YouTube and Netflix are now as popular as the top four TV channels as streaming revolution gathers pace

• The number of people signing up to paid services rose from 11.2m to 13.3m 
• Traditional viewing still accounts for most TV time but has slightly dropped 
• Some 38 per cent of online viewers can imagine not watching traditional TV at all in five years’ time 

Netflix and YouTube are now among the four most popular television platforms in Britain.

The streaming giants have eclipsed BBC Two and Channel 4 in a huge shift in the nation’s viewing habits.

Adults now watch an average of 34 minutes of YouTube and 18 minutes of Netflix a day, falling short of BBC One at 48 minutes and ITV at 37.

The number of households that signed up to paid-for services, including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Now TV, rose from 11.2million (39 per cent) last year to 13.3million (47 per cent) in 2019

Adults now watch an average of 34 minutes of YouTube and 18 minutes of Netflix a day, falling short of BBC One at 48 minutes and ITV at 37

Young adults, aged 18 to 34, had the US giants as their most-watched viewing platforms, according to a report by the watchdog Ofcom. They spent an hour and four minutes on YouTube and 40 minutes on Netflix.

Nearly half of households subscribe to a TV streaming service, Ofcom also found.

The number signed up to paid-for services, including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Now TV, rose from 11.2million (39 per cent) last year to 13.3million (47 per cent) in 2019.

Traditional viewing still accounts for most TV time (three hours and 12 minutes a day) – although this is down 50 minutes on 2010, the watchdog found.

But daily streaming rose by seven minutes last year to 26 minutes. Young people, who spend an hour a day on YouTube, are leading this shift in habits.

Yih-Choung Teh, from Ofcom, said: ‘The way we watch TV is changing faster than ever before. In the space of seven years, streaming services have grown from nothing to reach nearly half of British homes.

Some 38 per cent of online viewers can imagine not watching traditional TV at all in five years’ time

‘But traditional broadcasters still have a vital role to play, producing the kind of brilliant UK programmes that overseas tech giants struggle to match.’

The survey found 38 per cent of online users can imagine not watching broadcast TV at all within five years.

UK-made drama still resonates with audiences, with Bodyguard on BBC One the most-watched show in 2018.

But Ofcom said ‘a few popular drama and entertainment programmes are not enough on their own to stem the overall decline in broadcast TV viewing’.

It said ITV was heavily reliant on its top ten regular programmes, including Coronation Street, Emmerdale, The Chase, ITV News and Tipping Point. In 2018, these accounted for 50 per cent of total minutes viewed on the channel but only 8 per cent of total output.

The public service channels were still the preferred place to watch national events and viewers felt broadly satisfied with the quality of broadcast TV, according to Ofcom.

Bad language, violence, discrimination and sexual content remained the top four concerns in terms of offensiveness.

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