Two thirds use broadcast TV as source for news
JULY 20, 2023 12.03 EUROPE/LONDON BY JULIAN CLOVER

Social Media is now used by just under half of UK audiences as a source for news, according to Ofcom research into news consumption.

Broadcast TV is used by just over two thirds of UK adults with the BBC the leading outlet for news and information.

Facebook continues to be the most used social media source (reaching 30% of UK adults), but there are signs of its popularity waning, with the Meta service losing 4 percentage points over four years. At the same time, TikTok has been growing in popularity as a source of news, reaching 10% of UK adults, an increase from 1% in 2020.

Among young adults (16-24 year-olds) there is a clear preference for social media. 83% consume news online and 71% use social media for news. Broadcast TV is used for news by under half (47%) of this age group though this increases to 53% when on-demand viewing is included. Far fewer 16-24s mainly go direct to websites for their news; they are more likely to go via social media.

Among Teens (12-15 year-olds) the BBC has the highest reach of any news organisation, with its content reaching 39% of this age group, after that, TikTok (28%), YouTube (25%) and Instagram (25%) are the three most used individual sources for news. One in ten teens cited TikTok as their main source of news.

BBC News output across all its platforms remains the most used source for news, reaching 73% of all UK adults.

One in five (19%) UK adults, name BBC One as their single most important source for news, although this is a decline from over a quarter (27%) in 2018. ITV1 is cited by 8% of UK adults as their most important source of news, and both Facebook and the BBC website/app are chosen by 7% of UK adults.

BBC One continues to be the single most-used source for news content, ITV and its affiliates is second and Facebook third. BBC iPlayer is listed for the first time in fourth.

The public service broadcasters remain a dominant source for news consumption reaching 94% of the audience.

Ofcom also asks audiences to rate the sources they use across most attributes; among users of the platforms, news sourced via social media is rated lower for trust, accuracy and impartiality than the more traditional sources of news, but is rated moderately well on ‘offers a range of opinions’, ‘helps me understand what’s going on in the world today’, and being ‘important to me personally’.