89% Of The UK Population Turn To BBC For Iraq News

The BBC is claiming victory over commercial broadcasters, as research reveals that BBC One is the most watched news service during the war with Iraq.

According to the BBC, 49.6 million people, 89% of the UK population, have tuned into its coverage since the start of the war. Some media commentators have attributed this to the front line reports of Baghdad-based correspondent Rageh Omaar (pictured).

On a typical day in the third week of conflict, the BBC obtained 52% of time spent watching news on television compared with 30% for ITV, 14% for Sky, 3% for Channel 4 and 1% for Five. The BBC also dominated the breakfast schedules, with the weekday audience up 38% year on year to 1.4 million. In the same period, (3 to 6 April) GMTV experienced a 2% decline to 1.2 million viewers.

The BBC has also experienced a huge surge in visits to its websites. In particular, the World Service’s international site has experienced a 70% increase in traffic, with Arabic-speaking traffic doubling.

The US-led military attack against Iraq has been played out in the media in a way never witnessed before, with ITV clearing its schedules for breaking news bulletins (see ITV Drops Ads From Special News Bulletins). Although there have been complaints over the gluttony of the all you can eat 24-hour news culture, broadcasters such as Sky have attracted sizeable audiences (see War Fatigue Hits 24 Hour News Channels).

BBC: 020 8743 8000 www.bbc.co.uk

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