The Audience Screen Engagement Tracker (ASET) was commissioned through the BFI Research and Statistics Fund, awarding National Lottery funding. The survey, conducted in partnership with YouGov, provides up-to-date behavioural, motivational, and attitudinal benchmark metrics on how audiences are engaging with screens and screen content, building on previous BFI audience research. Fieldwork took place during the second half of March 2025.
Our first ASET insight report, “Small screens, big focus”, explores how the proliferation of mobile devices is changing UK adults’ relationship with screen content, and the role smartphones play in a landscape previously dominated by cinema and TV screens.
Three takeaways from the report
- For filmmakers and screen storytellers, audiences can be found everywhere – at home, in big-screen venues and on the go. But in certain spaces your stories will be battling for attention.
- Cinema is different. Young adults like the focused experience that cinema provides: only 14% want exhibitors to be more flexible about audience behaviour, such as allowing talking or use of smartphones. Young adults are also more likely than all adults to describe past cinema visits as a social outing and as an opportunity to connect with friends and family.
- Relevant, tailored screen content and distinct, memorable in-venue experiences matter to young adults: 47% of 16 to 24-year-olds agree that screen content needs to be personalised and meaningful to them; 21% disagree. The appeal of targeted and relatable screen content means we now see short-form content close to outperforming (legacy) long-form content in the preferred engagement stakes.