New research conducted by market research agencies Omnisis and Old Salt has revealed how the population are really keeping themselves entertained during lockdown.

Key findings of the survey, which was completed by 1003 adults in the UK, revealed that Disney+ was released at exactly the right time, with 14% of the population having watched it since its launch on 24th March, the day the lockdown officially began.

This figure compares to 50% of respondents who have ever viewed Netflix and 31% who have ever viewed Amazon Prime Video.

This means that three times as many people have watched Disney+ in a matter of weeks compared to the 4% of the population who have watched Apple TV+ since it launched in the UK at the start of November last year.

Despite the interest in Disney+, Netflix continues to dominate on-demand viewing during the lockdown, even among users of other SVOD services. 89% of Netflix users have watched it in the last week, with 71% watching yesterday.

The survey was created to find out peoples’ behaviour since the beginning of lockdown and how they’re really spending their time online.

68% of respondents said they’re watching more TV and online video than usual, rising to 76% amongst those who have children at home.

62% say they’re watching the news more often, with only 7% saying they’re watching it less, although maybe it isn’t helping the 73% of respondents who are worried most or all of the time about Covid-19.

Each age demographic are looking to different television genres to aid their escapism during lockdown. 40% of 18-24 year olds are watching comedies more often, 33% of 25-34 year olds are watching documentaries more often and 29% of 35-44s are watching dramas more often.

Respondents are using their time in lockdown to watch more films too - 42% are watching films more often, rising to 51% for those with children at home.

80% of respondents said they’d be interested in watching new films originally scheduled for Hollywood release from their home during lockdown and 78% said they’re interested in watching repeats of their old favourite films.

The humble boxset hasn’t been forgotten, with 91% of 18-34s seeking binge-worthy boxsets to pass the time, compared to 51% of those aged 55+.

Other key findings:

• 1 in 2 (47%) have been inspired by social media, rising to 62% among 25-34s
• Daily use of TikTok has increased by 57%, 11% of UK adults now say they use TikTok daily, up from 7% at the end of 2019
• 85% of 25-34s are interested in watching practical guides on how to do things at home, perhaps because 72% are making a conscious effort to be more productive in their free time (vs. 63% of all adults)
• 12% of over 65s have started using Zoom because of the lockdown, while 1 in 10 18-24s have started using Houseparty
• 5 in 10 (47%) 18-34 year olds say they’re watching Netflix more often while in lockdown, with 4 in 10 (39%) watching YouTube more often
• 72% of BBC iPlayer users have watched in the last week, with 3 in 10 (31%) watching yesterday
• 76% of Amazon Prime Video users have watched in the past week, with 4 in 10 (41%) watching yesterday
• 85% of YouTube users have watched in the last week with 64% watching yesterday
• Of the respondents, 50% had ever viewed Netflix, 31% APV, 14% Disney+, 10% Now TV, 6% ITV Hub, 4% Apple TV, 2% Hayu, 2% BritBox, 1% MTV Play

All findings came from 1003 adults representative of the UK’s online population completed an online survey between April 2nd and April 3rd 2020.

Get in touch

For more information, questions or comments please contact Hannah McCreesh, Marketing Manager at hannah@omnisis.co.uk and Syann Cox, Founder and Director at Old Salt on syann@oldsalt.uk