State-run television is the principal source of news for a majority of young Russians, the independent Russian television channel Dozhd reported Friday.

Fifty-four percent of Russians aged between 18 and 24 watch government-funded Channel One news casts, Dozhd reported citing a poll produced by the independent Levada Center.

Channel One was the main source of information for 72 percent of respondents in all age groups, the poll published by Dozhd found, while just 26 percent said they never switch to television for the news.

Channel One was closely followed by other government funded broadcasters, Rossia-1, Rossia-24 and NTV.