TV Takes Up Half UK's Waking Hours

Consumers are spending almost half of their waking hours watching TV, using their mobiles and other communications devices, new Ofcom research revealed today.

They are now sending four times as many texts per day than in 2004, spending almost a quarter of their time on the Internet on social networking sites and spending three hours and 45 minutes per day watching TV.

They are also using several types of media at the same time - with the average person cramming eight hours and 48 minutes of media into just over seven hours during the average day.

Ofcom's annual Communications Market Report into the UK's TV, radio, telecoms and internet industries shows that real household monthly spend on communication services fell 9.4% over the past five years to £91.24, as more people choose to buy their services in discounted bundles.

The report also shows that traditional media is far from dead, with TV retaining a central part in our lives, particularly in the evening.

It is not just scheduled live television that continues to be popular.

The consumer research from the first quarter of 2010 shows that almost a third of households with internet access watched online catch-up TV - up 8 percentage points over the year.

Meanwhile, it also emerged that the digital divide between Wales and the rest of the UK is continuing to narrow as Welsh consumers really embrace communications services and become increasingly tech-savvy, new research from Ofcom revealed today.

Among its findings, Ofcom's Communications Market Report into the TV, radio, broadband and telecoms industries in Wales, shows that in 12 months, the gap between broadband take up in Wales (64%) and the UK as a whole (71%) decreased from 10 to 7 percentage points; and that Wales has the highest proportion of mobile-only households in the UK (19% compared to a UK average of 14%).

The report also shows that the take up of digital television and mobile broadband is higher in Wales compared with the other nations of the UK.

Wales has the highest mobile broadband take-up of any nation in the UK and South East Wales has the highest proportion of households who use mobile broadband (18%) followed by North and Mid Wales (14%) and South West Wales (12%).

Take up of services in Wales has continued to increase in the last 12 months and is generally higher in rural areas than urban areas.

Ofcom's research finds that the take-up of broadband in rural Wales (69%) continues to be higher than urban Wales (62%).

Rhodri Williams, Director, Wales, Ofcom said: "It's good to see that the digital divide between Wales and the UK as a whole is narrowing.

"Communications services are rapidly becoming a necessity rather than a luxury for Welsh consumers and businesses in all parts of Wales. Even though our report indicates that there are still challenges to overcome, the direction of travel is positive."

(BMcC/KMcA)