The days of the whole family being huddled around a TV to watch their favourite game show or soap are virtually gone. By looking at some of the key entertainment trends that have replaced traditional TV in our lives, we can get a clearer idea of what to look forward to seeing on our screens in the future.
YouTube Content Creators Are an Ever-Bigger Part of the Economy
Since YouTube was launched in 2005, its risen to become the second-most visited website, behind Google. With an estimated total of over 20 billion videos that increases every minute of every day, YouTube gives us the freedom to look at whatever type of content suits us at any given time.
This incredible growth is reflected in the fact that YouTube content creators brought 2.2bn to the British economy last year. A study carried out by Oxford Economics revealed that this industry also now supports 45,000 jobs across the UK. Its worth noting that the top channels receive up to two-thirds of their viewers from outside Britain, according to research by Tubular Labs for the BBC.
On-Demand Streaming Services
The top streaming services, such as Netflix and Apple TV+, have taken a large share of the UKs broadcast television audience in the last few years. Recent reports suggest that there are close to 18 million British subscribers to Netflix, meaning that its watched in almost 60% of the nations homes.
Netflixs audience overtook BBC1 for the first time during part of 2024, possibly marking the start of a new era in the battle between streaming and broadcast TV. This has added to the debate over the need for everyone to pay the countrys TV licence fee, with ideas being floated such as a subscription service to try and help the BBC recover some of the 1 billion that it currently loses each year.
Live Streaming Is Opening Up New Types of Entertainment
Live streaming isnt just about watching the same shows more conveniently. This technology is now being used to open up new types of entertainment for online viewing. The increase in popularity of online bingo live shows how this approach can add something fresh to a long-established game, with live bingo hosts are streamed onto players screens in a variety of themed rooms.
Podcasts, music gigs and shopping experiences are all part of the live streaming options now. The example of the rise of live shopping lets us see how e-commerce and entertainment are merged, with live product demonstrations and chat features turning this into an enjoyable way to look for bargains. While live shopping is now big business in parts of Asia, its one of the emerging markets in the UK that still has potential for substantial growth.
These trends let us Brits enjoy new ways of getting entertained thanks to a combination of the latest technology and some classic ideas that never go out of fashion.
