DESPITE THE GROWING popularity of on-demand services and streaming shows online, the majority of Irish people still prefer to watch shows on their TV.

A new report from Eircom found that nine out of ten adults (91%) still watch TV and 92% of that TV is watched live. Of those shows that people watch live include the news (61%), sports (51%) and the weather (42%).

Those within the 16-34 year old demographic were more likely to move away from the TV, with half watching live or on-demand TV on devices like smartphones or tablets.

Catch-up services are the most popular with 37% of people using them. Meanwhile, 33% of adults use Netflix while 31% opt for pre-recorded programmes.

Almost all adults have access to a smartphone or tablet that can be used, and the average number of devices in the home has increased from three to four in the past year. Among 16-24 year olds, the average number of devices they have access to rose to six.

Also, tablet ownership had almost doubled in the past twelve months, with ownership increasing from 25% to 41%, and it’s expected that 1.8 million adults will own a tablet by the end of the year.

In comparison, smartphone ownership has increased by 11% in the same period, with 64% of respondents owning one.

While a quarter of the people surveyed said they downloaded a movie or series to watch on their device, the vast majority (86%) watched them at home.

Other findings included 47% of Irish adults now shop online while 42% of Irish workers check their email while they’re at home.

The findings come from eircom’s Household Sentiment Survey which spoke to 1,144 Irish adults aged 16 and over.

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