Video Streaming Subscriptions now outnumber paid TV services subs in the UK

Video streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime and Now TV are growing at a rapid pace, so much so that it is starting to challenge subscription-based TV providers like Sky and Vergin Media. 

A report from Ofcom, the UK’s communications regulator, has released a report which claims that online streaming service subscriptions now outnumber subscriptions to paid TV services, marking a “major shift in viewing habits.” 

Content streaming providers like Netflix, Amazon Prime and Now TV have a combined subscriber count of 15.4 million, whereas pay-TV providers like Sky, Virgin Media, Talk TV and BT TV have seen their subscriptions drop to a combined total of 15.1 million. That being said, this data doesn’t account for those who subscriber to several streaming services and doesn’t take into account most smaller subscription services.   

Streaming services alongside free video services like YouTube and social media giants like Facebook and Twitter are drawing time away from traditional television, with average TV viewership dropping in the UK by 9 minutes on average across the UK, with average daily viewing now lasting around three hours and 22 minutes. 

While paid TV services are in decline, streaming services can generate a much lower income, with Pay-TV services making £6.4 billion in revenue when streaming services can generate roughly £895 million in the UK. A major factor for this difference in revenue is the use of advertisements by Pay-TV services, which total around £3.9 billion over the past year. This number has decreased by 7% year-over-year.