Concerns around brand safety have long plagued the industry, with many advertisers choosing not to place ads beside news that may be considered controversial. However, a new survey from ThinkTV and YouGov found that the majority of news viewers (86%) say their purchase decisions are neither negatively or positively-affected by brands that place ads around serious or upsetting news.

Canadians say they want to stay informed, and many believe the country’s news industry – from newspapers and radio stations to TV networks – is fair and rigorous.

According to the survey, 95% of Canadians say that access to Canadian news and journalism is important. The majority of Canadians (95%) and French Canadians (97%) believe it’s important to have access to Canadian news. More than one-third of news consumers (38%) are under 50-years-old. The majority of viewers, 94%, say they watch news live.

At the same time, Canadians are concerned about the growth of fake news, with 79% saying they are “very” or “somewhat” concerned. That anxiety is on the rise, with 50% stating they’re more concerned than they were three years ago, a finding that varies little by age. In Quebec, 67% of French Canadians are either “very” or “somewhat” concerned about fake news, while 42% say they have grown “more concerned” in the last three years.

Linear TV news programming reaches 61% of adults every week – more if you include broadcaster content online – and 77% of Quebec Franco adults. Canadian adults watch 105 million hours of linear TV news programming per week, which is 20% of their total time spent with TV, 19% for Quebec francophones. That number is slightly less than total time spent watching scripted drama and comedies (21%) and slightly more than time spent viewing sports (17%).