This year, Ofcom has changed the way it conducts a survey about how the people of Wales get news. It sheds more light on our changing media landscape, but also exposes some information gaps.
I must admit, I had been looking forward to reading Ofcom’s Media Nations Wales 2026 report, published in July.
But I have mixed feelings about its contents.
On the one hand, I am pleased that Ofcom is trying to collect wider information.
On the other, it is frustrating that it’s hard to track trends, and that there is a lack of information about some of our news publishers.
Here’s what Ofcom says:
The survey methodology was changed in this year’s Access to News Survey…..This was done in order to better record how people get hold of passive and accidental news that could happen during everyday life…The data should not be compared directly with data from previous years.
Big Tech is challenging BBC Wales
Although it is not possible to directly ‘compare’ the 2026 and 2025 data, I believe there is an interesting story here.
So this new methodology captures a higher percentage of people following some of the main news sources.
Naturally, we cannot say that this means more people are following the news – it’s a different question being asked.
But this year’s survey seems to be better when it comes to gathering information about people who ‘see/hear’ random news, not just the people who ‘follow’ the news.
Three sources are over 50% this time, and Google’s figure is significantly higher than under the old questions.
Comments:
- This year’s data shows the extent to which the big companies: BBC, ITV, Meta and Google – are ‘gatekeepers’ who control our news – whether through algorithms or editorial decisions.
- Some will ask ‘where is Wales Online?’ ‘where is Golwg?’ ‘where is Nation.Cymru?’ etc. Certainly some of these media may be ‘hidden’ in the data, e.g. many people follow Wales Online on Facebook.
- The new system can give us more confidence as communicators that the survey reflects people’s lives, although it is more difficult to see the trends.
Where do people find news about Wales?
This section of the research raises some questions too…
Perhaps the most interesting thing about the 2026 data specifically is the difference between Welsh news and news in general.
The BBC is similarly strong in both categories. But there is a significant difference when it comes to ITV, Facebook and (especially) Google – where people are more inclined to follow international news.
Again – where are Wales Online, Nation.Cymru etc? It’s hard to believe that more people get Welsh news from Channel 4 News. Are all those sites’ readers just following them on Facebook?
With so many ‘aggregators’, I believe it is more difficult than ever to know what counts as ‘news’ and to track the success of media outlets.
This is something I intend to explore in another blog, and I would like to hear your comments!
Big rise in the popularity of podcasts in Cymru
One interesting element this year is the attention Ofcom gives to podcasts. There is no longer any doubt that they are an important part of the media. Their growth during the pandemic was not merely a ‘bubble’.
By now, almost a quarter of the population of Wales listens every week.
And while it’s hard to compare directly, consider the 23% listening to podcasts and then think about the percentage listening to BBC Radio Wales….
Comments:
- Podcasts are much more popular among people aged 15-34 (33.4%) and 35-54 (28.3%) than 55+ (13.1%)
- What exactly are people listening to? Well, this is where it gets tricky, because podcasts are very niche! Even the most popular one – The Joe Rogan Experience – only gets about 10% of podcast listeners. By the time you get to number 10 on the list – The Overlap – this is down to 2.2%.
- There is also some information about Welsh-language podcasts. Ofcom found 228 Welsh podcasts. Education, society and the arts are the most common categories.
Conclusions
For communicators, this data shows the importance of a number of things:
- At a national level, BBC Wales and ITV Wales are crucial in terms of developing relationships
- In this fractured landscape, it is more important than ever to know exactly who your target audience is
- Content is king. In a multi-platform world, the story, images and copy can be just as important as the medium. In simple terms, for someone on Facebook, they may see little difference between a post from the BBC, Golwg or an influencer. Although trust in traditional media still counts for something.
- The ‘traditional’ publishers are still incredibly important in terms of reach and influence. But now, it is also vital that communicators develop traditional ‘journalism’ skills.
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Thank you – yes, this is very interesting and useful information despite the change in methodology. I’m intrigued that BBC One is still so dominant (I find that quite worrying as I don’t think it’s as balanced, comprehensive or impartial as it used to be) but not surprised that Facebook is so high on the list. It confirms my perception from my local area and is helpful to know, as I still deal with some organisations and individuals who don’t understand that it’s difficult to promote events, services or products these days without using social media. Thank you for sharing this research.
Thanks Clare. I do wonder if we actually need to take these figures with a pinch of salt. If you stop a random person in the street and ask where they get their news, are they likely to have a clear memory of what they’ve actually watched and read? For instance, if I see Wales Online stories on Facebook, will I remember the source or just ‘Facebook’? Similar for Tiktok clips from the BBC etc.