Barb has published a new report detailing what UK viewers watched, and how they watched it, in 2025.
The report examines live and on-demand, linear and streaming viewing for broadcasters, streamers, and video-sharing platforms.
It found that live TV remains a substantial part of viewing, even for younger audiences. In December 2025, viewing live was 45 per cent of total identified viewing on the TV set.
Programmes with large live audiences in 2025 included sporting events like the BBC and ITV’s coverage of the Women’s Euros final, the BBC’s Celebrity Traitors and Channel 4’s Gogglebox.
On-demand streaming, via broadcasters’ VoD services, streamers or video-sharing platforms, accounted for 38 per cent of viewing in 2025, the report found.
Barb’s data also shows that the TV set has become the most-used device for people to watch YouTube. While use of the TV set to watch YouTube is growing among all age groups, viewing is skewed towards children aged 4-15, said the report.
Justin Sampson, chief executive at Barb, said: “Commentary about television is too often based on a binary premise that ignores a more complex reality. Barb’s independent evidence points to a world in which viewing is defined more by adaptation than disruption.”
“The prognosis is more connected, nuanced and resilient than the clichés and partial viewpoints suggest. Live audiences are healthy, children and young people haven’t deserted linear services, and there’s an increasingly symbiotic relationship between all services and platforms in the TV ecosystem.”
The full report is available to download here.
