PwC has published a unique report into cross-border news – that is, news consumed outside the home country of its producer. The research shows that availability, curiosity and mobility are all driving the rise of cross-border news.

Commissioned by international TV news network RT to celebrate its 10-year anniversary of broadcasting, PwC surveyed more than 5,000 news consumers across 10 countries about their use of cross-border news; assessed future trends by applying PwC forecasts to this survey data; and corroborated and challenged our conclusions in interviews with senior media executives at five global news organisations.

RT, originally Russia Today, is a Russian government-funded television network that runs cable and satellite television channels directed to audiences outside of Russia, as well as providing internet content in various languages, including Russian, English, Spanish and Arabic.

PwC found the use of cross-border news to be highly prevalent in all markets, but particularly emerging ones; and that the largest providers of cross-border news are from the US and UK, but that the fastest-growing ones are from the Middle East, Asia and Russia.

Cross-border news users are generally younger, more urban and more affluent; their use of cross-border news is driven partly by mobility but mainly by increased availability and a desire for different perspectives on major news events. With all three factors – availability, curiosity, mobility – likely to increase, based on macroeconomics and demographic trends, the rise of cross-border news looks set to continue.

Sam Tomlinson, PwC partner, said: “This was a fascinating project. We all knew cross-border news is growing, but were still surprised by its popularity and how clearly it’s being driven by increased availability and by a very real desire for different perspectives on major news events.”

Margarita Simonyan, editor in chief, RT, added: “For the last 10 years RT has staked its success on the public’s desire for diversity in news. We are excited to see that greater availability of news sources, curiosity about events and perspectives from different corners of the world and increased mobility are all driving people to not just consume news from more sources – but to reach across borders and even language barriers to do so.”

The full report can be found at http://www.pwc.com/crossbordernews.