LONDON: Folks in the United Kingdom are taking in a record 48 ads a day from watching TV, the latest figures indicate. The Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board said for the first quarter of this year, Brits watched an average of four hours and 18 minutes of TV, up around 8 percent over a year ago. Weekly, they watched more than 30 hours of television, up nearly two-and-a-half hours from the comparable quarter last year. More than 60 percent was on commercial TV channels.
U.K. marketing firm Thinkbox, which parsed the BARB figures, attributed the increase several factors. A new audience measurement technology implemented in January was thought to boost the figures, according to The Guardian. The recession, an unusually cold winter and the addition of digital channels were also contributors.
The viewing totals include only TV watching, of which nearly 7 percent included time-shifting. In households with Freeview or Sky DVR service, the figure was nearly doubled. More than 90 percent of U.K. homes now have digital TV, though some regions have until 2012 to make the transition from analog.
“Anyone who doubted the continuing importance and popularity of broadcast TV in the U.K. should hopefully be convinced by these new figures,” said Tess Alps of ThinkBox.
-- Deborah D. McAdams
(Image by Maufdi)
