Mobile News Consumption in UK leads Europe: Proud to be British
Last week we posted a piece for fans of mobile news consumption in the US, and now those of us in Europe are getting some of the action too.
After the The State of the News Media 2012 revealed an increase in mobile news gobbling in the US, ComScore thought ‘we need to get in on this surveying of mobile what-not business’. So here we are, a lovely survey showing how mobile news consumption is up in Europe as well.
And consume we do. You think those yanks like their news on the go? Well, over 46% of us smartphone owning Brits are accessing news through our devices, compared to the European average of 37%. Yep we’re ahead of the curve and beating the our nearest competition the French and Spanish, with 37% and 32% respectively (based on January 2012 numbers). I guess we just want news more, makes you proud to be British.
Source: ComScore website
There’s no word on tablet-based news gorging. Perhaps ComScore think us Europeans are a little behind the US when it comes to table usage. My own survey based on last week’s queues indicates 100% of ComScore employees did not walk past an Apple store last week.
No insight as to how users are landing on the news pages through their phones either. They survey looked at a mixture of dedicated app and mobile browser traffic. Naturally dedicated app traffic is coming direct through apps, but it would be nice to see if smartphone users are tapping in website addresses or are wondering in through Twitter, Facebook and other social sites.
Regardless, these latest figures show the hunger for news on-the-go is increasing like the clappers on both sides of the pond.
@simonhill
Originally posted on CommsTalk
Media Brand Reps outweigh Facebook and Twitter recommendations
Good news for fans of mobile news consumption in the US – mobile news consumption in the US is on the up.
That’s according to The State of the News Media 2012, which is an annual report on American Journalism from Pew Research, don’t you know.
The report is, according to The Guardian’s Greenslade blog, a “comprehensive analysis of the health of journalism in America”. Results show those in the US who consume news on mobile devices are not replacing their previous news digestion habits, but adding to them. They’re also reading more, and for longer.
According to the report, 34% of PC (desktop and laptop) news enthusiasts now also get their news on a smartphone – presumably when they are not using said PC while on the bus, out for a stroll or queuing up (perhaps to buy a newspaper, just for giggles). Even with one mobile device as a news source, over a quarter (27%) also consume news on a tablet. That’s at least three separate connected devices all used to get their news.
Is this surprising? Not so much. Rather than actively choosing to consume news on different devices, the ease of use and readily available apps means consumers will pick up whatever is nearest / most appropriate for location. For example, when out and about walking to the train station you’ll scroll through news on your phone, and then when/if you take a seat on the train you can switch to your tablet before hitting up your desktop at work.
What is interesting is the perception of a media outlet’s brand verses social media. According to The Guardian piece, “despite the explosion in social media use through the likes of Facebook and Twitter, recommendations from friends are not yet a major factor in steering news consumption” when compared to a publication’s brand and reputation. It seems we’re far more likely to trust an established media outlet with our mobile news than a link with ‘this cat video is so funny lolz’ on our Twitter feed.
@simonhill
