TV Viewing Down in the U.K., Up in France, says IHS Research
Which countries watch the most TV? The researchers at IHS have created a study on television viewing times that shows some interesting trends.
Of the countries studied, Italy logged the most TV time with 4 hours and 37 minutes per day in 2014. That figure includes broadcast, online, and pay TV. While Italy saw a steep decline in viewing in 2007, viewing has grown every year since. IHS says that high unemployment has led to a large amount of linear TV viewing. Italy's online viewing is low compared to other countries.
Traditional TV viewing in the U.K. fell to a record low in 2014, with the average at around 3 hours. That's down 14 minutes from 2013. Additionally, Brits averaged 43 minutes each day watching recorded shows on services such as Sky+ and YouView. IHS notes that U.K. viewers were early adopters of catch-up services.
IHS finds that online services are growing in France, but not as quickly as in the U.K., and that traditional broadcast TV is popular in Germany. Across the Atlantic, U.S. average viewing times are high at almost 6 hours per day. IHS says this is because Americans often turn on a TV for background noise, instead of a radio. Online long-form viewing is strong in the U.S., thanks to services like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Twitch.
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