Sixty-one per cent of the UK public had not watched a television programme online in the past seven days, according to a new report from the analysts Deloitte.
The annual State of the Industry report, delivered to the broadcasting establishment at the Edinburgh Television Festival at the weekend, also found 44% had not watched a clip online in the past seven days. However, one third of the public rate the ability to watch television on the internet as “important” or “very important”, an 18 percentage point increase on the 2008 findings.
Executives interviewed for the report offered widely differing views on the future for online. Some suggested that online would become a replacement for off-peak, while others pointed to a crossover still five years hence, displaying more caution than had been the case 12 months ago.
According to Deloitte, in the year to April 2009, online viewing grew by 47%, equivalent to 20 minutes just under 20 minutes per week. In the year to July 12, 2009, the number of broadcast minutes also increased, by 5%, equivalent to 50 minutes.
The main reasons for watching online TV (70%) is to catch up on programmes that had been missed at the time of their initial broadcast, 27% said it was to view programmes that had been recommended by friends and 25% to watch programmes that the viewer wanted to se again.
YouGov interviewed 1,336 respondents on behalf of Deloitte.
