Ofcom’s annual report on media consumption suggests that the BBC dominates UK local and national news markets.
Asked what specific outlets people use for news, BBC One was by far the most popular – listed by 48 per cent of respondents, down from 53 per cent last year.
Citing Comscore data from March 2015, the report estimates that BBC News is the most popular UK news website with 15m unique users across the month. The true figure is likely to much higher because this data excludes smartphones.
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When it comes to accessing local news, 33 per cent of respondents said they used BBC TV versus 21 per cent who said printed local newspapers. Some 18 per cent said word of mouth and 16 per cent said social media.
Asked to list their single most important source for news, the BBC again dominates. It is listed by 50 per cent of respondents, with ITN next on 12 per cent and Sky in third place on six per cent.
Fewer than one in three adults say they use a newspaper for news “nowadays”, according to Ofcom's survey of just under 3,000 adults.
Some 31 per cent said they use a newspaper for news, down from 40 per cent last year. However, the question has changed slightly: last year they were asked if they used a newspaper, and this year it was newspaper (printed).
Those saying they use television for news fell from 75 per cent to 67 per cent, those saying radio fell from 36 per cent to 32 per cent and those saying internet was level at 41 per cent.
Those saying they get their news via word of mouth increased from 11 per cent to 14 per cent. Respondents could tick multiple boxes.
The survey shows that print readership of national newspapers has declined dramatically over the last ten years.
Download the Ofcom's News consumption in the UK report here.
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