Children’s television viewing now spans broadcast channels, broadcaster video-on-demand, subscription and advertising-supported services, video-sharing platforms, and connected devices. The figures below separate UK BARB viewing from US survey and Nielsen measures, with each population, period, unit, and limitation stated.
Key Children’s TV Viewing Statistics
These are the most useful headline figures across the available children’s TV viewing data:
- UK children aged 4-15 watched 3 hours 20 minutes of broadcast TV per week in 2024.
- UK children aged 4-15 averaged 18 hours 4 minutes of identified in-home video viewing per week in 2024.
- UK children’s identified in-home video viewing averaged 18 hours 33 minutes per week in 2023.
- UK children’s identified in-home video viewing averaged 17 hours 40 minutes per week in 2022.
- Weekly broadcaster-TV reach among UK children aged 4-15 was 66% in 2024.
- Broadcaster-TV weekly reach among UK children aged 4-15 fell from 70% in 2023 to 66% in 2024.
- UK children aged 4-15 watched 1 hour 28 minutes of BVoD per week in 2024.
- UK children aged 4-15 averaged 4 hours 48 minutes of all broadcaster content per week in 2024.
- UK children aged 4-15 averaged 4 hours 46 minutes of SVoD/AVoD viewing per week in 2024.
- Video-sharing platforms accounted for the largest share of identified in-home video viewing among UK children aged 4-15 in 2024.
- UK children aged 4-15 watched video-sharing platforms for 8 hours 29 minutes per week in 2024.
- YouTube represented 28% of in-home video viewing among UK children aged 4-15 in 2024.
- Netflix represented 13% of in-home video viewing among UK children aged 4-15 in 2024.
- SVoD/AVoD reached 73% of UK children aged 4-11 and 66% of those aged 12-15 weekly in 2024.
- US children aged 0-8 averaged 1 hour 28 minutes of TV/video viewing per day in 2024.
- US children aged 0-8 averaged 14 minutes of short-form video use per day in 2024.
- Bluey accumulated 55.62 billion Disney+ streaming minutes in the US in 2024.
- Children aged 2-11 accounted for 43% of Bluey’s 2024 Disney+ viewing minutes in the US.
Contents
- Children’s TV viewing scale and recent trends
- Broadcast, catch-up and subscription viewing
- YouTube and video-sharing platform statistics
- Age differences in TV and streaming viewing
- Young children’s TV and screen-time trends
- Popular children’s streaming titles and outcomes
Children’s TV Viewing Scale and Recent Trends
Ofcom’s Children’s Media Literacy Report 2025 uses BARB as-viewed data for UK children aged 4-15. Its broadcast-TV measure includes live and recorded viewing, while its identified in-home video series covers TV and home-broadband-connected devices.
| UK children aged 4-15 measure | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Identified in-home video per week | 17h 40m | 18h 33m | 18h 04m |
| Broadcast TV per week | — | — | 3h 20m |
| Broadcaster-TV weekly reach | — | 70% | 66% |
The report says broadcast TV viewing fell by 24 minutes, or 11%, from 2023 to 2024 among 4-15s. The longer identified-video series rose from 17 hours 40 minutes in 2022 to 18 hours 33 minutes in 2023, then measured 18 hours 4 minutes in 2024; these series should not be treated as identical to broadcast TV.
Source: Children’s Media Literacy Report 2025. The report notes that broadcaster-TV weekly reach uses a three-or-more-consecutive-minute BARB definition, and that the 2018 and 2023 long-series comparison requires care because definitions and measurement systems should be checked.
In that comparison, only 55% of UK children aged 4-15 watched broadcast TV in an average week in 2023, compared with 81% in 2018. The report also estimates that the TV set accounted for 84% of TV and video content watched at home by the combined UK children-and-adults audience in 2023, which is broad all-audience context rather than a children-only figure.
Broadcast, Catch-Up and Subscription TV Viewing Data
UK children’s viewing is divided into broadcaster content, broadcaster video-on-demand, and subscription or advertising-supported video-on-demand. BVoD includes live streaming, catch-up, non-linear, and archive content, while SVoD/AVoD covers BARB in-home viewing across TV and connected devices.
| 2024 UK children aged 4-15 measure | Weekly viewing | Weekly reach or change |
|---|---|---|
| Broadcast TV | 3h 20m | — |
| BVoD | 1h 28m | — |
| All broadcaster content | 4h 48m | — |
| SVoD/AVoD | 4h 46m | — |
| Broadcaster TV including BVoD | — | 66% |
| BVoD-only | — | — |
BVoD viewing increased by 11 minutes, or 14%, from 2023 to 2024, while all broadcaster content fell by 13 minutes, or 4%. SVoD/AVoD viewing fell by 7 minutes, or 2%, over the same period.
Source: Children’s Media Literacy Report 2025. These measures are observed BARB figures, but they are not interchangeable: the all-broadcaster total combines live, recorded catch-up, and on-demand broadcaster content.
Among age groups, broadcaster TV including BVoD reached 69% of 4-11s and 60% of 12-15s in an average week in 2024. Average weekly broadcaster-TV minutes were 307 for 4-11s and 250 for 12-15s.
YouTube and Video-Sharing Platform Viewing Statistics
Video-sharing platforms were the largest category of identified in-home video viewing for UK children aged 4-15 in 2024. BARB’s measured set includes YouTube, TikTok, Twitch, and Dailymotion, and the measure covers viewing across the TV and home-broadband-connected devices.
Children aged 4-15 watched 8 hours 29 minutes of video-sharing-platform content per week in 2024, down by 9 minutes, or 2%, from 2023. YouTube was the only one of the four measured platforms to increase children’s viewing time in 2024.
Source: Children’s Media Literacy Report 2025.
Ofcom’s Annex 1 – V3 Annex, VSPs and PSBs, Public Service Media Review reports that 20% of TV journeys among UK children aged 4-15 started with YouTube in 2024. This is a starting-service measure, not a share of viewing minutes.
The same source estimates that YouTube accounted for about three quarters of all UK in-home video-sharing-platform viewing in 2024, an all-audience measure rather than a children-only result. Source: Annex 1 – V3 Annex, VSPs and PSBs, Public Service Media Review.
Age Differences in Children’s TV and Streaming Viewing
The 2024 BARB figures show higher weekly reach and viewing minutes for younger children on several broadcaster and streaming measures.
| Measure, 2024 | Children aged 4-11 | Children aged 12-15 |
|---|---|---|
| Broadcaster TV including BVoD weekly reach | 69% | 60% |
| Broadcaster-TV minutes per week | 307 | 250 |
| BVoD-only weekly reach | 46% | 36% |
| BVoD minutes per week | 99 | 65 |
| SVoD/AVoD weekly reach | 73% | 66% |
| SVoD/AVoD minutes per week | 299 | 261 |
Source: Children’s Media Literacy Report 2025. The 10-percentage-point BVoD-only reach difference is derived directly from the reported 46% and 36% table values, not a new population estimate.
Ofcom and BARB also identify service shares within in-home video viewing. YouTube was the most-watched service among UK children aged 4-15, with a 28% share of video viewing in 2024, followed by Netflix at 13% and BBC at 8%.
Source: Media Nations 2025 – UK Report. Service share is not the same as weekly reach or unique viewers.
For younger viewers, BBC channels held a 44% share of broadcast-TV minutes among UK children aged 4-6 in 2024. That is a TV-set broadcast share, not a share of all video on all devices.
Young Children’s TV, Video and Screen-Time Trends
US data for children age 0-8 comes from the 2025 Common Sense Census, which uses parent-reported media-diary estimates. It should not be combined numerically with the UK BARB results.
| US children age 0-8 measure | 2020 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| TV/video per day | 1h 45m | 1h 28m |
| Live TV per day | 18m | 5m |
| TV/video share of average daily screen time | 73% | 60% |
| Gaming share of average daily screen time | 16% | 26% |
| Short-form video per day | 1m in early 2020 | 14m |
Source: The Common Sense Census: Media Use by Kids Zero to Eight, 2025. TV/video viewing among 0-8s averaged 1 hour 28 minutes per day in 2024, compared with 1 hour 45 minutes per day in 2020.
Live-TV viewing averaged 5 minutes per day in 2024, down from 18 minutes per day in 2020. TV/video made up 60% of average daily screen time in 2024, down from 73%, while gaming’s share rose from 16% to 26%.
Short-form video averaged 14 minutes per day in 2024, up from 1 minute in early 2020. The category includes apps such as TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts, and remains a parent-reported estimate.
Popular Children’s Streaming Titles and Viewing Outcomes
Nielsen’s title-level figures describe US streaming minutes across all ages, with separate age attribution for children aged 2-11. They measure minutes, not unique viewers, reach, or average daily child viewing.
| Title and service | Total 2024 streaming minutes | Children aged 2-11 measure |
|---|---|---|
| Bluey on Disney+ | 55.62 billion | 43% of title minutes |
| Moana on Disney+ | 13.03 billion | 25% of title minutes |
| The Super Mario Bros. Movie on Netflix | 11.72 billion | 5.7 billion minutes; 29.6% |
Source: The Nielsen ARTEY Awards: 2024 Streaming Unwrapped. Bluey accumulated 55.62 billion Disney+ streaming minutes in 2024, and children aged 2-11 accounted for 43% of those minutes.
Moana accumulated 13.03 billion Disney+ viewing minutes, with children aged 2-11 contributing 25%. The Super Mario Bros.
Movie accumulated 11.72 billion Netflix minutes, including 5.7 billion minutes attributed to children aged 2-11, or 29.6% of its streaming viewing minutes.
Nielsen’s broader US measure found that streaming represented 40.3% of total TV usage in June 2024, across all ages. Kids aged 2-11 increased streaming viewing by 16% in June 2024 compared with May 2024.
Source: Time Spent Streaming Surges to Over 40% in June, the Highest Share of TV Usage in the History of Nielsen’s The Gauge. The monthly comparison and total-TV-usage share are US Nielsen measures and are not equivalent to the UK children’s viewing series.