Christmas TV Viewing
As we settle down this week to enjoy our seasonal celebrations, and aficionados anticipate both the annual Christmas special telefest and the epilogue of Downton, we might reflect that there is considerable turmoil in the TV marketplace.
Not only are the holiday schedules a pale shadow of what they use to be, the whole shebang is in decline.
Once upon a time the Beeb and its commercial rivals would spend squillions on Christmas night spectaculars, now they have hardly two spare beans for the plate.
BBC3 is going off air and advertisers are deserting ITV, not least because viewers are also taking a walk.
According to Ofcom figures, the average viewer watches television for 20 minutes less, on a typical day, than in 2010.
The number of homes with no television set has almost doubled.
Of the broadcasters, ITV is struggling the most, with a total viewing share that has fallen by 14 per cent over that same period. Viewing reductions are not due to a lack of choice, though.
Looking at those same years, the number of hours of programming broadcast in a year has risen by a whopping 15 per cent to 1.66 million.
Nor do folk miss programmes they want to see these days, given the rise in ‘time shifted viewing.’
Today, about 12.5% of everything viewed, and 32 per cent of all drama, is seen on ‘catch up.’
Today, with more recent entrants like Netflix, Now TV, Amazon, Google, Apple and BT in the market, all battling the traditional broadcasters with streamed content, the choice gets more complex as viewers get more selective.
Further casualties amongst all the competing channels look inevitable.
Meanwhile, Merry Christmas and happy viewing.
