British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reaches a record weekly audience of 348 million people worldwide.
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New Global Audience Measure (GAM) figures released on April 29, 2016 show that:
- the top 10 markets for BBC’s international news services are USA (35m); Nigeria (35m); India (23m); Pakistan (13m); Iran (12m); Egypt (11m); Tanzania (10m); Brazil (8m); Afghanistan (7m); Bangladesh (6m). The figures in Brazil are notable because it is a digital-only market for the BBC. US reach increases to 43m when BBC Worldwide figures are added.
- in total, 152m are accessing BBC news in English; 201m in another language. The audience for non-English language TV (91m) is nearly as big as the audience for non-English language radio (94m)
- the figures show the BBC on track to reach the target of 500m weekly reach by 2022
- one in every 16 adults around the world uses BBC News.
BBC says “The GAM is measured every year by the BBC using a consistent methodology comprising surveys, ratings data, and digital analytics. These data sources are converted into individual adult weekly reach and de-duplicated.”
The GAM, that represent the combined measured reach of international content – both news and entertainment – for the year 2015/16, show that the BBC’s weekly global news audience has increased by 38m people, or 13%, to a total of 320 million.
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For the second year running, television (162m) is a bigger platform than radio (147m) for the BBC’s international news services. All platforms have grown since 2014/15 – television, radio, and digital (80m).
The BBC World Service, shortly to begin adding new and enhanced services across the world after receiving new funding from the UK Government, has seen its audience increase to 246m, from 210m last year. This growth is largely driven by new TV news bulletins in languages other than English.
BBC World Service English radio has again shown a significant audience upturn, with an audience of 66m.
BBC Global News Ltd, which comprises BBC World News and bbc.com, has seen its audience grow to 108m.
Francesca Unsworth, Director of BBC World Service Group, says, “These are fantastic results which show the BBC going from strength to strength around the world and demonstrate the global appetite for accurate, impartial news. We’re about to begin the biggest expansion of the World Service since the 1940s, thanks to the additional funding agreed by the UK Government last year. This will ensure we reach more people than ever, especially in countries where media freedom is under threat.”
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BBC explains that GAM “measures the combined weekly reach of the BBC’s international news services – BBC World Service, BBC World News, bbc.com and BBC Media Action. It also includes the majority of BBC Worldwide’s BBC-branded direct to consumer services, where measurable and obtainable. It excludes audience for BBC programmes made or sold by BBC Worldwide to third party broadcasters and other platforms.”
To avoid double counting people using multiple devices (eg both tablet and smartphone) and counting consumers of more than one of the BBC’s services (eg both BBC World News and BBC Worldwide), BBC says GAM figures are ‘de-duplicated’ or adjusted downwards.
The figures in the GAM have a standard error margin of +/- 3%, BBC says.