Survey: Northerners watch more TV than Southerners
October 7, 2026



Survey data from Expert Reviews’ 2026 TV Awards has found that the majority of respondents surveyed across the UK spend 15-20 hours per week watching TV – that’s about the equivalent of two full working days spent in front of a TV screen each week. Only 1 per cent of UK residents say they don’t watch any TV during the week.

However, survey respondents across Northern regions of the UK were found to watch more television than those based in Southern UK regions. In fact, 35 per cent of Northerners admitted to watching over 21 hours of TV each week, compared to 30 per cent of Southerners. This data highlights an interesting regional difference in the amount of time spent watching TV between the North and South of the UK.


The survey data has also found that although respondents in Southern UK regions spend less time watching TV per week, they’re spending more time on social media compared to Northerners. Some 38 per cent of Southern-based UK respondents say they spend over 21 hours on social media per week, compared to 36 per cent of Northern respondents.

These insights highlight just how entrenched technology and electrical devices have now become in our daily lives. Certain areas of the UK might opt for TV more than they opt for social media, and vice versa, but the common denominator is that both Northern and Southern UK respondents choose to watch some form of screen during their free time.

What does the UK actually use their TV for?

Streaming films and TV shows: 80 per cent

Watching live broadcast TV: 64 per cent

Watching live sports: 55 per cent

Watching YouTube: 50 per cent

Gaming: 31 per cent

Listening to music: 29 per cent

Browsing the web: 12 per cent

A significant majority of UK respondents (80 per cent) say they use their TV to stream films and TV shows, whereas 64 per cent use it to watch live broadcast TV. Even fewer (55 per cent) say they watch live sports on their television.

This shows streaming to be the favourable TV viewing choice amongst UK audiences, overtaking live television. Meanwhile, the least popular uses for TV are browsing the web (12 per cent), listening to music (29 per cent) and gaming (31 per cent).

While a future where streaming totally replaces live broadcast TV seems unlikely, Expert Reviews’ data shows how streaming, a relatively young form of media viewing, has become a worthy contender against the UK’s live broadcast television – a contender that could continue to influence UK audiences and shape the UK media landscape in years to come.

Deputy Editor of Expert Reviews, Andy White, commented: “I don’t want to speculate on the social or cultural differences driving the TV watching and social media habits of those in the north and south, but what’s clear here is we just can’t get enough content. We’ve only got so many hours in the day, but we choose to spend a significant proportion of our spare time glued to a screen of some description. Whether it’s binging a Netflix series on a new OLED TV, scrolling through our Instagram feeds or falling down a YouTube Shorts rabbit hole, our appetite for content is seemingly insatiable.

“As someone who takes a particularly keen interest in television – both on the hardware and content front – it’s both reassuring and slightly alarming that effectively one in three people in both the north and south are watching over three hours of TV a day. On the one hand, I’m pleased that television viewing is still integral to many people’s lives despite there being more ways than ever to consume content. On the other hand, that seems like quite an unhealthy amount of TV to me,” continued White.

Tom Lord, Product and Consumer Manager for TV at Hisense UK, added: “With 80 per cent of the nation using their TV to stream films, having the right technology in the living room has never been more important to make the most out of that content and create a truly cinematic experience. At Hisense, we’re seeing a growing number of consumers looking to upgrade to larger screens and flagship technologies such as RGB MiniLED, which delivers unmatched colour accuracy and an enhanced viewing experience through advanced processing features such as Dolby Vision 2. With 180Hz panels and built-in features such as Xbox Cloud Gaming, consumers can also play their favourite games directly from their Hisense TV, without the need for a console, which is great news for the 31 per cent of the nation who use their TVs for gaming.”

Expert Reviews’ survey, conducted in July 2026, targeted a representative sample of 1,041 UK residents