Do you actually need that TV subscription any more?

Got a Sky or Virgin TV contract?

Let me ask you a serious question. If you’re not into sports, are you really using it fully? Enough to warrant the monthly cost?

Statistics announced today by Ofcom show that 90% of people still watch live TV every week. Some 30% say that family viewing is still an integral part of life and 68% say that it helps to bring the family together

However, mobile phones are changing this and you may not necessarily need that Sky or Virgin subscription to enjoy a TV the way you want. Two five adults say they watch TV alone every day. One third of people say members of their household sit together, in the same room, watching different programmes on separate screens. Is that all via a subscription? I’d say that it isn’t. I know people who spend the evening watching YouTube videos from channels they’ve subscribed to.

My aunt is a big one for this, except she doesn’t watch TV or films on a different screen, she plays bingo on her phone instead. The other members of her family are either watching content / TV on their phones or the main television while she gets stuck into a game on her phone via Swanky Bingo instead of having to walk to the local bingo hall in the rain.

Many are “binge watching” shows to try and keep up with friends, as there’s often the fear of someone else spoiling a programme’s ending. People are no longer tied to the traditional TV schedule, and are using their phones for social media, apps and media consumption. More than a third of people watch TV on the move via their phone. On holiday, 24% watch TV – and this is set to increase with inclusive EU roaming. There’s 16% watching on the commute and 7% in the pub. The biggest majority is the 51% who watch TV on their phones in the bedroom, but 16% watch in the kitchen and 9% either watch in the garden or the bathroom.


Ofcom state that the trip will increase, and is driven, in part, by the availability of faster home internet speeds, a rise in the number of connected TVs, and increased take-up of smartphones.

Not only that, but 88% of adults now have internet access at home, which is making the web an alternative source of entertainment. Over four in ten (42%) internet users regard their smartphones as their most important device for getting online.

Head to Ofcom for all the details.