The classic news consumption curve is being transformed by the growth in new mobile devices, which are extending the access points through the day. As the figure shows, younger people tend to access throughout the day whereas for older groups news access coincides with scheduled TV and radio broadcasts in the morning, lunchtime, and early evening.

Interestingly we see a different pattern in Finland. Here the whole population is showing a flatter consumption curve, reflecting the wider take-up of internet and mobile technologies. In Finland, the main TV news shows are also spread throughout the evening, with bulletins at 6pm, 7pm, 8.30pm and 10pm, and the later bulletins capturing the main audiences.

Impact of device

Traditionally internet news sites get most of their traffic during the daytime from work-based computer use. The peak used to be around lunchtime but tails off rapidly in the early evening. But in the next figure, derived from logfiles from the Guardian online sites, we can see how smartphones and tablets are extending the work day, creating new internet peaks in the early morning, in the commute, and in the late evening – with the computer filling in gaps in between.

We are grateful to the Guardian for allowing us to reproduce this chart showing usage patterns per device – and you can also see the results of their research around the time of day that the printed newspaper is consumed as well.

Access to the Guardian via newspaper and various digital devices

These insights have led many news organisations (including the Financial Times) to rethink shift times – focusing more journalistic effort on the early morning (6–8am).

The impact of mobile phones and tablets on the daily commute

The proportion of those accessing news via mobile phone when travelling has grown in Denmark and the UK, the two countries where we looked at this in 2013 and 2014. On public transport the mobile phone has extended its lead over printed newspapers and over the tablet. Given the general growth in smartphones in both countries this is not surprising. In the UK we can see that smartphone users are younger than print readers although the wide availability and convenience of free newspapers means the age difference is not as dramatic as one would expect.

On personal transport (cars, bicycles, etc.) the flexibility of radio remains paramount but there has been a significant growth of mobile and tablet use for news in Denmark. A fifth (18%) of Danes travelling by personal transport now use an internet device (mobile, tablet, or laptop computer) to access the news on a given day. Mobile phones are making inroads as a source of news, not least because they can access on-demand news content that can plug into headphones or a car sound system.¹

New landscape of news access

More widely we see that, in both the UK and Denmark, the majority of news access remains in the home, which helps to explain the morning and evening peaks. Younger groups are generally out and about more and this contributes to their tendency to access more often through the day.

When we look at the specific platforms used in the home to access news, we can see the wide range of choices accessed every day. In communal spaces such as the living room and kitchen, the TV remains by far the most accessed but online devices are an important part of the mix especially for the young. The personal computer and laptop remain most important in personal spaces such as bedroom and studies.

These aggregate views hide the dramatic impact of generational differences in daily media choices at home in the UK. Even in communal spaces, internet-based access to news (PC, tablet, or mobile) is now neck and neck with TV for the under 45s. By contrast, over 45s are twice as likely to access news via the TV as to use an internet news source. In personal spaces, under 45s are almost three times more likely to access internet-based news than watch TV.

These data show that in these two countries at least traditional media platforms are far from being replaced by digital platforms but there is both extended access and some substitution going on. Young people are significantly less likely to watch TV and radio news than older groups, favouring access from a variety of internet devices. The computer is most important at work, while on the move the mobile phone is the most important form of access. Radio news is still valued by commuters using personal transport such as the car. This is truly a multi-platform news ecosystem where all platforms – including print – continue to play a significant role depending on the time and the context.