More than a quarter (27%) of Brits watch less than 10% of channels, despite forking out an average of £398 per year for a paid TV package
Almost a third (30%) of TV customers are unhappy with their deal saying their current package isn’t good value for money
Forgetting to cancel upgrades to TV packages could be costing Brits £7.1 million per month– over one in ten (12%) have wasted money this way
Families are the biggest TV spenders, paying £408 a year for their TV package, plus an additional £156 a year on add ons and upgrades to their existing deal
Telly fans will spend an extra £78 millionon entertainment for nights in, as one in seven (14%) who pay for TV will upgrade their package during the winter months.
More than six in ten (62%) households pay for TV, spending an average of £33 per month but, according to new research from price comparison and switching service Uswitch.com, almost a third (30%) claim it isn’t good value for money.
TV users find that a large proportion of the channels they pay for are completely redundant as more than one in four people (27%) only watch 10% of the channels available to them. On average, households view just a quarter (25%) of the channels they pay for.
One in four (27%) TV fans fork out extra on top of their existing pay TV package for programmes such as films on demand, and one-off sporting events – adding an extra £13 to their monthly TV bills each time they do so. This means, collectively, consumers are shelling out a staggering £275 million per year extraon add ons and upgrades to their existing packages to watch more exclusive TV content.
Meanwhile, more than one in 10 (12%) have thrown money down the drain by forgetting to cancel upgrades to their TV package that they no longer want or use. Sheer absentmindedness could be costing consumers as much as £7.1 million per month.
As TV fans head into winter and the nights close in, one in seven (14%) will find the cost goes up as they increase their spend on add ons or upgrade their package for the winter months by an average of £11 per month, equating to a combined £78 million on entertainment for long nights in.
Families are most likely to pay for TV, with almost three quarters (74%)splashing out on a package costing an average of £34 a month. This is followed by those who live with their partners and shared households with flat or housemates – 59% of both these household types pay for TV. Those who live alone are the least likely to pay for TV, with only 46% doing so.
Of those who don’t pay for TV, almost four in ten (38%) say it’s simply not good value for money, while more than a quarter (27%) cannot afford it. Almost a fifth (19%) of those who choose not to pay for a TV package once had a subscription, but cancelled because they either didn’t get enough use out of it or because the cost was too high.
Ewan Taylor-Gibson, TV & broadband expert at Uswitch.com, says: “What’s abundantly clear from our research is that many households are shelling out for packages that don’t best suit their viewing needs. Sometimes it makes sense to buy add-ons, rather than upgrading your whole package; but if you’re buying box office films every week and you watch nothing else, for example, you’d be better off with a film-streaming service instead.
“The knock-on effect of the introduction of more ‘quad-play’ bundles – incorporating TV, broadband, home phone and mobile in one package – is a glut of paid-for TV choices to keep people occupied during the Christmas season. Whether you only watch films or documentaries, you’re a sports fanatic, or you just want to keep your kids entertained, with a bit of research there are plenty of opportunities to find the right deal for you.
“Make sure you regularly review your bill so you can manage your spending and don’t lose track of any upgrades or add-ons to your account. To find the right package make a list of what your household watches, and then hunt for the right deal to suit your individual requirements.”
For more information visit www.uswitch.com **or call 0800 093 0607**
-Ends-
Notes to Editors
Survey of 1,426 UK adults on Uswitch.com’s consumer opinion panel, conducted online in October 2014.
Average package prices are for TV only and do not include other bundles such as broadband or home phone.
Respondents were asked ‘what % of the channels you receive do you actually watch?’ 27.3% said less than 10%, 25.4% said 11-20%, 15.4% said 21-30%, 12.9% said 31-40%, 8.6% said 41-50%, 4.4% said 51-60%, 2% said 61-70%, 1.7% said 71-80%, 1.1% said 81-90%, 1.2% said 91-100%. The mean is 25%.
Respondents were asked what their household pays per month for their TV package. The mean, not including those who answered £0, was £33.15. £33.15 x 12 months = £397.80
Respondents were asked ‘do you think your current TV package is good value for money?’ 49.9% said yes, 29.6% said no, 20.5% said don’t know.
Respondents were asked ‘ have you ever temporarily upgraded your TV package and forgotten to cancel when you no longer wanted it?’ 11.9% said yes, 88.1% said no. There were 26.4 million households in the UK in 2013 according to ONS. 62% of these households pay for TV packages = 16,368,000 households. Of these households 27.2% buy extra upgrades = 4,452,096 households. 12% upgrade their package and forget to cancel. 12% of 4,452,096 is 534,252 people. £13.33 is the average amount people spend on upgrades and add ons per month. 534,252 x £13.33 = £7,121,579 per month
Families spend a mean average of £34 a month on their TV package and £13 on add ons and upgrades per month, based on splits of the data by household type. 74% of them have paid TV packages, more than other household types. For the yearly calculation, £34 x 12 = £408 and £13 x 12 = £156
Respondents were asked ‘do you find you increase your spend on TV add ons or upgrade your package during winter months?’ 7.5% said ‘I increase my add ons spend’, 6.8% said ‘I upgrade’, 86.2% don’t do either. £11.38 was the mean spend each month during winter. There were 26.4 million households in the UK in 2013. 62% of these households pay for TV packages = 16,368,000 households. Of these 14% (2,291,520) will buy add ons during winter months – spending an average of £11.38 each per month – or £34.14 Dec-Feb. 34.14 x 2,291,520 = £78,232,493
Respondents were asked ‘does your household pay for a TV package’ 61.6% said yes, 38.4% said no
Respondents were asked ‘do you spend extra upgrading you basic TV package (e.g. sports or movies) or purchasing one off add ons (e.g. box office films and sports channels for one off events)? 27.2% said yes, 72.8% said no.
Respondents were asked ‘how much extra do you usually spend per month on TV package upgrades or add ons’. The mean, not including those who answered £0, was £13.33
There were 26.4 million households in the UK in 2013 according to ONS. 62% of these households pay for TV packages = 16,368,000 households. Of these households 27.2% buy extra upgrades = 4,452,096 households. These households spend £13.33 extra on TV upgrades/add ons, 4.64 times per year = 4452096 x 13.33 x 4.64 = £275,367,480 per year
Respondents were asked ‘which of the following best describes your living situation’ 21.1% live alone, 36.5% live with their partner only, 38.8% live with their families, 2.1% live in a shared house of flat, 1.5% live in none of the above. We took splits of the data by these household types to find this data.
The 38.4% of respondents who don’t pay for TV were asked ‘why don’t you pay for a TV package?’ 69.2% said ‘Freeview channels are good enough for me’, 38.3% said ‘I don’t think paid for TV packages are good value’, 30.3% said ‘I don’t spend enough time watching TV’, 27.4% said ‘I can’t afford it’, 13.7% said ‘I use an internet video streaming service instead’, 11.1% said ‘I used to pay for TV but cancelled as I didn’t get enough out of it, 9.4% said ‘paid for TV channels have too many ads’, 9.2% said ‘I don’t want a Sky dish’, 7.9% said ‘I mainly watch films/box sets, 7.7% said ‘I used to pay for TV but cancelled as I couldn’t afford it. Those who used to have a package but cancelled make up 18.8%. 7.7% + 11.1% = 18.8% of the 38.4%.
Lucy Smart
Phone: 020 7148 4663
Email: lucy.smart@uswitch.com
Twitter: @UswitchPR
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