Blue Lights<\/a> and Gavin and Stacey were the next most popular.<\/p>\nThe details were contained in the regulator’s just-published Media Nations report for Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n
It also said viewers in Northern Ireland watched more live TV that those in other parts of the UK.<\/p>\n
According to Ofcom, The Grinch was watched by more than 630,000 viewers in Northern Ireland in 2024.<\/p>\n
The first episode of series two of Blue Lights on the BBC drew 556,000 viewers.<\/p>\n
Next highest figures were for the finale of Gavin and Stacey on the BBC with 478,000 watching.<\/p>\n
Other shows in the top 10 in Northern Ireland included ITV’s I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here! and Mr Bates vs The Post Office.<\/p>\n
Do people still watch a lot of TV in Northern Ireland?<\/p>\n
![\"Series](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/facc2500-6c7d-11f0-be3b-f717251b1a8f.jpg\")
Image caption, <\/p>\n
The first episode of season two of Blue Lights drew more than half a million viewers<\/p>\n
TV is watched more by older viewers, with those aged between four and 24 only watching about half an hour a day.<\/p>\n
Viewers in Northern Ireland also tend to be happy with what they get from the BBC, UTV and Channel 4, with about three-quarters telling Ofcom they are “very satisfied” or “satisfied”.<\/p>\n
But the rise of video-on-demand services continues.<\/p>\n
Almost six-in-10 homes in Northern Ireland subscribe to Amazon Prime.<\/p>\n
It is more popular in Northern Ireland than Netflix, which is present in around 55% of homes.<\/p>\n
BBC iPlayer is the most popular video-on-demand service from public service broadcasters such as the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5.<\/p>\n
Over a quarter of viewers (26%) use BBC iPlayer every week.<\/p>\n
![\"Conor](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/11dc7050-6c9d-11f0-af20-030418be2ca5.jpg\")
Image source, Conor BartonImage caption, <\/p>\n
Conor Barton’s viewing habits are typical of his generation<\/p>\n
Conor Barton says digital streaming and on-demand content now shape almost all his media habits.<\/p>\n
The 26-year-old said the “vast majority” of content he watched was through YouTube. <\/p>\n
“It’s tailored to my interests and available instantly – unlike traditional TV,” he said.<\/p>\n
His live television viewing is mostly limited to sports and major events: <\/p>\n
“Specials like Gavin & Stacey are exceptions,” he said.<\/p>\n
“Otherwise, I’d only use terrestrial TV if something isn’t on a digital platform.<\/p>\n
“Young people stream because that’s what we know – it’s part of daily life now. It’s the on demand, instant access that makes the difference”<\/p>\n
Youtube is the most-popular social media video platform, with three times as many viewers in Northern Ireland as TikTok, the next most popular.<\/p>\n
According to Ofcom, just over two-thirds (67%) of adults aged 16-34 watch at least three minutes of YouTube a week.<\/p>\n
But those who use YouTube spend an average of 35 minutes a day viewing content on it.<\/p>\n
![\"Stacey](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/9aeb69f0-6c9d-11f0-9a27-87bb9aa7e3da.jpg\")
Image source, Stacey BurnsImage caption, <\/p>\n
Stacey Burns is a fan of short-form video<\/p>\n
Stacey Burns from Lisburn is a fan of short-form video and uses TikTok.<\/p>\n
She said she spends about an hour a day scrolling.<\/p>\n
“You don’t have to concentrate much on TikTok as it’s short and snappy content, and that’s what I like about it,” the 27-year old said.<\/p>\n
“I consume very little live TV unless it is a music or sporting event being broadcast. <\/p>\n
“As a child, I would have made sure I was home in time for my favourite shows; however, it just doesn’t work with my schedule anymore \u2013 I would rather have something I can watch at any time.<\/p>\n
“I’m more likely to sit down and watch TV on the weekend when I have time. <\/p>\n
“It would be via streaming services. <\/p>\n
“Maybe a series that I’m watching – I’ll get properly into watching something when I have more time.”<\/p>\n
How do people get their news?<\/p>\n
BBC TV remains the most popular source of news in Northern Ireland, according to Ofcom.<\/p>\n
More than four-in-10 adults said they got their news mainly from news programmes broadcast on BBC or UTV.<\/p>\n
Aside from BBC and UTV, though, Facebook is the third most popular way for people to get news in Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n
Almost 20% of adults told Ofcom they used Google or the BBC News website or app to access news.<\/p>\n
Overall viewers in Northern Ireland are more likely to watch news programmes on TV than those in England, Scotland or Wales.<\/p>\n
What about radio?<\/p>\n
![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/fa8bd8f0-6c83-11f0-85cd-0f57f4dbb3ff.jpg\")
Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, <\/p>\n
Fewer people listen to podcasts in Northern Ireland than other parts of the UK<\/p>\n
Radio listening is higher in Northern Ireland than elsewhere in the UK, with almost nine-in-10 adults tuning into radio each week.<\/p>\n
The station with the biggest share of listeners is BBC Radio Ulster, followed by Cool FM and Downtown, according to Ofcom.<\/p>\n
Ofcom also said that despite the growth of digital radio, more people in Northern Ireland still listen to radio live on AM or FM.<\/p>\n
But just under seven-in-10 people use online music services such as Spotify or Apple Music at least once a week.<\/p>\n
According to Ofcom, podcast listening is less popular in Northern Ireland than elsewhere in the UK.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, People in Northern Ireland watched more live TV than other parts of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":302624,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5011],"tags":[1144,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-302623","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-northern-ireland","8":"tag-northern-ireland","9":"tag-uk","10":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114939534302575977","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/302623","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=302623"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/302623\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/302624"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=302623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=302623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=302623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/366042d0-6c7f-11f0-be3b-f717251b1a8f.jpg\")
Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, <\/p>\n