While the patterns by which the Great British public are consuming commercial media have remained relatively unchanged over time, the methods and channels by which this content is being consumed have changed drastically in line with evolving technology.
This is according to the latest (2024) in the series of the IPA Making Sense – The commercial media landscape report. The report draws on IPA TouchPoints 2024 data to lift the lid on how commercial media consumption has shifted over the last nine years, including through lockdowns, by analysing time spent, share of time and weekly reach of each commercial channel across four key audiences – All Adults, 16–34s, 35-54s and 55s+. It also reveals the correlation of media habits between the different generations and charts the consumption of media by device. It is accompanied by perspectives from Experian, The Freethinking Group, Global Media, Meta, OMD UK, Route, Samsung and Sky Media.
When comparing the shape of the media day in 2005 (when the IPA TouchPoints survey first started) to 2024, the data shows that people still watch video in the evening, audio is still peaking in the morning, OOH builds as the day progresses and tails off towards the evening, and reading text is at a comparatively lower but consistent level throughout the day. There were some deviations to these patterns during lockdown (2020-2021) while the population was stuck at home, however, as the pandemic has subsided, the data reveals in 2024 that these broad patterns of media usage have migrated back towards the long-established norms.
The share of commercial curated media* for All Adults has decreased by two percentage points – going from 66% commercial (vs non-commercial) in 2015 to where it now stands at 64%, and for 16–34s this share has shifted the most, from 76% commercial in 2015 to 67% in 2024.
Despite this overall slight decline, this figure is four percentage points higher than it was in the 2020 lockdown and reveals that almost two-thirds of adults’ curated commercial media time is spent with commercial media channels and that the impact of subscription media is less significant than previously imagined.
For All Adults and 16–34s, the amount of time per day spent with *curated commercial media has dropped - by 17 minutes for All Adults and by 24 minutes for 16–34s, when compared to 2015 figures. While for 16–34s non-commercial media consumption time is largely driven by subscription video and audio services, for older audiences, non-commercial media consumption is primarily driven by BBC TV, radio and news, although subscription services represent a small but relatively stable share.
All Adults’ curated commercial media time share has shifted from 58% on non-digital channels vs 42% on digital channels in 2015, to 41% non-digital channels and 59% digital channels in 2024. For 16-34s this same pattern of uptick in time share is seen but at a far higher level, going from 41:59 non-digital in 2015, to 21:79 digital in 2024.
For the sixth year running, with the exception of OOH, no single commercial media channel can reach 90%+ of All Adults per week,
Commercial SVoD now has a larger weekly reach than Cinema and just under 50% of All Adults use Other Online Video each week, revealing the strong, yet fragmented video landscape.
The top five commercial media properties by weekly reach for All Adults in 2024 are: ITV/STV (51%); Facebook (48%); YouTube (45%); Channel 4 (44%) and Instagram (34%).
The share of total curated commercial media time spent on smartphones by All Adults has increased 12 percentage points between 2015 and 2024, going from 20% to 32%, which is up from 30% in lockdown. For 16-34s, these figures have increased considerably from 33% in 2015 to 48% in 2024. For 34-54s, the figures were 19% in 2015 and 34% in 2024. For over 55s+, this figure has gone from 6% in 2015 to 16% in 2024, leaping over Radio Set, PC/Laptop and Print into second place, behind the television set.
In 2024, the reach correlation for 16-34s and 55s+ stands at an all-time high of 60%, which is driven by the rising digital uptake of traditionally offline media by the 55+s. In 2015 the correlation was 44%. This dropped to its lowest in lockdown 2020 at 21% when the older generations sought out printed newsbrands and commercial live/recorded television, while 16-34s gravitated towards social media, other online video and other digitally-led channels. It is worth noting, however, the data shows that the time spent by these groups on the various media varies dramatically.
“We are seeing that overall patterns of commercial media consumption have reverted to pre-pandemic, established patterns, however, the methods of delivering commercial media are clearly evolving in line with technological advancements and are therefore changing the landscape for planners considerably.
“While there is a decrease in both share of time and time spent with curated commercial media - I suspect mainly down to the decrease in linear broadcast TV viewing - it is perhaps surprising this isn’t greater given the perceived disruptive growth of subscription-based services which were formerly seen as taking commercial media share. And it may also point to the impact that certain SVoD offerings now incorporating advertising into their subscription models is having.
“What these slight decreases do mean, though, is that media investment will have to work harder to cut through, as more media is being used concurrently rather than in isolation and attention is becoming more stretched as a commodity – fueled by the ever-increasing smartphone take-up.
“More than ever, a greater focus is needed on diverse media plans to maximize overall campaign performance as media opportunities shift.”
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