Television has been the main source of our entertainment for decades. We all love watching our favorite show whenever we get free time. As technology advances, TV is becoming smarter. There are chances that our entertainment through television will increase in the future. Although the ways we watch television now may be entirely different from how we will watch it in the future.
After all, nowadays, most people opt for online streaming platforms rather than traditional cable. The reason behind this is convenience and cheap prices. The online streaming platform offers movie and tv shows on demand whenever you want, plus their large library gives you more options for picking your favorite show. This change has significantly affected TV viewership statistics.
TV Viewership Overview:
Below is a quick overview of TV Viewership statistics.
Overview | Information |
Television was invented by | Charles Francis Jenkins |
First TV channel | WRGB |
First broadcast | 1909 |
Several people watch TV daily | 5.36 billion |
Most watched TV network | CNN, ESPN, Discovery, USA Network, and MTV |
TV Viewership Statistics- Top Picks:
- An average child normally watches 300,00 TV commercials yearly.
- In 2015, according to the data collected, around 1.57 billion households had at least one TV in their home worldwide.
- When data was collected in 2015 to determine the average viewership of TV worldwide, American users came out on top in daily watching time television with 274 minutes per day.
- Calculating daily consumption, including public places and offices, makes up to 3 hours and 12 minutes daily.
- In May 2020, Briton consumed linear TV daily with an average of 127 minutes.
- An older person reaching the age of 65 has watched approximately 2 million advertisements in his life.
- If we believe Nielsen co., the average US citizen views 3 hours and 46 minutes of TV daily. If we convert this data, Americans watch 52 hours of nonstop TV annually.
- In the 2019 first quarter, 15 million people in the United Kingdom had at least one streaming subscription from a platform.
- Since Q4 of 2018, online streaming subscription has been on a continuous rise of 8.4% representing 1 million new online subscribers in three months.
- According to the latest study, a person over 16 spends 3.73 hours a day watching TV, showing a decrease of 37 minutes in viewership from 2017.
- In the United Kingdom, the number of Netflix subscribers (the most popular streaming service in the UK) had 11.47 million subscribers in 2019.
Television Viewing Statistics By Country:
- To attract consumers, TV networks show drama, sports, movies, and various types of genres is the reason. Even in 2015, there were 1.57 billion homes that had at least one TV in their house. Let’s see how much TV is watched around the globe and how many hours people spend watching TV.
- Americans are in the leading position in watching television daily, with 282 minutes in 2014.
- In 2016, The average time Americans watched television decreased by 12 minutes and became 270 minutes daily.
- After the United States, the position is followed by western Europe, and Latin America is at the bottom regarding spending time on television.
- According to the report, the average American spends more than three hours watching their favorite news or drama.
- Poland, Japan, the United States, and Brazil are a few countries where people spend most time sitting in front of a Television, according to data collected in 2016.
- With online streaming platforms, the number of households without a home television is rising.
- The average watching time of television is calculated by adding the highest watching time to the lowest watching time and dividing it by the number of people. So, even if you spend all your time watching television and think this number is small, the figure is calculated based on the total views of the country.
1. Average Time Spent By People Watching Television In 2014:
Country | Time (in minutes ) |
China | 157 |
UK | 220 |
France | 221 |
Germany | 221 |
Brazil | 224 |
Spain | 239 |
Russia | 239 |
Italy | 262 |
Japan | 264 |
United States | 282 |
2. Average Time Spent On Television Per Person On Each Day In 2016:
Country | Time Spend on Television (in minutes) |
India | 144 |
Sweden | 148 |
The Netherland | 183 |
Australia | 188 |
South Korea | 193 |
United Kingdom | 212 |
Germany | 223 |
France | 223 |
Spain | 233 |
Italy | 248 |
Russia | 248 |
Brazil | 254 |
Japan | 262 |
Poland | 264 |
United States | 270 |
TV Viewership Statistics By Age Group:
When we determine the average hours spent watching television, we find that teenagers are the ones who are leading. It was no surprise; they have most free time and religiously follow TV shows and movies.
Below is a table explaining the average daily consumption of on-demand services media by age group worldwide. The United States and the United Kingdom are countries where people spend the most time watching on-demand media.
You will see the difference between leading countries to countries that spend the least time. Germany, France, Spain, and Italy show similar viewing times.
1. Average Time Spend By Different Age Groups of People in Various Countries on Watching Television in 2028
Country | Age Groups of People watching TV per week in hours | ||||
18-24 years | 25-34 years | 35-44 years | 44-54 years | 55-64 years | |
France | 2.22 | 1.38 | 0.72 | 0.47 | 0.22 |
Germany | 2.1 | 1.55 | 0.93 | 0.53 | 0.22 |
Italy | 1.88 | 1.63 | 1.15 | 0.78 | 0.68 |
Spain | 2.35 | 1.63 | 0.93 | 0.70 | 0.50 |
UK | 3.08 | 3.40 | 2.10 | 0.75 | 0.47 |
US | 2.87 | 3.13 | 3.03 | 1.45 | 1.17 |
Japan | 1.28 | 1.0 | 0.57 | 0.40 | 0.20 |
2. TV Viewership Consumption Over Time Statistics in the United Kingdom And United States
The United States and the United Kingdom are leading countries producing and consuming TV content. Some of the world’s most-watched TV networks, like BBC, ABC, CNN, etc., belong to these two countries.
- According to a study, Americans’ average time on television from 1949 to 1950 was approximately 4 hours and 8 minutes. This figure continuously rose except for a few declines, like in 1993.
- From 1993 to 1994, the citizens of the US spent the least time watching television, 7 hours per day. In contrast, during 2009-2010, they spent the most time on TV, with an average of 9 hours.
- After 2010, the number of hours spent watching TV by Americans continued to decline, and according to the data collected in May 2017, they were spending 6 hours per day sitting in front of the TV.
- Data presented by the House of Commons of the UK, there were 27.2 million houses that had a TV set in their home in Q1 2017.
- On comparing the last 60 years of data, we found that the household owning TV had increased by 4.8 times compared to 1956 when there were only 5.7 million who should have a TV which means only 36% of the population.
- The time spent on television increased dramatically in both countries when there was a lockdown due to the pandemic. However, this situation was orthodox, which is why the increase is not surprising, as most people were locked in their homes.
Percentage Of People Spending Time In The US On TV From 2013- 2017:
Type Of People | Percentage of Total Population |
15 years and older | 79.2 |
15-19 years | 72.6 |
20-24 years | 74.1 |
25-34 years | 73.8 |
35-44 years | 74.8 |
45-54 years | 79.2 |
55-64 years | 83.7 |
65 and older years | 89.2 |
Employed | 75.4 |
Employed Full time | 75.1 |
Employed part Time | 76.3 |
Not Employed | 85.3 |
Parents of children under 18 | 74.7 |
Parents of children under 6-17 | 75.2 |
Parents of children under 6 | 74.2 |
Non-Holiday weekend | 78.4 |
Weekend and holidays | 81.1 |
Men | 80.3 |
Women | 78.2 |
TV Viewership Commercial Statistics:
You must be wondering why your time spent on TV commercials must be far less on the TV. After all, how many commercials can you watch in a day? Find out here.
- In one year, a child watches 30000 TV commercials in his short year on earth.
- These numbers drastically change when you become old as older citizens have watched approximately 3 million hours of TV commercials in their life.
- According to advocacy groups of TV-free America, Americans keep their TV open for 7 hours a day. From this time, one-fourth of the time, they watch commercials at minimum.
- In the simple world, the above data explain that an average American is bombarded with two hours of TV commercials daily.
- The companies are spending $45 billion on advertisements per year. The cost of running a 30-second ad in the Super Bowl in 2012 rose to $3.5 million.
The Most Watched Television Shows:
When talking about TV, how can we not think about the shows responsible for attracting viewers on their networks? You must want to know what are the top shows on television networks.
- During the pandemic, Boris Johnson’s show, known for delivering information to the nation about coronavirus updates, has a total weekly reach through linear TV of about 88.8%, the highest individual reach for the show.
- In a simple world, the prime minister of the UK reached 27 million viewers, which created a record in TV history.
- Similarly, during the pandemic, Gangs of London on Sky Atlantic reached a whopping 83.6% of its spectators watching on a device.
- In 1996, the Baywatch series on NBC network was the most-watched show, with 1.5 billion people watching it in 142 countries.
- The “Bodyguard” has reached 14.3 million views, and in second place is “I am Celebrity- get me out of here,” which has reached 13.6 million viewers.
- The World cup of 2018, where England and Croatia were fighting in the match, was the most viewed program of that year, reaching 20 million viewers.
Connected Television Statistics:
- The online streaming platform is becoming extremely popular in recent years. Services such as Hulu, Disney Plus, Netflix, and Amazon prime video dominate how we consume TV shows and movies. It has created an ever-lasting impact on traditional television and ways of our entertainment.
- Currently, in the United States, 85% of people have taken at least one online platform in their home, of which 67% are paid viewers and 60 % of people have subscribed to online music streaming services.
- In the United Kingdom, 46 % of people have at least one TV streaming service in their homes, meaning almost everyone has opted to consume media through online mediums.
- Market experts expect that at the end of 2030, the online streaming industry will be worth $330 billion. It is a clear indicator that online streaming will continue growing in the upcoming years.
- In 2020, the world online video streaming service was worth $50.11 billion, which will reach $60.1 billion in 2021. The industry is expected to grow at 21%, making it $330 billion in 2030.
- During Covid restrictions, countries like Africa have seen a sudden high spike in online subscribers, with 273% of people joining the service. Oceania was second with an 80% increase in streaming viewership, and North America is on a continuous rise of 2% yearly.
Year | Value of Online streaming Platform industry |
2020 | $50.11 billion |
2021 | $60.1 billion |
2030 | (estimate) $330 billion |
Frequently Asked Questions:
Americans usually spend approx. Three hours a day watching TV. They are leading in terms of hours spent on television.
Andorra, Burundi, and Bhutan are the countries where people spend the least time watching TV.
Philo Farnsworth invented the First electronic TV in 1927.
Conclusion:
This article was on TV viewership statistics to inform you about interesting facts about TV. We have provided information with verified data. TV is a very amazing product that has a significant effect on the life we live. Nowadays, a country’s media represents its culture and value, which they share with people worldwide.
However, the traditional TV system is undergoing drastic changes with an online streaming platform providing demand entertainment. The upcoming year will prove hard on the linear TV network if the streaming platform continues to grow at this rapid pace.
I’m Monali Gupta, an entertainment journalist, and Social Media expert. I have written for several major publications and websites as a ghostwriter. I’m also known for my unique and witty writing style, and my ability to spot the next big trend in entertainment and Social Media Industries.