Facebook has now overtaken BBC One in Scotland as the single most used place news is consumed.
That’s the surprise verdict of Ofcom’s Media Nations 2025: Scotland report a detailed investigation into how media is consumed across the UK.
This, I have to say, is huge for public sector communicators. In 2013, just two per cent of the UK were getting their news from the Meta platform. In Scotland in 2025, this is now the largest single channel with 38 per cent taking news from the platform.
However, the BBC when counted across web, live TV, TV on demand and radio can still piece together the largest combined audience with 64 per cent.
There’s a couple of things comms teams can take from this. Firstly, public sector comms needs to put more focus on Facebook. Many people mistakenly think that it’s an inconvenient bolt on. It’s not. It’s where the Scottish audience is. It needs to be fully resourced.
I’ve blogged before on what content works best on Facebook in the public sector.
Here’s the data:
The revelation, and yes, a newspaper word like that is fitting, comes as social media has climbed across the UK to the second most consumed media after video on demand.
If you are wondering where printed news is, it’s at 20 per cent with TV as a whole 65 per cent. Radio is 42 per cent with social media in general 57 per cent.
Elsewhere in the table, STV /ITV 1 comes in third at 35 per cent with almost a quarter consuming BBC iPlayer just ahead of Sky News.
In Scotland, around one in ten are tuning into BBC Scotland, STV Player and a number of regional radio stations including Clyde 1, Forth 1, West Sound, Tay FM, Northsound and MFR.
Elsewhere in the report
More people in Scotland watch YouTube at home than anywhere else in the UK. The figure of 44 minutes a day is the highest in the UK.
The highest-rated TV programme in 2024 was the Scotland men’s team football game versus Switzerland, with 1.3 million viewers.
The connectivity gap has almost ended. The report shows 94 per cent have broadband at home.
YouTube viewing (14 per cent) is close to the amount of BBC watched at home (17 per cent).
There is more interest in Scotland – 88 per cent – into news about their country than anywhere else in the UK. Almost nine in 10 were ‘very’ or ‘quite interested’. This is higher by eight per cent than Wales the next comparable nation.
I’ve blogged a summary for the UK here, Wales here and Northern Ireland here.
You can find the full Ofcom Media Nations 2025 here.
I deliver training to help you make sense of the changing landscape ESSENTIAL AI FOR PUBLIC SECTOR COMMS, ESSENTIAL COMMS SKILLS BOOSTER, ESSENTIAL MEDIA RELATIONS and ESSENTIAL VIDEO SKILLS REBOOTED.
Creative commons credit: David McMumm / Newsagents shop at corner of Harley St and Ibrox St.
