The number of UK households with a television has fallen for the first time, with viewers switching to computers, tablets and smartphones to watch their favourite programmes.
The figures have been branded ‘bad news for the BBC’ by MPs who said the shift from traditional television viewing ‘undermines the case for the licence fee’ and strengthens the argument for funding the corporation through a subscription model.
Online catch-up services, such as BBC iPlayer, ITV Player and 4OD, mean shows such as Strictly Come Dancing, X Factor and Gogglebox no longer need to be watched while they are broadcast but can be viewed later online free of charge.
The number of UK households with a television has fallen for the first time, with viewers switching to computers, tablets and smartphones to watch their favourite programmes; the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing, above, can be watched online
Watching live television – even via the internet – requires the viewer to purchase the £145.50 licence fee, but this is not necessary to watch catch-up services.
According to Ofcom, 300,000 fewer homes had televisions at the end of last year than at the end of 2012, dropping from 26.33million to 26.02million
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The regulator’s Infrastructure Report, released yesterday, also revealed that almost one million homes have a broadband connection but no television, indicating they are watching programmes through other devices.
Critics claim this shift away from TV sets makes the licence fee unenforceable. Philip Davies MP, a member of the Culture, Media and Sport select committee, said: ‘In terms of the practicalities of the licence fee, it’s dependant of families having a big TV in the corner of the living room.
‘You can’t collect a licence fee for a TV if nobody’s got one. It certainly undermines the case for the licence fee. How do you enforce a licence fee for people who aren’t watching through a traditional TV? It just becomes unenforceable, that’s the problem the BBC has got.’
In June, the Daily Mail revealed 463,846 people avoided buying a TV licence by declaring they had not owned a set or watched live shows in the past year.
Next year’s review of the BBC’s charter will see the funding system of the licence fee up for debate.
Online catch-up services, such as BBC iPlayer, above, ITV Player and 4OD, mean shows such as Strictly Come Dancing, X Factor and Gogglebox no longer need to be watched while they are broadcast but can be viewed later online free of charge
Alternatives have so far included a subscription service, a modernised licence fee such as charging for iPlayer, or even the abolition of the fee altogether.
Angie Bray MP, also a member of the Culture, Media and Sport select committee, said: ‘That’s the debate, whether the licence fee is relevant in the 21st century.
‘I put forward the idea of a partial subscription model, with the BBC still producing its news and current affairs and the big events it does so well on a channel free for use, with its more niche broadcasting available through subscription.’
Culture Secretary Sajid Javid has announced a review of TV licence enforcement, which could include decriminalisation.
Addressing the Royal Television Society in the autumn, he said: ‘In 2012/13, almost 200,000 people ended up in court accused of not buying a TV licence. More than 50 went to prison. When over 10 per cent of magistrates’ court cases concern this one offence, you have to ask whether the current system is really working.’
Ofcom highlighted BBC figures revealing that in July this year, 47 per cent of people accessing iPlayer were doing so through tablets or mobiles, an increase from just 25 per cent in October 2012.
The report said there are now approximately 900,000 households with access to the internet but no television set and so rely on internet services to watch programmes. On average, people in the UK watch four hours of television a day, with ‘linear viewing’ – meaning watching show at the time when it is broadcast – still being the most popular way of consuming television.
Younger people watch less television than older generations, with only half of viewing by 16- to 24-year-olds being through a television at the time of broadcast. This compares with 82 per cent of the over-65s. Figures from the first quarter of 2014 also reveal 61 per cent of adults own a smartphone, while 44 per cent of homes have a tablet
Although the level of television viewing dropped by 4 per cent in 2013, Ofcom has said it is ‘not yet clear whether this was the beginning of a longer-term trend or merely a temporary variation.’
Younger people watch less television than older generations, with only half of viewing by 16- to 24-year-olds being through a television at the time of broadcast. This compares with 82 per cent of the over-65s. Figures from the first quarter of 2014 also reveal 61 per cent of adults own a smartphone, while 44 per cent of homes have a tablet.
The average UK household or small business downloads the equivalent of 35 feature films each month, in terms of its data usage.
And each household also uploads an amount of data equal to 3,500 digital photographs.
Ofcom’s infrastructure report has revealed the average household downloads 53 Gigabytes (GB) of data on their fixed broadband line every month – a rise of 77 per cent from last year. They also upload 7GB of data to the internet.
Despite the surge in households viewing TV online, busy urban areas, including swathes of central London have poor or no superfast broadband coverage, according to Ofcom.These ‘not-spots’ include areas such as Charing Cross and Oxford Street, as well as areas in central Manchester and Birmingham. Ofcom reports that 75 per cent of UK premises have superfast broadband coverage.‘Not-spots’ are often caused when there is no street cabinet to upgrade, leaving customers to rely on a local telephone exchange to connect. The streetside metal boxes contain the necessary wiring to connect homes to superfast broadband
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