NDM: Weekly News Article - W/C 16th January (37)

How young viewers are abandoning television

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/media/11146439/How-young-viewers-are-abandoning-television.html

Summary

Young people are deserting living room TV and the trend is rapid and undeniable. Experts fear that the TV industry could suffer a severe decline like print media at the hands of technology advances. Ofcom annual report on communications sector this year (2014) revealed that across all age groups Britain's watched 11 minutes less TV in 2013 than the previous year when viewing was boosted by the Olympics coverage. This decline was the first since 2010 so broadcasters at first felt no need to panic. Why has the TV industry suffered this decline? Because young people have gained many more entertainment options in a few years thanks to the rapid explosion in smartphone and tablet ownership. 

Key Statistics

• TV consumption by 16- 24 year olds fell for third year in a row
• On average 16- 24 year olds watched 148 minutes of TV per day last year compared with 169 minutes in 2010 
• In the last year and a half, viewing by 4 to 15-year-olds has tumbled by 22%
• Viewing among 16 to 34-year-olds is down by 15%
• Biggest declines in viewing by young people are in the north and Scotland

Viewing decline among 16- 34 year-olds by region 

My Opinion

When I first saw this article, I did not really know what to think of it because I did not think that the TV industry was an industry that could decline much if at all particularly at anywhere near the rate of the print media industry. However, I do understand why this decline has occurred and it is because as the article mentions young people of today have grown up in a world where watching TV is possible on a multitude of devices aside from the traditional TV box in the living room. Young people of today haven't formed their habits of accessing content on TV like the older generations did 15 years ago they have formed it based on an array of streaming options such as BBC iPlayer. However, despite the TV industry reacting to the decline with providing streaming services they are still competing for young people's attention with an array of digital services such as:

1. Social networking
2. YouTube
3. Mobile and online gaming
4. News websites
5. Online shopping