Accepted wisdom says that the audience for mainstream media is in decline in an inverse relationship to the growth in our appetite for social media. But it simplify isn’t the case. Mainstream media consumption is on the rise.

I’ve spent the last few weeks unpicking the latest audited audience statistics to find out what is really happening in mainstream media-land in the UK.

The most recent audience figures from BARB (broadcast TV), RAJAR (radio) and ABC (newspapers) show a decline in our appetite for print but year-on-year rises elsewhere. And while print audiences may be falling, ABCe figures report unprecedented audiences on the web.

Herein lies the issue and the opportunity for mainstream media publishers: audiences aren’t in decline but they are fragmenting across the web. Despite the rise of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube people remain firmly loyal to mainstream media brands.

This is a narrative about an industry undergoing a radical shift in its search for a new business model following the breakdown of the advertising and subscription funded models.

I haven’t got any answers but here are the actual numbers.

Table: Newspapers online (ABCe via MediaTel and Press Gazette – August 2009)

Table: Newspapers print (ABC via MediaTel and Press Gazette – August 2009)

Table: Television multi-channel viewing summary (BARB – 20 Sept to 28 Sept)

Table: Radio (RAJAR – Q2 2009)