UK Sees TV Outnumbered By Broadband For First Time

For the first time ever, Britain has more homes with broadband than with a TV.

Ofcom, the British media watchdog, released a report on this week with results showing a fall in the number of households with television sets.

In 2012, 26.33 million British households owned a TV set. By the end of 2013, that number fell to 26.02 million.

Fingers are being pointed at alternative devices, such as smartphones and tablets, in combination with different streaming and catchup services, as the main culprits of such an unexpected turn in behaviour.

Ed Richards, Ofcom Chief Executive, said: “Digital infrastructure is crucial to the UK’s future. As a country we are continuing to make real progress, particularly in the roll out and take-up of superfast broadband and 4G mobile services.

“But there is more to be done. We need to continue asking whether collectively we are doing enough to build the infrastructure of the future, and to maintain the competition that benefits consumers and businesses”.

Richards said the key lies in supporting competition and innovation, as well as in the improvement of coverage across the country.

“The way consumers interact with their TV, phone and broadband is changing as fast as technology is evolving,” he said.

“Our challenge is to keep supporting competition and innovation, while also helping to improve coverage across the country – particularly in hard-to-reach areas where mobile and home internet services need to improve.”