Multichannel television viewing is increasing faster in the UK than in any other European market, according to The International Communications Market 2007, the second such review by the regulator Ofcom. The share of multichannel viewing increased from 20% in 2001 to 33% in 2006.
In Germany the multichannel share in 2006 stood at 30%, while in France, Italy and Spain the figure ranged from 10% to 14%.
Revenue from subscription TV services continues to climb. In 2006, the figure grew by 3% to £66.1bn, representing 40% (£66.1bn) of all revenue.
Global television industry revenues as a whole exceeded £165bn in 2006, up 7.2% on 2005. US advertiser and subscriber revenues combined with public funding were the highest at
£70.1bn, followed by Japan (£18.5bn) and the UK (£10.0bn).
US and Japanese TV viewers consume more than the Europeans with an average of 4.5 hours watched per day. The heaviest consumer could be found in Italy and Poland who watched four hours a day in 2006. The lightest viewers could be found in Sweden, where viewing was just over 2.6 hours per day.
