Often times, it’s not the attention grabbing lines that are the most useful from Ofcom data and 2025’s Media Nations report is no exception.
I’ll talk about the findings around YouTube that got most attention shortly, but for me the most useful single table was the monthly reach of online and offline selected media activities.
It’s useful because it paints a broad picture of what content people are consuming on average across the UK.
This is it. I recommend you study it and save it.
What media we consume in the UK in 2025
In short, the most popular content consumed by all ages across the nation is watching video on demand. That’s telly that we can catch-up with. That includes iPlayer, Channel 4, ITV Disney+ as well as a whole list of other fringe platforms regulated by Ofcom. That’s things like Dave, BFI Player as well as less August platforms like the Adult Channel.
Overall, 85 per cent are watching video on demand. That’s considerably higher than the 67 per cent who watch live TV.
The data shows the need to recalibrate comms teams
Social media is the second most consumed data in the UK with 84 per cent having used it at least once in the previous month. This is more than three times the number reading print newspapers or reaching what Ofcom call online news brands. That’s everything from a local Reach plc title to the BBC online.
When I consider how often a team can be pointed resolutely at traditional media this data shows how outdated this concept is. Traditional media still has a role absolutely. The crisis posed by the car driving into the Liverpool FC trophy parade shows this. Responsible reporting of police announcement dampened down the potential for a flashpoint. But so many days of the year people are not moved to head to a news site as a destination over scrolling.
I’ve been making this observation for more than a decade and I’m not alone in this. It’s refreshing when this adjustment is made but all too many don’t. Planning, creating and posting effective social media should be a core skill in 2025.
Radio is the perennial Cinderella platform
Yet again, radio makes an appearance high in the chart with 68 per cent listening on a radio set and 38 per cent listening to live radio online. Strong numbers.
However, so much live radio is not something that public sector comms teams can easily tap into. Regional BBC radio and maybe community radio are where conversations can be had but elsewhere in the report shows around 15 per cent of the population are listening to regional stations.
The kind of audio younger people are consuming is online music enjoyed by almost two thirds of the wider population streaming YouTube, Spotify or another music streaming service. For younger people this rises to 90 per cent.
What this may flag up to the eagle eyed is the advertising value of reaching younger people through Spotify ads.
Podcasting
Keep an eye on podcasting but not too much of one. This is a national pastime rather than local with 35 per cent listening. Elsewhere in the report, under 34s are most likely to be listening to entertainment podcasts and over 35s are most drawn to news. If you have a nationally significant piece of news or some niche content this could work for you but this is not a well-trodden path. I’d love to see more.
Your TV and YouTube
Someone wise once said that things get really interesting when they get a bit boring when it comes to technology. YouTube is just that. It’s not new an exciting is it? But it is pulling in strong numbers.
Much attention in the Ofcom press release was paid to the report’s revelation that YouTube is making inroads in people’s TV sets. Smart TVs connect to the web and can be watched easily. The overall figure has risen by 47 per cent from 14 minutes a day on average per UK adult to 21 minutes.
Overall, we are watching more TV with the figure now standing at 39 minutes, a rise of 13 per cent year-on-year.
Again, there’s an opportunity here for some YouTube ads via Google.
The strength and danger of broad figures
There’s something to be gained from broad brush figures which this blog features. There are elements of breaking it down for different age groups in the document and I’d encourage you to drill into the report of you need more.
There are versions for Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland too. I’ll blog about them seperately.
You can find the full Ofcom Media Nations 2025 here.
I deliver training to help you make sense of the changing landscape ESSENTIAL AI FOR PUBLIC SECTOR COMMS, ESSENTIAL COMMS SKILLS BOOSTER, ESSENTIAL MEDIA RELATIONS and ESSENTIAL VIDEO SKILLS REBOOTED.
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