Highs And Lows As BBC4 Celebrates First Birthday
A total of twelve million viewers watched BBC4 during its first year on air, according to the BBC, but the numbers tuning in for an evening’s viewing remain relatively small.
The Corporation claims that 47% of digital viewers have sampled programming on the digital arts channel since its launch in March last year (see BBC4 “Happy” With 11,000 Digital Debut), with more than 1 million viewers tuning in every week over the last twelve months.
However, it is understood that the average programme audience for BBC4 is 31,000, with reports claiming that a literature programme presented by Clive Anderson attracted 4,000 viewers last year, making it the channel’s lowest rating programme to date.
The BBC maintains that it is happy with the channel’s performance so far. Jana Bennett, BBC director of television, said: “It’s great to see our viewer base steadily expanding – for a channel with BBC4’s unique remit to have now reached nearly half of all digital viewers is a particularly satisfying achievement.”
Analysis of monthly viewing figures from Astra show that BBC4’s audience share in digital homes has remained relatively static since March, with a slight improvement towards the end of the year. In comparison, BBC Choice, which has now relaunched as BBC3 (see Government Finally Gives BBC3 The Go Ahead), has seen its share of viewing fluctuate significantly (see below).
The news comes just days after the BBC released figures claiming that over 16 million viewers tuned in to BBC3 programming during the digital entertainment channel’s first week on air. However, this figure includes previews of BBC3 programmes on BBC1 and a simulcast of the youth channel’s launch on BBC2 (see BBC3 Programming Reaches 16.3 Million In Launch Week).
BBC: 020 8743 8000 www.bbc.co.uk
Recent Television Stories from NewsLine Channel Five Offered £20m Annual Licence Fee Cut Freeview Launch Hits ITV Harder Than Expected ITV Outperforms Commercial Rivals In Q4 2002
Subscribers can access ten years of NewsLine articles by clicking the Search button to the left