Sat at my desk, doing my Huw Edwards impression now ..........
BBC1 ratings have dropped to an all time low, the channels audience share is down to 26.8%, trailing far behind ITV on over 30%. BBC1 is now only watched by an average 1 in 4 viewers. BBC2 however had a 0.2% rise to 11%.
On the plus side, the move of the News to 10pm, has meant an increase in combined BBC and ITV news viewing of almost 2m.
I still think though that the evening news on BBC ONE should be moved back to 9pm. It is at a more suitable time, as many people like to get the news every night, and may also want to get to bed a bit earlier. In my case, whenever I have an important day at school the next day, I have to miss the 10 to get some sleep! The old bulletin finished at 930 so it was much better!
Luckily for the BBC the move to 10pm seems to have payed off in that the news is getting higher viewing figures on both channels. Had the opposite been the case, then the Culture Secretary would have stepped in and ordered the BBC to move back to 9pm. Looks like its set to stay but at the expense of choice I guess.
Rob, BBC news may be nice, but is it really something to worry about missing? I'm not sure if I like the news later or not, it does mean the loss of comedy slots after the news, but has created a slot at ten one 2. If I do watch news at night (which is unusual, i'm usually watching BBC2 or C4(even before Big Bro), i'd watch BBC because its just far better than ITV News(who's set in my opinion has improved), but I just don't like the style and also really don't like Trevor McDonald.
The average audience for the BBC Nine O'clock news during 1999/2000 was 5.0 million and for the BBC Ten O'Clock news during 2000/2001 5.1 million. You can´t call that an improvement. In fact, in 98/99 the audience was 5.2, in 97/98 5.7 and in 96/97 6.0 million.
Personally I cannot see the arguements over news at ten.
I asked my mother whether she watched it and she came back with a strong 'Yes, and I want it back', now it is back she never watches it!
It is a typically British thing to do. We get all uptight about national institutions and once they are gone nobody actually really misses them, only the politicians who were getting less exposure.
With 1/3 of the UK having access to a 24 hour news channel, during the period that News at Ten was off air both Sky News and BBC News 24 should have experienced massive jumps in viewing figures, if the demand for news at ten was to be believe.
This did not happen, which led me to the conclusion that no-one actually cared about it going anyway.
It is just us, being British, and typically hypocritical.
Argueably Channel 5 should have provided a 10 o'clock news, as they were designed as a newsy station (bascially because they didn't have anything else to put on).
Channel 5 may have gained renewed respect if it had taken such a move.
Sat at my desk, doing my Huw Edwards impression now ..........
BBC1 ratings have dropped to an all time low, the channels audience share is down to 26.8%, trailing far behind ITV on over 30%. BBC1 is now only watched by an average 1 in 4 viewers. BBC2 however had a 0.2% rise to 11%.
On the plus side, the move of the News to 10pm, has meant an increase in combined BBC and ITV news viewing of almost 2m.
According to the BBC Annual Report (Source:BARB) Television Share for 2000/2001 was:
ITV: 28.9%
BBC One: 26.8%
BBC Two: 11.0%
Channel 4: 10.3%
Channel 5: 5.7%
Other Channels: 17.3%
Also, the Three Minute weekly reach (in digital homes only) was:
BBC2 beat BBC1 at peaktime for the first time in 5 years last night. Tim Henman's victory at Wimbledon grabbed 7.4 m viewers. Tomorrows World got 2m and Ground Force 2.5m. On the night as a whole BBC2 got 19.5% against 19.2%.
