Sitting down to watch the telly is a practice almost every family can relate to, but it is no secret that traditional broadcast TV has seen a significant decline in views over the last 15 years. With two thirds of UK household subscribing to at least one on-demand platform, it would appear our attitudes to classic, linear viewing are reverting to type.
The recent Celebrity Traitors final, which aired on BBC One, attracted 11 million live viewers – an unheard-of value for live TV outside of Christmas specials. But its mammoth popularity is just an ever-growing signal that an appetite for scheduled television is developing.
The 2025 Media Nations Ofcom report found traditional linear formats are being increasingly adopted in on-demand services. “Half of YouTube’s top trending videos now resemble traditional TV, with a rise in long-form content creating new advertising opportunities,” the report.
Recently graduated master’s student Adar Greenfeld said: “I mostly watch live TV only because I can’t afford to pay for streaming services on top of rent and all my other bills. It’s just more convenient. I will borrow my friends’ accounts if there is a show that people are talking about, so I don’t miss out much.” As more streaming platforms raise their prices, Freeview TV is becoming more appealing than ever.
The sense of watching a show live alongside the nation also brings a joyful sense of community. “I think live TV is special though as you get to watch it first and it’s unpredictable, yet I always know what I’m going to watch,” Greenfeld adds.
That sense of unpredictability is something that cannot be replicated with on-demand services. Whilst on demand streaming is solitary, live viewings give millions of people the chance to tap into conversations simultaneously. We saw this with Eurovision 2025, which saw 7.7 million live viewers during the grand final on BBC One.
So, is TV making a comeback? Not necessarily, However, when streaming involves endless choices sometimes the simplicity of terrestrial television provides an element of excitement some crave.