Half of all current news subscribers to print and online products are aged over 55, new Yougov research shows.
One in seven Brits subscribe to a print newspaper, online news source or both, according to the polling agency, but the figures show they are far more likely to be older men.
Rasmus Kleis Nielsen, director of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, wrote at the start of the year of how profitable print products will “die out with their readers” over the next decade as revenues decline.
Just 12% of news subscribers are aged under 25. A fifth (21%) are aged between 25 and 39, and 18% are between 40 and 54.
Some 57% are men and 43% are women, according to a survey carried out in July of 6,621 adults, of whom 993 were news subscribers.
Some 41% of the subscribers paid for online news, compared to 12% of the rest of the population who did some by some means.
The subscribers are more likely to stay loyal to one title, with half saying they are loyal compared to 31% of others.
Despite having news subscriptions, only 17% of this group said a printed paper was their main source of news (compared to 9% of non-subscribers).
A fifth of print subscribers said TV was their main source of news (compared to 30% of non-subscribers).
Subscribers were slightly more likely to rely on newspaper websites (13% compared to 10%), about as likely to mainly use a news app (14% vs 15%) and less likely to use social networks as their main source of news (10% compared to 13%).
Picture: Press Gazette
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