A survey from UK TV provider YouView has found that social media is having a huge impact on TV tastes, with around one in seven viewers now using such platforms directly for recommendations.
Celebrating its second birthday, the subscription-free on-demand platform provider discovered that 14% of Facebook users questioned also said they always or often use the site to talk about the TV programme they are watching. For Twitter the number was slightly higher at 16%. Nationally, 4% of people admitted they talk about TV at least once a day on Facebook and 2% on Twitter.
Among 18-24-year-olds this rose to 24% for Twitter users and stood at a fifth for Facebook, and in this age group a tenth said they found their best TV tips by looking on the two social networks, with 15% of 25-34-year-olds feeling the same.
"There has never been a greater choice of TV available to watch and more ways to watch it on, so it's interesting to see how viewers are clearing a path through the maze of shows being aired," said Susie Buckridge, YouView director of product commenting on the results. "Whether taking recommendations from social media or being influenced by family and friends, it appears the personal touch is the key to helping decide what's worth turning on and what we should just switch off. The fact that affordability and programme choice are most important when choosing a TV streaming service also resonates for YouView customers."
The online survey of more than 2,000 people conducted by YouGov also found that UK households own an average of one extra TV-capable device/gadget compared with 12 months ago and an eighth of people claim they now watch more television than in 2013. In addition, just over two-thirds (69%) of those questioned thought catch-up access was very or fairly important (77% of 18-24s) while affordability (52%), TV show choice (31%) and TV show quality (30%) were the top three reasons for choosing a TV streaming service.
Among 18-24-year-olds this rose to 24% for Twitter users and stood at a fifth for Facebook, and in this age group a tenth said they found their best TV tips by looking on the two social networks, with 15% of 25-34-year-olds feeling the same.
"There has never been a greater choice of TV available to watch and more ways to watch it on, so it's interesting to see how viewers are clearing a path through the maze of shows being aired," said Susie Buckridge, YouView director of product commenting on the results. "Whether taking recommendations from social media or being influenced by family and friends, it appears the personal touch is the key to helping decide what's worth turning on and what we should just switch off. The fact that affordability and programme choice are most important when choosing a TV streaming service also resonates for YouView customers."
The online survey of more than 2,000 people conducted by YouGov also found that UK households own an average of one extra TV-capable device/gadget compared with 12 months ago and an eighth of people claim they now watch more television than in 2013. In addition, just over two-thirds (69%) of those questioned thought catch-up access was very or fairly important (77% of 18-24s) while affordability (52%), TV show choice (31%) and TV show quality (30%) were the top three reasons for choosing a TV streaming service.
