BBC has 7 of the 10 most-watched shows in 2023
December 19, 2023
The BBC has seven out of ten of the most watched shows in 2023 (so far) across all UK broadcasters and streamers. The King’s Coronation, crime drama Happy Valley and the Eurovision Song Contest came out on top.
The BBC said it “connected with audiences across the UK and produced the highest rating shows in every genre, delivering value to all licence fee payers”.
The Coronation (12.8 million), Planet Earth III (8.9 million) and Wild Isles (8.2 million) take the top three spots for Factual in 2023.
Happy Valley (pictured) is the biggest drama of the year (11.9 million) and Death in Paradise takes the second spot (8.3 million) with eight of the top ten from BBC Drama.
Ghosts is the biggest comedy of the year (4.9 million) with nine of the top 10 comedies all on the BBC.
The biggest entertainment show of the year so far goes to the Eurovision Song Contest (10.7 million). And, in sport, the Women’s World Cup final delivered a peak of 12 million viewers.
Charlotte Moore, BBC Chief Content Officer, commented: “Only the BBC can offer such scale, distinctiveness and ambition. Our range of world-class programmes is unrivalled, we’ve delivered value to audiences and they’ve chosen the BBC in every genre. We are facing tough financial challenges, and while we are not unique in this, what’s impressive is that despite all the millions being spent on global platforms, we’ve had an extraordinary year creatively.”
| Top 10 in 2023 |
Provider |
Avg Aud |
| The Coronation of The King and Queen Camilla |
BBC |
12.8 |
| Happy Valley |
BBC |
11.9 |
| Eurovision Song Contest |
BBC |
10.7 |
| The Great British Bake Off |
C4 |
9.7 |
| I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! |
ITV |
9.0 |
| Planet Earth III |
BBC |
8.9 |
| Strictly Come Dancing |
BBC |
8.5 |
| Death in Paradise |
BBC |
8.3 |
| Unforgotten |
ITV |
8.2 |
| Wild Isles |
BBC |
8.2 |