Transmedia storytelling reaches audiences through several connected forms rather than one screen or one release window. In 2024, UK individuals aged 4 and over spent 4 hours 30 minutes per day watching in-home video, while US audio listening reached 3 hours 57 minutes per day in the third quarter. Interactive platforms add another layer: Roblox users engaged for 73.5 billion hours across 2024.
This article brings together statistics from Ofcom Media Nations 2025, the Disney FY2024 Annual Report, Roblox Q4 and FY2024 Financial Results, and Nielsen The Record Q3 2024. The figures measure different populations, geographies, periods, and definitions, so they should be read as channel-specific indicators rather than a single combined audience total.
Contents
- The scale of everyday video
- Broadcast television still anchors reach
- Streaming and creator platforms expand the story world
- Disney shows how franchises monetize across services
- Roblox measures participation, not just viewing
- Audio adds another storytelling layer
The scale of everyday video
Ofcom Media Nations 2025 reported that individuals aged 4 and over in the UK spent 4 hours 30 minutes per day watching in-home video content in 2024. The television set remained the main device for that activity: 84% of in-home video viewing was through a TV set.
That total includes multiple forms of viewing. Broadcast TV on TV sets accounted for 2 hours 24 minutes per person per day. Video-sharing platforms averaged 51 minutes per day, while subscription video-on-demand and advertising-supported video-on-demand together averaged 40 minutes per day. Broadcaster video-on-demand viewing averaged a further 25 minutes per day, and recorded playback of live channels averaged 23 minutes.
These measures describe different parts of the in-home video environment. A transmedia project can therefore use the TV set for a primary episode, a video-sharing platform for supplementary material, and broadcaster or subscription services for additional access. The statistics do not establish that viewers move between those services for the same story, but they show the scale of the available viewing contexts.
Ofcom reported that broadcaster content represented 56% of Barb-measured in-home video viewing in 2024. For people aged 16 to 34, broadcaster content represented 25% of viewing, compared with 90% among people aged 75 and over. The contrast is important for audience planning: a story distributed across media encounters age groups whose channel mixes differ substantially.
Broadcast television still anchors reach
Weekly broadcast-TV reach in the UK was 73.8% in 2024, according to Ofcom Media Nations 2025. Reach varied sharply by age. It was 94% among people aged 65 and over, but 45% among people aged 16 to 24.
The figures suggest that broadcast television remains a broad awareness channel, even as younger viewers spend relatively more of their viewing time elsewhere. For a story universe, broadcast can provide a high-reach entry point, while other formats can support discovery or participation among audiences less likely to watch scheduled television.
| UK video measure | 2024 figure | Population or scope |
|---|---|---|
| Daily in-home video viewing | 4 hours 30 minutes | Individuals aged 4+ |
| TV-set share of in-home video | 84% | Individuals aged 4+ |
| Daily broadcast TV on TV sets | 2 hours 24 minutes | Individuals aged 4+ |
| Weekly broadcast-TV reach | 73.8% | UK population measure |
| Weekly broadcast-TV reach, age 65+ | 94% | UK |
| Weekly broadcast-TV reach, age 16–24 | 45% | UK |
Audience differences also appear in platform behavior. Minority ethnic audiences watched video-sharing platforms for 1 hour 22 minutes per day in 2024, while they watched broadcast TV for 1 hour 18 minutes per day. Those are measured daily averages for that audience group, not estimates of the number of people reached. They show that platform choices can vary within a national market and that a distribution plan may need more than one route to reach a community.
Streaming and creator platforms expand the story world
UK streaming economics demonstrate the scale of on-demand viewing. UK subscription video-on-demand revenue exceeded £4.5 billion in 2024 and grew 14% year over year, according to Ofcom Media Nations 2025. The revenue figure is for the UK market, while the growth comparison is year over year.
Creator platforms add a global and local dimension. YouTube Premium had more than 125 million subscribers globally in 2025. YouTube’s global advertising revenue exceeded $36 billion in 2024. These are different measures: one counts subscribers to a premium service, while the other reports worldwide advertising revenue.
Ofcom also reported that YouTube’s UK creative ecosystem contributed over £2 billion to UK GDP in 2023 and supported more than 45,000 full-time equivalent jobs. That economic measure concerns the UK ecosystem and the 2023 calendar year, unlike the global subscriber and advertising figures. Together, the measures indicate that creator-platform storytelling can be connected to both audience access and a substantial production economy.
For transmedia work, the practical implication is not that every project needs to appear on every service. It is that the available channels differ in role. A subscription platform can carry long-form narrative, a video-sharing platform can carry short-form or behind-the-scenes material, and a broadcaster can provide mass reach. The supplied figures quantify the scale of those environments but do not quantify cross-platform conversion or the performance of any particular franchise.
Disney shows how franchises monetize across services
Disney’s FY2024 Annual Report provides a detailed view of a large entertainment company’s direct-to-consumer and network businesses. In fiscal 2024, Disney+ had 56.0 million domestic paid subscribers and 66.7 million international paid subscribers excluding Disney+ Hotstar. Disney+ Core had 122.7 million paid subscribers, while Disney+ Hotstar had 35.9 million.
Hulu had 52.0 million total paid subscribers in fiscal 2024. That total consisted of 47.4 million Hulu SVOD Only subscribers and 4.6 million Hulu Live TV + SVOD subscribers. The categories should not be added to Disney+ figures as a measure of unique people, because the report’s service counts are subscription measures and may not represent distinct individuals across services.
| Disney service measure | Fiscal 2024 figure |
|---|---|
| Disney+ domestic paid subscribers | 56.0 million |
| Disney+ international paid subscribers, excluding Hotstar | 66.7 million |
| Disney+ Core paid subscribers | 122.7 million |
| Disney+ Hotstar paid subscribers | 35.9 million |
| Hulu SVOD Only paid subscribers | 47.4 million |
| Hulu Live TV + SVOD paid subscribers | 4.6 million |
| Total Hulu paid subscribers | 52.0 million |
Revenue per subscriber varied by service and region. Disney reported average monthly revenue per paid subscriber of $7.89 for domestic Disney+ and $6.60 for international Disney+ excluding Hotstar. Disney+ Hotstar averaged $0.96 per paid subscriber per month. Hulu SVOD Only averaged $12.35, while Hulu Live TV + SVOD averaged $95.12.
The differences show why audience scale and monetization are separate questions in a transmedia strategy. A service with a large subscriber count may have a different revenue profile from a smaller or more bundled offer. The figures are averages reported for fiscal 2024; they are not prices for every customer and do not forecast future revenue.
Disney reported $22.776 billion in fiscal 2024 Direct-to-Consumer revenue, compared with $10.692 billion in Linear Networks revenue and $7.718 billion in Content Sales/Licensing and Other revenue. Those business categories indicate how one company’s storytelling portfolio can be associated with direct digital distribution, linear channels, and licensing or sales activity.
Roblox measures participation, not just viewing
Roblox’s Q4 and FY2024 Financial Results show the scale of an interactive platform where audiences can spend time inside user-driven experiences. In the fourth quarter of 2024, Roblox reported revenue of $988.2 million, bookings of $1.3616 billion, average daily active users of 85.3 million, average monthly unique payers of 18.9 million, and 18.7 billion hours engaged.
For the full year 2024, Roblox reported revenue of $3.602 billion and bookings of $4.3691 billion. Average daily active users were 82.9 million, and hours engaged totaled 73.5 billion. The quarterly and full-year measures are not directly interchangeable: one is a three-month period and the other covers the entire year.
| Roblox measure | Q4 2024 | Full year 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $988.2 million | $3.602 billion |
| Bookings | $1.3616 billion | $4.3691 billion |
| Average daily active users | 85.3 million | 82.9 million |
| Hours engaged | 18.7 billion | 73.5 billion |
Roblox also reported 2024 ending liquidity of $3.0 billion in net liquidity and $4.0 billion in cash, cash equivalents, short-term investments, and long-term investments. Those financial figures describe the company’s position at the end of the year, not audience spending or the value of a particular story property.
For storytelling across media, Roblox’s key distinction is the difference between viewing and engagement. A film or series asks an audience to watch; an interactive world can measure active participation through users, payers, and hours engaged. The reported statistics do not say how much of Roblox activity involved branded narrative experiences, so they should be used to describe platform scale rather than to claim transmedia campaign results.
Audio adds another storytelling layer
Nielsen The Record Q3 2024 measured total US audio listening at 3 hours 57 minutes per day across ad-supported and ad-free platforms. Within daily ad-supported audio time, radio accounted for 67%, podcasts for 18%, streaming audio services for 11%, and satellite radio for 3%.
| US ad-supported audio category | Share of daily time, Q3 2024 |
|---|---|
| Radio | 67% |
| Podcasts | 18% |
| Streaming audio services | 11% |
| Satellite radio | 3% |
The audio figures are US measures for the third quarter of 2024, and the category shares refer specifically to ad-supported audio time. They should not be combined with the UK video measures as though they describe one population. Their value for transmedia planning is comparative: audio offers a substantial daily listening environment, with podcasts and streaming audio representing measurable portions alongside radio.
Taken together, these statistics describe a media landscape with several distinct forms of attention: UK viewers spend hours with video, streaming services generate major revenue, creator platforms support global and local economies, interactive platforms measure billions of hours of engagement, and US audiences devote nearly four hours a day to audio. A transmedia story can be designed around those different behaviors, provided each statistic is kept tied to its original geography, period, audience definition, and measurement method.