Insight

Once again, Barb’s ability to measure viewing on non-TV devices (PCs/Laptops, Tablets and Smartphones) has generated some interesting insights on UK viewing habits. This article picks out some highlights from the top programmes watched on devices in 2020. For more information on how Barb measures viewing on non-TV devices, please see our Barb Explained article on this topic.

As in 2019 it was ITV’s Love Island that was the leading programme for non-device viewing, taking the top spot once again, this time with an episode from the Winter series. The table above is presented with one programme per programme title – without this criteria Love Island would also have occupied the next 35 slots in the rankings, certainly a dominant showing.

Across the whole of the top-20, it’s also clear that dramas are also key drivers of device viewing, with 13 places overall occupied by either standalone dramas or serials.

This table also given an indication of some of the external influences on viewing in 2020. Firstly, levels are generally lower than the equivalent table of 2019. Although #1 Love Island delivered almost 1 million viewers, this was lower than its #1 figure from last year, and the audience needed to get into the top-20 was also lower this year, at 220,000 viewers. While Winter Love Island did air in the part of the year that was unaffected by the pandemic, it is the case that device-viewing was lower during most of 2020, especially as lower levels of commuting are likely to have impacted smartphone viewing. With lockdown restrictions also preventing some shows from airing, these factors will have influenced the final rankings.

On a similar note, it’s interesting that a news programme made it into the top-20 this year, there were no news programmes last year, and that 2020 also saw an absence of sport. With many fixtures and tournaments across the year delayed, this was another consequence of the pandemic.

Another way to look at the importance of device viewing is to rank the programmes which see the greatest percentage uplift to their total audience once this viewing is included. Once again, there are a couple of key themes in this table that have repeated from last year. Firstly, there is the dominance of live sport in the table. Despite the loss of some key events from the calendar, there are still “can’t miss” events. For those not able to be in front of the TV (or perhaps those not in control of the remote), viewing on another device can still provide the opportunity to watch their favourite team.

As last year the top two slots are dramas on CBBC, indicating the importance of device-viewing for younger age demographics. It’s also notable that both these shows deliver a higher percentage of uplift than in 2019. As well as this being an indication that device-viewing is still growing among these viewers, it’s also a by-product of TV viewing levels for them declining – thus making the percentage-growth bigger.