Print news remains more favourable than online

Most adults overwhelmingly favour reading the news in print rather than online despite the rise of consuming traditional media over the internet, according to the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising. It makes the claim in its second IPA TouchPoints report, conducted by Taylor Nelson Sofres and published today (July 3).

The report analyses consumers’ consumption of media, and how the growth of digital has impacted on behaviour. It reveals that despite the tremendous amount of investment newspaper publishers have put into their papers’ companion websites, only 9% of adults surveyed say they prefer to read their news online, compared to their print versions.

On the impact of the internet on other traditional media, new ways of listening to the radio are being led by men aged 15 to 24 and ABC1s, with 30% of them listening via MP3s, mobile phones and internet streaming. In terms of TV, programmes are being watched via the internet by 18% of all adults, with under 25s making up 29% of this figure and only 4% by over 65s.

Significantly, the BBC website is used by 37% of all internet users within a given week, making it the second most popular site after Google. Meanwhile, BBC1 has been named the nation’s favourite TV channel and BBC Radio 2 its favourite radio station.

Social networking sites are the most visited sections of the internet for 15-24s over the course of a week.

With a stronger emphasis on shopping and retail sectors in the TouchPoints 2 survey, it has also revealed that 72% of internet users have shopped online for products and services, while 44% say they have shopped for groceries.

On the issue of advertising, C2DEs are the most receptive, with 41% saying that the ads are better than the programmes. However, 82% of adults feel that some ads appear too many times, to the point of being irritating. Around 15% of adults enjoy watching ads starring their favourite personalities, with the figure rising to 18% among 15-24s.

Brands also matter to almost a third of adults, with a higher skew towards female consumers. Around 66% of adults feel better about brands that sponsor projects that put something back into the community.

Lynne Robinson, IPA research director, says of the survey: “It provides a unique view of how media impacts our lives, how we spend our work and leisure time and what our prevailing attitudes are, we can now compare our findings over time whilst providing new insights into the key communication growth areas.”

The TouchPoints 2 survey follows the first report that was released in 2006.