Children spending less time in front of the TV as they turn to online media.

Children are watching less broadcast television as they turn to online activities and services such as YouTube, according to Ofcom’s latest Communications Market Report.The number of minutes of TV watched on a TV set – including through catchup services – by children aged between four and 15, fell by 17 minutes, or 12.4%, between 2013 and 2014, to just under two hours per day.

“There are more demands on their time, more things they can do with their time,” said Ofcom director of research, James Thickett. “A lot of this will be stuff they are doing on the internet, but not necessarily TV-like stuff. Watching video clips on YouTube for instance
is very, very popular among children.”

Thickett said the range of Children’s TV was greater than ever due to the proliferation of channels, but that the lack of programming made in the UK was a concern. “What we’ve seen over the last 10 years is that only the BBC is commissioning UK original content. That is a separate issue about what kind of content we want children to be watching.”

Thickett said it was unclear how many younger people would retain their viewing habits as they got older.He said: “To some extent people are taking their new habits into their 30s at least, so the internet generation is used to going on the internet, using the internet and to some extent watching TV on the internet.

“What we don’t know is whether when they get to 39 they will swap their habits, because this coincides with people getting married later, getting their first house later and having kids later. We think there will be a mix, the cohort effect will get weaker and weaker.”

Previous Ofcom research has shown that among people who watch short online video clips like those found on YouTube and social media sites, 6- to 15-year-olds spend the most time, racking up an average of 64 minutes a day.At 3 hours and 40 minutes, the average time spent watching broadcast TV each day is still well ahead of time spent on the internet on both smartphones and PCs, which totals just over three hours.

However, the Ofcom report found that a majority of UK viewers are watching less TV at the time it is broadcast, with 19% reporting a net decrease in live viewing, rising to 28% among 35- to 44-year-olds.

The total number of hours of children’s TV that was not a repeat shown in 2014 fell by 41% year on year, according to the report.

Daily time in front of the box also fell by 17 minutes among 35- to 44-year-olds, but the group watches significantly more TV than children – just under three hours and 20 minutes – so the decrease was proportionally smaller, at 8%.

Across all age groups, total broadcast TV viewing fell by an average of 11 minutes to three hours and 40 minutes. Those over 65, however, remain committed to broadcast TV, with total viewing time down by just one minute to five hours and 40 minutes.

Among children, 16- to 24-year-olds and 35- to 44-year-olds, time spent watching TV has fallen each year since 2010. However, the year-on-year fall in 2014 among 16- to-24-year-olds was just 9 minutes.

credit:theGuardian