• UK
  • World
    • USA
  • Entertainment
    • Celeb
    • Showbiz
    • Magazine
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Gaming
  • Tech
  • Science
    • Education
  • Insurance
  • Business
  • Auto
  • ToS/Contact
    • ToS
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
NewsExplored
  • UK
  • World
    • USA
  • Entertainment
    • Celeb
    • Showbiz
    • Magazine
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Gaming
  • Tech
  • Science
    • Education
  • Insurance
  • Business
  • Auto
  • ToS/Contact
    • ToS
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • LinkedIn

  • Tumblr

  • RSS

Entertainment

Some TV bulletins may disappear, BBC News boss says

Some TV bulletins may disappear, BBC News boss says
Newsexplored
20th August 2020
5
SHARES
ShareTweet
SubscribeRedditGoogleWhatsappStumbleuponPinterestDiggLinkedinTumblrTelegram
Views:
2
Huw Edwards presenting BBC News

The BBC’s head of news has said the number of traditional TV bulletins may be cut over the next decade as more people watch news online.

Fran Unsworth told The Daily Telegraph she thought there might only be one bulletin a day.

Asked whether the News at Ten might survive but not the News at Six, Ms Unsworth replied: “Possibly, or maybe the other way round.”

The News at One is the corporation’s other major daily national bulletin.

Asked by the newspaper to predict how TV news would change over the next five or 10 years, she replied: “I think TV journalism will still be around because of the power of pictures to tell a story, but it won’t necessarily be received in quite the forms it currently is.

“So I still think, ultimately in 10 years’ time, we probably won’t be consuming linear bulletins exactly. I mean, I might be wrong about that. I doubt it.

“There might be one [bulletin] a day, or something. I think there’ll be fewer of them. But I think that the power of how you tell stories through television, pictures, video will just be in a different space.

“It’ll be in the digital space, it’ll be on, you know, iPlayer. It’ll be on your tablet, your iPhone.

“We have to think creatively about what the product is, but that’s the direction of travel and I don’t think that’s changed.”

News bulletins are regularly the most-watched programmes on British TV, with the News at Six and News at Ten usually behind only the regional 18:30 news as the BBC’s highest-rated broadcasts.

Image copyright Getty Images
Image caption Fran Unsworth was appointed the director of BBC News in 2017

The audience for news has risen during the coronavirus pandemic, with more young viewers tuning in. But Ms Unsworth said she did not expect that to last.

data-ad-format="auto">

“They’re sitting down and watching a television bulletin in a way that I thought they weren’t ever really going to again,” she said. “So that has been what’s been really interesting about this.

“I’m not under any illusions, to be quite honest with you, because I’ve seen it in the past. You get these big peaks, the big stories like the Bataclan [attack in Paris in 2015] and London Bridge attacks [in 2017 and 19], then the audience falls off again quite rapidly.

“What I would hope is that we’ve changed our image in the mind of the younger viewer, which is that we are there to be relied on, and if they really do want to know what’s happening they will come to us to find out. We’re not just any other news source.”

‘The direction of travel is clear’

Analysis by David Sillito, media correspondent


When ITN created the UK’s first half hour news bulletin in 1967, it was only commissioned for 13 weeks, because the bosses feared that viewers would find it too boring. The BBC’s Six O’Clock News was, at the time, under 10 minutes long, while the Nine O’Clock News was 15.

Fifty-three years on, the four main daily BBC news bulletins are at the moment more often than not the most watched programmes on BBC One. The audience for the BBC’s regional news programmes topped five million on Wednesday night – more than a million ahead of the most popular non-news programme of the evening, The Repair Shop.

The audience for traditional news bulletins has also been boosted by the impact of coronavirus. Not only is there a fast-moving story that affects everyone, more people are at home and able to turn the TV on. And what’s more, the basic shape and style of those bulletins has barely altered.

But things can change fast.

The amount of time we spend watching live TV schedules has been dropping for many years. There is, however, still a large and loyal (and largely elderly) audience who turn the TV on as a daily habit. The prime time TV audience even on a sunny August evening is usually around 16 million. However, Reuters’ Digital News Report noted that the number of people tuning in to TV news has begun to drop. For many years, 75-80% of people regularly watched a TV bulletin, but in January 2020 it said that had dropped to 55%.

Of course, predictions are always a fool’s game. The demise of print newspapers has long been predicted but so far the Independent is the only major paper to go digital only. News is a habit and habits change slowly. However, the direction of travel is clear. There will probably always be an audience for a daily digest of TV news reports but the online world offers so many new options for presenting news in greater depth and clarity.

Visual storytelling is not disappearing, it is going through an extraordinary moment of innovation and transformation. The traditional TV bulletin with its rigid storytelling formulas, desks and serious presenters will for a dwindling number of people be their preferred way of tuning in to global events, but the question is whether those in their 20s and 30s today will develop that habit in years to come. I suspect not.

Follow us on Facebook, or on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Google+ (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Share on Skype (Opens in new window)

Related

Related Itemsbulletinsdisappear
Entertainment
20th August 2020
Newsexplored @newsexploredweb

Related Itemsbulletinsdisappear

More in Entertainment

  • Read More
    Covid: Frank Turner livestream gigs for struggling venues return

    Views:2 By Oliver WrightBBC News image copyrightPA Media image captionFrank Turner performed to a socially distanced audience...

    Newsexplored 20th August 2020
  • Read More
    Vikkstar on his plans for growing Call of Duty esports

    Views:2 By Steffan Powell and Manish PandeyNewsbeat reporters With nearly seven million YouTube subscribers, Vikkstar knows a...

    Newsexplored 20th August 2020
  • Read More
    Fashion lookahead: Eight major 2021 looks from tie-dye to pastels

    Views:2 By Steven McIntoshEntertainment reporter image copyrightGetty Images image captionSome fashion shows moved outdoors this year, while...

    Newsexplored 20th August 2020
  • Read More
    Will concerts come back in 2021? And other music stories to look out for

    Views:2 By Mark SavageBBC music reporter image copyrightGetty Images image captionThe future of festivals and concerts is...

    Newsexplored 20th August 2020
  • Read More
    KFC launches game console with built-in chicken warmer

    Views:2 image copyrightKFC Fast food chain KFC is launching a gaming console that warms up chicken. “The...

    Newsexplored 20th August 2020
  • Read More
    Books 2021: A pick and mix of what’s coming up

    Views:2 By Rebecca ThomasArts and entertainment reporter image copyrightGetty Images Home entertainment has been catapulted into a...

    Newsexplored 20th August 2020
  • Has Thomas Becket’s treasured ‘little book’ been found?

    Views:2 By Stephen MulveyBBC News image copyrightCorpus Christi College, Cambridge More has been written about Thomas Becket, the archbishop hacked to death in Canterbury Cathedral exactly 850 years ago, than any other non-royal English person of the Middle Ages. And yet it seems it’s still possible to discover new things about his...

    Newsexplored 20th August 2020
  • Read More
    Bridgerton: Everything you need to know about the Netflix drama

    Views:2 By Steven McIntoshEntertainment reporter image copyrightNETFLIX image captionDerry Girls star Nicola Coughlan (left) as Penelope Featherington,...

    Newsexplored 20th August 2020
  • Read More
    The best of the cheesy Christmas movies

    Views:2 By Sinead GarvanNewsbeat entertainment reporter Published 5 hours ago image copyrightNetflix There are a few Christmas...

    Newsexplored 20th August 2020
  • Read More
    Former BBC sports reporter Kevin Gearey dies

    Views:2 Kevin Gearey travelled across the world to cover sporting events for the BBC, including England’s cricket...

    Newsexplored 20th August 2020
  • Read More
    A Christmas Carol: How Scrooge is saving theatres this Christmas

    Views:2 By Vincent DowdArts correspondent, BBC News image copyrightAaron Weight image captionA Christmas Carol at the Theatre...

    Newsexplored 20th August 2020
  • Read More
    Strictly Come Dancing: 7 memorable moments from this series

    Views:2 By Steven McIntoshEntertainment reporter image captionBailey would be the oldest ever winner, while Mabuse would be...

    Newsexplored 20th August 2020
Scroll for more
Tap
data-ad-format="auto">
NewsExplored

NewsExplored - Making sure all the latest news is explored?

Contact us for help

  • Popular

  • Latest

  • Comments

  • New coronavirus variant: What do we know?
    UK20th December 2020
  • Trump pardons two convicted by Russia investigation
    USA23rd December 2020
  • Kieran Trippier suspended for 10 weeks over breaches of betting rules
    Sports23rd December 2020
  • The Papers: UK and EU on ‘verge’ of Brexit trade deal
    UK23rd December 2020
  • Trump impeachment: When will he go on trial in the Senate?
    USA16th January 2021
  • Joe Biden unveils $1.9tn US economic relief package
    USA15th January 2021
  • How much can Joe Biden get done on the US economy?
    USA14th January 2021
  • Could Liz Cheney spark a revolt?
    USA13th January 2021
  • Les Rehrer says:

    Hello Its me :P and thanks for this post

  • optumrx login says:

    Thank For News.

  • Kent Laatsch says:

    Please let me know if you're looking for a writer…

  • Bob says:

    RT News was where I learned that Erdogan controlled isis.…

Copyright © 2018 Top News Theme. Theme by MVP Themes, powered by Wordpress.

Olivia Wilde set to direct Marvel movie for Sony
Cuties: Netflix drops promotional poster after controversy
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok