UK streaming doubles in the UK under lockdown conditions
With the coronavirus outbreak putting the country into lockdown, streaming services including BBC iPlayer and Netflix see unprecedented usage. The average household has doubled viewing hours to 17 per week, keeping everyone entertained.
Update:Disney has pointed out that the research was carried about before Disney+ launched in the UK and is therefore unfair to be included in the figures we’ve talked about in this article.
According to a survey carried out byUswitch, the UK is watching an extra 170 million hours of streaming services per week compared to before lockdown.
With plenty of people furloughed from jobs and with kids to entertain, a whopping 47% said they were watching a higher proportion of streamed TV and films.
Launching just in time for self-isolation,Disney+joined the ranks of streaming services to choose from but perhaps isn’t as popular as anticipated. Of respondents to the survey, only 2% were using the service (as mentioned above, this is due to the research being carried out before Disney+ arrived in the UK).
In contrast, over half useBBC iPlayerfollowed by 49% onNetflixand 35% watchingAmazon Prime. Furthermore,Apple TV+and SkyNow TVare lower than we might have predicted at just 2% and 10% respectively. See the full ranking at the bottom.
While some services are free, most are not and users are paying £15.30 per month on average, up from £12.50 in October 2019. That’s a whopping £44m per month on subscriptions.
Escaping into the world of TV and film with thousands of choices at your fingertips is certainly helping people get through the crisis.
If you’re new to the world of streaming services, you can take advantage of various free trials to see which is the right one for you. Also read our guide to thebest TV streaming services.
Streaming services ranked by popularity:
Author: Chris Martin, Reviews Editor, Tech Advisor
Chris got his break as a reporter at infamous site The Inquirer and has been at Tech Advisor for more than 12 years. With a BA degree in Music Technology, audio is his specialism, but over the years he has reviewed all kinds of gadgets, from smartwatches to mesh Wi-Fi to coffee machines.
