Audience Segments in a Changing News Environment
Pew Research Biennial News Consumption Survey
excerpt: pages 13-17:

SECTION 2: WATCHING, READING AND LISTENING TO THE NEWS

Six years ago, about as many people said they regularly watched one of the nightly network news broadcasts as said they regularly watched a cable news channel. But in subsequent news consumption surveys, cable news has steadily increased its advantage over the nightly network news. In the current survey, 39% of the public reports watching cable news channels such as CNN, MSNBC or the Fox News Channel regularly, while 29% say they regularly watch one of the big three nightly network news broadcasts.

Local television news remains more popular than either cable news or network news 52% regularly watch the local news about their own viewing area. However, as with network news viewership, the percentage watching local TV news has fallen steadily in recent years. In 1998, nearly two-thirds of the public (64%) regularly watched their local TV news.

TV News Outlets Maintaining Audiences

Roughly a quarter of the public (24%) regularly watches CNN and about an equal percentage (23%) regularly watches the Fox News Channel. These numbers are basically unchanged from two years ago. The percentage watching MSNBC has increased marginally since 2006 but has nearly doubled over the past 10 years; today, 15% of Americans watch MSNBC regularly. CNBC is viewed regularly by 12% of the public.

Equal proportions (14%) say they watch either the NBC Nightly News or ABC’s World News Tonight. The audience for the CBS Evening News is significantly smaller (8%) and has decreased by more than half in recent years. In 2002, 18% regularly watched CBS’s nightly newscast. While the percentage watching ABC and NBC has fallen over that same time period, the decline has not been nearly as dramatic.

Viewership of the network morning shows has remained very stable in recent years: currently 22% report regularly watching the Today Show, Good Morning America or the Early Show. The Sunday morning news shows such as Meet the Press, This Week and Face the Nation have also maintained a steady audience. Currently 13% regularly watch one or more of these programs, which is largely unchanged from 2006 and 2004.

Cable Audience Younger, Better Educated

Not only is the cable news audience larger than the network news audience, it also is younger, more educated and more knowledgeable about current events. Only 21% of those younger than 30 regularly watch a nightly network news show, compared with 36% who regularly watch a cable news channel. Men are much more likely than women to watch cable news, and among men under age 30, fully 42% regularly watch cable news. That compares with 29% of women younger than 30.

More than four-in-ten college graduates (45%) watch cable news regularly, compared with only 28% who watch the network news. And more than half (55%) of those who are highly knowledgeable about current events watch cable news. Only 28% of this highly knowledgeable group watches network news regularly.

Another area where the cable and network news audiences differ is in their political orientation. Democrats are more likely than Republicans to regularly tune into nightly network news shows, while similar numbers of Republicans and Democrats regularly watch cable TV news. However, not all cable audiences are alike, and there have been changes in the partisan profile of the various cable news networks just in past two years.

Network vs. Cable: Distinct Audiences

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