{"id":42545,"title":"Are the BBC licence fee’s days numbered or is traditional TV dying?","publisher":"Share Talk","author":"sharetalk","published":"2018-07-24T15:11:55+00:00","modified":"2018-07-24T15:11:55+00:00","canonical_url":"https://www.share-talk.com/are-the-bbc-licence-fees-days-numbered-or-is-traditional-tv-dying/","markdown_url":"https://www.share-talk.com/are-the-bbc-licence-fees-days-numbered-or-is-traditional-tv-dying.md","json_url":"https://www.share-talk.com/are-the-bbc-licence-fees-days-numbered-or-is-traditional-tv-dying.json","category":"Blogs","categories":["Blogs"],"tags":["Australian broadcast television","BBC","Netflix","TV","Virgin Media"],"featured_image":"https://i0.wp.com/www.share-talk.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Stencil-Google-Chrome-2023-04-19-at-2.47.43-PM.jpeg?fit=1231%2C615&quality=89&ssl=1","format":"news","language":"en-GB","content":" \n\nALMOST 3.5million Brits have cancelled their TV licence fee in the last four years — a rate of almost one million a year. Many are snubbing the BBC in favour of streaming sites such as Netflix, statistics reveal.\n\nFigures obtained under [Freedom of Information](https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/5167904/licence-fee-amazon-prime-netflix-bbc/) rules show 788,605 people cancelled in 2017. In the preceding years, it was 817,509, 875,169, and 945,751.\n\n![](https://www.share-talk.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/IMG_0511-300x151.jpg)\n\n \n\nVideo streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime now have more subscribers than traditional pay-TV services in the UK,[new data from Ofcom has revealed.](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-44862598)\n\nThe number of hours spent watching traditional TV schedules also continued to drop. Teenagers and young people now watch around 40% less than they did seven years ago.\n\nViewing among five to 15-year-olds dropped by 15% in 2017 and by 12% for 16 to 24-year-olds. These figures also include TV that is recorded and watched within seven days after broadcast.\n\n \n\n![](https://www.share-talk.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/IMG_0512-300x126.jpg)\n\n \n\n**Nearly 40% of UK households now subscribe to Netflix, Amazon Prime or Now TV.** The 15.4 million subscriptions have now passed the 15.1 million who pay for Sky, BT, Virgin and other satellite/cable providers. Yet this is a trend that has a far global reach.\n\n \n\n![Image result for australia tv](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/53/Aus_tv.svg/1200px-Aus_tv.svg.png)\n\n###### Image https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Australian_television_series\n\n \n\n**The[Australian broadcast television](https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2018/05/broadcast-tvs-days-are-numbered-heres-the-proof/) is sitting on a demographic time bomb as it continues to lose young viewers at an accelerating rate.**\n\nThe Australian Video Viewing Report draws figures from Regional TAM, OzTAM and Nielsen – but the numbers tell the same grim story.\n\nBroadcast television remains by far the most-watched source of content, but that doesn’t mean Australia’s broadcasts should give themselves a pat on the back. It’s only the rusted-on 50+ demographic which is keeping the figures from going into total freefall. The 18 to 35 demographic – the next generation of seniors – is looking for entertainment elsewhere.\n\nIn 2017, Australians watched an average of 79 hours and 30 minutes of broadcast television on in-home TV sets each month – a 7% drop on the same time in the previous year. This decline is accelerating, as the 2016 figure was only a 5% drop on 2015.\n\n[!\\[\\](https://edge.alluremedia.com.au/m/l/2018/05/TVs.png)](https://edge.alluremedia.com.au/m/l/2018/05/TVs.png)\n\nWhile this overall gradual decline doesn’t sound too bad, the story gets a lot worse when you break the figures down into the various age demographics.\n\nIn the last 12 months, 18 to 35 year-olds have slashed their monthly broadcast viewing hours by more than 20%. They’re switching off faster than ever, back in 2016 it was only a 15% annual decline while in 2016 it was closer to 10%.\n\n**On a closing thought, even when viewers are watching broadcast TV, attention is divided, with three-quarters of UK consumers simultaneously using a connected device.**\n\nImage [anonymster.com/watch-live-tv-online](https://anonymster.com/watch-live-tv-online/)\n\n "}