Ofcom has revealed the BBC and ITV have suffered major drops in their audiences, as fans are now turning to social media for their main source of news.
Broadcasters, who have been leading radio and newspapers as the primary source of news for the British public for over six decades, have seen a decline in recent years.
The 2024 news consumption survey by Ofcom revealed a gradual "decline" in TV news as the primary source of information, with BBC in particular facing a devastating blow.
The Ofcom survey showed that while 75% of respondents in 2023 and 79% in 2018 saw TV as the central platform, the figure dropped to 70% in 2024. On the other hand, online news has seen an upward trend, increasing from being the main source for 64% of people in 2018 to 68% in 2023, and then rising to 71% this year.
TV and online are "now on a par", according to Ofcom's report, which was based on 5,466 interviews conducted by market research company Jigsaw Research. Yih-Choung Teh, Ofcom group director, strategy and research, said: "Television has dominated people's news habits since the 1960s, 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."
According to Ofcom, among adults who directly access news publishers, websites and apps, the BBC website comes top at 59%, followed by Sky News (20%), The Guardian (20%) and The Daily Mail (19%).
Social media is a "significant component of online news consumption", Ofcom said, with more than half of UK adults (52%) using it as a news source. The top individual sources remain various PSBs such as the BBC and ITV.
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However, Ofcom did share figures with a downward trend.
BBC One has faced a significant drop over the last year by 6% and 15% over the last five. It was watched 43% of respondents in 2024, while rates were at 49% last year, and 58% in 2019.
ITV1 saw a similar decline, going from 40% in 2019 to 30% in 2024. The organisation that came third was Facebook which has also seen its audience fall from 35% in 2019 to 30% in 2024.
The way young and old people consume news has also diverged, Ofcom research shows, with 88% of 16 to 24 year olds saying they use online sources for news, and only half (49%) using TV.
Ofcom has revealed that social media is a "significant component of online news consumption" with 52% using it as a news source in 2024, compared with 44% in 2018. The media watchdog also noted that radio use for news has remained "stable", while the "use of newspapers is in long-term decline".
