supported by a full report and more detailed infographic (full version here) which does indeed show we're watching more television than ever before.
However, a look at the past decade's top 10 TV moments also illustrates neatly a division taking place - and flags an important future trend which will shape - and preserve - TV schedules.
Live sport and the finals of reality TV shows, most notably X Factor and Britain's Got Talent are anchoring viewers to the TV schedule because they are seen as being so time sensitive (heaven forbid you would discover who won X Factor before being able to see the drama unfold). They also increasingly generate their own multi-platform social media element which can only happen if participants watch live and chat with friends and networks about unfolding events (shows with the greatest talkability, from Big Fat Gypsy Weddings to Question Time are also anchoring these social audiences to the TV schedule). Meanwhile, programming which is less time sensitive - including episodes of popular shows such as Doctor Who and Top Gear - are clearly well suited to catch-up platforms and feature prominently in the top 10.
Anyway, here's the infographic (click to enlarge):
This is interesting however, I'm not too sure that all this TV is a good thing.
Also, regarding BBC iPlayer. You can now buy Blu Ray players with embedded support for BBC iPlayer, ITV's iPlayer, YouTube and Many more. I have one of these Blu Ray players, which you can now buy for £120. It really has changed the way we watch TV in our home.
I think when these appliances make their way into the living rooms of more families, we will see a raped increase in demand for iPlayer.
Posted by: R.Spies | Mar 07, 2011 at 10:11