Brits are increasingly watching TV and films online, says study

New research by the Internet Advertising Bureau shows how much time British people spend watching TV, films, and video clips online.

As The Guardian reports, we each spend an average of five hours a week watching stuff on the internet, most of it on tablets and smartphones. And it’s not all about YouTube goats: the most popular content is TV programmes, which we watch for an average of two hours and 35 minutes a week. Online video is in second place, averaging 51 minutes a week, while we clearly have more wannabe Steven Moffats than Steven Spielbergs among us, as films lag behind at 50 minutes. (It’ll take forever to finish Lord of the Rings at that rate).

And yes, I double-checked, and those figures are per week,  not per night. I guess some people have really great HD TVs. Or lives where they actually go out and do things…? Not that watching a lot of online content is for social outcasts: half of the people who watch online do so with family members, three out of 10 with friends.

A third of viewers are watching more online than a year ago, fitting in at least one film and four or five TV episodes (which is pretty good going, although someone’s totally going to spoil Orange is the New Black for you if you don’t pick up the pace). Londoners were the biggest fans of watching stuff online, perhaps because they’re more likely to be stuck on public transport for hours. And as phones get ever wider and 4G access improves, it’s likely the trend will only continue.

Image via Yutaka Tsutano’s Flickr.

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