The 2026 edition of the IPA’s Touchpoints dataset marks a special milestone. This year, the industry’s primary source for tracking how the UK public spends its media day celebrated its 20th anniversary. At an event at London’s iconic Picturehouse Central, industry leaders past and present gathered to toast to just how much has changed in that time.
In 2006, the iPhone was still in the development phase. Most travelled the country without the internet in their pocket; the UK’s 3G network was still in its infancy. In a few months’ time, the Nintendo Wii would become the hottest Christmas gadget of the year.
Over the last two decades, the IPA Touchpoints survey has evolved, from pen and paper time diaries to a mobile app. Ways respondents document their daily activity have inevitably grown more complex, as the media landscape fragments and content has evolved from a one-to-many to a many-to-many ecosystem.
At a topline level, the changes in the nation’s media day reflect this. Our habits have shifted from linear to digital spaces, and, increasingly, from non-commercial to commercial media formats, giving advertisers more opportunities to reach consumers throughout the day.
Yet, on another level, our media day remains fundamentally similar to how it looked in 2005. We still start our mornings with audio, read text throughout the day, and enjoy video content later into the evening. Except for the lockdown era, little has changed in these rhythms in 20 years.
2026’s Touchpoints release reflects this, with more gradual changes continuing recent trends, while the fundamentals of how, when and where the nation likes to consume its media remain the same. Digital now accounts for 66% of the average media day, a 3%pt increase year-on-year. This rises to a staggering 85% for 16-34s, while now accounting for almost half (47%) of over-55s’ media day, too.
There is more good news for advertisers, with commercial media’s share of this pie up by 2%pts year-on-year, rising to 68%. Within individual channels, Linear TV’s share has fallen from 21% last year to 19% , while Online Video and Commercial SVOD each gained 1%pt. For 16-34s, almost half of the total curated media day is spent with Social and Online Video – a reminder of just how crucial these channels are for reaching younger audiences.
Among all adults, there is growing distance between Social Media and Linear TV/BVOD in average hours spent per day – though each of these channels continues to command near-unrivalled usage, bettered only by the superior reach and frequency of Outdoor.
For brands, there is little in this data to shock but much to ponder. The recent trends towards digital, commercial, and creator-led platforms show no sign of slowing down, yet all channels remain of critical importance to reaching varying audiences. As the national media day continues to fragment, smarter media planning is needed more than ever to keep up with these changes.
So here’s to a very happy birthday to IPA Touchpoints, to all of the advancements we have seen over that time and all of the things that have stayed the same – without a crystal ball, we won’t attempt to predict the average media day 20 years from now.
