Online video usage in the United Kingdom (UK) - statistics & facts
TVs are still a source of entertainment, but online video has made viewers in the United Kingdom able to access whatever content they want when they want. According to a survey conducted in March 2024, the main drivers of digital video content purchases in the UK were content variety and independent access. Due to the success of TikTok, the preference for video has also been increasing in social media, with UK consumers observing significant levels of engagement with video on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.
YouTube and Instagram were the online and short video content platforms with the highest frequency of watching among UK users, as 20 percent of respondents reported accessing them multiple times per day. Age was one of the main factors influencing video usage across demographics, with kids between 13 and 17 using TikTok in larger numbers than users aged between 35 and 44 years. However, the most popular social video platform in the UK remained YouTube, with peaks of usage reaching 90 percent of teenagers aged between 13 and 17 years.
Despite the preference for streaming on YouTube, UK users crowned Netflix as the second-leading video streaming website in 2023, with a visit share of 6.5 percent. As the platform added ad-supported plans to keep the service affordable and attract new users, the number of households subscribing to Netflix experienced a small increase at the beginning of 2024, after falling and stalling in 2023.
As audiences’ favorite films and TV shows migrated to the internet, watching online video became a mainstream activity for users in the country. Despite the shiny new social media and online platforms launched in the last few years, UK users appear to prefer consuming content on their usual outlets. The use of YouTube in the United Kingdom has not only remained stable but extended to children and expanded to include short-format videos, live-streaming, and video-on-demand.
Social video: YouTube’s stronghold
As of the third quarter of 2023, content found on social video platforms, such as music videos or memes, was the most popular video type in the UK. Despite TikTok being the short-video format trailblazer, in 2023, YouTube was still the leading online platform used to watch video content, as eight in 10 respondents in the UK reported using the video hosting service.YouTube and Instagram were the online and short video content platforms with the highest frequency of watching among UK users, as 20 percent of respondents reported accessing them multiple times per day. Age was one of the main factors influencing video usage across demographics, with kids between 13 and 17 using TikTok in larger numbers than users aged between 35 and 44 years. However, the most popular social video platform in the UK remained YouTube, with peaks of usage reaching 90 percent of teenagers aged between 13 and 17 years.
Video streaming in the UK
internet users in the country appeared to have the same level of preference for social and digital video content, as the daily time spent with TikTok and Netflix was approximately one hour for each platform. The number of UK households subscribing to video-on-demand services experienced a constant increase from 2020 onward, arriving at 19.5 million in the first quarter of 2024.Despite the preference for streaming on YouTube, UK users crowned Netflix as the second-leading video streaming website in 2023, with a visit share of 6.5 percent. As the platform added ad-supported plans to keep the service affordable and attract new users, the number of households subscribing to Netflix experienced a small increase at the beginning of 2024, after falling and stalling in 2023.
As audiences’ favorite films and TV shows migrated to the internet, watching online video became a mainstream activity for users in the country. Despite the shiny new social media and online platforms launched in the last few years, UK users appear to prefer consuming content on their usual outlets. The use of YouTube in the United Kingdom has not only remained stable but extended to children and expanded to include short-format videos, live-streaming, and video-on-demand.
