Future Foundation: When it comes to the latest news – TV is king
In our latest Research Focus report, Future Foundation reveals that TV is still the main way for consumers to get their news, although the internet is catching up…
It seems that old habits are hard to break, and in spite of the accelerated pace of internet usage and near ubiquitous nature of the medium, our research shows that TV remains the first port of call for the latest news. The chart below indicates that most people will use TV as their main source for obtaining various types of news and when it comes to the latest news headlines, over 65% stated TV as the first place they turn to, compared with 15% using the internet, 11% reading newspapers and 7% tuning into the radio.
It appears that TV is the default medium for news amongst most people. In fact, our data has also shown that watching TV as it is broadcast is still very much of a national habit, and the majority of people (95%) watch at least some programmes as they are first broadcast. Around 37% say that they only watch TV programmes as they are first broadcast and the growing use of technology that allows for personalised TV scheduling is likely to shrink this figure even more. Nevertheless, the resilience of TV is somewhat striking when we think about the breadth of internet use today. Our data from earlier this year shows that 75% of people over the age of 15 have used the internet in the past 6 months, up from 64% in 2007. Unsurprisingly, this is highest among 15 to 34 year olds, however the growing popularity of this platform is clear when we see that usage among 55-64 year olds is currently higher (68%) than total usage levels in 2007!
Our data has also shown that those who use the internet every day are looking at the latest news headlines online far more often than those using it less often, and we also know that young people are using the internet most frequently. When we compare TV and the internet for getting the latest news headlines, it is clear that the gap is smallest amongst 15 to 34 year olds. What’s more, when we asked where people turned to first for the latest financial/business news, 25 to 34 year olds were equally as likely to use the internet as TV.
The profile is very similar for where people turn to for the latest international news headlines, however, the growing popularity of sites such as Twitter are likely to accelerate the narrowing of the gap between TV and the internet. The use of Twitter by Iranians following the country’s recent elections is probably the best example of citizen journalism and how the internet is able to penetrate those areas that TV cameras cannot. Similarly, the speed and high number of messages that were spread on Twitter following the death of Michael Jackson also highlight the prevalence of this new news medium.
Technological developments such as the rapid growth in internet-enabled mobile phones are also speeding up the shrinking of the gap between TV and the internet. Our research shows that 56% of people currently have a mobile phone that allows them access to the internet, and 39% have checked the latest news/weather/sports results on their phone. The flexibility and ease with which the internet can be accessed via mobile devices shows that it won’t be long before most people see their phones as more than just a medium for chatting, but as mobile interactive tools that can be used for communication, entertainment and gathering information. Our research shows that a small but growing proportion of people will browse the internet on their phone if they had 20 minutes to wait for a train or bus, and as internet enabled phones become more widespread, we can only expect growth in this type of behaviour.
Nevertheless, in spite of the constant expansion of the internet, traditional TV news providers are also embracing this change, and many will use new media platforms to enhance and increase their presence. For example, CNN have 1,763,546 followers on Twitter. Imagine if each of those users passed a CNN message on 5 times – that would result in a staggering 8,817,730 tweets on one individual news story.
Therefore, as much as it appears that TV will eventually be overtaken by the internet as the first port of call for news, the depth and style of TV news coverage is something that the internet cannot replace. What is more likely is that not one medium will be considered more relevant than the other for receiving news, and as our research shows us, different media platforms tend to be used in conjunction with each other as opposed to solely. Major news events for example, are more likely to be received via the internet or through text messages. For example, even in 2001, our data showed that most people in the UK heard about 9/11 via these means as opposed to TV. However these sources tend to provide people with the headlines and top level details, whilst TV or newspapers are considered more relevant in terms of deeper coverage and analysis. Indeed, it is probably just this that is maintaining TV’s current reign at the top, and along with innovations in embracing new technology platforms, this is all helping to boost the resilient appeal of TV.