Audiences are turning to social media for news videos. New data shows younger viewers prefer online platforms over traditional TV. Publishers see opportunities in both short and long-form video content.
Publishers focused on digital growth are seeing a renewed surge in demand for news video, with recent data showing audiences increasingly favoring social platforms over traditional TV and news websites. This shift is especially relevant for editorial teams and content strategists seeking to reach younger viewers and adapt monetization models.
According to the latest Digital News Report, social media has become the leading way people access news globally, surpassing both television and direct visits to news sites. Platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook are driving this trend, with notable differences across regions. In Asia, 47% of respondents reported watching news videos on YouTube weekly, while in Latin America, 47% said they regularly view news videos on Facebook. In contrast, only 24% in Europe and 28% in North America reported similar habits on these platforms.
Age is a key factor behind these patterns. The report found that more than half of 18- to 24-year-olds worldwide have never read a physical newspaper weekly, and 21% have never regularly watched broadcast TV news. For this demographic, news video consumption is almost entirely online, primarily through social media.
While short-form video dominates on platforms like TikTok and Instagram, YouTube stands out for its appeal to longer-form content. Data shows that 23% of YouTube news video viewers watch videos over 20 minutes long, compared to just 12% on Instagram and TikTok. Surprisingly, younger viewers on YouTube are more likely to watch long news videos than older users, who still prefer broadcast TV.
Viewing habits are also changing in the living room. The report notes that 27% of people across all age groups now watch news videos on smart TVs via apps such as YouTube, with this behavior most common among younger audiences. This further highlights the growing influence of third-party platforms in capturing audience attention.
For publishers, these findings suggest that the appetite for news video is strong and not limited to short clips. There are opportunities to engage audiences with both short and long-form content, especially on platforms where younger viewers are active. As newsrooms consider their video strategies, understanding these consumption patterns is critical. Relatedly, some publishers are experimenting with new formats and partnerships, as seen in recent coverage of how newsrooms are building effective collaborations with creators.
Craig Robertson, a research fellow at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, contributed to the Digital News Report research.
