Audiences turning away from BBC to Channel 4 and Five

by Staff,, Brand Republic 01-Jul-04, 08:55

LONDON - Channel 4 and Five have seen their audience share rise over the first half of the year, stealing viewers away from BBC One, which has seen its audience drop by almost 5%.

Buoyed by hits such as 'Shameless', 'Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares' and the ongoing success of the fifth season of 'Big Brother', Channel 4's audience is up by 4% for the first half of the year to 9.77%, according to figures released by the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board.

Five has also performed well, with a 5.1% increase in audience share to 6.78%, as it continues with its mix of football, films and US hits such as the CSI franchise.

By contrast, the two biggest stations, BBC One and ITV1, have each seen audiences fall. ITV1 has had some big hits this year, such as 'I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!', but its audience share fell by 2.1% to 23.3%. BBC One's share for the first six months was 24.82%.

Former BBC Two controller Jane Root's decision to abandon lifestyle programming and makeover shows in favour of more series shows such as 'If', which examined potential disasters facing the world such as global warming, and 'Who Killed Keith Blakelock?', had a big impact on viewers who deserted the station.

The channel's share of audience fell by 6%, giving it a 10.25% share of the television audience. Root has taken up the role of vice-president and general manager of the Discovery Channel in the US.

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