Platforms used to consume news in the UK 2023, by nation

Television was the most used platform for news consumption in the United Kingdom among all nations except Wales in 2023, however the internet was also a very popular choice and could soon overtake television as the main news source. Meanwhile, social media was more popular in Scotland and Wales than in England or Northern Ireland.

Where do TV audiences get their news?

BBC One remained the most popular TV news channel in the UK that year, with an audience reach of 75 percent. BBC One, which is part of the television service portfolio of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), has held the lion’s share of TV news watching hours in the UK for over a decade.

Online news platforms are stealing the show

While television remains the leading news source among adults, younger audiences primarily turn to the internet for news consumption. According to a recent survey, almost 80 percent of UK news consumers between the ages of 18 to 24 considered the internet their leading news platform, and as of 2020, roughly 70 percent of the UK population read or downloaded news content online. Among those who got their news coverage from online sources, BBC News stood out as the leading online news brand accessed in the UK that year.