According to recent research commissioned byPRmoment, the BBC comes out as the favourite source of TV news in the UK. Half of the adults questioned said that BBC is their preferred news network of choice, with a further 9 per cent saying they like BBC News 24 most. This compares with just 14 per cent who choose ITV for their news, and 6 per cent who choose Sky News.

Which is your preferred news network?

Supplied by Opinium Research

The peak time for viewing news is the evening (44 per cent watch between 6pm and 7pm, and 33 per cent watch between 10pm and 11pm). Although three quarters of those questioned said they watch a 24-hour news channel, less than a quarter say they watch it every day.

What time of day do you watch the news?

Supplied by Opinium Research

This suggests that news items shown on BBC in the evening are those that are most likely to get the public’s attention.

We asked one self-confessed TV news junkie, Alex Hunter, managing director of PR agency Pavilion, how he likes to get his news fix. He replies: “My television is constantly tuned to the BBC News Channel and, if I’m honest, so is my PC.”

Hunter admits there are some aspects of TV news that are irritating: “After all, it’s repetitive and sometimes editorially obsessed, for instance the BBC is somewhat over-excited about public spending cuts, perhaps with an eye on its own budgets. Sky’s USP is breaking news, although often it hardly qualifies as news at all.”

How often do you watch a 24 hour news channel?

Supplied by Opinium Research

However Hunter loves the immediacy of TV news today, saying, “Those of us over a certain age will recall waiting for news bulletins to get our fix or for newspapers to give us yesterday’s stories.

“24-hour rolling news gives us an opportunity to witness history like never before. We can see war and revolution as it happens, the world literally being shrunk before us and brought direct to our living rooms and offices. This provides with an understanding of the world which is second to none and which we should be grateful for; people in other countries aren’t as fortunate.”

Last, but not least, Hunter has a personal reason for loving the BBC: “The BBC News green room is cool. I spent a morning sharing pastries with the cast of Heroes once, which gave me the best chance for a geek-out!”

Methodology
Opinion Research carried out 2021 online interviews in the UK asking consumers about their consumption of news, from 11 to 14 February 2011.