NI Dominates UK Viewing Figures

Adults in Northern Ireland spent more time watching TV last year than the rest of the UK, according to new TV Licensing research.

Over four and a half hours a day or almost 32 hours a week were spent by adults in front of the TV in the region in 2010 as compared to the UK average viewing total that has been establshed as 30.

Some 52% of those surveyed in Northern Ireland have a TV in the kitchen, while the living room is the most popular place to watch TV across the UK.

The region also has the highest average number of rooms with TVs across the UK at 2.9 and the highest number of television sets throughout the house.

The report, which provides a focus on the nation's viewing habits, also shows that by 2020, the average number of rooms per household with TVs in them is expected to rise to three on average across the UK with Northern Ireland again out in front with 3.5.

The official statistics were collected by the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board (BARB) show the average time adults in Northern Ireland spent watching TV in 2010 was almost 32 hours a week, or over four and a half hours a day - more than the UK average.

The figures show that the older we are, the more TV we tend to watch, and the amount we watch is increasing: the BARB UK average for all ages (including children) is 28 hours a week, which is three hours more than in 2001, not including the TV we now watch on equipment other than our TV sets.

The findings are among many in the report that demonstrate the increasing importance of the nation's love affair with television.

TeleScope shows that love is growing and evolving - not just in terms of how much and what we watch, but how, when and where we watch it.

Deborah King, TV Licensing spokesperson for Northern Ireland, said: "This report reflects Northern Ireland's passion for television and shows that TV viewing in Northern Ireland is more popular than ever. Although there have been many developments in this unique medium for entertainment, education and information over the last 20 years, one thing remains the same – TV continues to be an extremely important part of everyday life in Northern Ireland."

Other key statistics from the report include the most 'time-shifted' programme watched on the BBC iPlayer in 2010 was, ironically, Matt Smith's debut as Doctor Who, with over 2.2m requests (on top of the 12.3m who watched it live).

So while catch-up is thriving, it has some way to go to rival the 17.7m who tuned in live to watch The X Factor final on ITV, or the 17.4m who watched England's World Cup exit to Germany.

Iain Logie-Baird, grandson of the inventor of the first television set, John Logie Baird, and curator at the National Media Museum in Bradford, who has penned the foreword to the TeleScope report, said: "When my grandfather famously unveiled the world’s first working television system in early 1926, people were astonished. Although cinema and radio were established by 1926, television still seemed like science fiction. Since that giant leap, technology has never stopped advancing and today we are witnessing faster developments than ever before.

"In profound ways, television builds collective identities via mass amplification of experience and memory, while influencing individual creativity.

"It invites us into other worlds so that we may escape the hectic pace of our own. It expands our understanding of the world stage and the roles we can play in it. There is no question television is playing a more central role in our lives than ever," he said.

Meanwhile, TV Licensing said that it aims to maximise the money received from the licence fee, and does this by collecting the fee as efficiently as possible.

In 2009/10, TV Licensing collected an extra £85m for BBC programmes and services and kept evasion at a low of around 5%.

(BMcC/GK)