Ofcom have published their latest annual report into TV viewing habits, and it confirms what everyone – including the BBC – already knows about the licence fee model: it’s outdated. Broadcast TV’s weekly reach had its biggest ever annual drop, falling from 83% to 79%. Meanwhile, viewing of broadcast TV fell by 12%. This decline was greatest amongst young audiences, where viewing dropped by 21%, yet even the “core” 64+ audience is switching from broadcast to streaming. Over 64s watched 8% less broadcast TV, as subscriptions to Disney+ rose from 7% to 12%…

While commercial TV revenues did rise, this was driven by online video, where revenue rose by 4.5%; Public Service Broadcasters saw their revenues fall by 1.8%. BBC One saw its weekly reach fall by 12% on 2017 as all BBC portfolio channels, combined with BBC Two, failed to reach even half of audiences. Streaming Video on Demand increased 21.5% year-on-year. A subscription-based BBC funding model can’t come soon enough…

Co-conspirators can read Ofcom’s full report below: