Report: 41% of UK consumers create content
April 16, 2026
MIDiA Research has published Rebuilding TV in the creator era: UK video consumption and creation, a new report examining how the UK video market is undergoing a structural shift as content consumption and creation converge.
The report finds that in Q4 2025, 41 per cent of UK consumers create content of any format, rising to nearly two thirds among 20–24-year-olds, a group that treats creation as a core part of the entertainment experience rather than a separate activity. The data shows that social platforms and global streaming services now command more daily engagement in the UK than linear TV, which, while remaining a powerful engine of reach and monetisation for British broadcasters, is losing the battle for everyday attention.
The report also finds a significant engagement gap between traditional broadcast and digital platforms across all age groups. Nearly three quarters of 16–19-year-olds engage with YouTube every week, but fewer than a quarter engage with BBC iPlayer on a weekly basis. The gap persists among 55–64-year-olds, with 31 per cent engaging with iPlayer weekly versus 60 per cent for YouTube. The data shows the audience challenge for UK broadcasters extends well beyond younger viewers.
Ben Woods, creator economy analyst at MIDiA Research, commented: “The UK video market is undergoing a once-in-a-generation reset. Linear TV still delivers scale and revenue, but social platforms and global streamers have now captured daily attention. At the same time, nearly half of UK consumers are now creating content in some form, accelerating a shift where audiences, talent and production are converging into a single ecosystem.”
Woods added: “This is not the end of TV, but its reconstruction, with the creator economy moving from the margins to the centre of how entertainment is made, distributed and experienced.”
The report finds that platforms combining passive viewing, participation, and community creation are positioned to capture more daily attention than those built primarily around scheduled programming or catch-up viewing. It also identifies a gap in BVoD and SVoD offerings: while premium programming is secured for appointment viewing, high-frequency, low-cost formats that can drive continuous social-platform discovery are largely absent.