Reaching a younger audience in 2025

Screening recorded live productions is not new. As early as the 1950s, television channels such as the BBC and PBS broadcast plays to home audiences. More recently, institutions such as the Royal Shakespeare Company have streamed their productions to cinemas around the world.

However, streaming theatre and other arts and culture productions really took off during the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic forced venues to close, and with people stuck at home, streaming surged.The National Theatre at Home initiative made major productions available for free on YouTube before launching a subscription platform.

Lockdown has been over for four years but culture streaming continues to go from strength to strength. A huge variety of options are available on multiple platforms. The Guardian newspaper even publishes a monthly roundup of live streams and on-demand stage productions to enjoy at home.

Our cultural streaming survey reached 130 people and looked at areas including:

• How often respondents watch theatre, opera or ballet.
• Respondents’ propensity to pay for streaming services.
• How respondents decide what to watch.
• Which services respondents watch.

Read on for more insight

In the following paper we explore these topics and discuss targeting a younger audience.