Amazon’s ‘The Grand Tour’ wasn’t far behind
Friends is the most streamed show for the second year running in the UK.
The US sitcom arrived on Netflix back in January 2018, with subscribers able to binge-watch all 10 seasons. Repeats of the show were broadcast on Channel 4 and E4 until 2011.
It came in as the most-streamed series in 2018 and it has done the same in 2019, according to a new report by Ofcom. But it will soon be pulled off Netflix and move to HBO Max.
Amazon’s motoring show The Grand Tour was the second most streamed in the country, followed by Netflix’s You, The Good Place and Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
The report also showed that almost half of UK households are now signed up to at least one streaming service be it Netflix, Amazon, Sky’s Now TV or Disney Life, having grown from 11.2 million (39 per cent) in 2018 to 13.3 million (47 per cent in 2019).
Around 11.5 million homes had a Netflix subscription as of the end of the first quarter of 2019, followed by Amazon Prime with nearly 6.0 million subscribers, Now TV with 1.6 million and DisneyLife’s 0.6 million.
The total number of UK streaming subscriptions rose by a quarter last year — up from 15.6 million to 19.1 million.
However, traditional TV — including catch-ups within 28 days — still accounts for most viewing, averaging three hours and 12 minutes per day.
BBC One’s Line of Duty was the most-watched programme overall this year so far with 12.1 million tuning into the final episode.
The channel’s Bodyguard was the most-watched drama in 2018, with 14.3 million viewers tuning in for its final outing.
Friends star David Schwimmer recently ruled out any chance of another series.
“Well, no. I mean… no,” the actor and director said on The Lateish Show with Mo Gilligan on Friday (August 2) when quizzed on a potential new series.
“I think we all feel it kind of ended in the perfect way.”
