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The progress of digital technology has encouraged the media to make significant investments in upgrading online news properties in hopes of “owning” customers, but a McKinsey study suggests that consumers are thwarting these efforts. The research—an online survey¹ of 2,100 consumers in the United States—found that the respondents divide their time among as many as 16 news brands a week. “Brand promiscuity,” it appears, is the norm. Such findings have implications for media companies as they refine their products and strategies.

Our survey, informed by data gathered during in-depth interviews with consumers, posed questions about several aspects of the respondents’ news consumption, including its frequency and duration, as well as their attitudes toward news. To assess those attitudes, participants were asked how strongly they agreed or disagreed with statements such as “I rely on a few specific news sources that I trust for facts” or “I read blogs for news because they have an independent point of view.” Respondents also answered questions about their news habits across five media platforms (radio, television, newspapers, magazines, and the Internet) and about their preferences among 100 news brands.

We found that consumers rely on a large number of brands: 12 to 16 a week across all five platforms (Exhibit 1). Moreover, respondents reported using many of those brands daily or, in the case of Internet news sites, many times a day. The reasons given for visiting a number of sources included “every news event has at least two sides,” to “get all the facts,” to “form my own opinion,” or to find specific types of content, such as local news.