View all newsletters
Sign up for our free email newsletters

Fighting for quality news media in the digital age.

Content on ‘mainstream’ news websites accessed by 95pc of young adults online in June, analysis of Comscore data shows

By Freddy Mayhew

Content on “mainstream” news media websites was accessed by 95 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds in June, with 89 per cent reading more than one of them, according to UKOM analysis of Comscore data.

Websites accessed include those of traditional daily newspapers as well as BBC News and Sky News online.

Content appearing on the “news” section at six online newspaper websites – Mail Online, Guardian, Sun, Mirror, Independent and Telegraph – was accessed by 84 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds in the same month with a third viewing content from two or more of these sites, the analysis showed.

The UK Online Measurement Company (UKOM), which sets and governs the UK industry standard for online audience measurement, said the figures showed the “mainstream media still has a huge role to play in bringing news and content to young adults online”.

“Whilst young people may not be buying newspapers as much as they once did, they also aren’t consuming news from just one publisher which they would have been more inclined to do when they had to pay for a physical daily newspaper,” a spokesperson said.

Source: UKOM/Comscore

June was a busy month for news, with the snap general election, the London Bridge terror attack and the Grenfell Tower fire disaster all making headlines.

UKOM said the internet and social media offered readers “exposure and easy access to news stories from multiple sources with contrasting opinions and analysis”.

Content from our partners
MHP Group's 30 To Watch awards for young journalists open for entries
How PA Media is helping newspapers make the digital transition
Publishing on the open web is broken, how generative AI could help fix it

In June for example, the “news” sections at Mail Online and Mirror Online reached 48 per cent and 41 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds respectively with 22 per cent viewing online news content on both websites.

The Comscore data includes content accessed through desktop browsing, desktop video streams, smartphone browsing and apps, and tablet browsing and apps.

Comscore is a cross-platform measurement company. It uses a tag on each news website page to analyse the audience for a website.

Picture: Pixabay

Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog

Select and enter your email address Weekly insight into the big strategic issues affecting the future of the news industry. Essential reading for media leaders every Thursday. Your morning brew of news about the world of news from Press Gazette and elsewhere in the media. Sent at around 10am UK time. Our weekly does of strategic insight about the future of news media aimed at US readers. A fortnightly update from the front-line of news and advertising. Aimed at marketers and those involved in the advertising industry.
  • Business owner/co-owner
  • CEO
  • COO
  • CFO
  • CTO
  • Chairperson
  • Non-Exec Director
  • Other C-Suite
  • Managing Director
  • President/Partner
  • Senior Executive/SVP or Corporate VP or equivalent
  • Director or equivalent
  • Group or Senior Manager
  • Head of Department/Function
  • Manager
  • Non-manager
  • Retired
  • Other
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
Thank you

Thanks for subscribing.

Websites in our network