Campaign reports that online streaming services have overtaken linear TV for the first time in the UK.

The way we live our lives, and consume content, has changed during the pandemic.  Naturally, people who are spending more time at home are watching more television content. 

The majority of us (72%) are watching a mix of streamed and linear TV. But one interesting development is that, on average, we are now watching more streamed services than linear TV.  

This marks the first time streaming services have overtaken linear TV in the UK. 

Streaming services passed 'pay TV' back in 2018, but now it dominates all forms of linear TV.

The stats are impressive:  Samsung Ads’ Behind the Screens report shows streaming time streaming time was up 36%, a linear increased by 11% over the same period.  This means that by June 2020, people in the UK were watching 43 minutes more streamed content per day than linear TV.

This is potentially good news for advertisers. Campaign reports that "Ad-supported video on demand experienced the largest growth within VOD viewing (up 30%) and made up an average of one hour and 39 minutes per day of viewing time for UK consumers. Subscription video on demand grew by 26% and broadcaster video on demand by 9%. Transaction video on demand was flat with 0% growth between January and June."

So media plans will need to reflect these trends in order to maximise reach and to avoid being left behind, or failing to reach the growing group of UK viewers (currently around 14%) who watch no linear TV at all, but who do consume streaming services.

Streaming flood gates opening across Europe

The UK leads Europe in terms of TV time dedicated to streaming. In the UK, 59% of our TV time is dedicated to streaming, in France the figure is 55%, and 52% in Spain.