More than three quarters of busy West Midlands people multi-task while watching TV

Only 22 per cent of people in the region settle down to the TV without interruption, reinforcing the rising ‘media meshing’ trend apparent in households today

A recent study undertaken by BT TV has proved that the West Midlands is a region of people who cannot sit still. Nearly eight in 10 West Midlands TV viewers are distracted by other forms of entertainment and everyday tasks such as responding to emails, reading, internet shopping as well as browsing for sports and news updates.

The research has uncovered a nation of super savvy viewers, whose busy lives eat in to ‘TV time’, enforcing the need for flexible TV scheduling. Nearly half (46 per cent) of West Midlands respondents admitted that they don’t have a specific time set aside to watch TV, with just under a third (29 per cent) saying they record half or more of their favourite TV programmes to watch when it suits them and eight per cent recording the majority (90 per cent) of their favourite shows.

Challenging some stereotypes around gender related habits in the UK as a whole, more women (29 per cent) than men (20 per cent) admitted to gaming whilst watching TV, with 13 per cent of men claiming to do the ironing while watching the box. Nearly half the nation (47 per cent) check emails while watching their favourite shows, with a quarter (24 per cent) of 18-24 year olds being those most likely to be checking work emails whilst watching TV.

Proving that the older generations are becoming more comfortable with technology, those aged 65 or over record an average of 30 per cent of their favourite TV shows to watch when suits them, which is only 6 per cent less than the 18–24 age group.

The need for personalised packages is obvious from further statistics uncovered by the study, which found that 65 per cent of women prefer drama programming, compared to 50 per cent of men, 38 per cent of women prefer soap operas compared to just 18 per cent of men. Typically, more men (33 per cent) prefer sci-fi shows compared to women (22 per cent).

Mike Cook, BT’s West Midlands regional director, said: “While the survey shows that TV is an important part of our busy lives in the West Midlands, it seems that we are a region of people who routinely multi-task while we are watching our favourite programmes. Increasingly, people are expecting a more tailored TV service which gives them the movies and programmes they want at a time to suit them.”

BT TV features ‘must have’ HD movies, channels and sport and a free YouView box that lets you pause and record so you don’t miss the TV you love. BT’s core Entertainment pack is just £7 month with BT Infinityᵻ.

ENDS

Enquiries about this news release should be made to the BT Regional Press Office on 0800 085 0660. All news releases can be accessed at our web site: http://www.btplc.com/News

Notes to editors
*Research carried out across a nationally representative panel of 2.053 adults by ICM, October 2013

ᵻNot all lines in fibre enabled areas can support the BT Infinity service. Visit www.bt.com/infinity to see if your line can.

BT TV Entertainment: £35 activation for new TV customers signing up for 12 months, pay £7 a month. You’ll need a fast enough line, BT Infinity and a BT line. A 10m cable will be provided or you’ll be charged £35 if an engineer install is needed. You’ll get a YouView box (unless you’re taking Sky Sports too) but if you stop your service in the first year we will charge you up to £299. You’ll need to pay by Direct Debit. Availability of digital channels and quality of content depends on local transmitter and suitable rooftop aerial (www.freeview.co.uk/availability). We’ll charge you for on demand content and HD/box office films not included in your bolt-on(s). Subject to availability. Bolt-ons: Available on a 1 month minimum term. Monthly charge of £3 Music on demand / £5 Film & TV Box Sets on demand / £3 HD Extra channels / £3 Kids Extra channels. HD on demand requires suitable HDMI cable, a HD ready TV and 5Mbps minimum line speed for streaming. Curzon Home Cinema: Offers selection of films for £10 each on same day as cinema release. Film can be viewed multiple times within 7 days of purchase. Terms apply.

Additional stats:
Top five most popular TV genres
1. Drama (58%)
2. Factual/Documentary (55%)
3. Comedy (50%)
4. Sport (31%)
5. Soaps (28%)

Top five favourite TV theme tunes
Only Fools & Horses stands test of time, despite no new episodes being aired for 22 years, it gets twice as many votes as current favourite Downton Abbey
1. Only Fools and Horses (14%)
2. Friends (11%)
3. Downton Abbey (6%)
4. Strictly Come Dancing (4%)
5. EastEnders (3%)

Top five most popular film genres:
1. Action/thriller (55%)
2. Drama (50%)
3. Comedy (50%)
4. Sci-fi (33%)
5. Factual/Documentary (28%)

Mums’ top five favourite film genres:
1. Action/thriller (50%)
2. Comedy (44%)
3. Drama (35%)
4. Horror (30%)
5. Rom Com (27%)

Dads’ top five favourite film genres:
1. Action/thriller (68%)
2. Comedy (59%)
3. Sci fi (48%)
4. Drama (36%)
5. Factual/Documentary (29%)

About BT
BT is one of the world’s leading providers of communications services and solutions, serving customers in more than 170 countries. Its principal activities include the provision of networked IT services globally; local, national and international telecommunications services to its customers for use at home, at work and on the move; broadband, TV and internet products and services; and converged fixed/mobile products and services. BT consists principally of four lines of business: BT Global Services, BT Retail, BT Wholesale and Openreach.
For the year ended 31 March 2013, BT Group’s reported revenue was £18,103m with reported profit before taxation of £2,315m.
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For more information, visit www.btplc.com