The 2008 Communications Market Report by Ofcom shows broadband-delivered TV services are catching on with British viewers. Content on demand has consumers of all ages showing a growing interest in accessing audio-visual content online; 17% of those with broadband watched TV over the internet, up by eight percentage points on 2006 – and this is particularly apparent among younger people.

The internet has become an important distribution platform, both for the television industry and for consumers seeking online content. For example, the BBC iPlayer in May 2008 served 700,000 video streams daily. Another increase can be seen in a third of internet users watching online video clips and web-casts in 2007 compared to just over a fifth in 2006. In April of 2008, the number of UK viewers watching YouTube doubled to that of one year ago reaching 9 million.