Highlights reliability and resiliency in face of media declines elsewhere
Radio World
By Nick Langan
July 22 2024
How many people consume BBC content internationally? The organization released its 2024 Global Audience Measurement and put the number at 450 million weekly, an increase of 3 million from last year.
The Global Audience Measure is an annual update of how many people consume the BBC weekly for all international services in all countries across TV, radio, website and social media. It excludes the BBC’s output aimed at the U.K. market.
It said its global reach “remains resilient in the face of increased investment and fierce competition from other news providers, including state-funded news companies.”
BBC World Service offerings, operating in 42 languages, drew an audience of 320 million. BBC News Arabic saw a 9% increase, which the broadcaster attributed to the Israel-Gaza war. The Gaza Daily emergency radio service, broadcasting on 639 AM in the morning and evening, is also part of the figures. The Arabic feed is the BBC’s second-largest language service, behind its BBC News Hindi service.
The English World Service feed grew its audience to 84 million overall, bolstered by audiences in Taiwan and the Philippines, the BBC said.
The organization said that its performance comes despite an overall downward trend in media consumption in TV and radio. It credited its trustworthiness and reputation for “reliability and independence amongst international news providers.”
On the heels of 2022 musings by BBC Director-General Tim Davie of an internet-only distribution model, the statement emphasized the organization’s resiliency “in the face of increased investment and fierce competition from other news providers, including state-funded news companies.”
“Whilst we have challenges ahead of us in the BBC World Service, we meet them from a position of strength,” said Jonathan Munro, BBC News’ deputy CEO. “In the meantime, we will continue to serve audiences with the fearless and fair reporting we’re renowned for.”
The BBC recently announced that Munro would become global director of BBC News in September; in that role he’ll be director of the BBC World Service and oversee BBC Monitoring. Munro will remain deputy CEO of BBC News and Current Affairs.
Nick Langan is the operations manager at Villanova University’s 89.1 WXVU in Villanova, Pa., and a lifelong radio enthusiast, with a special interest in long-distance FM signal reception.