Table of Contents
Executive Summary
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- Top takeaways
- Market overview
- Impact of COVID-19 on news media
- Opportunities
- Adapting to 21st Century news consumption habits
- Leveraging trust in the news
- Challenges
- A re-alignment of priorities and news sources
- Expanding local news is not financially viable
The Market – Key Takeaways
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- The news industry is facing major financial challenges
- Consumer demand is shifting due to demographics and world events
The Market – By the Numbers
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- News organizations experience significant declines in revenue
- Newspapers face precipitous declines
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- Figure 1: Postmedia quarterly total revenues, Q1 2019-Q4 2020
- Figure 2: Toronto Star Twitter post, February 2021
- Broadcast news companies are also experiencing losses
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- Figure 3: Bell Media quarterly and annual revenues, 2019-2020
- Figure 4: Rogers Media quarterly revenues, Q1 2018 - Q4 2020
Market Factors
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- Increased immigration populations could impact news consumption
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- Figure 5: Immigrants as a proportion of Canadian population, 1871-2036
- Willingness to pay will be further challenged by a slow economy
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- Figure 6: Canadian unemployment rate, May 2019-December 2020
- The US election shifted Canadians’ interest south of the border in 2020
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- Figure 7: Google Trends web search: Justin Trudeau vs Donald Trump and Joe Biden, January 2020-January 2021
- Pro sports league disruptions limited the supply of news content
- Impact of COVID-19 on news media
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- Figure 8: Short, medium and longer-term impact of COVID-19 on news media, February 2021
- Lockdown
- Re-emergence
- Recovery
Companies and Brands – Key Takeaways
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- Tech is playing an important role in the future of news
Competitive Strategies
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- News aggregators from Google and Apple change the news landscape
- Newspapers are using paywalls in an attempt to drive revenue
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- Figure 9: Mary Brown’s Twitter post, April 2020
- News companies are adapting to social media usage
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- Figure 10: CBC News Facebook post, January 2021
- Figure 11: CBC News Twitter post, January 2021
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- Figure 12: CBC News Instagram post, January 2021
- Social media platforms are putting more focus on trustworthiness
- Most newspapers are part of a news conglomerate
The Consumer – Key Takeaways
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- News sources
- News consumption changes due to COVID-19
- Trust in the news
- Devices used for daily news routines
- Opportunities and challenges for local news
- Politics and the news
News Sources
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- TV news is still the leader
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- Figure 13: Sources typically used to get the news, November 2020
- TV depends on older consumers, online skews younger and more ethnically diverse
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- Figure 14: Sources typically used to get the news: TV vs online, by age, November 2020
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- Figure 15: Sources typically used to get the news: TV vs online, by race, November 2020
- Online news is also a threat to print and radio media
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- Figure 16: Sources typically used to get the news, TV news viewers vs non-viewers, November 2020
- Online news is popular and diverse
- Existing news organizations are the most commonly used
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- Figure 17: Online news sources, November 2020
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- Figure 18: Online news sources: existing news organizations, by age, November 2020
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- Figure 19: Online news sources: existing news organizations, TV news viewers vs non-viewers, November 2020
- Convenience is driving success of Facebook and Google News
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- Figure 20: Online-based news sources, November 2020
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- Figure 21: Online-based news sources, by age, November 2020
News Consumption Changes Due to COVID-19
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- The pandemic has changed what types of news consumers want
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- Figure 22: Changes in news consumption since start of COVID-19 pandemic, November 2020
- Increased attention on politics and local news
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- Figure 23: Following more since start of COVID-19 pandemic, November 2020
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- Figure 24: Following more since start of COVID-19 pandemic, by worry about exposure to COVID-19, November 2020
- Consumers are looking for more health & wellness information
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- Figure 25: Following health & wellness news more since start of COVID-19 pandemic, by age, November 2020
- Consumers are paying less attention to unessential news topics
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- Figure 26: Following less since start of COVID-19 pandemic, November 2020
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- Figure 27: Following sports or celebrity gossip less since start of COVID-19 pandemic, men vs woman, November 2020
- Business and environmental news is important, but did not experience a jump
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- Figure 28: Changes in news consumption since start of COVID-19 pandemic: business and environmental, November 2020
Trust in the News
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- Major news institutions are the most trusted
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- Figure 29: Most trustworthy news sources, November 2020
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- Figure 30: Most trustworthy news sources, by age, November 2020
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- Figure 31: Most trustworthy news sources, by race and origin, November 2020
- US news is not considered trustworthy
- Trust in social media is very low
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- Figure 32: Most trustworthy news sources: social media, social media news consumers vs non-consumers, November 2020
- Word of mouth is uniquely untrustworthy in the news world
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- Figure 33: Most trustworthy news sources: friends and family, by social media news sources, November 2020
Devices Used for Daily News Routines
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- Television has the highest peak of any device
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- Figure 34: Times of day when a television is used to get the news, November 2020
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- Figure 35: News viewing behaviour, November 2020
- Television’s role will decline in the future
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- Figure 36: Times of day when a television is used to get the news, by age, November 2020
- Smartphones will soon be the leading news device
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- Figure 37: Times of day when a smartphone is used to get the news, November 2020
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- Figure 38: Times of day when a smartphone is used to get the news, by age, November 2020
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- Figure 39: Times of day when a smartphone is used to get the news, by social media news consumption, November 2020
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- Figure 40: Times of day when a mobile device is used to get the news, November 2020
- The long-term effects of the smartphone’s dominance
- Men are the primary audience for laptop/desktop news
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- Figure 41: Times of day when a laptop/desktop computer is used to get the news, men vs women, November 2020
- Radio still has a role to play in modern news
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- Figure 42: Times of day when a radio is used to get the news, November 2020
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- Figure 43: Listen to radio news during mornings at home, by age, November 2020
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- Figure 44: Listen to radio news throughout the day, by age, November 2020
- Future device usage will have a ripple effect throughout the industry
Opportunities and Challenges for Local News
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- Most Canadians follow local news
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- Figure 45: Changes in local news consumption since start of COVID-19 pandemic, November 2020
- Consumers want local news, but will not pay for it
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- Figure 46: Willing to pay for bundled news services, by age, November 2020
- News companies need to strike the right balance of local news
Politics and the News
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- Conservatives trail in online news, but are otherwise similar to liberals
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- Figure 47: Sources typically used to get the news, by political party support, November 2020
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- Figure 48: Online sources typically used to get the news, by political party support, November 2020
- Liberal and NDP supporters are more likely to use smartphones to get their news
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- Figure 49: Use a smartphone to get the news, by political party support, November 2020
- Conservatives are less trusting of the media
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- Figure 50: Most trustworthy news sources, by political party support, November 2020
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- Figure 51: Most trustworthy social media and word-of-mouth news sources, by political party support, November 2020
Appendix – Data Sources and Abbreviations
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- Data sources
- Consumer survey data
- Mintel Trend Drivers
- Abbreviations and terms
- Abbreviations
- Terms
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