THE NUMBER of young people watching live television is in rapid decline – with the average age of viewers climbing higher by the minute, according to industry experts.
Recent figures by research company Enders Analysis now shows ITV’s average viewer is now 60, Channel 5’s is 58, Channel 4’s is 55 and even E4, the birthplace Made in Chelsea and Hollyoaks, is now 42.
The issue will be considered by leading industry figures during Edinburgh's Television Festival this week. Nick Bell, director of Snapchat – which is planning to launch "mobile television", three-to-five-minute videos touted in some quarters as "the future of television", will speak at the event, while Richard Cowles, creative director of entertainment at ITV Studios, will discuss the impact of hit reality show Love Islands to viewing habits.
Others involved in sessions over the three-day industry festival include CJ Fahey, general manager of Viceland, the online channel of news and entertainment site Vice, who is part of a panel on Wednesday's Nothing Will Be Televised: Have Young People Switched Off? event.
In a public session on Thursday, British YouTuber Humza Arshad,whose channel has clocked up an amazing 81 million hits, will also be speaking out about what television controllers have to learn from DIY-drama. This year London-based Arshad scripted and commissioned a BBC3 TV show called Coconut.
Arshad told the Sunday Herald: "You can't say television is dead – there are some gems on mainstream television – but it just doesn't cater for everyone. A city like London, for example, is so diverse and people are looking for someone on television that they can relate to. If you're Asian you might have to wait all week. On YouTube however you can watch whatever you want whenever you want."
He claimed the interactive nature of YouTube made it particularly appealing. "If you are watching YouTube you can comment on it and I can like or reply. Fans can interact and that becomes a part of the viewing experience. I'm a normal young guy."
Arshad, who went to drama school, said he was also attracted to making his big break on YouTube rather than working his way up in the mainstream television industry, to avoid the stereotyping of Asian actors that was still rife in television. "There are still issues with diversity," he says. "I have to work much harder than others to be noticed and not stereotyped as terrorist number two."
However, others claimed that the biggest change is in how – rather than what – young people watch, arguing that Broadcast Audience Research Board (Barb) figures do not take into account on-demand or mobile views on laptops, tablets, phones and other devices.
More than 50 per cent of Millennials and Gen-Z viewers use catch-up services daily or weekly, but more than half of over-35s rarely or never use catch-up services. Though 40 per cent of young viewers chose subscription services including Netflix and Amazon, research data suggests 86 per cent of over-35 never or rarely used them.
Lisa Campbell, director of Edinburgh International Television Festival, said: “The future of television and how we consume media has become an increasingly relevant element of the festival. Over the last 10 years young people may have stopped watching linear TV but they’re watching more content overall – it’s just the way that they watch has changed.
"The challenge for traditional broadcasters is that, never mind losing eyeballs to Netflix, a viewer watching shows on a broadcaster’s catch-up service, such as ITVHub or Sky+ is worth significantly less than a viewer watching live TV on their main channel. Advertisers want mass appeal and pay less to appear on catch-up services. They also know that viewers increasingly fast forward through the ads when they don’t watch live content.
"When you consider that an entertainment hit such as Love Island finds 75 per cent of its three million viewers on TV, and almost 25 per cent through ITV Hub, it suggests that the whole commercial broadcast funding model needs to adapt – and fast."
Younger viewers are also more drawn to "darker, edgier dramas" like Stranger Things and Orange Is The New Black, whereas TV dramas are watched mainly by over 35s, she claimed. "This could be down to the fact that they are often more mainstream but also because they rarely allow the binge viewing that’s made Netflix such a fixture in teenage bedrooms," she added.
Simon Tunstill, director of Thinkbox, the UK's marketing agency for commercial television, agreed that young people were rejecting the old-fashioned TV set but still watching "long-form" television content. "Young family members don’t control the TV set, but they can turn to personal screens that previous generations didn’t have," he added.
The Edinburgh International TV Festival hosts sessions open to the public at the EICC from 23rd - 25th August. Hear Humza speak on the 24th by booking here.
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