TV Overnights: BBC News still top as riots continue

For the third day in a row this week, the BBC News at Ten has gained the highest ratings in the country as the UK-wide riots continue.

The BBC News at Ten scored viewing figures of 6.9 million on Wednesday night, completely ousting the competition from ITV and Channel 4. ITV‘s News at Ten achieved viewers of just 2.5 million, giving the BBC a clear advantage.

BBC One also held the highest ratings in the prime time slot with the return of popular documentary Who Do You Think You Are?, which this week focused on Eastenders star June Brown as she tracked her family history.

The show gained 5.8 million viewers and a 24.2% share of the programming, fairing well against ITV’s Lewis, which achieved an average of 3.2 million viewers, and Channel 4’s 24 Hours in A and E, which attracted 2.3 million viewers.

Since riots started in North London on Saturday, BBC News coverage has gained an increased amount of viewers and at times has achieved higher ratings than flagship programs such as Eastenders.

Overnight data is available each morning in mediatel.co.uk’s TV Database, with all BARB registered subscribers able to view reports for terrestrial networks and key multi-channel stations.