The Communications Market Report: UK 2010

UK consumers are spending almost half of their waking hours watching TV, using their smartphones and other communications devices, according to Ofcom’s annual Communications Report into the UK’s TV, radio, telecoms and internet industries.

At the same time consumers are media multi-tasking more than ever before. Media multi-tasking where, for example, a phone call is made while surfing the internet now accounts for 35 per cent of all media consumed throughout the day and the younger the person, the more media activity is done at the same time.

Among 16-24s, over half (52 per cent) of their media activity is simultaneous, compared to just over one fifth (22 per cent) for people aged over 55. The growing popularity of smartphones and the changing way they use their mobiles is increasing their overall use of communications, and helping them do much more simultaneously.

But while they are doing more, it is costing them less. For the fifth year in a row spending on communications services has decreased. Real household monthly spend on communication services fell 1.7 per cent over the past year to 91.24, as more people choose to buy their services in discounted bundles.

Half of all UK households now buy a bundle of two or more services from a single provider compared to 29 per cent in 2005. Seventy per cent of people with a bundle said that the main reason for taking a bundle was because it was cheaper. Ttraditional media is far from dead, with TV retaining a central part in their lives, particularly in the evening. And its not just scheduled live television which continues to be popular – the number of people watching catch up TV services also increased by more than a third over the past 12 months.

Interested? Find the complete report bellow. Enjoy the reading, CVA