Overall media usage in the UK will be close to reaching saturation point this year, as the media mix dynamic continues to transform with mobile overtaking TV for the first time and half of all media time spent with digital.

According to eMarketer, mobile will account for 32 per cent of media time this year – with UK adults expected to spend an average of 9 hours, 23 minutes each day watching, streaming, reading, and listening to media overall in 2018. This represents the first year of flat growth since eMarketer began tracking media time spent in the UK.

“The way that people consume media will continue to change,” said Bill Fisher, UK analyst at eMarketer. “Many traditional habits are simply transitioning over to digital devices and platforms, while digital-only habits continue to proliferate. However, what’s apparent from this forecast is that UK adults have reached a plateau. While the media mix may ebb and flow, and it will increasingly flow toward mobile, adults’ media consumption capacity has reached its peak.”