27.5 million homes in the UK have a television – but just how long are we spending in front of the TV every day? We analyse all the latest TV statistics, and see how many people are using their bank accounts to pay for a TV licence or subscription service.
27.5 million households in the UK had a TV in 2024, which is around 95% of households in the UK. This is up slightly from 2023, when 27.4 million households had a TV. The number of households with a TV has been increasing year-on-year, suggesting that, despite the popularity of smartphones and tablets, people still like viewing on a television screen.
| Year | UK households with a TV |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 27.5 million |
| 2023 | 27.4 million |
| 2022 | 27.3 million |
| 2021 | 27.2 million |
| 2020 | 27 million |
| 2019 | 26.9 million |
| 2018 | 26.8 million |
| 2017 | 26.7 million |
| 2016 | 26.7 million |
On average, 56.1 million viewers tuned into broadcast TV each month in the past year, which is around 86% of all people with access to a TV or broadband. This is down from the previous year, when an average of 56.8 million people (89%) tuned in every month.
The way we watch television has changed, however, and 20.6 million households (69.7%) have access to a streaming subscription service such as Netflix or Amazon Prime as of December 2025. This is up from the same period in 2024, when 20 million households (68.3%) were subscribed to a video-on-demand service.
Taking into account all formats, the average Brit spends 3 hours and 49 minutes a day, or 26 hours and 42 minutes a week, watching TV and video content. This includes 2 hours and 14 minutes a day of broadcast television, or 15 hours and 41 minutes a week.
Viewing habits vary slightly from month to month, with peak viewing times around Christmas and the winter months and lower viewing times in summer when the weather is better.
| Month | Average daily viewing time |
|---|---|
| June 2025 | 3 hours 42 minutes |
| July 2025 | 3 hours 45 minutes |
| August 2025 | 3 hours 41 minutes |
| September 2025 | 3 hours 41 minutes |
| October 2025 | 3 hours 51 minutes |
| November 2025 | 3 hours 59 minutes |
| December 2025 | 4 hours 3 minutes |
| January 2026 | 4 hours 4 minutes |
| February 2026 | 4 hours |
| March 2026 | 3 hours 47 minutes |
| April 2026 | 3 hours 38 minutes |
| May 2026 | 3 hours 33 minutes |
The BBC has the most popular channels in the UK, with 47.4 million viewers in May 2026. ITV comes in second place, with 39 million viewers in total, but is closely followed by Channel 4 with 36.5 million viewers.
Sky had a total of 33.4 million viewers in May 2026 while Channel 5 had a total of 29.8 million viewers.
| Broadcaster | Number of viewers |
|---|---|
| BBC | 51.2 million |
| ITV | 45.8 million |
| Channel 4 | 41.1 million |
| Channel 5 | 38.7 million |
| Sky | 34.8 million |
As of March 2025, 23.8 million TV licences are in issue in the UK. Each license is priced at £180, apart from cases where these are funded or at a reduced fee. In the year to March 2025, £3.84 billion was generated by the TV licence fee.
Sophie Barber
Communications Manager
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