Media habits (adults)

YouTube is leading the charge in the streaming takeover of TV sets, with the service now the first place younger viewers go as soon as they switch on, according to Ofcom’s annual report on the nation’s media habits.

Today we’ve published our latest research looking at the media habits of people in the UK, which highlights audiences’ media use and attitudes towards different platforms.

Ofcom’s annual Media Nations report is for industry, policymakers, academics and consumers. Our main objectives are to capture evolving consumer behaviours and key trends in the media sector, and to set out how audiences are served in the UK.

This annual report looks at media use, attitudes and understanding, and how these change over time.

Ofcom’s regular research into adults’ media literacy gives detailed evidence on media use, attitudes and understanding among UK adults aged 16+.

Our Media Use and Attitudes and Media Lives reports – of which the adults’ research is now in its twentieth year - highlight online and media use by asking children and adults across the UK about the role that tech and media play in their lives.

Ofcom's Adults' Media Lives study was set up in 2005 to provide a small-scale, rich and detailed qualitative complement to Ofcom's quantitative surveys of media literacy. The project follows the same 19 individuals over time, and interviews them on camera each year about their media habits and attitudes.

This annual report looks at media use, attitudes and understanding, and how these change over time.

Podcasts are becoming a bigger part of our listening, covering a range of topics available across different platforms and formats.

Ofcom's Media Nations 2024 research, which took a look at how people in the UK use and consume media, highlighted a trend that might come as a surprise.