Television remains a major home-screen medium, but its role differs by country, age group, platform and measurement method. The figures below cover UK viewing and reach, U.S. screen consumption, historical TV sales, household energy use, and electronics end-of-life estimates.
Key Television Statistics
The most useful high-level television statistics include:
- In 2024, UK individuals aged 4 and over watched 4 hours 30 minutes of at-home video per day.
- In 2024, TV sets carried 84% of UK in-home video viewing.
- In 2024, UK broadcast TV viewing on TV sets averaged 2 hours 24 minutes per person per day.
- In 2024, 73.8% of UK individuals watched broadcast TV on a TV set in an average week.
- In 2024, broadcast-TV weekly reach was 94% among UK adults aged 65 and over.
- In 2024, broadcast-TV weekly reach was 45% among UK 16–24-year-olds.
- In 2024, BVoD viewing averaged 25 minutes per UK person per day.
- Between early 2023 and December 2024, UK in-home YouTube use rose from 35 to 39 minutes per person per day.
- Between early 2023 and December 2024, UK YouTube viewing on TV sets rose from 11 to 18 minutes per person per day.
- In 2024, 41% of UK in-home YouTube viewing used a TV set.
- In 2024, YouTube was the first destination for 20% of UK children’s TV journeys.
- From June 30 to July 27, 2025, streaming represented 47.3% of U.S. TV watch-time.
- From June 30 to July 27, 2025, YouTube represented 13.4% of U.S. TV watch-time.
- In 2020, U.S. televisions used an estimated 54 TWh of energy.
- In 2020, average TV on-time was 5.8 hours per day in U.S. homes.
- Between 2005 and 2015, average LCD TV power density fell from about 310 to 66 mW per square inch.
- In 2007, U.S. sales included 29.126 million flat-panel TVs.
- Between 1999 and 2007, estimated U.S. TVs ready for end-of-life management rose from 16.5 million to 26.9 million units.
Contents
- Viewing time and the role of TV sets
- Broadcast reach and age differences
- YouTube, streaming and first-screen choices
- Energy use, power demand and on-time
- Historical TV sales by technology
- End-of-life and recycling estimates
Television Viewing Statistics and the Role of TV Sets
Ofcom’s Media Nations 2025 – UK Report measures in-home video with Barb data. In 2024, UK individuals aged 4 and over watched 4 hours 30 minutes of video at home per day, one minute less per day than in 2023.
TV sets still carried 84% of UK in-home video viewing in 2024. Broadcast TV viewing on TV sets averaged 2 hours 24 minutes per person per day, down 4% year on year, while broadcaster content represented 56% of Barb-measured in-home video viewing, compared with 57% in 2023. Ofcom, Media Nations 2025 – UK Report
Other measured components show how the overall total is distributed:
- BVoD viewing averaged 25 minutes per UK person per day in 2024.
- Recorded playback of live channels averaged 23 minutes per UK person per day in 2024.
These figures are UK Barb in-home measures. TV-set share is not the same as all-device viewing, and broadcaster-content share is limited to Barb’s measured categories.
Broadcast Television Reach Statistics and Age Differences
Broadcast reach describes how many people watched broadcast TV on a TV set during an average week, rather than how long they watched. In the UK, average weekly reach was 73.8% among individuals aged 4 and over in 2024, down 1.7 percentage points from 2023.
Age differences were substantial:
| UK population in 2024 | Broadcast-TV weekly reach |
|---|---|
| Individuals aged 4+ | 73.8% |
| Adults aged 65+ | 94% |
| Ages 16–24 | 45% |
The reported reach among UK viewers aged 65 and over exceeded the 16–24 reach by 49 percentage points in 2024. The comparison uses the same TV-set weekly-reach concept, but it does not describe total video use across phones, computers or other devices. Ofcom, Media Nations 2025 – UK Report
YouTube, Streaming and First-Screen Television Data
YouTube’s role on the television screen increased in the UK. Home WiFi-based Barb data show that UK in-home YouTube use rose from 35 to 39 minutes per person per day between early 2023 and December 2024, while YouTube viewing on TV sets rose from 11 to 18 minutes per person per day, a 57% increase.
The age and device patterns were also measured directly:
- UK viewers aged 16–34 increased YouTube viewing on TV sets from 14 to 21 minutes per day over the same period.
- UK adults aged 55 and over increased daily YouTube-on-TV viewing from 6 to 11 minutes between early 2023 and December 2024.
- TV sets accounted for 41% of UK in-home YouTube viewing in 2024, up from 34% in 2023.
- Among UK 16–34s, the TV-set share of in-home YouTube viewing rose from 29% to 35% between 2023 and 2024.
- Children aged 4–15 used TV sets for 50% of in-home YouTube viewing in 2024, up from 45% in 2023.
- YouTube was the first destination for 20% of UK children’s TV journeys in 2024, while Netflix accounted for 18%.
For a separate U.S. TV-screen measure, Nielsen’s Gauge recorded streaming at 47.3% of TV watch-time from June 30 to July 27, 2025. Netflix represented 8.8%, YouTube 13.4%, broadcast 18.4%, and cable 22.2% of U.S. TV watch-time during that period.
The MLB Home Run Derby averaged 5.3 million U.S. cable viewers in July 2025. Nielsen, Streaming Cranks Up the Heat in July
The Nielsen Gauge measures consumption through a TV screen, not all video viewing on every device. The UK YouTube figures likewise use home WiFi viewing and exclude out-of-home or mobile-network use.
Television Energy-Use Statistics, Power Demand and On-Time
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Display Energy Use in Homes: Ownership, Power, Usage, and Trends reports installed-base estimates and usage-survey results for 2020. U.S. televisions used an estimated 54 TWh, while monitors used 11 TWh; displays together accounted for 70 TWh, or 40% of U.S. consumer-electronics energy use.
Televisions and monitors made up 94% of display-related consumer-electronics energy use in 2020. Consumer-electronics energy use increased by more than 20% during the COVID-19 period measured in 2020, with the report attributing the increase mainly to higher usage. U.S. Department of Energy, Display Energy Use in Homes
| U.S. television usage measure | 2017 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|
| Average TV on-time | 3.9 hours/day | 5.8 hours/day |
| Primary-TV on-time | Not reported here | 8.2 hours/day |
The 5.8-hour 2020 average rose from 3.9 hours in 2017. Respondents reported a 1.5-hour-per-day increase in average TV on-time and a 2.5-hour-per-day increase in primary-TV on-time attributed to COVID-19 in 2020; on-time is not equivalent to attentive viewing.
The DOE presentation also modeled a 10-watt standby draw across all TVs, which would increase TV energy consumption by about 30% in that scenario. This is a calculation for the U.S. TV stock, not measured fleet consumption.
Energy efficiency improved at the model level: average LCD TV power density fell from about 310 mW per square inch in 2005 to 66 mW per square inch in 2015. The model averages were based on more than 9,000 models and were not sales weighted.
Historical U.S. Television Sales by Technology
EPA’s historical sales series shows the transition from CRT sets toward flat-panel TVs. The series uses different sources before and after 2010, so the figures should be read as historical market data rather than a single uniform modern panel series.
| Year | CRT sales | Flat-panel sales | Projection sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | 26.025 million | 0.891 million | 0.295 million |
| 1999 | 27.819 million | 0.983 million | 1.455 million |
| 2004 | 24.930 million | 9.593 million | 3.607 million |
| 2007 | 6.348 million | 29.126 million | 1.961 million |
| 2010 | 0.175 million | 40.704 million | 0.861 million |
| 2012 | No CRT value reported | 42.414 million | 0.925 million |
In 2012, the EPA table reports no CRT sales value, while flat-panel sales reached 42.414 million and projection sales were 0.925 million. The EPA notes that the 2010 onward figures use NPD market data. EPA, Electronic Products Generation and Recycling Methodology Review
Television End-of-Life and Recycling Statistics
EPA’s Electronics Waste Management in the United States: Approach 1 provides modeled historical estimates based on sales and lifespan assumptions. Estimated U.S. TVs ready for end-of-life management increased from 16.5 million units in 1999 to 26.9 million in 2007, while estimated mass rose from 497.7 thousand short tons to 910.6 thousand short tons.
The available recovery measures use combined categories or methodology proportions:
- The EPA estimated 414,000 tons of end-of-life TVs, cell phones and computer products were collected for recycling in 2007.
- That combined 2007 collection estimate equaled about 2.7 pounds per capita.
- EPA cited a mid-range recovery estimate of 2 pounds per capita for end-of-life TVs and personal-computer equipment, with a range of 0.8 to 3.1 pounds per capita.
- Used televisions refurbished, remanufactured and resold represented 3.9% of the recyclable-device proportion in the EPA’s 2007 REI methodology.
The 414,000-ton and 2.7-pound figures combine televisions with other products, while the recovery range covers TVs and personal-computer equipment. The 3.9% figure is a methodology proportion, not the share of all televisions sold. EPA, Electronics Waste Management in the United States: Approach 1