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That would be good -.
Here it is....
https://www.dropbox.com/s/6it72d3wvparess/BBCITN.pdf?dl=0
I stumbled across a newspaper cutting yesterday from about 1984 asking the rhetorical question, will BBC News ever match the standard set by ITN. I'll try and scan it, (it's an awkward size and shape to stick in an A4 scanner).
That would be good -.
Here it is....
https://www.dropbox.com/s/6it72d3wvparess/BBCITN.pdf?dl=0
IT
That would be good -.
Here it is....
https://www.dropbox.com/s/6it72d3wvparess/BBCITN.pdf?dl=0
Thank you! What an interesting article providing a snapshot into the state of affairs in the 1980s. The most striking thing for me is the viewing figure for ITN's News at 5.45. Over 13 million!! It seems to have been the most watched news bulletin of the day at that time. Out of interest, does anyone have any similar figures for BBC/ITV bulletins in 2018? It would be interesting to draw the comparison.
itsrobert
Founding member
I stumbled across a newspaper cutting yesterday from about 1984 asking the rhetorical question, will BBC News ever match the standard set by ITN. I'll try and scan it, (it's an awkward size and shape to stick in an A4 scanner).
That would be good -.
Here it is....
https://www.dropbox.com/s/6it72d3wvparess/BBCITN.pdf?dl=0
Thank you! What an interesting article providing a snapshot into the state of affairs in the 1980s. The most striking thing for me is the viewing figure for ITN's News at 5.45. Over 13 million!! It seems to have been the most watched news bulletin of the day at that time. Out of interest, does anyone have any similar figures for BBC/ITV bulletins in 2018? It would be interesting to draw the comparison.
JK
Thank you! What an interesting article providing a snapshot into the state of affairs in the 1980s. The most striking thing for me is the viewing figure for ITN's News at 5.45. Over 13 million!! It seems to have been the most watched news bulletin of the day at that time. Out of interest, does anyone have any similar figures for BBC/ITV bulletins in 2018? It would be interesting to draw the comparison.
I think the highest rated BBC One news bulletin is the 10pm news, with around 4 to 5 million viewers a night. All other news bulletins are below that figure I believe.
Thank you! What an interesting article providing a snapshot into the state of affairs in the 1980s. The most striking thing for me is the viewing figure for ITN's News at 5.45. Over 13 million!! It seems to have been the most watched news bulletin of the day at that time. Out of interest, does anyone have any similar figures for BBC/ITV bulletins in 2018? It would be interesting to draw the comparison.
I think the highest rated BBC One news bulletin is the 10pm news, with around 4 to 5 million viewers a night. All other news bulletins are below that figure I believe.
NG
Thank you! What an interesting article providing a snapshot into the state of affairs in the 1980s. The most striking thing for me is the viewing figure for ITN's News at 5.45. Over 13 million!! It seems to have been the most watched news bulletin of the day at that time. Out of interest, does anyone have any similar figures for BBC/ITV bulletins in 2018? It would be interesting to draw the comparison.
I think the highest rated BBC One news bulletin is the 10pm news, with around 4 to 5 million viewers a night. All other news bulletins are below that figure I believe.
The highest rated BBC One bulletin is often the 1830 regional news. This doesn't appear as a single block on BARB consolidated figures as each regional show is rated separately, but as a block in the overnights it regularly out-rates any other news block.
In terms of network bulletins, the Six and Ten vary, so it wouldn't be unusual for the Six to get a higher audience than the Ten some days. In share terms, the One O'clock News usually does incredibly well.
Last Monday :
One O'Clock News 2.1m (37.8% share)
Six O'Clock News 3.6m (26.9% share)
1830 Regional News 4.2m (29.6% share)
Ten O'Clock News 3.2m (23.4% share)
ITV Lunchtime News 0.5m (10.3% share)
1800 ITV Regional News 3.3m (24.7% share)
ITV Evening News 3.1m (21.7% share)
ITV News at Ten 1.5m (11% share)
As you can see both the BBC and ITV early evening regional news bulletins are the most popular news slots on their respective networks.
noggin
Founding member
Thank you! What an interesting article providing a snapshot into the state of affairs in the 1980s. The most striking thing for me is the viewing figure for ITN's News at 5.45. Over 13 million!! It seems to have been the most watched news bulletin of the day at that time. Out of interest, does anyone have any similar figures for BBC/ITV bulletins in 2018? It would be interesting to draw the comparison.
I think the highest rated BBC One news bulletin is the 10pm news, with around 4 to 5 million viewers a night. All other news bulletins are below that figure I believe.
The highest rated BBC One bulletin is often the 1830 regional news. This doesn't appear as a single block on BARB consolidated figures as each regional show is rated separately, but as a block in the overnights it regularly out-rates any other news block.
In terms of network bulletins, the Six and Ten vary, so it wouldn't be unusual for the Six to get a higher audience than the Ten some days. In share terms, the One O'clock News usually does incredibly well.
Last Monday :
One O'Clock News 2.1m (37.8% share)
Six O'Clock News 3.6m (26.9% share)
1830 Regional News 4.2m (29.6% share)
Ten O'Clock News 3.2m (23.4% share)
ITV Lunchtime News 0.5m (10.3% share)
1800 ITV Regional News 3.3m (24.7% share)
ITV Evening News 3.1m (21.7% share)
ITV News at Ten 1.5m (11% share)
As you can see both the BBC and ITV early evening regional news bulletins are the most popular news slots on their respective networks.
Last edited by noggin on 25 August 2018 9:47am
IT
itsrobert
Founding member
Thanks noggin. Looking at national news only, it's interesting to see that in 2018, as in 1984, the evening news bulletins rate the highest. So, why then are the late bulletins considered the "flagship" editions? If I were the BBC and ITV I would have the big name newscasters on the evening bulletins as that's when most people are watching.
The other interesting trend is the decline in TV news audiences. The ITN News at 5.45 was getting around 13 million viewers in 1984. 13 million! Compare that to 2018 where the ITV Evening News is getting around 3 million. And it's affected the BBC as well - although they had lower viewing figures to start with so their audience has probably halved over 30 years. ITV News have lost a lot more over the decades, it seems.
Yes, I know - all the usual caveats of it's a snapshot in time etc etc. But the broad trend is there.
The other interesting trend is the decline in TV news audiences. The ITN News at 5.45 was getting around 13 million viewers in 1984. 13 million! Compare that to 2018 where the ITV Evening News is getting around 3 million. And it's affected the BBC as well - although they had lower viewing figures to start with so their audience has probably halved over 30 years. ITV News have lost a lot more over the decades, it seems.
Yes, I know - all the usual caveats of it's a snapshot in time etc etc. But the broad trend is there.
JK
Originally the late evening news was always the news analysis programme of the day. Remember the early evening news bulletins were just a news digest of the day. It wasn't until 1988 that ITV extended their early evening bulletin to 20 minutes. BBC it took until 1984 before a full half hour bulletin was started with their Six O'Clock News, so they were always maintained as a simple summary of the day's news, and left the main analysis and in-depth news to their late evening bulletins.
Thanks noggin. Looking at national news only, it's interesting to see that in 2018, as in 1984, the evening news bulletins rate the highest. So, why then are the late bulletins considered the "flagship" editions? If I were the BBC and ITV I would have the big name newscasters on the evening bulletins as that's when most people are watching.
The other interesting trend is the decline in TV news audiences. The ITN News at 5.45 was getting around 13 million viewers in 1984. 13 million! Compare that to 2018 where the ITV Evening News is getting around 3 million. And it's affected the BBC as well - although they had lower viewing figures to start with so their audience has probably halved over 30 years. ITV News have lost a lot more over the decades, it seems.
Yes, I know - all the usual caveats of it's a snapshot in time etc etc. But the broad trend is there.
The other interesting trend is the decline in TV news audiences. The ITN News at 5.45 was getting around 13 million viewers in 1984. 13 million! Compare that to 2018 where the ITV Evening News is getting around 3 million. And it's affected the BBC as well - although they had lower viewing figures to start with so their audience has probably halved over 30 years. ITV News have lost a lot more over the decades, it seems.
Yes, I know - all the usual caveats of it's a snapshot in time etc etc. But the broad trend is there.
Originally the late evening news was always the news analysis programme of the day. Remember the early evening news bulletins were just a news digest of the day. It wasn't until 1988 that ITV extended their early evening bulletin to 20 minutes. BBC it took until 1984 before a full half hour bulletin was started with their Six O'Clock News, so they were always maintained as a simple summary of the day's news, and left the main analysis and in-depth news to their late evening bulletins.
JK
It was really in 1999 when ITV moved their news analysis of News at Ten to their new Evening News at 6.30pm which changed the emphasis of the early evening bulletins. In May 1999 the BBC relaunched their News at Six with Huw Edwards at the helm, this changed the emphasis and style as such, to make the early evening bulletins more stronger than just a simple digest.
IT
itsrobert
Founding member
Yes, that's definitely how the programmes evolved - but my question is why now, in 2018, are the late bulletins still classed as the "flagship" news presented by the likes of Huw Edwards and Tom Bradby - their most senior newscasters - when the early evening bulletins get the most viewers? I would have thought it more sensible to promote the early evening bulletins as the flagship news - since they have the most eyeballs watching - and have the heavyweight newscasters on those bulletins instead of at 10pm.
By the way, ITN didn't lengthen the evening bulletin in 1988. It was a 10-minute summary up until 1976 when the News at 5.45 launched as a 15-minute programme. That remained the duration of the news right up until 1999 when the Evening News launched in a 30-minute slot. The start time moved to 5.40pm in 1989 but this was to accommodate the ITV National Weather forecast at the end of the bulletin. The duration of the actual news stayed the same - except for during the Gulf War in 1991 when the bulletin's start time was temporarily extended to 5.30pm and contained 25 minutes of news.
By the way, ITN didn't lengthen the evening bulletin in 1988. It was a 10-minute summary up until 1976 when the News at 5.45 launched as a 15-minute programme. That remained the duration of the news right up until 1999 when the Evening News launched in a 30-minute slot. The start time moved to 5.40pm in 1989 but this was to accommodate the ITV National Weather forecast at the end of the bulletin. The duration of the actual news stayed the same - except for during the Gulf War in 1991 when the bulletin's start time was temporarily extended to 5.30pm and contained 25 minutes of news.
WO
I do think it's worth noting that in many countries, as you no doubt know, the main news bulletins are those broadcast in the early evening; indeed, from what I've seen, the trend seems to be to either do more in-depth programmes (think Newsnight) late at night, or to just have a shorter, straight news bulletin at that time. We seem to be almost an anomaly in having both our main broadcasters have flagship bulletins at 10pm, a slot where many foreign broadcasters would show entertainment.
Yes, that's definitely how the programmes evolved - but my question is why now, in 2018, are the late bulletins still classed as the "flagship" news presented by the likes of Huw Edwards and Tom Bradby - their most senior newscasters - when the early evening bulletins get the most viewers? I would have thought it more sensible to promote the early evening bulletins as the flagship news - since they have the most eyeballs watching - and have the heavyweight newscasters on those bulletins instead of at 10pm.
I do think it's worth noting that in many countries, as you no doubt know, the main news bulletins are those broadcast in the early evening; indeed, from what I've seen, the trend seems to be to either do more in-depth programmes (think Newsnight) late at night, or to just have a shorter, straight news bulletin at that time. We seem to be almost an anomaly in having both our main broadcasters have flagship bulletins at 10pm, a slot where many foreign broadcasters would show entertainment.
JK
In the US, the main evening national news is always at around 6.30pm. In most affiliates and owned-operated stations, ABC, NBC and CBS air their evening news casts at 6.30pm ET and PT (5.30pm CT or MT). The late night news is nearly always at 11.00pm ET PT 10.00pm CT MT, and this is always just from the local news team. There are no national lunchtime or late night news from the US networks.