BBC Breakfast

BBC TV News viewing figures - Media Gurdian

Notice that Breakfast and GMTV are neck and neck at 1m viewers. However, am I wrong in thinking that 1m was pretty standard for Breakfast News is the late '90s and early noughties, and that GMTV used to have a far higher viewership? Didn't Breakfast news always hover at 1m, and that Breakfast was meant to push it much further ahead?

I'm not sure if Breakfast was meant to increase the BBC's ratings in the morning, but either way it hasn't as it's remained at around 1m viewers for the past few years. The only big change seems to be the decline in viewers for GMTV.

Breakfast's figures used to be an average of 0.9 - now it's around 1 to 1.1m.

But the important fact is that the show gets more than 5m viewers every day and, even more importantly, the share has gone up from an average of 26% to 30%. The share is the important measure for a TV Channel. Breakfast News never got a good share compared to TV-am or GMTV. GMTV are suffering with their share of viewers in the morning.
Breakfast has, for past few months, been beating them daily, sometimes by as much at 7 share points. A good example was a few days ago when Breakfast got 32% vs GMTV's 25%.

Breakfast has changed a lot in recent years, and is a much more watchable programme, which is why more people are tuning in each morning.

I've seen that by watching my Mum's viewing habits. For as long as I can remember, she has always watched GMTV (and TV-am before it) whilst eating her breakfast. However, for about the last six months, she's been watching Breakfast everyday.

Same with me... always used to watch GMTV until about a year ago, I prefer Breakfast now, it's a better format.

Indeed, it has changed, although it has been a rather long change has it not?
I remember the 1997 'relaunch' which detached the look of it from mainstream BBC TV News, to try and increase viewership and share...it began the move to a more informal set up...the presenters began to chat to each other -oh the revelation lol! Then with the bigger 2000 rebrand, and a gradual change ever since - presumably Breakfast in 2007 is where they have always wanted to be?

A dull, lifeless studio that is incredibly harsh on your eyes first thing in the morning?

I like the studio. GMTV is incredibly garish.

The set isn't very 'warming', the sunrise clouds background looked 10x better, but was never seen. The graphics are nothing flash, but its really the coverage which makes me watch Breakfast more than GMTV. Still, GMTV has improved slightly since it stopped the competitions.

I stand by my opinion that the blue sky background was better, even if it did show up the partition lines on the wall.

I did prefer it, however, when there was a half-hour of news at the beginning of the programme. BIG MOIRA used to do it, perhaps... she could sit at the desk while Sian and Dermot sit on the sofa?

I think it would be much better if Breakfast got straps like the Nationals, but with the orange colour scheme, with the clock in the place where it usually says "BBC News".

It's obvious that Breakfast used to be at the serious news end and GMTV used to be at the less serious showbiz/entertainment end

Breakfast has moved towards GMTV by having the lighter features, the celebrity interview after 8.30, banter with weather presenters etc, and has therefore picked up some of GMTV's viewers

They may also have lost some viewers who wanted a fully highbrow programme and probably now listen to Radio 4 instead