Most Brits turn to the net for breaking news

London, Aug 19 : Most Britons go online when a major story breaks, according, according to a new study, which highlights the growing role of the Internet in the digital age. According to the research, four in 10 people go online when a major story breaks compared to just over a third who rely on 24-hour news channels, the YouGov poll shows.

The findings, conducted among 2,000 people, suggest that viewers are increasingly shunning traditional medial outlets in favour of the Internet.

They come only days after a report by Ofcom, the communications watchdog, disclosed that one in nine households now watches television over the web, reports the Telegraph.

According to the study, the number of homes logging on to view soap operas sport, documentaries and other programmes has doubled in the past year from 1.57 million to 2.96 million - more than 11 per cent of the total.

The popularity of the Internet has been spurred on by BBC iPlayer and other television catch-up services, which allows viewers to watch their favourite shows wherever and whenever they want.

The YouGov survey found that Al-Jazeera was the least trusted broadcaster for reporting the news.

A third of respondents said that they trusted the Arabic television news channel the least, followed by Fox News (16 per cent) and Five News (10 per cent).

BBC News emerged as the most trusted broadcaster for news (64 per cent), coming well ahead of ITV News (11 per cent), Channel 4 News and Sky News (both 10 per cent).

ANI