Leading TV broadcasters in the United Kingdom (UK) 2017, by audience share

As of 2017, the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 were the top three leading TV broadcasters in the United Kingdom (UK). In this regard, the BBC held an audience share of 31.57 percent. ITV and Channel 4 had audience shares of 21.71 and 10.23 percent, respectively.

BBC One viewing

BBC One was the most popular TV channel in the UK in 2019, with nearly 67 percent of the population using the service at least once a week. In 2019, the audience spent on average 7 hours and 2 minutes weekly watching the BBC’s leading channel.  

BBC finances

The BBC relies on the television license as its main means of funding. In 2019, the BBC generated 4.89 billion British pounds in revenue, most of which was attributed to the license fees paid by UK households. That same year, BBC One accounted for most of the BBC’s television programming spend, with costs exceeding one billion British pounds. In addition, the BBC had to incur an overall cost of 44 pence per user hour to deliver TV services through its main channels in 2019.