State of the UK digital entertainment market, 2026

A recently completed Kagan Consumer Insights survey found that the UK digital entertainment market remained strong in 2025. Use of free and subscription-based online video services expanded, along with increased adoption of online music and gaming services.

➤ In 2025, UK internet adults spent a combined average of nine hours per day using TV/video, listening and gaming digital entertainment services, up from approximately seven hours per day in 2021.

➤ Overall use of online subscription video (SVOD) services, as well as free, advertisement-supported online video services, showed modest increases year over year. Netflix is the top SVOD service, while YouTube and BBC iPlayer are the most popular free online video entertainment services.

➤ Spotify is the most popular online music service in the UK, followed by YouTube Music.

➤ WhatsApp and Facebook dominate the UK social media market.

Results from the S&P Global Market Intelligence Kagan 2025 UK Consumer Insights survey found that overall consumption of digital entertainment in the UK continued its multi-year climb in 2025, with time spent on TV/video, listening services and gaming increasing to 8.8 hours per day, on average, up from 6.7 hours per day in 2021. Average daily hours spent watching TV or online video content (4.6 hours) in 2025 nearly matched the peak viewing hours of 2024 at 4.8 hours. Consumers consistently spend approximately 19% of their daily TV/video hours watching news, and slightly more (21%) viewing live sports. The remaining 60% of their daily TV/video viewing hours was spent watching other TV/video content.

The survey data shows that UK consumers are also spending more time listening to music, podcasts and radio programs than in past years. Music/radio hours have increased from 1.8 hours per day, on average in 2021 to 2.6 hours per day in 2025. This past year, just over one-quarter (26%) of these hours was spent listening to radio programs, and 18% was spent on podcasts. Over half (56%) of average daily listening hours was dedicated to music. Time spent playing video games also increased slightly in 2025 to 1.6 hours per day, on average.

The adoption of online subscription video (SVOD) services has slowly increased in each of the past five years, climbing to 88% of the UK’s internet households in 2025. Netflix is the most popular SVOD service in the UK, with subscribership increasing 22 percentage points since 2021 to 73%. Though far behind the market leader, Disney+, Paramount+ and Apple TV have each experienced double-digit percentage-point growth over the past several years as well. In contrast, the survey data shows that Amazon Prime Video’s subscriber base has held steady, reaching 57% this past year.

Nearly all (94%) surveyed internet adults in the UK reported using at least one free online video service in 2025. Among local services, BBC iPlayer is the perennial leader, as is YouTube in the non-local category, with about six out of 10 internet adults typically using these services. ITVX has also been a popular source of free, advertising-supported TV content, viewed by 45% of consumers last year. The 2022 ITVX survey results appear to be an anomaly deriving from the transition of the earlier ITV Hub catch-up TV service to the expanded current ITVX service. Viewership of My5, renamed 5, has remained steady at 30% since 2021. The broadcaster is owned by Paramount Skydance and carries local programming as well as international fare from Paramount’s catalog.

Over three-quarters (77%) of surveyed UK internet adults said they listen to online music, up 9 percentage points from 2021. Spotify is the most popular online music service in the UK. Spotify has increased its user base by 15 percentage points over the past five years, reaching 49% in 2025. Similarly, 37% of internet adults cited using YouTube Music, up 16 percentage points since 2021. Amazon Prime Music and Apple Music have both experienced more modest growth in users.

The 2025 UK Consumer Insights survey also highlights some other entertainment-related metrics. For example, approximately nine out of 10 UK consumers reported being active on at least one social media platform. Live sports is also extremely popular among the vast majority of UK internet adults. Over three-quarters of surveyed adults said they attended the cinema over the past year, and 61% reported listening to podcasts. More than six out of 10 UK adults play video games and 40% cited attending music concerts.

Among the 65% of UK consumers who play video games, 47% said they play sports games, such as EA Sports FC. Not far behind in popularity are puzzle games (45%) and first-person shooter games (44%), which include Call of Duty, Atomfall and Counter-Strike 2. One-third (33%) of gamers said they play multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) games, such as League of Legends and 28% favor role-playing games, like Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Less than one quarter of gamers cited playing real-time strategy games (e.g. Tempest Rising), as well as card games and sandbox games (e.g. Minecraft). Relatively few of UK gamers favored casino and geo-location games. The percentage of gamers subscribing to a video game service rose from 59% to 65% year over year.

WhatsApp and Facebook continue to be the most popular social media platforms for the majority of UK consumers. Instagram, Facebook Messenger, TikTok and X (formerly Twitter) also have a substantial following. The long tail of social media platforms included Snapchat, Telegram, Pinterest, Threads and Discord.

Use this link to access supplemental Consumer Insights survey data in Excel format.

The Kagan European Consumer Insights surveys were conducted in December 2021-2025, consisting of approximately 1,000 internet adults in France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Poland and the UK. The margin of error is +/-3.0 ppts at the 95% confidence level. Survey data should only be used to identify general market characteristics and directional trends.

Consumer Insights is a regular feature from S&P Global Market Intelligence Kagan.
This article was published by S&P Global Market Intelligence and not by S&P Global Ratings, which is a separately managed division of S&P Global.