BBC viewing figures by year in the UK 2015-2023

BBC One had the greatest weekly reach among the BBC's television services in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2023. All channels in the ranking experienced a decline in audience reach over the past six years.

The BBC celebrates its 100th birthday and enters a period of uncertainty

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is the public broadcasting service of the United Kingdom and the oldest broadcasting organization worldwide. It was established in London on October 18, 1922, but after an entire century on air, the BBC now enters an uncertain future in terms of funding. More than 70 percent of the BBC's annual income is generated via license fees, but as the government announced the termination of this tax by 2027, the BBC will have to explore new avenues to stay afloat. So what will the future hold for the BBC and its programming now that consumers will no longer be required to pay the annual fee? Sources speculate that funding alternatives could include a subscription service, part-privatization, or direct government funding.

The portfolio goes with the (digital) flow

The BBC operates several television channels in the UK and worldwide, including the news-only channel BBC News and the politics-centered BBC Parliament. As of 2022, BBC One remained the company's flagship service, and data showed that the lion's share of the BBC's total television programming spending was allocated towards BBC One content that year. In addition to offering cross-genre television and radio broadcasts, the corporation keeps expanding its range of online services to resonate with audiences in the UK and abroad. The BBC runs a designated news platform alongside the on-demand video streaming platform BBC iPlayer.

Share of the population who use BBC TV services each week in the United Kingdom (UK) from 2015/16 to 2022/23

Characteristic	2015/16	2016/17	2017/18	2018/19	2019/20	2020/21	2021/22	2022/23
BBC One	71.8%	71.5%	68.9%	68%	65.4%	63%	61%	55%
BBC Two	46.1%	46.2%	44.6%	42.5%	41.9%	42%	38%	34%
BBC Three***	17.1%	-	-	-	-	-	-	4%
BBC Four	12.8%	13.5%	12.7%	12.5%	12.1%	12%	10%	8%
CBeebies	7.9%	7.5%	7.3%	6.5%	6.3%	5%	5%	4%
CBBC	4.6%	4.3%	3.9%	3.8%	3.5%	3%	2%	1%

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Release date

July 2023

More information

Region

United Kingdom

Survey time period

April 1, 2015 to March 31, 2023**

Age group

4 years and older

Special properties

excluding news channels

Supplementary notes

* The source defines reach as: "15 minutes for all channels and services on audiences aged 4+"
** BBC's fiscal year ends annually on March 31.
Data for earlier than 2022/23 was published earlier by the source.
*** BBC Three was discontinued in February 2016 and relaunched in February 2022.

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