News brands face an uncertain future

Almost half (47%) of UK adults use social media for news, but that figure rises to 71% for 16-24 year-olds – and that could pose serious problems in future for some traditional news brands.

That’s according to new Ofcom data which also reveals that just under half of 16-24s (46%) following news select a social media source as their ‘most important source’, significantly higher than adults generally (17%).

Context 

It’s no surprise that people are getting more and more of their news online, but older generations still tend to head straight to particular news sites. Younger people are more likely to pick up news via social media platforms, meaning their direct relationships with traditional news brands are weakening. 

Among all adults who follow news organisations on social media, BBC remains the most common source, generally followed by Sky News and ITV. The old Fleet Street brands, however, lag far behind these and also behind individual journalists. 

Why it matters

Establishing and retaining any sort of brand loyalty is difficult for news brands filtered through the third party of social media, where some users will dismiss them as ‘mainstream media’. In any case, those platforms appear less interested in what news brands have to offer. 

A report commissioned earlier this year by Meta, for example, said that “news content from traditional publishers is of low value to Meta and declining”. Meta is currently threatening to remove news from its Feeds in Canada rather than be forced to pay publishers and broadcasters for their content. 

It’s not clear what news brands should do when a younger generation is looking to social media for news at the same time as social media is placing a lower priority on such content. 

Takeaways 

• Almost all UK adults (96%) consume news in some form; broadcast TV is the most used platform, by 70% (increasing to 75% when on-demand content is included). 
• Online sources are the second most-used platforms for news, by over two thirds (68%) of UK adults; social media is an important driver, being used by just under half (47%).
• Facebook continues to be the most used social media source (reaching 30% of UK adults), but it is showing signs of decline in use (35% in 2019). 
• TikTok has been growing in popularity as a source of news; it now reaches 10% of all UK adults, but 29% of 16-24 year-olds and 28% of 12-15 year-olds. 

Sourced from Ofcom, Financial Times