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Eastenders

BBC sells Elstree Studios

The BBC is to sell its Elstree studio complex to French insurance company Axa, in a deal worth around £70 million (€81m). Axa Investment Managers, will buy the 16-acre complex near Watford, north-west of London. The BBC will take a 25-year leaseback of part of the facilities and continue to film there. The BBC had […]

January 16, 2024

iPlayer sets new viewing record over Xmas

Viewers flocked to BBC iPlayer during the Christmas week (December 25th-31st 2023) setting a new all-time iPlayer record. The week saw programmes streamed 177 million times, up +7 per cent on the same time the year before – and beating the previous record (January 2nd-8th 2023) when 173 million programmes were streamed in a week. […]

January 4, 2024

BBC airs 9 of top 10 shows on Xmas Day

BBC’s Strictly special was the most watched show in the UK on Christmas Day in 2023 with 5.3 million viewers (excluding The King’s Christmas broadcast). BBC dominated the ratings with nine out of the top ten most watched shows as audiences tuned into the BBC across the day for a range of new episodes of […]

December 28, 2023

Research: BBC programme-making should be riskier

The BBC should take more risks when producing new programmes if it is to reconnect with viewers and listeners on lower incomes, according to new audience research from UK broadcast regulator Ofcom. In recent years, Ofcom’s research has shown that people in lower socio-economic groups – who account for almost a quarter of the UK […]

November 30, 2023By Colin Mann

Ofcom: Linear broadcast slump as boomers switch to streaming

The media diets of viewers and listeners in the UK appear to be more diverse and fragmented than ever, according to broadcast regulator Ofcom’s latest annual report on the TV, online video, radio and audio sectors. As competition for the nation’s attention intensifies, Media Nations 2023 finds that the proportion of viewers who tune in […]

August 3, 2023By Colin Mann

Snapchat adds BBC Studios content

Snap has announced a new content partnership with BBC Studios, the BBC Group’s commercial subsidiary, to host made-for-mobile, short-form content on Snapchat Discover. BBC Studios will publish highlights and behind the scenes content from the popular motoring entertainment show, BBC Top Gear, and all the drama from soap opera, EastEnders, on Snapchat. New channel Funny […]

February 13, 2023

iPlayer, BBC Sounds set festive records

Viewers and listeners flocked to BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds in record numbers over the festive period with millions also watching on BBC TV and listening on BBC Radio. On BBC iPlayer, every day across the ‘festive fortnight’ – December 20th to January 2nd – programmes were streamed more times on iPlayer this year than […]

January 5, 2023

EastEnders weekly box sets returning to iPlayer

In reaction to a busy summer of sport on BBC One, EastEnders will once again premiere each week’s episodes on the BBC iPlayer, with all four episodes dropping every Monday from June 27th and continuing over the summer until mid-August. The move allows audiences to watch the programme whenever it suits them on BBC iPlayer, […]

June 21, 2022

ITV reschedules Coronation Street

ITV has announced that, from March 7th, its flagship soap Coronation Street will change to new hour long format. The soap will then air 8-9pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Coronation Street Producer Iain MacLeod said: “It’s an exciting time for the show and these [current storylines] will propel us into the hour-long era with […]

February 24, 2022

BBC reschedules EastEnders, Doctors

The BBC has announced that flagship soap EastEnders and drama series Doctors are both are moving in the schedules to make Monday to Thursday the time to watch them in their new broadcast slots on BBC One and BBC Two. From March 7th, EastEnders will air at 7.30pm on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights […]

February 22, 2022