The extent to which the mainstream media’s influence is dwindling has been highlighted by new figures that show the average BBC 1 viewer is now aged 61, 62 for BBC 2, 60 for ITV, 58 for Channel 5 and 55 for Channel 4. The average viewer for C4’s supposedly hip sister channel is a hardly junior 42.
As The Guardian report, those aged 55 and over spend 25 hours a week either listening to or watching the BBC, compared to just 11 hours for those aged 16 to 34.
It is a remarkable sea change that demonstrates how alternative media is increasing its influence via the internet.
Not only are younger audiences now bypassing the mainstream media, they are picking and choosing what they want to watch, when they want to watch it. Traditional media narratives can now be challenged, bypassed and ignored entirely by those who reject the establishment.
We are not just talking about the likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime here. New media outfits such as Rebel Media are securing millions of views, such as the recent video of Tommy Robinson following the Westminster attack that already has 1.2 million views.
The hugely influential Paul Joseph Watson has almost 1 million subscribers, with his videos regularly reaching hundreds of thousands each and every week.
This is the new media landscape. The amazing thing is, the change is likely to accelerate in the years to come. Great news for sites like Westmonster. Bad news for the establishment.