04-09-2023, 10:37 PM
(04-09-2023, 10:20 PM)AaronTV Wrote: I’m just not convinced they would be setting the agenda any more effectively or developing any further insights on the day’s events on a UK only news channel watched by less than 100,000 people that’s entirely financially unviable. I just don’t buy it unfortunately.I know that there is a tendency by many in this thread to overstate the reach and importance of the channel, but to suggest it is watched by less than 100,000 people (during an unspecified period) is as much an understatement in the other direction. Evening slots alone typically average that and, cumulatively, it reaches around 2m viewers per day - more than the News at One. It might not really possess agenda-setting powers, but that's more to do with it being a secondary outlet for the BBC rather than because of its audience - which tends to disproportionately include so-called 'opinion formers'.
I'm also not sure what financial viability has to do with it. As far as I know, the only UK-based news channel to ever turn a profit was BBC World News. Sky News seem to manage to do alright with agenda setting, despite being heavily financially reliant on the rest of Sky.