When BBC Three relaunched as a live television channel earlier this year, the corporation hoped its counterintuitive punt on a youth-focused broadcast outlet would help it reach new audiences. There have been some ratings successes, with new episodes of RuPaul’s Drag Race and African Cup of Nations football matches bringing in healthy live audiences. The average teenager’s consumption of live television has fallen from almost three hours a day to just 50 minute during this period. The short-lived television ratings boom caused by pandemic-related lockdowns has already gone into reverse, with channels increasingly reliant on older audiences, live sport and soap operas. BBC Three’s relaunch – and its subsequent struggle to attract viewers – came at a tricky time for BBC management.

Source: The Guardian April 16, 2022 02:28 UTC