Even though more Americans now use streaming services – like Netflix – than subscribe to cable or satellite TV, most people who say they get news from television still rely on cable, satellite or broadcast channels.
Americans’ news from TV mostly comes from cable, broadcast or satellite
Among U.S. adults who say they get news from television, % who say it mostly comes from …
Note: U.S. adults who say they get news from television are those who say they do so at least rarely. Respondents who did not answer are not shown.
Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Aug. 18-24, 2025.
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
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Americans’ news from TV mostly comes from cable, broadcast or satellite
Among U.S. adults who say they get news from television, % who say it mostly comes from …
But with streaming services available on televisions and content from traditional TV news outlets available on smartphone apps and social media, it is not always clear what it means when people say they get news from TV. In an August 2025 survey, Pew Research Center asked Americans who say they get news from television how they access it.
Among these TV news consumers, 57% say that their news mostly comes from cable, satellite or broadcast television. About a third (34%) say it mostly comes from streaming services. An additional 4% say it comes in some other form, and 5% say they’re not sure.
How we did this
Pew Research Center conducted this analysis to understand the ways Americans get news from television and how digital options may be changing that. It builds on our ongoing research into how people consume news across different platforms.
For this analysis, we surveyed 5,153 U.S. adults from Aug. 18 to 24, 2025. Everyone who took part in this survey is a member of the Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP), a group of people recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses who have agreed to take surveys regularly. This kind of recruitment gives nearly all U.S. adults a chance of selection. Interviews were conducted either online or by telephone with a live interviewer. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other factors. Read more about the ATP’s methodology.
Americans who prefer to get their news on television over any other platform are especially inclined to get it from cable, satellite or broadcast. Of those who prefer television news, 70% say that most of their TV news comes from these formats, while 21% say it mostly comes from streaming services.
Younger adults are more likely than older ones to say the news they get on television mostly comes from streaming services. Nearly half of TV news consumers under 50 (46%) say the news they get on TV mostly comes from streaming.
Adults under 50 who get TV news are more likely than older people to say they mostly stream it
Among U.S. adults who say they get news from television, % who say it mostly comes from __, by age
Note: U.S. adults who say they get news from television are those who say they do so at least rarely. Respondents who did not answer are not shown.
Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Aug. 18-24, 2025.
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
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Adults under 50 who get TV news are more likely than older people to say they mostly stream it
Among U.S. adults who say they get news from television, % who say it mostly comes from __, by age
Note: U.S. adults who say they get news from television are those who say they do so at least rarely. Respondents who did not answer are not shown.
Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Aug. 18-24, 2025.
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
Among those ages 65 and older who get news from TV, 75% say it mostly comes from cable, satellite or broadcast. That is almost five times the share who say it mostly comes from streaming (16%).
There are no big differences across party affiliation or gender on this question. However, there are some differences based on education level. For example, those with a college or graduate degree (39%) are slightly more likely than those with a high school diploma or less education (30%) to say their TV news mostly comes from streaming.
