News consumption in the UK

Media use and attitudes Attitudes to news Research, statistics and data
Published: 20 July 2023
Last updated: 15 September 2026

News in a changing media landscape

Our 2026 News Report examines how UK adults and children aged 12 to 15 access news, and their attitudes towards different news providers and platforms. It explores the growing role of online intermediaries, including social media, video-sharing platforms and AI tools, alongside the continuing importance of traditional news providers.

Key findings from this report include:

  • Consumption of news remains near universal but is increasingly digital
  • Online intermediaries are now central to news discovery
  • The BBC remains the UK's most-used news provider
  • Social and video platforms increasingly shape news consumption
  • Trust remains strongest for traditional news platforms
  • Local news and election coverage continue to demonstrate the value of traditional news providers

The report focuses on the UK news market as a whole but also published are individual chart packs for Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

2026

News Consumption Survey

Our research into news consumption across television, radio, print and online.

Document Date published
News Consumption in the UK 2026 - Research Findings 15 September 2026
Pobl yn cael gafael ar newyddion yn y DU 2026  - Canfyddiadau’r ymchwil  15 September 2026
News Consumption in the UK 2026 - Northern Ireland 15 September 2026
News Consumption in the UK 2026 - Scotland 15 September 2026
News Consumption in the UK 2026 - Wales 15 September 2026
Pobl yn cael gafael ar newyddion yn y DU 2026 - Cymru 15 September 2026
News Consumption in the UK 2026 - supporting slides 15 September 2026
Adults News Consumption Survey - Technical Report (PDF) 14 May 2026
Adults News Consumption Survey - online questionnaire (PDF) 14 May 2026
Adults News Consumption Survey data tables (XLSX) 14 May 2026

Children's News Consumption Survey

Our research into news consumption across television, radio, print and online among children / teenagers aged 12-15.

Document Date published
Children's News Consumption Survey - Technical Report (PDF) 14 May 2026
Children's News Consumption Survey - online questionnaire (PDF) 14 May 2026
Children's News Consumption Survey data tables (XLSX) 14 May 2026
Children's News Consumption Survey 2026 - supporting slides) 15 September 2026

Local News and Media Survey

Our research into local news and media consumption across television, radio, print and online.

Document Date published
Local News and Media Survey 2026 Data Tables (XLSX) 15 September 2026
Local News and Media Survey 2026 Questionnaire (PDF)  15 September 2026

Local Election Survey

Document Date published
Local Election Survey 2026 - supporting slides (PDF) 15 September 2026
Local Election Survey 2026 - data tables (XLSX)  15 September 2026
Local Election Survey 2026 - questionnaire (PDF)  15 September 2026
Local Election Survey 2026 - Technical report (PDF)  15 September 2026
Arolwg Newyddion Ofcom Etholiad 2026 (PDF)  15 September 2026

Older reports

This report provides the findings of Ofcom’s 2018 research into news consumption across television, radio, print and online. It is published as part of our range of market research reports which examine the consumption of content, and attitudes towards that content, across different platforms.

The aim of this slide pack report is to inform an understanding of news consumption across the UK and within each UK nation. This includes sources and platforms used,  the perceived importance of different outlets for news, attitudes to individual news sources, local news use and news consumption in the nations.

The primary source is Ofcom’s News Consumption Survey. The report also contains information from our Media Tracker survey, and a range of industry currencies including BARB for television viewing, Touchpoints for national newspaper readership, ABC for newspaper circulation, and comScore for online consumption.

Please note, because of changes we have made to the 2018 News Consumption Survey methodology, it is not possible to make direct comparisons to previous data. Further detail on how and why we changed the methodology can be found on slide 143 of the report.

News consumption in the UK: 2018 report (PDF, 2.6 MB)

News consumption in the UK: 2018 data tables (XLSX, 18.2 MB)

News consumption in the UK: 2018 questionnaire (PDF, 2.1 MB)

News consumption in the UK: 2018 raw data

News consumption in the UK: 2018 technical report (PDF, 183.3 KB)

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