We continue to hear that people no longer watch television in its traditional format. This continues to be the view of several commentators. This tends to be opinion, rather than fact.

Like Shakira's hips - the numbers don't lie.

Given the choice, would you rather watch a programme on a splendid set with family and friends, or alone in your room? If you choose the former, you remain in the majority. Online viewing is a fantastic innovation, and continues to grow in popularity. However, evidence suggests that these services are driving additional commercial TV viewing - not replacing it.

BARB data for the first 5 months of the year is consolidated. The headline news - viewing to commercial breaks continued to grow across the first 5 months of the year.

All Adults:     +4.37%

Adults 16-34:     +1.4%

Men 16-34:     +2.85%

Women 16-34:     +0.37%

All Housewives: +3.55%

All individuals:    +4%

This is off the back of a 1.9% Y-o-Y rise against All Individuals across the same period in 2009. It's not a flash in the pan. A recent study by SMG indicates that 6 million British adults intend to watch more World Cup TV coverage than they did in the 2006 tournament. June will see a rise in viewing - particularly amongst young men. A peak of 9.1 million watched Brazil almost lose to North Korea on ITV1...so it's not just England games that offer huge numbers.

Meanwhile, advertisers continue to see the benefit of building their brands on TV. The TV market has experienced a 15.9% rise in demand across the January to May period.

"People don't watch TV any more." 

They do. In increasing numbers. And that's a fact.