BOSTON—2020 has seen U.S. consumers of all ages more focused on the news, and according to a recent report from Altman Solon, broadcast and cable networks are the leading options.
News consumption is up in the U.S. according to the report, with 54% of U.S. consumers saying they are watching more news, while 34% say they are watching three or more additional hours of news per week.
Per Altman Solon, broadcast networks are the top source of daily news for U.S. consumers, with ABC viewed daily by 26% of respondents, followed by both NBC and CBS at 20%. Cable TV had a record-breaking year for ratings, Altman Solon said, with CNN and Fox tied at 17% of consumers viewing daily.
Trust in TV news also saw an increase since the pandemic began. Trust in other news sources like radio, free online newspapers, print newspapers, news websites and podcasts, inversely, were down by 1-3%. Social media, however, saw a decline of 12% in is trustworthiness over the same period, Altman Solon reports.
Still, social media platforms like Facebook and Google News are viewed as some’s top news source, with 15% of respondents citing Facebook as their primary resource and 11% for Google News.
Additional findings from Altman Solon’s report includes that nearly one-third of Americans are willing to pay for reliable news content, with viewers 18-24 more open to paying (53%) than those over 55 (15%); even after the pandemic, 82% of Americans expect to continue to pay for news.
For more information on the report, visit Altman Solon’s website.
