The BBC is winning the battle for breaking news alerts on mobile phones, with 63 per cent of those who choose to receive them choosing the corporation.

The findings have been published by Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism in a report titled News Alerts and the Battle for the Lockscreen written by former BBC world editor Nic Newman.

The report said the preference for breaking news alerts was “partly because this makes up a significant proportion of alerts sent but also because people are generally prepared to wait to catch up on less time-sensitive news”.