Television is no longer the single main source of news for UK adults, as research by Ofcom shows online sites and apps are now as popular as TV news for the first time.
TV has been considered the leading source of UK news since the 1960s, when widespread set ownership saw it overtake radio and newspapers. But Ofcom’s annual study into how we access news shows that 71% of adults now do so online, compared to 70% for TV, marking a generational shift in the balance of news media.
The big driving factor is the increasing use of social media for news.More than half of UK adults now use platforms such as Facebook, YouTube and Instagram to access news, up from 47% in 2023.
Going online is by far the most popular way for younger people to access news with 88% of 16–24-year-olds, but older generations are also gradually adding online sources to their news diets.
Over half of people aged 55+ find news online – up from 45% in 2018 – with most navigating directly to news websites.
Only 28% access news via social media, significantly lower than 16-24s at 82%.
Despite this trend towards online news sources, TV remains by far the leading platform for news among older age groups (85%), compared to only half of 16-24s (49%).
Meanwhile four of the ten most popular news sources are the social media services Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and X (see table). Among 16–24-year-olds, these platforms plus TikTok occupy all top five spots.
YouTube is now as widely used to access news content as the Sky News Channel and more popular than the BBC News Channel and BBC News Online.
Yih-Choung Teh. Ofcom Group Director, Strategy and Research says:
“Television has dominated people’s news habits since the sixties, and it still commands really high trust. But we’re witnessing a generational shift to online news, which is often seen as less reliable – together with growing fears about misinformation and deepfake content. Ofcom wants to secure high-quality news for the next generation, so we’re kicking off a review of the public service media that help underpin the UK’s democracy and public debate.
