News consumption in Wales is changing – here are the trends as 2026 begins

Ofcom’s new research contains a few surprises about how people access news and information, with implications for comms professionals.

As we start a new year, I’m excited to share my analysis of some research that dropped just before Christmas. Ofcom released its latest annual Online Nation report, which shares how people in Cymru and the rest of the UK are using the internet.

It’s a hefty document (115 pages). So here, I’ll highlight what I think are the main trends that comms folk need to know about, plus another very welcome trend that I’ve spotted myself…

1. Reddit is really taking off in Cymru

I’ve been using Reddit for many years, but I didn’t expect it to grow so quickly in recent months.

It now reaches 62% of online adults in Wales. Across the UK it’s overtaken TikTok as Britain’s fourth most visited social media service.

Why? It seems that in the age of AI and fake news, people want real opinions from real people. In case you aren’t familiar, Reddit is a website made up of discussion forums. These ‘subreddits’ cover a massive range of subjects, from Abba to the ZX Spectrum.

I find it very useful for search – and increasingly use it instead of a search engine.

So what does this mean for communications? Well, for starters, it’s a great social listening tool. You can use Reddit to find out common questions on a topic, and use it to guide your website content and social posts.

Whatever your area of work, it’s likely people are using Reddit to find answers. Consider how you can use this to your advantage. Indeed, you can use it to share information and talk directly to users. For instance, the UK Government has set up an account to share information on its policies.

Does your organisation use Reddit yet? Let me know in the comments.

2. News websites: BBC extends lead, Wales Online beats London rivals

The BBC news website is still the top dog in Wales, with a growth from 1.6 million to 1.8 million adult users.

While this mirrors the Beeb’s position in the other UK nations, it’s striking that Wales Online is in second place on 1.1 million. That’s slightly ahead of London-based competitors the Sun, the Guardian, the Mail, the Independent and the Mirror, all on 1 million. Compare that to Scotland, where the Daily Record is in 7th place.

Obviously, both the BBC Wales site and Wales Online are important places to try and land coverage in 2026. Although reach isn’t everything, of course – consider your audience.

3. Read you later, agreggator: – most adults use ‘one stop shops’ for news

Gone are the days when there were simply ‘Guardian readers’ or ‘South Wales Echo readers’. People now take a ‘mix and match’ approach to news consumption.

We’re getting a lot of our news from aggregators like Apple News and Google News, as well as social media like Facebook. Six in ten UK adults (59%) said they used some form of online intermediary for their news consumption.

With people exposed to this variety of news sources, there’s an opportunity to expand your story’s reach. The flipside of this is that strong news values and eye-catching headlines are needed to cut through the noise and get your message shared. Remember this when crafting press releases or news stories for your website.

4. Welsh politics podcasts are booming

With an election looming, there’s been a growth in the number of pods about Welsh politics. I love being able to queue up several podcast episodes all about Cymru! Check out the following (and let me know of any I’ve missed):

• For Wales, See Wales has been producing weekly episodes for over a year. Guardian columnist Will Hayward and comedians Mel Owen and Robin Morgan combine professional insight with accessible explainers and lots of humour.
• Talking Wales – so new I haven’t had a chance to listen yet! Launched January 2026.
• In The Welsh Politics Pod, Lee Waters MS, Prof. Laura McAllister of the Wales Governance Centre, and former Conservative Special Advisor Lauren McEvatt investigate and debate Senedd and UK issues. A bit more detailed and serious.
• Senedd Sources features journalist Ollie Cole, as well as my former ITV colleague and former Welsh Labour advisor Jo Kiernan, and former Welsh Conservative candidate and adviser Craig Lawton.
• Meanwhile, The BBC has upped its game. There are more regular episodes of Gwleidydda with Vaughan Roderick and Richard Wyn Jones – who provide fantastic analysis. That’s in addition to the English-language Walescast and Sunday Supplement podcasts.
• Golwg also has its political podcast, Craffu360. This features detailed interviews with big hitters in Welsh politics but is less regular, with episodes every month or two.

It’s fantastic to see all these podcasts shining a light on how our country is run. Da iawn to all involved.

With podcasts growing in popularity, consider how your organisation could get involved in the medium – whether that’s producing your own podcast (like Oxfam Cymru and my former client Hub Cymru Africa), putting forward guests/topics or providing sponsorship.

Make 2026 the year of great communications

Want to secure better media coverage for your organisation? Need to get your message across more clearly?

I offer bilingual training and support to non-profit organisations in Wales, including:

• Media spokesperson training
• Media relations training
• Copywriting training
• Communication audits and strategy support
• Copywriting

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