TV is no longer the UK’s main source of news

TV overtook radio and newspapers in the 1960s as the leading source of news in the UK and has remained so until now, according to Ofcom’s latest annual study into how we access news. The report says that 71% of adults now do so online, compared to 70% for TV.

A lot of this isdown to social media – 52% of UK adults now use platforms such as Facebook, YouTube and Instagram to access news, which is up from 47% in 2023. Meanwhile the reach of TV news has been gradually declining in recent years, and fell sharply from 75% to 70% last year.

This is even more evident with younger people – 88% of 16–24-year-olds go online for news, but older generations are also gradually following suit with 54% of people aged 55+ doing the same – up from 45% in 2018. Only 28% of that age bracket accesses news via social media however, significantly lower than 16-24s at 82%.

TV does however remain by far the leading platform for news among the older age groups (85%), compared to 49% of 16-24s.

BBC One remains the most popular individual news source, and as a whole the public broadcaster still reaches 68% of all UK adults across TV, radio, news website, Sounds and iPlayer. The below graph lists the top ten news sources.

Meanwhile online news sources – and social media platforms in particular – are rated much less favourably than traditional platforms such as TV and radio for accuracy, trust and impartiality, says Ofcom.

The regulator also ties in some data relating to the latest general election. 60% of people apparently recalled having seen information they felt was false or misleading, and of these 10% said they saw that kind of content several times a day. 57% expressed concern about the impact of deepfake content during the campaign, and 27% said they had encountered a deepfake during the previous week.

"Television has dominated people's news habits since the sixties, and it still commands really high trust,” said Yih-Choung Teh, Ofcom's Group Director, Strategy and Research. “But we're witnessing a generational shift to online news, which is often seen as less reliable - together with growing fears about misinformation and deepfake content. Ofcom wants to secure high-quality news for the next generation, so we're kicking off a review of the public service media that help underpin the UK's democracy and public debate."

This review of public service media will initially look at how well broadcasters have ‘delivered’ for UK audiences, including how news is made available to audiences online. A second phase will consider potential options for changes in regulation or legislation to support public service media in the future, states the release.