Americans are relying less on television for their news. Just 50% of U.S. adults now get news regularly from television, down from 57% a year prior in early 2016. But that audience drain varies across the three television sectors: local, network and cable. Local TV has experienced the greatest decline but still garners the largest audience of the three, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis.
From 2016 to 2017, the portion of Americans who often rely on local TV for their news fell 9 percentage points, from 46% to 37%. By comparison, reliance on network TV news declined from 30% to 26%. Cable TV news use remained more stable, with 28% often getting news there last year, compared with 31% in 2016.
Even after these declines, local TV still has a wider reach overall for news than network and cable. Some demographic groups turn to each of the three television venues more than others, however.
There is a strong relationship between age and television news habits. Younger adults are less likely than older adults to often get news via all three TV platforms. For example, just 8% of those ages 18 to 29 often get news from network TV, compared with 49% of those 65 and older
Monday, January 8, 2018
Decline of Broadcast News
Katerina Eva Matsa at Pew:
