A US survey from Ring Digital’s #FutureOfTV.Live initiative found that only 10 per cent of adults aged 18 to 24 had watched local television news during the previous week. The equivalent figure for adults aged 65 and older was 64 per cent, creating a 54-point generational gap.
The September study covered 1,376 adults and was weighted by age and gender to US Census population data. Daily television viewing showed a similar difference: 31 per cent among 18-to-24-year-olds and 81 per cent among respondents aged 65 or older.
Among people who had watched a local newscast, 35 per cent said their latest session used pay TV. Social media or YouTube accounted for 18 per cent, free streaming apps 13 per cent and a station-owned app seven per cent. The project estimates 108 million US adults watch news video on phones daily; among surveyed mobile news viewers, Facebook and YouTube Shorts each reached 46 per cent, followed by TikTok at 37 per cent and Instagram Reels at 33 per cent.
The results describe stated behaviour from one sponsored survey, not measured viewing logs. Big Blue Marble sponsored the research, and complete question wording, sampling error and subgroup sizes are needed before treating the percentages as a precise market forecast.
