Majority of films and TV available through legal platforms, according to new report.

Nearly 90 per cent of the most popular and critically acclaimed films are now available through legal digital platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Instant Video, a report published by the audit and consultancy firm, KPMG, revealed today.

The report, ‘UK Availability of Film and TV Titles in the Digital Age’, requested by NBC Universal, is an investigation of the content provided by 27 legal digital streaming and download services in the UK since December 2013.

KPMG analysed the availability of a large group of the highest grossing films and television shows of all time, alongside a smaller group of productions acclaimed by the BFI and BAFTA.

Within this selection, it found that 86 per cent of the films and 63 per cent of the television shows are now available to stream legally in the UK.

The news comes after a 2013 report from Ofcom, which found that one in three films and one in five TV programmes streamed online in the UK from March 2012 to May 2013 were watched illegally.

Speaking about the report, Culture Secretary Sajid Javid said: “The digital revolution means the world’s best creative content is available online, and can be accessed through on demand and mobile devices. There is no reason for downloading pirated material.”

More than 38,000 films are now available to stream legally in the UK across a range of services, and an estimated one in 10 UK households now subscribe to Netflix, a figure that has doubled in the last year.

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