The BBC’s global reach increased by 11% year on year in 2020 to 468.2 million people a week.
This, according to the broadcaster, was the highest figure ever. BBC News accounted for 438.4 million of the total with an annual increase of 13%. Digital platforms are key to the success, with an increase of 53% in BBC News users.
A total of 151 million users now access BBC News digitally, according the annual Global Audience Measure which measures how many individuals the BBC reached weekly with its news and entertainment content in the year 2019/20.
Commenting on the figures, Tony Hall, BBC DG, said: “We are without question one of Britain’s strongest and best-known brands, synonymous with quality and accuracy worldwide. Our international news services rank first for trust and reliability and the World Service remains a beacon of democratic values. Independent research shows that there is an exceptionally high correlation between places where people are aware of the BBC and places where people think positively about the UK. More than that, the BBC helps UK trade. This has perhaps never been more important. The UK will forge a new relationship with the world in the decade ahead, built on an ambitious vision of ‘Global Britain’. Success will mean drawing on all our considerable international assets, and that means unleashing the full global potential of the BBC”.
The BBC notes that In late March 2020, as the Covid-19 virus spread and trusted sources of information were in demand, BBC News recorded the highest reach of any international media organisation in the world with 310 million people accessing coverage across 42 languages.
BBC global content is also increasingly popular on global platforms like Youtube with a 129% increase in audiences to 47 million a week, overtaking Facebook with a 31% increase to 43 million. Twitter reach has doubled to 6 million and Instagram also reaches 6 million weekly.
