Consumers use a dozen platforms a week and spend 11 hours a day consuming media, says Ampere Analysis

US and UK: Daily average media engagement time breakdown (hours:minutes)

Ampere Analysis

Consumers in the US and UK access an average of 11.5 platforms every week as part of their media consumption habits, with streamers among the most popular services, according to Ampere Analysis.

Data from the UK research firm shows that those services include a mixture of pay TV, streamers, social media apps, music streaming, video games and broadcaster VoD services.

OTT giants like Netflix and Disney+ account for 4.1 of these platforms per week, while Gen Alpha (age 11-15) is the demographic with the highest consumption (13.6 platforms).

Ampere’s ‘Attention Economy’ study revealed that those polled spend almost 11 hours a day consuming a mixture of media, depending on their mood, age and needs. Streaming services (one hour and 57 minutes), social media (1:46) and YouTube (1:35) attract the highest levels of daily media engagement.

According to Ampere, streaming services are most often used for relaxation and immersion, while YouTube is popular for discovery and lifting users’ mood. Social media apps, meanwhile, are seen as a way to relieve boredom or provide distraction.

Gen Alpha spends the most time on YouTube (1:45 per day) and gaming (1:56), while Gen Z (16-29) spends the most time on social media (1:54) and music services (1:20). Generation X and Baby Boomers are more likely to spend time with streaming services, TV channels and live sports.

Mobile devices also drive higher daily media engagement by making simultaneous media use easier. In the US and UK, for example, more than one-quarter (28%) of Netflix users regularly watch the service on their smartphone.

Sam Nursall, research manager at Ampere Analysis, said: “Today’s consumers have more varied media diets than ever before, selecting from an expanding menu of media depending on what they want in the moment.

“Whether they’re looking to relax, discover something new or simply fill spare time, each medium serves a different purpose. That’s today’s attention economy. For advertisers and broadcasters, understanding those different moments is just as important as understanding the audience itself.”