News consumption in the UK: research report
25 June 2014
Note: This report was reissued on 10 July 2017. It corrects a previous misallocation of Channel 5's wholesale and retail news. Introduction
This summary slide pack provides the findings of Ofcom’s 2014 research into news consumption across television, radio, print and online. It is published as part of our range of market research publications that examine the consumption of content, and attitudes towards that content, across different platforms. The aim of this slide pack is to inform an understanding of news consumption across the UK, and within each UK nation.
The slide pack details various findings relating to the consumption of news; the sources and platforms used, the perceived importance of different platforms and outlets for news, attitudes to individual news sources and an overview of local media consumption. It also provides details of our cross-platform news consumption metric – ‘share of references’. An accompanying summary report which highlights the key findings is available on the Ofcom website. This report uses a variety of data sources. The primary source is a news survey commissioned by Ofcom and conducted by Kantar Media in March and April 2014, comprising an omnibus survey of 2,731 people across the UK, which includes boosts of 350 in each devolved nation. This is the default source unless otherwise specified. Other sources used include: • an omnibus survey of 2,152 people across the UK, commissioned by Ofcom and conducted by Ipsos Mori, about local media; • metrics on television viewing from the industry currency BARB; • newspaper readership figures from the National Readership Survey (NRS); and • online consumption metrics from UKOM/comScore News consumption in the UK: contents
Section Page 1 News consumption by platform 4 2 Use of multiple sources across platforms 11 3 Importance of news sources 20 4 Share of references 24 5 News consumption via television 29 6 News consumption via radio 36 7 News consumption through newspapers 39 8 News consumption via the internet 48 9 Attitudes towards news topics and reasons for following news 58 10 Local media use 52 11 News consumption in the nations 69
3 1 News consumption by platform Figure 1 Platforms used for news ‘nowadays’ Consumption of news via the internet has increased for both computers/laptops/tablets and mobiles since 2014, while TV has seen a small decrease. Television remains by far the most- used platform for news consumption. News consumption by any type of internet platform (41%) is now on a par with newspaper and radio consumption. % of adults in UK Television 75% Driven by 16-34s - 78% from 66% in 2013 Any internet or apps* 41% 32% Any internet or apps to 59% Newspapers 40% has increased 40% 2014 2013 amongst 16-34s from Radio 36% 35% 44% in 2013 to 60% Internet or apps on computer/laptop/netbook 25%
Internet or apps on tablet** 13% 34% amongst Internet or apps on a mobile 21% 14% those with a Smartphone Internet or apps on Word of mouth 11% 11% computer/laptop/netbook/tablet Magazines 5% has increased from 25% in 6% 2013 to 31% Interactive TV, Ceefax, TV apps 4% 4% 5% None of these / Don’t follow news 7%
Q3a) Which of the following do you use for news nowadays? 2014 Base: All adults 16+ (2731). 2013 Base: All adults 16+ (2862) *Any internet or apps is an aggregate of all internet devices. **Tablet usage not asked separately in 2013 Figure 2 Platforms used for news ‘nowadays’: 16-24s and 55+ Those aged 16–24 are more likely than those aged 55+ to use the internet or apps to access news (60% v 21%) and they are less likely to use the television (56% v 90%). Use of a mobile for news shows the biggest difference between the age groups.
56% % of adults in UK Television 90% 60% Any internet or apps* 21% 36% Newspapers 54% 21% Radio 41% 29% Internet or apps on laptop/netbook 12% 15% Internet or apps on tablet 7% 40% Internet or apps on a mobile 4% 15% Word of mouth 8% Magazines 5% 4% 16-24 55+ 2% Interactive TV, Ceefax, TV apps 3% 10% None of these / Don’t follow news 3%
Q3a) Which of the following do you use for news nowadays? Base: All adults 16+ (2731). *Any internet or apps; aggregate of all internet devices. Figure 3 Use of four main platforms for news nowadays Over nine in 10 adults (95%) use any of the four main platforms (TV, newspapers, radio and internet) for news. The figure is higher among over 55s (96%) than 16-24s (89%). All platforms are more likely to be used by those in the AB socio-economic group, and this group also uses more platforms in general than those in the DE group. The use of the internet for news shows a large differentiation by both age and social grade. The average number of platforms % of adults in UK 2014 2013 used nowadays for news is 2.2 95% * 90% (2.1 in 2013) 75% 78%
40% 40% 41% 36% 35% 32%
Any of the four main Television Newspapers Radio Internet (any platforms device) Q3a)/Q3aa) Which of the following do you use for news nowadays? Base: All adults 16+ (2013 – 2862, 2014 - 2731) * These averages are calculated from the 8 platforms used for news nowadays asked at Q3a, to allow for comparison of trend over time, rather than using the fuller list of platforms asked about in 2014. Figure 4 Combinations of four main platforms used nowadays for news ‘TV only’ has decreased slightly since 2013, with just under one in five (18%) using only TV for news. One in ten (9%) say they only use the internet for news, an increase from 5% in 2013. One in five (20%) of those aged 55+ and almost three in ten (28%) of those in the DE socio-economic group use only TV for news, compared to one in ten (9%) of ABs. Almost one in five of those aged 16-24 use internet only for news, compared to 1% of those aged 55+. 18% TV only 22% 13% TV + Newspapers 14% 9% 2014 2013 TV + Newspapers + Radio 10% TV + Internet 9% 7% Proportion of each demographic 9% Internet only 5% that use TV only and internet only 8% TV + Radio 8% 7% TV only Internet TV + Radio + Newspapers +… 6% 7% only TV + Radio + Internet 6% 5% 16-24 13% 19% TV + Internet + Newspapers 4% 2% Newspapers only 3% 2% 55+ 20% 1% Radio only 2% 2% Internet + Newspapers 1% AB 9% 9% 2% Internet + Radio 1% 1% Radio + Newspapers 1% DE 28% 5% 1% Internet + Radio + Newspapers 0% None of the above 5% 10% Q3a) Which of the following do you use for news nowadays? 2014 Base: All adults 16+ (2731), 2013 Base: All adults 16+ (2862) Figure 5 Make-up of news consumption by four main platforms Of all the possible platform combinations used for news, TV and no other platform is the most popular at 18%, followed by a combination of TV and newspapers (13%). Seven per cent of respondents used all four platforms.
Television 18% Radio 2% 36% 75% 8% 9% 1%
7% 9% 9% 2% 7% 2% 13% 1% 5% Internet Newspapers 41% 40% 2% None of the above = 5%
Q3a) Which of the following do you use for news nowadays? Base: All adults 16+ (2731) 2 Use of multiple sources across platforms Figure 6 Average number of news sources used nowadays per platform Among those who use each particular platform, the mean number of sources used within them has not changed. Overall, the average number of sources used across all platforms is 3.8.
3.8 average across platforms (3.7)
Average number of news sources used nowadays per platform
2.0 1.9 1.4 2.0 (1.9) (2.1) (1.4) (1.9) 2013 figures in brackets
Q5a to Q5e Base: All who use each platform for news nowadays (TV=2136, Newspapers=1160, Radio=990, Internet=1029, All platforms=2580). Figure 7 Distribution of multi-sourcing Over three-quarters (76%) of news consumers use three or fewer news providers. Compared to 2013, the use of two providers has increased slightly (26% to 29%). WHOLESALE 100% 2% 1% 0% 76% use 3 or fewer 7% 80% 12% 55% use 1 or 2 providers 21% 60% 22% use 4 or more providers 40% 29%
20% 26%
0% 1 provider 2 providers 3 providers 4 providers 5 providers 6 providers 7 providers 8+ providers
Q5a to Q5e Base: All who use any platform for news nowadays (2580) Note: Wholesale is classified as the company that provides the news for the given source. Retail is classified as the branded title/service through which the news is provided. Figure 8 Distribution of multi-sourcing At a retail level, 72% of news consumers use three or fewer news sources. There have been no changes since 2013. RETAIL
100% 2% 1% 4% 1% 72% use 3 or fewer 8% 80% 11% 52% use 1 or 2 providers 60% 19% 27% use 4 or more providers 40% 27%
20% 26% 0% 1 provider 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9+ providers providers providers providers providers providers providers providers Q5a to Q5e Base: All who use any platform for news nowadays (2580) Note: Wholesale is classified as the company that provides the news for the given source. Retail is classified as the branded title/service through which the news is provided. Figure 9 Number of sources used on each platform Over three in five (62%) of radio news listeners use just one source. Over four in ten online news users (45%), TV news users (42%), and just over a third of newspaper readers (35%) use only one source. The number of sources used across platforms, proportion of respondents(%) (2013 figures in brackets) Number of TV Radio Newspapers Internet/apps All platforms sources used 1 42% (43%) 62% (64%) 35% (29%) 45% (45%) 20% (21%) 2 34% (34%) 24% (20%) 39% (44%) 22% (21%) 19% (18%) 3 14% (13%) 7% (7%) 13% (14%) 13% (14%) 17% (17%) 4 4% (5%) 2% (2%) 6% (6%) 6% (7%) 13% (13%) 5 2% (2%) 1% (1%) 2% (2%) 3% (3%) 9% (9%) 6 1% (1%) - (-) 1% (1%) 2% (1%) 7% (6%) 7+ 2% (-) - (-) 1% (-) 2% (-) 15% (12%) Mean number of 2.0 (1.9) 1.4 (1.4) 1.9 (2.1) 2.0 (1.9) 3.8 (3.7) sources used Base: All who use each platform for news nowadays :TV=2136, radio=990, newspapers=1160, internet=1029, All platforms=2580. Note: For individual platforms the mean number of sources is among those who use just that particular platform for news. For all platforms (aggregated) the mean number of sources is shown among those who used any of the four platforms for news and aggregated across all of them so is therefore a wider base .The calculation is made by summing the number of sources each respondent said for each platform, and then dividing by the number of people who use any of them. Figure 10 Number of sources used on each platform, by age group Of those who use each platform for news, those in the 16-34 age group are more likely than those in the 55+ age group to use just one source. The number of sources used across platforms, proportion of respondents (%) Number of sources used All platforms 16-34 year olds 55+
1 20% 23% 16% 2 19% 20% 18% 3 17% 13% 20% 4 13% 10% 15% 5 9% 7% 11% 6 7% 6% 8% 7+ 15% 6% 5% Mean number of sources 3.8 3.9 3.8 used
Base: All who use each platform for news nowadays :TV=2136, radio=990, newspapers=1160, Internet=1029, All platforms=2580. Note: For individual platforms the mean number of sources is among those who use just that particular platform for news. For all platforms (aggregated) the mean number of sources is shown among those who used any of the four platforms for news and aggregated across all of them so is therefore a wider base .The calculation is made by summing the number of sources each respondent said for each platform, and then dividing by the number of people who use any of them. Figure 11 Top 20 news sources: reach among all adults The top two news sources in terms of reach among UK adults are both TV channels, with BBC One being the most used (53%). The BBC website or app is now the third most-used news source.
BBC One 53% 57% in 2013 ITV1/ITV WALES/UTV/STV 33% BBC website or app 24% 16% in 2013 Sky News Channel 17% BBC News Channel 16% The Sun 11% BBC Radio 2 10% The Daily Mail 9% TV Channel BBC Radio 4 9% Channel 4 8% Google (Search engine) 8% Newspaper BBC Radio 1 7% Facebook 7% Radio Station Sky News website or app 7% The Sun on Sunday 5% The Daily Mirror 5% Website / app Any local daily paper 5% BBC Two 5% The Mail on Sunday 5% The Metro 4% The Guardian 4% Q5a-e) Thinking specifically about
76% (78%) of news consumers use three or fewer providers
26% (27%) use one provider only
16% (12%) only use
Proportion of each demographic that use only BBC One as a news 6% (8%) source (2013 figures in brackets) only use 16-24 55+ AB DE
7% 7% 4% 9% Q5a to Q5e (7%) (10%) (5%) (10%) Base: All who use any source for news nowadays (2553) Figure 13 Cross-platform audience reach of providers used ‘nowadays’ for news Eight in ten (80%) of those who use any news source use any BBC source. There have been no shifts since 2013. WHOLESALE Cross-platform reach (%) 79% 80% 2013 2014 ‘Other’ includes 273 sources (all below 2%)
33 TV stations (Mostly foreign) 153 local papers (Not DMGT or Trinity) 74 websites or apps 43% 41% 39% 35% 28% 28%
19% 17% 17% 18% 10% 9% 5% 6% 5% 5% 6% 4% 5% 4% 1%
Base: Q5a to Q5e. All who use any platform for news nowadays (2580) Note: Wholesale is classified as the company that provides the news for the given source. Retail is classified as the branded title/service through which the news is provided. This wholesale category is derived from responses given about individual news titles. Figure 14 Cross-platform audience reach of providers used ‘nowadays’ for news Eight in ten (80%) of those who use any news source use any BBC source. There have been no shifts since 2013. Cross-platform reach (%) 79%80% RETAIL 2013 2014 Other includes 252 sources (all below 2%)
33 TV stations (mostly foreign) 37%36% 153 local papers (not DMGT or Trinity) 65 websites or apps 29% 22% 24% 19% 19%17% 17%18% 11% 9% 9% 9% 9% 7% 9% 9% 9% 7% 8% 9% 8% 5% 5% 6% 5% 5% 5% 4% 1%
Base: Q5a to Q5. All who use any platform for news nowadays (2580 ) Note: ‘Wholesale’ is classified as the company that provides the news for the given source. Retail is classified as the branded title/service through which the news is provided (except the three generic categories ‘commercial radio’, ‘aggregators’ and ‘social media’). Within our sample ‘Other’ included mentions for 37 TV channels (mostly foreign), 157 local newspapers (not DMGT or Trinity Mirror) and 71 websites or apps. 3 Importance of news sources Figure 15 Single most important news source across all adults and selected age-groups The proportion of UK adults who say BBC One is their single most important news source is lower than in 2013 (28% vs. 34%). 16-24s place more importance on websites/apps than in 2013 (45% vs 30%). Proportion of respondents (%) All UK 16-24 (2013 55+ (2013 figures in figures in 50 brackets) brackets)
40 All UK 16-24 55+ TV channel 54% (62%) 36% (46%) 65% (70%) 40 Newspaper 11% 12% 15% 34 Radio 12% (10%) 6% (11%) 12% 30 28 28 Website/app 21% (14%) 45% (30%) 4% 25 20 20 18 14 12 9 10 6 6 6 7 5 5 4 4 5 4 2 3 2 3 2 2 2 2 2 0 BBC One ITV1/ITV BBC News Sky News BBC website BBC Radio BBC Radio Facebook The Sun BBC Radio Others* WALES/ Channel Channel or app 4 2 1 UTV/STV 2013 all 34% UK %: 5%
Q8a) Looking at all the sources of news you have said that you use, which one is most important to you personally. *’Others’ includes sources below 2%. Base: All who use any news source nowadays (16+=2553, 16-24=319, 55+=1081). Note: 2013 figures only shown where there are statistically significant differences between 2013 and 2014 Figure 16 Single most important news source across all adults and selected SEG Over one-fifth (22%) of those in the DE socio-economic group say that ITV1 or its national equivalent is their single most important news source, compared to 5% of those in the AB socio- economic group. Proportion of respondents (%) 50 All UK AB DE All UK AB DE 40 TV channel 54% (62%) 50% 65%
31 Newspaper 11% 11% 12% 30 28 28 28 27 Radio 12% (10%) 14% 9% 25 22 20 Website/app 21% (14%) 24% 12% 12 13 9 10 7 5 5 5 5 5 6 4 4 4 3 3 3 4 1 2 2 2 2 1 2 1 1 0 BBC One ITV1/ITV BBC News Sky News BBC BBC Radio BBC Radio Facebook The Sun BBC Radio Others* WALES/ Channel Channel website or 4 2 1 UTV/STV app
2013 all 34% UK %: 5% Q8a) Looking at all the sources of news you have said that you use, which one is most important to you personally? Base: All who use any news source nowadays (16+=2553, AB=532, DE=882) *’Others’ includes sources below 2% Figure 17 Single most personally important news source Over half (52%) cite a BBC source as their most important news source. This is followed by ITN (14%) and Sky (9%). There have been no shifts since 2013.
Proportion of respondents (%) WHOLESALE
53% 52% 2013 2014
15% 14% 11% 12% 8% 9% 3% 4% 3% 3% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1%
Q8a) Looking at all the sources of news you have said that you use, which one is most important to you personally? Base: All who use a news source for news nowadays (2553) Note: This wholesale category is derived from responses given about individual news titles. 4 Share of references Share of references
Share of references is a bespoke cross-media metric using our survey data Respondents are asked to list all the news sources which they use and the frequency with which they use them. Each reference to a source is then weighted for frequency and summed. We then calculate the share that each source, or provider, has across all media platforms.
Purpose: • Bespoke metric to incorporate the impact of frequency and multi-sourcing within media providers and owners cross-platform.
Calculation: 1. Frequency scale figures established for each individual source used ‘nowadays’ 2. Each frequency factored to create new weighted figures 3. Weighted frequency figures summed to create a weighted total 4. All sources summed to create grand total of consumption 5. Proportion of grand total calculated for each source 6. Weighted source totals for each individual source summed and grouped by respective retailer/wholesaler, i.e. If respondent uses more than one source from a particular retailer/wholesaler it counts each time 7. Proportions for each relevant source summed for providers to create share of references 8. Specific platform proportions of share of references calculated for each provider as well Figure 18 Platform share of references TV has a 42% share of references, down from 47% in 2013. The internet has a 27% share of references, up from 21% in 2013.
Proportion of respondents (%) 50% 47% 42% 2013 2014 40%
30% 27% 21% 19% 20% 18% 13% 12% 10%
0% Television Internet or apps Radio Newspapers
Base: All who use a news source nowadays (2553) Figure 19 Share of references: wholesale level BBC has a 43% share of references, followed by Sky (15%) and ITN (12%). While there have been no statistically significant changes since 2013, Sky now has a higher share of references than ITN. 50% 42%43% 2013 2014 WHOLESALE 40%
30%
20% 16% 15% 14% 15% 13% 12% 10% 4% 4% 4% 4% 2% 2% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1% 0%
Base: All who use a news source nowadays (2553) Note: Wholesale is classified as the company that provides the news for the given source. Retail is classified as the branded title/service through which the news is provided. Note: This wholesale category is derived from responses given about individual news titles. Figure 20 Share of references: retail level At a retail level, the BBC has the largest share (43%), ITV has a 10% share of references, followed by Sky (7%) and commercial radio (7%). There have been no significant movements since 2013.
50% RETAIL 44%43% 2013 2014 40%
30%
20%
11%10% 10% 7%7% 7%7% 5%5% 5%5% 4%4% 4%4% 3% 3% 2% 2%2% 2% 2%2% 2%2% 1%1% 1%1% 1%1% 0%
Base: All who use a news source nowadays (2553) Note: ‘Wholesale’ is classified as the company that provides the news for the given source. ‘Retail’ is classified as the branded title/service through which the news is provided (except the three generic categories ‘commercial radio’, ‘aggregators’ and ‘social media’). Within our sample ‘Other’ included mentions for 37 TV channels (mostly foreign), 157 local newspapers (not DMGT or Trinity Mirror) and 71 websites or apps. 5 News consumption on television Figure 21 Share of viewing to ‘national and international news’ on television by channel group, UK adults 16+: 2009-2013 BARB data shows that the majority of news viewing on TV is through the BBC channels, and this has increased since 2009. ITV’s share of viewing has declined during this period, while the proportion of viewing to Sky News has remained relatively stable. Proportion of ‘national and international news’ viewing (%) Total hours per head 114 119 121 115 115 100.0% 6.4% 6.2% 6.9% 6.4% 6.4% Other 90.0% 4.2%2.4% 3.5%1.9% 3.3%1.9% 3.1%2.1% 2.8%1.8% 12.8% 12.9% 80.0% 18.5% 15.9% 13.0% Sky News 70.0% 13.0% 12.2% 12.5% 13.9% Channel 5 60.0% 9.0% 50.0% Channel 4 40.0% 30.0% 59.2% 59.7% 60.6% 62.1% 63.5% ITV news viewing, % viewing, news 20.0% BBC News
Proportion of national/intl of Proportion 10.0% 0.0% BBC One and 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Two Source: BARB, Adults 16+, genre = News generic>national and international news, 4+ regions. Note:S4C excluded from this analysis. Shares are based on national/international news viewing to the listed channels only. Note: BBC One and Two, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 include HD variants and +1 channels where applicable. Other, include portfolio channels and Euronews, Russia Today and Al Jazeera English. Note: 2009 data based on Network Plus, 2010-2013 data based on Network. New BARB panel introduced 1st Jan 2010. As a result pre and post panel change data must be viewed with caution (see dotted line) Figure 22 Share of viewing to ‘national and international news’ on television by channel group, UK adults 16-24: 2009-2013 Channel 4 is more popular among 16-24s than among the UK population, but BBC One and Two still account for the majority of news viewing. 16-24s watch an average of 27 hours of news compared to the all-UK total of 115 hours. Proportion of ‘national and international news’ viewing (%) Total hours per head 31 33 32 28 27 100.0% 6.8% 6.9% 7.8% 5.6% 6.7% 90.0% 2.8% 2.4% 2.6% 3.0% 2.6% 7.2% 7.0% 6.3% 5.8% 5.8% 80.0% 17.7% Other 19.9% 17.3% 18.0% 70.0% 23.8% Sky News 60.0% 11.1% 11.2% 16.1% 9.9% Channel 5 50.0% 10.5% Channel 4 40.0% ITV 30.0% 55.1% 55.3% news viewing, % viewing, news 51.5% 48.6% 20.0% 47.6% BBC News
Proportion of national/intl of Proportion 10.0% BBC One and Two 0.0% 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Source: BARB, Adults 16-24, genre = News generic>national and international news, 4+ regions. Note:S4C excluded from this analysis. Shares are based on national/international news viewing to the listed channels only. Note: BBC One and Two, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 include HD variants and +1 channels where applicable. Other, include portfolio channels and Euronews, Russia Today and Al Jazeera English. Note: 2009 data based on Network Plus, 2010-2013 data based on Network. New BARB panel introduced 1st Jan 2010. As a result pre and post panel change data must be viewed with caution (see dotted line) Figure 23 Share of viewing to ‘national and international news’ on television by channel group, UK adults 55+: 2009-2013 The proportion of news viewing across different TV channels by those aged 55+ is in line with the UK average. The total number of hours viewed by those aged 55+ is 196, compared to 115 for all UK. Proportion of ‘national and international news’ viewing (%) Total hours per head 192 194 200 193 196 100.0% 4.9% 4.8% 5.2% 5.0% 4.8% 2.5% 2.1% 2.0% 2.1% 1.8% 90.0% 4.0% 2.9% 2.8% 2.5% 2.3% 13.0% 12.5% 80.0% 15.5% 12.9% 17.3% Other 70.0% 13.2% 12.8% 12.3% 8.7% 12.1% Sky News 60.0% Channel 5 50.0% Channel 4 40.0%
viewing, % viewing, ITV 30.0% 62.3% 62.5% 63.6% 64.2% 66.0% BBC News 20.0% BBC One and Two
10.0% Proportion of national/intl news news national/intl of Proportion 0.0% 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Source: BARB, Adults 55+, genre = News generic>national and international news, 4+ regions. Note:S4C excluded from this analysis. Shares are based on national/international news viewing to the listed channels only. Note: BBC One and Two, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 include HD variants and +1 channels where applicable. Other, include portfolio channels and Euronews, Russia Today and Al Jazeera English. Note: 2009 data based on Network Plus, 2010-2013 data based on Network. New BARB panel introduced 1st Jan 2010. As a result pre and post panel change data must be viewed with caution (see dotted line) Figure 24 TV channels used for news ‘nowadays’ Sky News has seen a small increase among those who use TV for news (20% to 23%). BBC One is the most–used TV channel for news (71%), ITV is the next highest (43%).
Proportion of those that use TV for news (75% of UK adults) BBC One 71% 73% ITV1/ITV WALES/UTV/STV 43% 43% Sky News Channel 23% 20% BBC News Channel 21% 21% Channel 4 11% 10% 2014 BBC Two 7% 6% 2013 Channel 5 4% 5% Al Jazeera (English version) 4% 3% BBC Three * 4%
CNN 2% 2% Russia Today 1% 2%
Q5a) Thinking specifically about television, which of the following do you use for news nowadays? Base: All who use TV for news (2136) 2013: (2290) Note: only sources with an incidence of 2% or more are shown. * BBC Three was not included on the prompted list in 2013 Figure 25 Frequency of consumption for main TV channels BBC One is the most frequently accessed across all TV news sources – 78% of those who use it for news say they do so once a day or more often.
Proportion of viewers (%) 100% 3%0% 1% 5% 6% 6% 6% 10% 10% 18% 90% 7% 11% Less than once a 12% 16% 10% 80% 8% 12% week/DK 10% 14% 18% Once a week 70% 10% 20% 20% 8% 60% 15% 2-3 times a week 49% 12% 10% 50% 35% 49% 35% 9% Most days 40% 30% 37% 39% Once a day 33% 20% 29% 30% 26% More than once a 10% 19% day 8% 12% 7% 0% BBC One (1547) ITV1/ITV BBC News Sky News Channel 4 (218) BBC Two (134) Channel 5 (90) WALES/UTV/STV Channel (392) Channel (476) (1029) Q5ai) And typically how often do you watch the news on
Q5d) Thinking specifically about radio stations which of the following do you use for news nowadays Base: All who use radio for news (990) Note: only sources with an incidence of 2% or more are shown Figure 28 Attributes for radio news sources among those that use each source BBC radio news listeners are more likely than commercial radio news listeners to rate its news output highly across the attributes we asked about.
Proportion of users who rated the source highly (7-10) (%)
63% 72% BBC Radio 70% 65% 66%
44% 54% Commercial 58% Radio 49% 46%
Importance Accurate & Reliable Trustworthy Impartial & unbiased Offers range of opinions Base: Those who use platform to access the news ‘nowadays’ on each type (varies) – Only includes bases over 50. Note: News sources are ordered by consumption levels 7 Use of newspapers as a source of news Figure 29 Reach of national newspapers, by demographic: April 2004–March 2014 The reach of national newspapers has declined considerably in the past ten years, with reach among all adults falling by a quarter (25.1 percentage points) since 2004. Despite fairly stable readership between 2012 and 2013, decline in print readership in the past year has been rapid, particularly among the under-35s. Readership among 15-24s fell by 9.9pp and by 7.8pp among 25-34s. Reach (average issue readership) 80% 65+ 55-64 60% 45-54 All adults 40% 35-44 25-34 20% 15-24
0%
Source: National Readership Survey / Kantar Media analysis Note: Data represent the twelve months until March of the stated year. Readership in 2012 may be overstated, as it is not possible to de-duplicate readers of i and other titles due to factoring. Includes the Daily Record and Sunday Mail. Financial Times is no longer measured by NRS and is not included in data for 2014.
40 Figure 30 Reach of national newspapers, by media owner: April 2004-March 2014 (7 days) Almost all publishers have seen their reach decline since 2004, with News Corp and Trinity Mirror seeing the largest decrease in readership. Lebedev’s compact daily, i, has helped increase readership to its titles. After a slight increase in 2013, due to the launch of the Sun on Sunday, News Corp’s readership decreased again in 2014. Reach (average issue readership) 40% 35% News Corp 30% DMGT 25% Trinity Mirror 20% Northern & Shell 15% Telegraph Media Group 10% Guardian Media Group 5% Lebedev 0% Pearson 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Source: National Readership Survey / Kantar Media analysis Note: Data represent the twelve months until March of the stated year. Title grouping is based on current ownership and is not retrospective. Readership of Lebedev titles in 2012 may be overstated, as it is not possible to de-duplicate readers of i and other Lebedev titles due to factoring. Trinity Mirror titles include the Daily Record and Sunday Mail. Pearson’s Financial Times is no longer measured by NRS and is not included in data for 2014 41 Figure 31 Reach of daily national newspapers, by media owner: April 2004-March 2014 (weekdays) Readership of daily newspapers has decreased, with News Corp and Trinity Mirror’s tabloid titles accounting for the majority of the fall in readership. Reach (average issue readership) 25%
20% News Corp DMGT 15% Trinity Mirror Northern & Shell 10% Telegraph Media Group 5% Lebedev Guardian Media Group 0% Pearson 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Source: National Readership Survey / Kantar Media analysis Note: Data represent the twelve months until March of the stated year. Title grouping is based on current ownership and is not retrospective. Readership of Lebedev titles in 2012 may be overstated, as it is not possible to de-duplicate readers of i and other titles due to factoring. Trinity Mirror includes the Daily Record. Pearson’s Financial Times is no longer measured by NRS and is not included in data for 2014. 42 Figure 32 Reach of national newspapers, by media owner: April 2004-March 2014 (Sundays) The closure of the News of the World in July 2011 led to a significant drop in readership for News Corp’s Sunday titles. Other tabloid publishers experienced a temporary growth in readership at that time. Reach (average issue readership) 30%
25% News Corp DMGT 20% Trinity Mirror 15% Northern & Shell Telegraph Media Group 10% Guardian Media Group 5% Lebedev
0% 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Source: National Readership Survey / Kantar Media analysis Note: Data represent the twelve months until March of the stated year. Title grouping is based on current ownership and is not retrospective. Trinity Mirror includes the Sunday Mail.
43 Figure 33 Combined print and online* readership of daily newspapers The combined print and online readership of daily newspapers has fallen year on year, driven by declines in print readership. With print and online combined, the Daily Mail is now the most widely- read news title in the UK, as the gain from its digital-only readers exceeds the print readership of The Sun. 2013 2014 Readership (thousands) 0 2000 4000 6000 8000 0 2000 4000 6000 8000 The Sun 7,289 5,773 Daily Mail 6,232 6,032 Metro 3,621 3,324 Daily Mirror 3,149 2,930 The Guardian 2,316 2,071 The Daily Telegraph 2,094 2,125 London Evening Standard 1,822 1,614 The Times 1,334 1,191 Daily Star 1,299 1,166 Daily Express 1,220 1,214 The Independent 902 1,327 Print only Print and website Website only Source: Ofcom analysis of NRS/comScore PADD, March 2013, 2014. NRS average issue readership April– March fused with comScore in March of each year. Note: The Independent 2014 includes print readership of i. *The data above includes only visits from laptop and desktop computers. Smartphone and tablet use is excluded because of Inconsistency of available data across devices and between browser use and application use.
44 Figure 34 Daily newspapers used for news nowadays The Sun is the most-read newspaper according to stated consumption. There have been decreases in stated consumption of both of the daily ‘free-sheets’ since 2013. The Guardian has seen the biggest increase (from 5% to 9%). Proportion of those that use newspapers for news (40% of UK adults) 26% The Sun 25% 21% The Daily Mail 19% 2014 2013 13% The Daily Mirror 13% “Broadsheet” 24% 24% The Metro 9% 12% Mid-market 25% 24% 9% The Guardian 5% 6% “Tabloid” 37% 37% The Times 9% 6% Local daily 13% 11% The Daily Telegraph 8% 4% The Daily Express 6% Daily ‘free-sheets’ 10% 13% 4% The 'i' 3% 3% The Daily Star 5% 3% The Independent 3% 2% The Evening Standard 5% 2% 2014 The Daily Record 4% 2% 2013 The Financial Times 1% Q5b) Thinking specifically about daily newspapers, which of the following do you use for news nowadays? Base: All who use newspapers for news (1160) * Daily free-sheets are the Metro and the Evening Standard Figure 35 Weekly newspapers used for news nowadays The Sun on Sunday (13%) and The Mail on Sunday (12%) have the highest reach for news of all the Sunday papers. There have been no significant rises or falls for any individual newspapers since 2013, though there has been a decrease in those saying they use weekly free newspapers for news. Proportion of those who use newspapers for news (40% of UK adults) 13% The Sun on Sunday 13% 12% The Mail on Sunday 2014 2013 12% Broadsheet 14% 14% 6% The Sunday Mirror 7% Mid-market 14% 14% 6% The Sunday Times Tabloid 20% 22% 7% 4% Local weekly paid-for 6% 7% The Sunday Telegraph 5% 2014 Local weekly free 3% 6% 3% The Observer 2013 3% 3% The People 2% 2% The Sunday Express 3%
Q5c) Thinking specifically about weekly newspapers, which of the following do you use for news nowadays? Base: All who use newspapers for news (1160) Note: only sources with an incidence of 1% or more are shown Figure 36 Attributes of newspaper sources among those who use each source Ratings vary across newspaper readers, with broadsheet and local press readers rating their print media sources more highly than other sources for being ‘accurate and reliable’. Local weekly paid- for newspapers are rated highly for importance (72% of users rate them highly) Proportion of users who rated the source highly (7-10) (%) 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 36% Sun/Sun on Sunday 51% Daily Mail/Mail on Sunday 45% Daily or Sunday Mirror 57% Your local daily 52% Times or Sunday Times 71% Guardian or Observer 54% Daily or Sunday Telegraph 41% Metro 72% Your local paid weekly 59% Daily or Sunday Express
Importance Accurate & Reliable Trustworthy Impartial & unbiased Offers range of opinions
Base: Those who use platform to access the news ‘nowadays’ on each type (varies) – Only includes bases over 50. Note: News sources are ordered by consumption levels. 8 News consumption via the internet Figure 37 Websites or apps used for news ‘nowadays’ Three in five (59%) of those who use the internet for news use the BBC website or app - an increase since 2013 (52%). Google news has decreased since 2013, with the removal of Google Reader. Proportion of those that use the internet for news (41% of UK adults) BBC website or app 59% 52% 18% Google (search engine) 16% 17% Facebook 19% 17% Sky News website or app 14% 9% Twitter 10% 8% Daily Mail website or app 8% 7% Google reader ceased in 2013 Google news 13% 7% Guardian\Observer… 6% 5% ITV or ITN website or app 5% 4% 2014 Aggregators = 15% (25%) Yahoo news 10% 2013 MSN news 4% Social media = 20% (23%) 4% Search engines = 19% (16%) Any local newspaper site 4% 3% (2013 figures in brackets) 3% Huffington Post 3% The Telegraph website… 2%3% Q5e) Thinking specifically about the internet, which of the following do you use for news nowadays? Base: All who use internet for news (1029) Note: only sources with an incidence of over 3% are shown. Note: ‘Aggregators’ includes Google News, MSN News, Yahoo News, AOL News, Feedly, Flipboard, plus any other sites nominated by respondents. ‘Social media’ includes Facebook and Twitter. ‘Search engines’ include Google and any other search engine nominated by respondents Figure 38 Types of ways to access and use news through internet or apps Reading news stories online is still the most common way of accessing news on the internet, at 60%, and is higher than in 2013 (54%). Accessing news through social networking sites has decreased to 23%, lower than in 2013. 60% Receive email alerts or 6% Read news stories online 54% notifications of news 5% 6% Read comments or articles on 23% Listen to radio news online 6% blogs or social media 27% Post your own news related 5% Use a search engine to find 21% comments or articles on blogs, out about a particular news social networking sites or apps… 4% story or subject 18% 3% Listen to news podcasts 20% 2% 2014 Watch TV news online 20% Subscribe to personalised news 3% 2013 information i.e. choosing which 3% Watch news related video 14% topics you get information from… clips 16% 3% Watch news podcasts 4% Share existing news related 10% video clips 3% Use a 'news ticker' or rolling 2% news across your screen 2% Share existing comments or 10% articles on blogs or social Post your own news related 1% media 8% video clips 4%
Q6a) In which types of ways do you access and use news through the internet or apps nowadays? Base: All who use any internet for news nowadays (1029) Base 2013: All who use any internet for news nowadays (857) Figure 39 Types of ways to access and use news through internet or apps, by age Accessing news through social media (i.e. blogs, social networking) is four times more common among 16-24s than among over-55s (28% v 7%)
60% 6% Read news stories online 54% Listen to radio news online 8% 62% 5% Read comments or articles on 23% Post your own news related 28% (33% in 2103) 5% blogs or social media 7% comments or articles on blogs, 6% social networking sites or apps… 0% Use a search engine to find 21% out about a particular news 25% 3% story or subject 23% Listen to news podcasts 2% 20% 2% Watch TV news online 21% Subscribe to personalised news All UK 17% 3% information i.e. choosing which 5% 16-24 Watch news related video 14% topics you get information from… 1% 12% clips 55+ 12% 3% Watch news podcasts 4% Share existing news related 10% 6% 2% video clips 4% Use a 'news ticker' or rolling 2% Share existing comments or 10% 2% news across your screen articles on blogs or social 6% 2% media 4% 6% Post your own news related 1% Receive email alerts or 2% 5% video clips notifications of news 4% 0%
Q6a) In which types of ways do you access and use news through the internet or apps nowadays? Base: All who use any internet for news nowadays (1029) Figure 40 Use of social media for news ‘nowadays’ Three in ten (29%) 16-34s who use the internet for news use social media for their news – significantly higher than any other age group. Women are more likely than men to use social media for news (25% vs. 15%) Proportion of those who use the internet for news (41% of UK adults) Male 15% Female 25%
16-24 30% 25-34 29% 35-54 19% 45-54 10% 55-64 8% 65-74 0% 75+ 1%
ABC1 19% C2DE 21%
Q5e) Thinking specifically about the internet, which of the following do you use for news nowadays? Base: All who use internet for news (1029) Figure 41 Attributes for website/app sources among those who use each source In general, website news users are more likely than users of news on other platforms to see their chosen source as offering a ‘range of opinions’ ; this is particularly notable for users of Twitter and Facebook. Proportion of users who rated the source highly (7-10) (%) 61% BBC website or app 65% 48% Facebook 54% 62% Sky News website or app 66% 42% Twitter 55% 56% Daily Mail website or app 40% 58% YouTube 64% Guardian or Observer website or 59% app 67% 53% Google News 57%
Importance Accurate & Reliable Trustworthy Impartial & unbiased Offers range of opinions Base: Those who use platform to access the news ‘nowadays’ on each type (varies) – Only includes bases over 50. Note: News sources are ordered by consumption levels. Figure 42 Unique audience* for the top 20 selected news sites in the UK, March 2014 News content on bbc.co.uk has the highest unique audience of news websites in the UK. Newspapers’ websites also have a significant number of desktop/laptop users, with the Daily Mail leading, followed closely by The Guardian site and then The Daily Telegraph. Unique audience (thousands) BBC 11,016 DAILYMAIL.CO.UK 10,324 THEGUARDIAN.COM 10,253 TELEGRAPH.CO.UK 8,709 Yahoo! 5,335 MIRROR.CO.UK 5,154 INDEPENDENT.CO.UK 4,864 Newsquest Media Group 3,976 Johnston Press Plc 3,242 BUZZFEED.COM 3,205 METRO.CO.UK 3,192 Local World Sites 3,086 CNN 2,512 MSN News 2,394 Sky News 1,960 New York Times Digital 1,882 EXPRESS.CO.UK 1,818 NBC News Digital 1,601 HUFFINGTONPOST.CO.UK* 1,517 THESUN.CO.UK 1,399 0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000 Source: ComScore, March 2014, Adults 15+. Internet use at work and home, on desktop and laptop only. * Smartphone and tablet use is excluded because of Inconsistency of available data across devices and between browser use and application use. Note: Figures for the BBC and Yahoo! refer to the de-duplicated audience of news-specific sites in their respective reporting categories. Newsquest, Johnston Media and New York Times Digital are aggregate audiences of reporting local titles.
54 Figure 43 Online PC/laptop reach* for top 20 selected news sites in the UK, March 2014 The BBC news site has the highest reach, followed closely by the Daily Mail, then The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph. Each of these sites were visited by at least a fifth of desktop/laptop users in March 2014. Reach (%) 40
28 26 26 22 20 13 13 12 10 8 8 8 8 6 6 5 5 5 4 4 4 0
Source: ComScore, March 2014, Adults 15+. Internet use at work and home, on desktop and laptop only. * Smartphone and tablet use is excluded because of Inconsistency of available data across devices and between browser use and application use. Reach is defined as the proportion of the total online audience aged 15+ who have visited the relevant site at least once in the reporting month. Note: Figures for the BBC and Yahoo! refer to the de-duplicated audience of news-specific sites in their respective reporting categories. Newsquest, Johnston Media and New York Times Digital are aggregate audiences of reporting local titles.
55 9 Attitudes towards news topics and reasons for following news Figure 44 Comparison of personal interest and societal importance of news topics People are likely to say that a range of news topics are of societal importance rather than personal interest, with the exception of the weather, sports and local events.
Societal importance Personally interested in 60% 49% 49% 49% 48% 49% 50% 45% 43% 36% 38% 35% 40% 37% 37% 35% 36% 35% 35%34% 32% 32% 30% 28% 29% 29% 30% 26% 26% 25% 24% 23% 23% 24% 23% 21% 19% 20% 17% 17% 13% 12% 11% 10% 0%
Q1b) Which types of news are you personally interested in? Q1c) Now thinking about everybody in the UK, not just about your own point of view, which types of news do you think are important for people to know about? Base: All adults 16+ in UK (2731) Figure 45 Personal interest in selected types of news, by gender and age Those aged 16-34 are less likely than those aged 35 and over to say they are personally interested in politics. Those aged 55 and over are more likely than any other age group to say they are personally interested in current affairs and local/regional news. 100%
80% 68% 61% 64% 58% 60% 57% 60% 56% 53% 55% 49% 50% 49% 44% 46% 45% 39% 40% 40% 36%
20%
0% Any mention of politics Any mention of current affairs Any mention of local/region
All UK Male Female 16-34 35-54 55+
Q1b) Which types of news are you personally interested in? Base: All adults 16+ in England (1641), in Scotland(363), in Wales (359) and in Northern Ireland (351) 58 Figure 46 Reasons for following news Close to three in five say they follow the news to know what’s going on in the world or in the UK.
To know what's going on around the world 58% To know what's going on across the UK 56% To know what's going on in my local area 49% To know what's going on in respective nations 46% Because it's important to keep informed about certain issues 42% For information about daily life, e.g. travel, health, taxes,… 35% Because it allows me to form opinions on the important… 32% To get different perspectives on what's happening 31% Out of habit - it's part of my routine 24% Because it gives me something to talk about with others 22% To be knowledgeable for my job\work\studies 22% Because it provides some fun and entertainment 15% To pass the time when waiting, commuting or bored 15% I don't follow news 6%
Q2) Thinking about some of the reasons people might have for following news, which of these reasons apply to you? Base: All adults 16+ in UK (2731 in 2014, 2379 in 2012) Figure 47 Reasons for following news: 16-24s vs. over-55s Broadly, the order of reasons for following the news remains broadly similar for 16-24s as for over- 55s, although over -55s are more likely to cite the majority of these reasons.
43% To know what's going on around the world 62% 45% To know what's going on across the UK 64% 36% To know what's going on in my local area 55% 34% To know what's going on in respective nations 53% 32% Because I feel it s important to keep informed about certain… 46% 25% For information about daily life, e.g. travel, health, taxes,… 37% 24% Because it allows me to form opinions on the important issues 35% 16 - 24 26% 55+ To get different perspectives on what's happening 33% 17% Out of habit - it's part of my routine 26% 22% To be knowledgeable for my job/work/studies 12% 19% Because it gives me something to talk about with others 24% 15% Because it provides some fun and entertainment 12% 17% To pass the time when I'm waiting/travelling/commuting/bored 9% 9% I don't follow news 4%
Q2) Thinking about some of the reasons people might have for following news, which of these reasons apply to you? Base: All adults 16+ in UK (2731 in 2014, 2379 in 2012) 10 Local media use Figure 48 Use of local media sources, weekly and monthly Regional / local news on television is the most-used local media source, with over three-quarters (77%) using it at least weekly.
81% Regional & local news on television 77% 42% Local commercial radio 37% 47% Internet for local news information 35% 37% Local news & information on BBC local radio 31% At least weekly use: 36% Any local newspaper – 49% Paid for local newspaper 29% Any local radio – 50% 43% Free local newspaper 31% Any local online sources – 39% 33% Local magazines (free or paid for) 14% Local news websites/apps 18% At least monthly use: 14% Any local newspaper – 61% 15% Local community websites/apps 10% Any local radio – 56% Any local online sources – 51% At least monthly At least weekly
Source: Ofcom local media omnibus, 2014 Q.LM03: On average, how frequently do you do each of the following things? Base: All adults aged 15+ (2152). Note: ‘Local’ is defined as “the area in which you live”; ‘regional’ is defined as “your local area and surrounding areas in the wider region”.
62 Figure 49 Personal importance of local media sources As well as being the most frequently used, regional and local news on television is more likely to be considered personally important to regular local media users. The internet is equally as important as BBC local radio and paid-for local newspapers.
Regional & local news on television 20 26 33 20 Local news & information on BBC local radio 31 28 25 16 Local commercial radio 36 31 21 12 Paid for local newspaper 26 30 27 16 Free local newspaper 37 31 20 12 Local magazines (free or paid for) 40 33 18 9 Local news websites/apps 31 36 23 10 Local community websites/apps 38 30 22 9 Internet for local news information 28 29 27 15 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 1-4 5-6 7-8 9-10
Source: Ofcom local media omnibus, 2014 Q.LM04: How important is <> to you personally? 1= Not at all important to you and you would not miss it if it was no longer available; 10 = Extremely important and you would miss it if it was no longer available Base: All adults aged 15+ who use local media once a month or more.
63 Figure 50 Personal importance of local media Regional and local news on television is considered to be the most important type of local media by four in ten (40%) regular local news users. ‘Any online sources’ are most important to 16% of regular local news users. 40 Most important Regional & local news on television 53 8 Important Local news & information on BBC radio 41 6 Local commercial radio 33 Important Paid for local newspaper 9 Any local online sources – 44% 43 Any local radio – 42% 7 Free local newspaper 32 Any local newspaper – 42% 3 Local magazine 27 Local news websites/apps 2 Most important 32 Any local online sources – 19% 1 Local community websites/apps 31 Any local newspaper – 17% 16 Any local radio – 13% Internet for local news information 42 0% 20% 40% 60%
Source: Ofcom local media omnibus 2014 LM04: How important are the following types of local media to you? (Scale 1 – 10. Net 7-10 ratings displayed) LM05: And of all the local media sources you use [at least once a month) which one would you say is the most important to you personally? Base: All UK adults 15+ who use all local media once a month or more.
64 Figure 51 Satisfaction with local media sources Local media users are most satisfied with regional and local news on television, with six in ten (59%) regular local media users rating TV between 7 and 10 out of 10.
Regional & local news on television 11 30 39 20 Local news & information on BBC local radio 15 34 31 18 Local commercial radio 18 40 27 14 Paid for local newspaper 17 34 30 19 Free local newspaper 19 39 29 13 Local magazines (free or paid for) 22 39 27 12 Local news websites/apps 21 37 29 11 Local community websites/apps 21 33 31 13 Internet for local news information 14 33 36 16
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 1-4 5-6 7-8 9-10 Don't know
Source: Ofcom local media omnibus, 2014 Q.LM07: How satisfied are you with … 10=Extremely satisfied and 1= extremely dissatisfied. Base: All adults aged 15+ who use local media once a month or more
65 Figure 52 Importance and satisfaction of local media Local media users are most likely to be satisfied with regional and local news on television, and rate it as more important than other sources.
59 Satisfied Regional & local news on television 53 49 Important Local news & information on BBC radio 41 Local commercial radio 41 Important (7-10) 33 Any local online sources – 44% Paid for local newspaper 49 Any local radio – 42% 43 Any local newspaper – 42% 42 Free local newspaper 32 39 Local magazine 27 Satisfied (7-10) 40 Any local online sources – 53% Local news websites/apps 32 Any local newspaper – 49% 44 Any local radio – 50% Local community websites/apps 31 51 Internet for local news information 42 0% 20% 40% 60%
Source: Ofcom local media omnibus 2014 LM04: How important are the following types of local media to you? (Scale 1 – 10. Net 7-10 ratings displayed) LM07: How satisfied are you with the following types of local media? (Scale 1 – 10. Net 7-10 ratings displayed) Base: All UK adults 15+ who use all local media once a month or more.
66 Figure 53 Changing use of local media Almost half of those who say they use local media say they use the internet for local news information now more than they did two years ago. Over one in five (22%) say they use radio more than they did two years ago. 20 Regional & local news on television 12 22 Local news & information on BBC local radio 11 22 Local commercial radio 15 15 ‘Paid for’ local newspaper - print 19 18 'Free’ local newspaper - print 17 17 Local magazines (free or paid for) 15 43 Local news websites/apps 11 44 Local community websites/apps 7 48 Internet for local news information 9 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% Use more than 2 years ago Use less than 2 years ago
Source: Ofcom local media omnibus, 2014 Q.LM08: Compared to two years ago, would you say you are currently using local media sources more, less or about the same amount? Base: All adults aged 15+ who use local media once a month or more
67 Figure 54 Weekly use of local media sources in the nations Weekly use of local media sources varies across the nations. People in Scotland are more likely to use regional/local news on TV on a weekly basis than the UK average. People in Scotland and Northern Ireland are more likely to use BBC local radio and paid-for local newspapers, and less likely to use free local newspapers than the UK average, along with people in Wales. % UK England Scotland Wales Northern Ireland Base 2152 1706 195 141 110 Regional and local news on television 77 76 84 82 77 Local commercial radio 37 36 39 40 52 Internet for local news information 35 35 35 35 43 Local news and information on BBC local radio 31 30 39 23 50 Paid-for local newspaper 29 26 45 35 42 Free local newspaper 31 36 15 15 7
Local magazines (free or paid) 14 15 10 11 5 Local news websites/apps 14 13 18 12 17 Local community websites/apps 10 10 14 2 11 Source: Ofcom local media omnibus, 2014. Q.LM03 Square box indicates statistically significant difference to UK findings 11 News consumption in the nations Figure 55 Platforms used for news ‘nowadays’, by nation People in Northern Ireland are more likely to use TV, radio, online sources and word of mouth than across the UK as a whole. Nearly half of all people in Scotland and Northern Ireland (46% and 45%) use newspapers for news. A quarter (24%) of people in Northern Ireland use word of mouth for news.
75% 75% Television 81% 86%↓(89%) England 39% 46% Newspapers 39% Scotland 45%↓(55%) 36% 33% Wales Radio 36% 44% 25% N Ireland Internet or apps on 24% 24% computer/laptop/netbook 27% 21% ↑(13%) (2013 figures Any of the 4 Internet on 20% ↑(14%) Internet or apps on a mobile 18% in brackets)* main any device 28% 13% platforms 13% Internet or apps on tablet 10% 15% England 94% 42% (↑31%) 11% 11% Word of mouth 13% 24%↓(36%) Scotland 93% 38% (↑29%) 10% Internet or apps on a desktop 8% 11% computer 8% Wales 95% 39% 5% 5% Magazines 4% 5% ↓(10%) N Ireland 98% 43% 4% 6% Interactive TV, Ceefax, TV apps 4% 3% ↓(9%) Q3a) Which of the following do you use for news nowadays? Base 2014: All adults 16+ who follow the news (2731), England (1641); Scotland (363); Wales (376); NI (351) Base 2013: All adults 16+ who follow the news (2862), England (1764), Scotland (361), Wales (385), NI (352) * 2013 figures only shown where there are statistically significant differences between 2013 and 2014 70 Figure 56 Average number of news sources used nowadays per platform, by nation Adults in Northern Ireland use more news sources on average (4.6) than in the other nations.
England = 3.8 (3.6) Scotland = 3.9 (3.9) Wales = 4 (4) Northern Ireland = 4.6 (5.2)
Average number of news sources used nowadays per platform
England = 2.0 (1.9) England = 1.9 (2.0) England = 1.4 (1.4) England = 1.9 (1.8) Scotland = 2.0(1.8) Scotland = 1.9 (2.3) Scotland = 1.4(1.3) Scotland = 1.9 (1.9) Wales = 2.1 (2.0) Wales = 2.1 (2.0) Wales = 1.4 (1.4) Wales = 2.0 (2.2) N Ireland = 2.2 (2.2) N Ireland = 2.0 (2.7) N Ireland = 1.6 (1.5) N Ireland = 2.3 (2.4) (2013 figures in brackets)
Q5a) Thinking specifically about < >, which of the following do you use for news nowadays? Base 2014: All who use each news source (TV=2136, Newspapers=1160, Radio=990, Internet=1029). Base 2013: All who use each news source (TV=2033, Newspapers=1215, Radio=1198, Internet=926). Figure 57 Single most personally important news source, by nation People in Scotland are less likely than the UK as a whole to rate a BBC source as their most important news source (46% vs. 52% UK average). People in Northern Ireland are more likely to rate an ITN source as their most important news source. Cross-platform reach (%) WHOLESALE 60 5253 53 46 47
40
↓(23%)22 ↑(9%) 20 1616 15 16 1413 1212 12 9 9 8 8 7 4 4 3 3 2 1 1 2 2 3 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 1 1 1 1 0
UK England Scotland Wales N Ireland Base: All who use a news source nowadays in England (1538), Scotland (339), Wales (359) and Northern Ireland (344) Note: Wholesale is classified as the company that provides the news for the given source. Retail is classified as the branded title/service through which the news is provided. Note: 2013 figures are in brackets, and shown where statistically different to 2014. Note: This wholesale category is derived from responses given about individual news titles. Figure 58 Mean importance of platforms among users of each platform, by nation TV is considered of relatively higher importance for news among its users in Scotland and Northern Ireland than in England and Wales. 2013 figures 7.3 6.7 6.9 * 6.9 7.1 7.0 6.6 * 7.4 7.0 6.7 6.9 * 7.1 7.7 6.7 7.0 * 7.2 8 7.5 7.2 7.2 7.3 7.3 7.3 6.8 6.6 6.7 6.7 6.7 6.9 6.7 6.8 6.6 6.3 6.4 6.3 6.2 6.1 6
4
2
0 England Scotland Wales N Ireland
Television Newspapers Radio Internet (computer) Internet (mobile) Q3b Looking at the ways you say you use news nowadays, how important are the following to you personally when using news? Answer using a scale of 1 to 10, where, 1 is not at all important and 10 is absolutely essential. Base: All adults 16+ who use platform for news nowadays (TV/Newspapers/radio/internet(computer)/Internet(mobile)) in England (1238/663/570/391/317), Scotland (282/177/122/80/62), Wales (310/153/130/88), N Ireland (306/167/168/87) * In 2013 Iinternet (computer) included tablet. In 2014 this was split out as a separate code, but bases too low (under 50) in non-English nations to analyse Figure 59 Platform share of references, by nation The increase in the share of references for the internet since 2013 (27% vs 21% in 2013) is driven by England and Scotland. TV share in England is lower in 2014 (42%) than in 2013 (48%).
Proportion of respondents (%)
50% ↓(47%) ↓(48%)44% 45% 42% 42% 41% 40% ↑(21%) ↑(21%) ↑(18%) 30% 27% 27% 26% 25% 24% 19% 20% 20% 20% 20% 17% 14% 13% 12% 11% 11% 10%
0% Television Newspapers Radio Internet
UK England Scotland Wales N Ireland 2013 figures Base 2014: All who use a news source nowadays in UK (2580) England (1538), Scotland (339), Wales (359) and Northern Ireland (344) Base 2013: All who use a news source nowadays in UK (2661) England (1618), Scotland (328), Wales (366) and Northern Ireland (349). Note: 2013 figures only shown where there are statistically significant differences between 2013 and 2014 Figure 60 Share of references, by nation Trinity Mirror’s share of references in Scotland decreased from 6% in 2013 to 2% in 2014. Share of references is generally even across the nations, with the exception of ITN’s position in Northern Ireland. WHOLESALE Share of references (%) 60
43 4444 44 39 40
20 20 17 17 151515 161616 1412 13 121212 ↓(6%)
4 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 2 2 3 3 2 2 1 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 BBC Sky ITN DMGT News Corp Trinity Guardian Northern & Telegraph Lebedev Pearson Other Mirror Media Shell Media Foundation Group (2013 figures in brackets) UK England Scotland Wales N Ireland Base: All who use a news source nowadays in England (1538), Scotland (339), Wales (359) and Northern Ireland (344) 2013: England (1618), Scotland (328), Wales (366) and Northern Ireland (349) Note: Wholesale is classified as the company that provides the news for the given source. Retail is classified as the branded title/service through which the news is provided. Note: 2013 figures only shown where there are statistically significant differences between 2013 and 2014. Note: This wholesale category is derived from responses given about individual news titles. Figure 61 Share of references, by nation The distribution of share of references is generally even across the nations, although alternative providers i.e. those included in ‘Other’, gain a higher share in Northern Ireland than England and Wales. Trinity Mirror’s share of reference in Scotland is lower than in 2013. RETAIL Share of references (%) 60
43444243 39 40
↓(7%) 20 15 13 12 11 109 ↓ 8 7 8 6 8 6 7 7 7 6 7 6 8 7 6 6 4 4 5 5 6 4 3 3 3 2 4 3 2 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
UK England Scotland Wales N Ireland (2013 figures in brackets) Base: All who use a news source nowadays in England (1538), Scotland (339), Wales (359) and Northern Ireland (344) Note: Wholesale is classified as the company that provides the news for the given source. Retail is classified as the branded title/service through which the news is provided (except the three generic categories ‘commercial radio’, ‘aggregators’ and ‘social media’). Note: 2013 figures only shown where there are statistically significant differences between 2013 and 2014 Figure 62 Cross-platform audience reach, by nation BBC (80%) and ITN (50%) reach is higher in Scotland in 2014 than in 2013 (73% and 39%). The reach of Trinity Mirror decreased in Scotland from 27% in 2013 to 14% in 2014. Cross-platform reach (%) WHOLESALE 100 ↑(73%) 8385 807980 80 66 60 60 5048 43 41 40 39 3937 40 34 2828 26 25 ↓(27%) 1819 20 1717171717 16 16 13 14 14 12 9 8 6 6 6 4 4 5 5 4 4 3 3 5 5 5 5 5 4 4 2 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 BBC ITN News Corp Sky Northern & DMGT Trinity Mirror Telegraph Guardian Lebedev Pearson Other Shell Media Media Foundation Group UK England Scotland Wales N Ireland (2013 figures in brackets) Base 2014: All who use a news source nowadays in England (1538), Scotland (339), Wales (359) and Northern Ireland (344); 2013: England (1618), Scotland (328), Wales (366) and Northern Ireland (349). Note: Wholesale is classified as the company that provides the news for the given source. Retail is classified as the branded title/service through which the news is provided. Note: This wholesale category is derived from responses given about individual news titles. Figure 63 Personal interest in selected news topics, by nation People in Northern Ireland and Scotland are more likely than people in England and Wales to say they are personally interested in politics and local/regional news. People in Northern Ireland are also more likely than other nations to be interested in current affairs topics. 100%
78% 80% 68% 71% 63% 58% 58% 60% 60% 54% 52% 51% 53% 50% 44% 44% 40% 32%
20%
0% Any mention of politics Any mention of current affairs Any mention of local/region
All UK England Scotland Wales Northern Ireland
Q1b) Which types of news are you personally interested in? Base: All adults 16+ in England (1641), in Scotland(363), in Wales (359) and in Northern Ireland (351) 78 Figure 64 Personal interest versus social importance: England The weather is the news topic of most personal interest to people in England and is of more personal interest than societal importance. Most news topics are considered to be more societally important than personally interesting.
Higher personal Equal social and Higher social importance interest personal (Top five, by difference) 60% 49% importance 49% 48% 50% 45% 43% 40% 35%35% 34%35% 36% 33% 34% 28% 28% 30% 23%24% 18% 20% 13% 10% 0%
Personally interested in Societal importance Q1b) Which types of news are you personally interested in? Q1c) Now thinking about everybody in the UK, not just about your own point of view, which types of news do you think are important for people to know about? Base: All adults 16+ in England (1641) Figure 65 Personal interest versus social importance: Scotland In addition to the weather, local events are of more personal interest than societal importance.
Higher personal Equal social and Higher social importance interest personal (Top five, by difference) 70% importance 59% 60% 55% 48% 48% 50% 44% 42% 39% 38% 36% 35%34% 37% 40% 32% 30% 30% 20% 16% 13% 10% 0%
Personally interested in
Societal importance
Q1b) Which types of news are you personally interested in? Q1c) Now thinking about everybody in the UK, not just about your own point of view, which types of news do you think are important for people to know about? Base: All adults 16+ in Scotland(363) Figure 66 Personal interest versus social importance: Wales People in Wales are more likely to be personally interested in a range of news topics.
Higher personal Higher social importance interest 70% (Top five, by difference) 58% 60% 50% 46% 40% 39% 40% 36% 34% 34% 35% 30% 30% 30% 28% 31% 30% 23% 25% 18% 20% 17% 17% 9% 12% 10% 0%
Personally interested in Societal importance
Q1b) Which types of news are you personally interested in? Q1c) Now thinking about everybody in the UK, not just about your own point of view, which types of news do you think are important for people to know about? Base: All adults 16+ in Wales (376) Figure 67 Personal interest versus social importance: Northern Ireland
In addition to the weather, politics in Northern Ireland is also of more personal interest than societal importance.
Higher personal Equal social and Higher social importance personal (Top five, by difference) 80% interest 68% 70% importance 58% 61% 60% 52% 47% 47% 50% 44% 46% 44% 39% 38% 40% 34% 27% 30% 17% 20% 12% 16% 10% 0%
Personally interested in Societal importance Q1b) Which types of news are you personally interested in? Q1c) Now thinking about everybody in the UK, not just about your own point of view, which types of news do you think are important for people to know about? Base: All adults 16+ in Northern Ireland (351) Figure 68 Top 20 news sources by reach: England 52% of adults in England use BBC One for news, a decrease since 2013 (56%). Use of the BBC website or app has increased from 16% to 24%.
% of all adults in England (42.4 million) 2013 BBC One 52% ↓56% ITV1/ITV WALES/UTV/STV 31% BBC website or app 24% ↑16% Sky News Channel 17% BBC News Channel 17% The Sun 10% BBC Radio 2 10% ↑8% BBC Radio 4 10% TV channel ↑8% The Daily Mail 9% Google (General search Engine) 9% Newspaper Channel 4 9% ↑5% BBC Radio 1 8% Radio station ↑6% Sky News website or app 8% ↑4% Facebook 6% Other radio station(s) e.g. local or foreign ones 6% Website / app ↑4% The Sun on Sunday 5% The Mail on Sunday 5% The Daily Mirror 5% Any local daily newspaper 5% BBC Two 5%
Q5a-e) Thinking specifically about
% of all adults in Scotland (4.3 million) 2013 BBC One 55% STV 37% BBC website or app 24% ↑14% Sky News Channel 16% BBC News Channel 13% The Sun 13% The Daily Record 10% ↓17% Channel 4 9% TV channel BBC Radio 2 9% BBC Radio Scotland 8% Newspaper The Daily Mail 7% Other radio station(s) e.g. local or foreign ones 7% Radio station ↓13% Facebook 7% BBC Radio 4 5% BBC Radio 1 5% Website / app BBC Two 5% The Sunday Post 5% STV Website or app 5% The Sunday Mail 4% ↓14% The Sun on Sunday 4%
Q5a-e) Thinking specifically about
Q5a-e) Thinking specifically about
Q5a-e) Thinking specifically about
England Scotland Wales Northern Ireland Unweighted base 663 177 153 167 The Sun 26% 27% 30% 20% The Daily Mail 22% 16% 24% 14% The Daily Star 3% 5% 7% 3% The Daily Express 4% 6% 4% 1% The Daily Mirror 13% 2% 18% 21%a The Guardian 10% 7% 8% 3% The Independent 3% 2% 4% 1% The 'i' 4% 3% 3% - The Times 6% 3% 7% 6% The Daily Telegraph 6% 4% 3% 6% The Financial Times 2% 1% 1% 1% The Morning Star * - 1% -
Figures in red are significantly different to those in purple. Figures in green are significantly different from those in red and purple. Figures in black are not statistically significant differences. Applies to rows only. a This figure is significantly different from England and Scotland, but not Wales
Q5a-e) Thinking specifically about
England Scotland Wales Northern Ireland Unweighted base 663 177 153 167 The Herald - 5% - - The Scotsman - 4% - - The Daily Record - 22% - - The Belfast Telegraph - - - 22% The Irish News - - - 17% The News Letter - - - 7% The Western Mail - - 9% - The Daily Post - Wales * - 8% - The South Wales Evening Post - - 5% - The Metro 11% 5% 3% - The Evening Standard 3% - 2% - The Press and Journal (Aberdeen) - 9% - - The Courier and Advertiser (Dundee) - 9% - - Any local daily newspaper 13% 7% 13% 10% Figures in red are significantly different to those in purple. Figures in green are significantly different from those in red and purple. Figures in black are not statistically significant differences. Applies to rows only.
Q5a-e) Thinking specifically about
Figures in red are significantly different to those in purple. Figures in green are significantly different from those in red and purple. Figures in black are not statistically significant differences. Applies to rows only. a This figure is also significantly different from Scotland, but not Northern Ireland
Q5a-e) Thinking specifically about
England Scotland Wales Northern Ireland Unweighted base 663 177 153 167 The Sunday Herald - 2% - - The Sunday Post - 10% - - The Sunday Mail - 10% - - Scotland on Sunday - 1% - - Wales on Sunday - - 2% - Sunday Life - - - 10% Sunday World - - - 8% Any local paid weekly paper 5% 6% 8% 7% Any local free weekly newspaper 3% 1% 5% -
Figures in red are significantly different to those in purple. Figures in green are significantly different from those in red and purple. Figures in black are not statistically significant differences. Applies to rows only.
Q5a-e) Thinking specifically about