TV ownership is measured in several different ways: households with a set, primary sets connected to the internet, viewing on television devices, and weekly broadcast reach. The figures below focus mainly on the UK for ownership and viewing, with U.S. energy and historical market data kept separate.
Key TV Ownership Statistics
The most useful headline figures are:
- In the UK at the end of 2024, 27.7 million households had a TV.
- In the UK in 2024, 23.6 million TV households had internet connectivity through their primary TV set.
- In the UK in 2024, 85% of TV households had internet connectivity through the primary TV set.
- In the UK in 2019, 75% of TV households had internet connectivity through the primary TV set.
- In the UK in 2024, about 6.7 million primary TV sets were online-only rather than connected to a traditional broadcast network.
- By 2034, around 70% of UK primary TV sets are forecast to be online-only, assuming digital terrestrial television continues in its current form.
- In the UK, weekly traditional-TV reach fell from 79% in 2022 to 75% in 2023 among people aged 4 and over.
- In the UK in 2023, 48% of people aged 16–24 watched broadcast TV in an average week.
- In the UK in 2023, around 95% of people aged 65 and over watched broadcast TV weekly.
- UK viewers watched 4 hours 31 minutes of TV and video content at home per day in 2023.
- In the UK in 2023, the TV set accounted for 84% of at-home TV and video viewing.
- In the UK in 2024, live broadcast TV viewing averaged 1 hour 42 minutes per day.
- In the UK in 2024, internet programme services accounted for around 24% of viewing.
- In U.S. homes in 2020, televisions used an estimated 54 TWh of electricity.
- In the U.S. in 2020, the average TV used 188 kWh per year across the installed base.
- Average LCD TV power density fell from 310 mW per square inch in 2005 to 66 mW in 2015.
- In a DOE December 2024 example, a 54.5-inch ENERGY STAR LED TV used 168 kWh per year.
- The estimated U.S. TV stock was about 212 million sets in 1998.
Contents
- TV household scale and connected-set adoption
- TV ownership trends and broadcast reach by age
- TV viewing time and screen-use data
- Smart TV and internet-delivered television trends
- Television energy use, power draw and standby
- TV ownership costs, efficiency and historical market context
TV Household Scale and Connected-Set Adoption
Ofcom estimated 27.7 million UK TV households at the end of 2024. This is a household measure, not a count of individual television sets, and it establishes the scale of the TV-owning population in the UK.
The primary-set connection figures show how ownership increasingly overlaps with internet access:
| Measure | 2019 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| TV households with internet connectivity through the primary set | 20.2 million | 23.6 million |
| Share of TV households with primary-set internet connectivity | 75% | 85% |
Source: Ofcom, Consultation on draft report: designation of television selection services. Ofcom identifies these as estimates, and the connection measure covers the primary TV set, including a smart TV or streaming-device connection.
In 2024, about 6.7 million UK primary TV sets were not connected to a traditional broadcast network. Ofcom described online-only primary sets as around one quarter of all primary TV sets in 2024, with content delivered through the internet.
Ofcom forecasts that the share of UK primary TV sets that are online-only could reach around 70% by 2034. This is a forecast rather than an observed outcome and assumes digital terrestrial television continues in its current form.
TV Ownership Trends and Broadcast Reach by Age
Ownership does not equal use of traditional channels. Ofcom reported that weekly traditional-TV reach across the UK population aged 4 and over fell from 79% in 2022 to 75% in 2023, where weekly reach means watching at least 15 consecutive minutes in an average week.
Age differences were substantial in 2023:
| UK population group | Weekly broadcast-TV reach | Comparison point |
|---|---|---|
| Ages 16–24, 2023 | 48% | 76% in 2018 |
| Children ages 4–15, 2023 | 55% | 81% in 2018 |
| Ages 45–54, 2023 | 84% | 89% one year earlier |
| Ages 65+, 2023 | Around 95% | Rounded Ofcom figure |
Source: Ofcom, Gen Z swerves traditional broadcast TV as less than half tune in weekly. These are survey-based weekly-reach measures, not ownership rates.
The 16–24 comparison shows a fall from 76% in 2018 to 48% in 2023, while children aged 4–15 moved from 81% to 55% over the same comparison. Ofcom reports the 45–54 result as a fall from 89% to 84% in one year, and says around 95% of people aged 65 and over continued to watch broadcast TV weekly in 2023.
Scheduled channels delivered through digital terrestrial television and satellite represented 67% of UK long-form TV viewing in 2022. Ofcom forecasts that this share will be 35% by 2034, a forecast about viewing composition rather than household ownership.
TV Viewing Time and Screen-Use Data
UK people watched an average of 4 hours 31 minutes of TV and video content at home per day in 2023. Ofcom reported that this was six minutes, or 2%, higher than in 2022.
The increase was not evenly distributed across types of video:
- Video-sharing-platform viewing reached 49 minutes per day in 2023, up 12% year on year; the measure includes platforms such as TikTok and YouTube.
- Viewing of broadcaster video-on-demand services reached 20 minutes per day in 2023, up 29% year on year; examples include iPlayer and ITVX.
- The TV set delivered 84% of TV and video content watched at home in 2023.
Source: Ofcom, Gen Z swerves traditional broadcast TV as less than half tune in weekly. These figures cover at-home TV and video viewing and should not be read as a single measure of TV ownership.
Among UK viewers aged 16–24, broadcast-TV viewing averaged 33 minutes per day in 2023, including 20 minutes of live TV per day. Live TV is a subset of broadcast-TV viewing in this comparison, so the two figures should not be added as separate viewing totals.
Smart TV and Internet-Delivered Television Trends
Ofcom’s 2024 viewing data shows a transition from scheduled and recorded broadcast content toward internet-delivered services, while live television remained a significant activity. UK viewers spent 1 hour 42 minutes per day watching live broadcast TV in 2024, and live broadcast viewing exceeded video-on-demand viewing by 37 minutes per day.
The age profile remained important: people aged 75 and over devoted almost three quarters of in-home viewing to live TV in 2024. This is a rounded share of in-home viewing, not a claim about device ownership.
| UK viewing measure | Earlier or observed value | Later or forecast value |
|---|---|---|
| Live TV and recordings of broadcast channels | 70% of in-home TV/video viewing in 2017 | 46% in 2024 |
| Live TV and recordings of broadcast channels | 46% in 2024 | Around 20% forecast for 2030 |
| Internet programme services | — | Around 24% of viewing in 2024 |
| Internet programme services | — | 1 hour 5 minutes per day in 2024 |
Source: Ofcom, Consultation on draft report: designation of television selection services. The 2017 figure is estimated from BARB, TouchPoints and ComScore, while the 2024 figure is BARB-based; the 2030 value is an Ofcom/3 Reasons/MTM forecast.
YouTube also illustrates why connected-device use should not be treated as ownership. In 2023, 34% of time spent watching YouTube at home in the UK occurred on a TV set, rising to 45% among children aged 4–15.
Television Energy Use, Power Draw and Standby Statistics
U.S. installed-base data provides a separate view of the consequences of owning and operating sets. Televisions in U.S. homes used an estimated 54 TWh in 2020, which was 54% higher than the 2017 estimate, and average consumption was 188 kWh per TV per year.
The same Fraunhofer usage-survey analysis estimated that TVs were in on mode for 92% of their energy use in 2020. Average on-time was 5.8 hours per day across U.S. TVs and 8.2 hours per day for primary TVs, compared with 3.9 and 6.1 hours respectively in 2017; on-time is not identical to active viewing.
Efficiency improved at the model level even as screens became larger. Average LCD TV power density fell from 310 mW per square inch in 2005 to 66 mW in 2015, an 80% reduction across more than 9,000 models, while model screen size grew 20% from 2010 to 2016.
The data also identifies standby differences:
- Passive standby power was less than 1 W for most TV models sold after 2008, but this was not a universal threshold.
- Some quick-start smart TVs used more than 10 W in active standby.
- A scenario in which all TVs used 10 W in standby was estimated to increase TV energy consumption by about 30%.
- Retail picture mode used about 1.3 times as much power as default mode on average, depending on the model.
Source: U.S. Department of Energy, Display Energy Use in Homes: Ownership, Power, Usage, and Trends. The power-density results are model averages, not sales-weighted averages, and the standby increase is a scenario estimate.
TV Ownership Costs, Efficiency and Historical U.S. Market Context
Energy cost depends on the specific model, screen size, use pattern and electricity price. A DOE example published in December 2024 for a 54.5-inch LED TV estimated annual use of 168 kWh for ENERGY STAR, compared with 133 kWh for the best available model and 235 kWh for a less-efficient model.
Using an electricity-price assumption of 11 cents per kWh, the same example estimated annual energy costs of $18 for ENERGY STAR, $15 for the best available model and $26 for the less-efficient model. These are example calculations, not current national averages or a forecast of a household’s bill.
Source: U.S. Department of Energy, Purchasing Energy-Efficient Televisions. The figures are for the stated 54.5-inch example and the July 2024 federal-facility electricity-price assumption.
Historical U.S. market data shows how different the installed base once looked:
| Historical U.S. measure | Value | Period or assumption |
|---|---|---|
| Installed TV base | About 212 million sets | 1998 estimate |
| Average TVs per household | About 2 | 1998 estimate |
| Annual TV shipments | 31.4 million sets | 2000 |
| Product lifetime assumption | 9 years | 2000-era analysis |
| CRT share of market volume | Over 95% | 1998 estimate |
| Typical 25–27-inch CRT share of sales | About 40% | 1998 estimate |
Source: U.S. Department of Energy, The FY 2003 Priority Setting Report and Actions Proposed—Appendix A. These are historical estimates and industry figures, not current ownership conditions.
For the 1998 U.S. TV stock, DOE reported approximately 0.35 quads of annual energy consumption and a historical stock value of 150 kWh per TV per year. A typical new 25–27-inch CRT estimate was 166 kWh per year, compared with 125 kWh for a historical best-available example, 146 kWh for an ENERGY STAR example and 131 kWh for a proposed 2002 ENERGY STAR specification.
Source: U.S. Department of Energy, The FY 2003 Priority Setting Report and Actions Proposed—Appendix A. The unit-energy values are historical estimates with the definitions and technology mix of that analysis.
Finally, DOE’s television usage research used a Nielsen TV-set-level panel that grew from 12,750 participating U.S. households in May 2007 to 20,950 in May 2011. The accompanying research notes that self-reported hours can differ from automated metering and that its full-year usage profile covered June 2010 through May 2011.
Source: U.S. Department of Energy, Television Usage Analysis.