Netflix and steal – streaming service tops list of searches for free TV

Netflix is the UK’s most popular streaming service – that people are hoping to access for free.

New research by IVA Advice has revealed the streaming platform receives the most searches when accompanied by phrases like “free…” and “how to get free…”.

The home of smash hits such as Bridgerton and The Crown accounts for half of all searches looking for no-cost streaming, totalling 109,000 searches each year.

That is followed by 27% for Amazon Prime, or just over 60,000 annual searches.

Sky is the third most searched TV service that the public hopes to access without a subscription, with 11% of the search volume – just under 24,000 searches a year.

In addition Sky’s streaming service Now TV is fourth in the list, with just under 5% of searches, or around 10,000 searches over 12 months.

Disney+ comes in fifth, and accounts for 4% of searches looking for free TV and film content, which amounts to more than 8,000 yearly searches.

Searches for free access to BBC iPlayer, which is free to access for license fee payers in the UK, accumulated 1% of the volume, ahead of Apple TV Plus (0.5%) and ITV Player (0.1%).

The recently launched BritBox streaming service did not return any results.

Commenting on the study, Jay Mychalkiw from IVA Advice, said: “The streaming wars are frequently discussed as more companies launch their services, but at the moment there’s only one winner in the UK. Despite the big budget launches of the likes of Disney Plus, Netflix is still the streaming service that people want to access – especially if it’s free.”

The research was carried out by IVA Advice, which provides free, qualified advice to help people solve their debt problems for good. Its team of experienced experts help ensure that anyone who has problems with debt is able to reclaim financial control.