Almost half ( 46%) of teenagers surveyed by the media agency for its annual report on children’s media consumption said they currently watch on-demand TV most often – compared to 36% in 2017.

The biggest increase in on-demand viewing, however, came from children aged 8-12, with over a third ( 34%) of those in this age group claiming to watch TV on-demand most often, an increase from 20% last year.

Live TV viewing, by contrast, is the predominant means of watching TV for under a third of respondents ( 30%), down from 43% in 2015.

The streaming landscape for teens is still dominated by Netflix, which has grown in popularity as two-thirds ( 66%) of teenagers surveyed have access to the platform, compared to just over half ( 53%) in 2017. Amazon Prime Video  is in second place, with 38% saying they have access to it, while a fifth have access to Now TV. Only six percent of children and teens surveyed say they have no access to an on-demand or over-the-top viewing service.

Teens are also watching TV and films on their mobiles more often ( 35% watch regularly compared to 21% in 2015 ), while 23% say they have access to a voice-activated smart assistant. 

Josh Krichefski, chief executive of MediaCom UK, said: “Today’s generation are growing up as ‘on-demand natives’, able to access content whenever, wherever and however they want, and is essential to the popularity of shows such as Stranger Things, Jack Ryan and Game of Thrones. With the likes of NowTV and Amazon Prime Video making real in-roads in the on-demand scene and recent news of Netflix taking up 15% of all internet data, it’s no surprise streaming services are ramping up their investment in content quality, quantity and accessibility.”

Methodology
The study was conducted by Real World Insight (RWI), MediaCom’s research division, in January 2018, and comprised of a 15-minute quantitative online survey of 1,201 8-19-year-olds in the UK.