TV ownership drops among children

The number of UK children with a TV set in their bedroom has decreased by a third over the past five years, from 66% of children in 2009 to 46% in 2014, according to new research by broadcast regulator Ofcom. 

The annual Children and Parents: Media Use and Attitudes Report claims that the popularity tablets could be contributing to the decline of TV sets in children’s rooms, with the proportion of children watching TV on a tablet rising from 15% in 2013 to 20% this year.

Ofcom found that children aged 5 to 15 still spend more time watching TV every week, at 14.6 hours, than doing any other media activity, although the number of hours spent watching TV has decreased from 15.4 hours in 2013.

Some 34% of children still said that they would miss TV more than other popular device, compared to 17% for mobile, 15% for tablets and 11% for games consoles.

However, older children aged 12 to 15 were twice as likely to miss their mobile phone, with 37% answering they would miss this most compared to 18% for TV. One in three children now have smartphones, according to the research, roughly stable compared to last year.

Ofcom also found that there has been a three-fold increase year-on-year in the number of children’s households with a smart TV – jumping from 13% in 2013 to 39% this year.