- 18–34s lose 19 hours a year, half a working week, rewatching programmes and films they missed while scrolling on their phone[1]
- Phone distraction now triggers a rewind on almost a quarter (23%) of the occasions viewers sit down to watch something – adding up to 7.9 million hours of repeat telly across the UK every week[1]
- More than a quarter (27%) have nodded along and pretended they knew what happened rather than admit they had been on their phone or had dozed off, rising to almost half (48%) of Gen Z[2]
- More than one in five (22%) distracted viewers have missed a big TV or sporting moment, with Harry Kane's late World Cup match winner and the Great British Bake Off final top of the list[3]
- With Bake Off back tonight and Strictly's first live show on Saturday, Uswitch is encouraging households to run a free speed test before the autumn schedule gets going
Phone in one hand and remote in the other, 18–34s now lose 19 hours a year to rewatching telly they missed while scrolling, reveals new research by Uswitch.com, the comparison and switching service.[1]
Almost nine in 10 (87%) viewers admit to scrolling on their phone while the television is on, and almost eight in 10 (79%) have fallen asleep before the end.[4] Phone distraction now triggers a rewind on almost a quarter (23%) of the occasions viewers sit down to watch something, rising to more than a third (35%) in 18–34s.[1]
The rewind button itself may be part of the problem. Half (50%) of viewers say being able to pause and rewind live TV has changed how they watch, and nearly three in 10 (29%) agree that knowing they can always go back means they don't concentrate very hard the first time.[7]
The ‘rewind effect’ adds an average of 9.2 minutes to a sitting, stretching a 45-minute drama into a 54-minute one,[5] and across the UK it adds up to 7.9 million hours of repeat telly every week. Viewers lose nine hours a year overall, rising to 19 hours among 18–34s, falling to 10 hours among 35–54s, and to four hours among the over-55s. By generation, Gen Z lose 18 hours a year and millennials 17, while Gen X lose six hours and baby boomers three.[1]
If today's 18-year-olds kept up that rate for the rest of their lives, they would spend more than 50 days - around seven weeks solid - rewatching telly they missed the first time.[10]
Table: Hours a year spent rewatching telly, by age group[1]
| Age group | Minutes a week | Hours a year |
|---|---|---|
| 18–34 | 22 | 19 |
| 35–54 | 11 | 10 |
| 55+ | 4 | 4 |
| All viewers | 11 | 9 |
Rewinding is not the only way viewers catch up on what they missed: almost six in 10 (58%) have looked up a plot summary, recap or explainer online.[6] And, more than one in five (22%) distracted viewers have missed all or part of a big television or sporting moment in the past two years. Harry Kane's late World Cup goal against DR Congo and the Great British Bake Off final top the list, with almost one in 12 (8%) missing each, ahead of the Celebrity Traitors final (6%) and Chris McCausland's Strictly routine with Dianne Buswell (5%).[3]
Not everyone owns up. More than a quarter (27%) have nodded along and pretended they knew exactly what happened rather than admit they had been on their phone or had dozed off, rising to almost half (48%) of Gen Z. One in seven viewers (14%) has done it more than once.[2]
Phones and naps are causing rows on the sofa, too. Almost a quarter (23%) have fallen out with someone over phone use or nodding off in front of the telly, rising to a third (34%) of Gen Z. Partners bear the brunt, with one in seven viewers (14%) having argued with their other half about it.[8]
With Bake Off back on Channel 4 tonight (Tuesday) and Strictly's first live show on Saturday, Uswitch is encouraging households to run a free speed test before the autumn schedule hits its stride. A single 4K stream needs around 25Mbps on its own, and with phones and laptops sharing the same connection on a busy sofa, a quick test shows whether the connection can keep up.[9]
Max Beckett, Uswitch broadband expert, says: "We've all done it – you glance at your phone for a second, look up, and the ball is in the back of the net. Then you spend the rest of the night nodding along as though you saw the whole thing.
"There is no shame in it – the rewind button is the best thing to happen to telly since the remote control. But the ‘rewind effect’ means we have stopped watching things properly the first time, because we know we can always go back. Half of us say pause and rewind has changed how we watch, and that is a bigger shift than most of us have noticed.
"It also means your broadband is doing more on a Saturday night than you think, with a 4K stream on the telly, someone googling what they missed, and someone else scrolling through all of it. If Strictly keeps buffering, a free speed test takes seconds and tells you whether you are getting what you pay for."
Run a free broadband speed test at Uswitch.com.
-ENDS-
For more information
Harriet Atkinson | Telecoms PR Manager
harriet.atkinson@rvu.co.uk
Twitter: @UswitchPR
Notes to editors
Opinium surveyed a nationally representative sample of 2,000 UK adults between 11–15 September 2026. Results are weighted to be nationally representative. Several figures in this release describe viewers who watch TV weekly rather than all UK adults; where that is the case it is stated both in the copy and in the relevant note below.
1. Rewind time and UK total. Base: the 1,626 respondents (weighted) who watch TV shows or films at home at least once a week. This is 81% of the total sample, so every figure drawn from this note describes weekly TV viewers rather than all UK adults, and is described that way in the copy.
Sittings per week come from the question "In a typical week, how many separate times would you sit down to watch a TV episode or film at home?", averaging 7.8 a week among those able to give a figure (18–34 7.0, 35–54 7.6, 55+ 8.5, Gen Z 6.4, millennials 7.4, Gen X 8.1, baby boomers 9.0).
Rewinding frequency is taken from "How often, if at all, do you do each of the following when watching TV at home? – Rewind because I was distracted by my phone or another device", converted to a share of viewing occasions by weighting the scale (every time 100%, most times 75%, about half 50%, some of the time 25%, rarely 10%, never 0%) across all weekly viewers, so those who never rewind count as 0%. Share of sittings with a rewind: all viewers 23% (18–34 35%, 35–54 25%, 55+ 13%, Gen Z 35%, millennials 32%, Gen X 18%, baby boomers 12%).
Multiplying sittings by the rewind share gives the number of sittings a week in which a viewer rewinds because of their phone: all viewers 1.8 (18–34 2.5, 35–54 1.9, 55+ 1.1, Gen Z 2.3, millennials 2.3, Gen X 1.5, baby boomers 1.0).
Extra time is taken from "Roughly how much extra time does rewinding typically add to a TV episode or film?". Among those who rewind and gave an estimate the average is 9.2 minutes (see note 5). For the calculation, Opinium averaged this across all weekly viewers, with those who do not rewind or could not give an estimate counted as zero, giving 6.0 minutes for all viewers (18–34 9.0, 35–54 6.1, 55+ 3.8, Gen Z 9.1, millennials 8.2, Gen X 4.7, baby boomers 3.4).
All viewers: 7.8 sittings a week x 23% = 1.8 rewinding sittings x 6.0 minutes = 11 minutes a week, or 9 hours a year.
18–34: 7.0 x 35% = 2.5 x 9.0 minutes = 22 minutes a week, or 19 hours a year.
35–54: 7.6 x 25% = 1.9 x 6.1 minutes = 11 minutes a week, or 10 hours a year.
55+: 8.5 x 13% = 1.1 x 3.8 minutes = 4 minutes a week, or 4 hours a year.
Gen Z: 6.4 x 35% = 2.3 x 9.1 minutes = 21 minutes a week, or 18 hours a year.
Millennials: 7.4 x 32% = 2.3 x 8.2 minutes = 19 minutes a week, or 17 hours a year.
Gen X: 8.1 x 18% = 1.5 x 4.7 minutes = 7 minutes a week, or 6 hours a year.
Baby boomers: 9.0 x 12% = 1.0 x 3.4 minutes = 4 minutes a week, or 3 hours a year.
Weekly and annual figures are calculated from unrounded sittings, rewind shares and minutes, then rounded; annual figures use 52 weeks. Recalculating from the rounded inputs shown above will therefore produce slightly different results. The age bands (18–34, 35–54, 55+) and the generations (Gen Z 18–29, millennials 30–45, Gen X 46–61, baby boomers 62–80) are two different ways of cutting the same sample, so the figures for each set are not directly comparable with the other; the 18–34 figure is higher than the Gen Z and millennial figures because 18–34s combine the highest rewind share and the highest extra time per rewind of any group. Because extra time is averaged across all weekly viewers rather than only those who rewind, the totals are conservative.
The figures count only rewinds caused by phone or device distraction. Rewinding after falling asleep is not included either.
Scaled to the equivalent 44,733,092 UK adults who watch TV weekly (1,626/2,000 of the 55,022,253 UK adult population), 10.6 minutes a week equals 7,905,413 hours of repeat viewing across the UK each week, rounded to 7.9 million.
2. Pretending to know what happened. Q: "Have you ever pretended to know what happened in a TV show or film, rather than admit you'd been distracted or had fallen asleep?" Base: 1,937 who watch TV shows or films at home. Yes, more than once 14%; yes, once 13% (NET yes 27%); no, never 61%; can't recall 12%. NET yes: Gen Z (18–29) 48%, 18–34 47%, 35–54 29%, 55+ 11%.
3. Big TV and sporting moments missed. Respondents were shown a list of big TV and sporting moments from the past two years and asked which, if any, they had personally missed all or part of because they were on their phone, another device, or had fallen asleep. Harry Kane's late World Cup winner against DR Congo 8%, The Great British Bake Off final 8%, The Celebrity Traitors final / Alan Carr being crowned winner 6%, a Traitors series winner reveal 5%, Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell's routine on Strictly Come Dancing 5%, Chloe Kelly's winning penalty in the Euro 2025 final 5%, another big TV or sporting moment 2%, can't recall 12%, none of these 66%. The 22% who have missed a big moment is the share who selected at least one moment; it excludes both the 66% who said none and the 12% who could not recall. Respondents could select more than one moment, so the individual percentages do not sum to 22%. Among Gen Z (18–29), 49% said they had not missed any of these moments, compared with 66% of all distracted viewers.
4. Distraction while watching. Q: "When you're watching a TV show or film at home, how often, if ever, do you do each of the following?" Base: 1,937 (weighted) respondents who watch TV shows or films at home. Scroll or browse on my phone or tablet: NET ever while watching 87%; at least half the time 40%. Fall asleep before the end: NET ever 79%; most times or every time 10%. Message or chat with someone: NET ever 83%. Eat or prepare food or drink: NET ever 87%. Do a household task or chore: NET ever 73%.
5. Extra time added by rewinding. Q: "Roughly how much extra time does rewinding typically add to a TV episode or film?" Base: 1,541 who rewind when watching TV at home. Average 9.2 minutes. By age band: 18–34 11.3 minutes; 35–54 9.0 minutes; 55+ 7.2 minutes. By generation: Gen Z (18–29) 11.3 minutes; millennials (30–45) 10.8 minutes; Gen X (46–61) 7.5 minutes; baby boomers (62–80) 7.1 minutes. The rewind-time calculation in note 1 spreads these averages across all weekly viewers, as explained there. It is a self-reported estimate of elapsed time added across a sitting, not the length of a single rewind, and part of the generational difference reflects how different age groups estimate short durations as well as how often they rewind. The 45-minute drama becoming a 54-minute one is 45 minutes plus the 9.2-minute average, rounded.
6. Looking up what you missed. Q: "How often, if at all, do you do each of the following when watching TV at home?" Base: 1,876 who scroll or browse on their phone or fall asleep while watching. "Look up a plot summary, recap or explainer online to find out what I missed": NET 58%.
7. Not concentrating the first time. Q: "To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements?" Base: 1,937 who watch TV shows or films at home. "Knowing I can always rewind means I don't concentrate very hard the first time I watch something": NET agree 29%. "Being able to pause and rewind live TV has changed how I watch": NET agree 50%.
8. Disagreements at home. Q: "Has phone use or falling asleep during a TV show or film ever led to a disagreement with any of the following people?" Base: 1,937 who watch TV shows or films at home. Partner/spouse 14%, child(ren) 5%, parent(s) 4%, other family member(s) 3%, housemate(s) 2%, other 1%. 77% said it had never led to a disagreement in their household, meaning 23% have had a disagreement. Among Gen Z (18–29), 66% said it had never led to a disagreement, meaning 34% have.
9. Broadband speeds for a full sofa. Streaming in 4K needs around 25Mbps per device, HD around 5Mbps and standard definition from 1.5Mbps, and these requirements are per device rather than per household. See https://www.uswitch.com/broadband/guides/broadband-speeds/ and https://www.uswitch.com/broadband/guides/broadband-for-streaming/. Free Uswitch speed test: https://www.uswitch.com/broadband/speedtest/
10. Lifetime projection. Based on the 18–34 figure in note 1 (19.35 hours a year before rounding) continued every year from age 18 to 81. Life expectancy at birth in the UK is 79.1 years for males and 83.0 years for females (ONS, National life tables – life expectancy in the UK: 2022 to 2024, published 10 December 2025), an average of 81.05 years, rounded to 81. 63 years x 19.35 hours = 1,219 hours, or 50.8 days, or 32.5 working weeks of 37.5 hours. This assumes the rate stays constant throughout adult life. Applying the age-band rates in note 1 instead (19.35 hours a year to age 34, 9.88 hours from 35 to 54 and 3.63 hours from 55 to 81) gives 625 hours, or 26 days, over an adult lifetime. Source: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/lifeexpectancies/bulletins/nationallifetablesunitedkingdom/2022to2024