WIREDGOV

Despite ever-increasing competition from global streaming services, the public service broadcasters (PSBs) in Wales continue to provide content that is highly valued by viewers, according to Ofcom’s latest annual report on the TV, online video, radio and audio sectors.

• Content from Wales’ public service broadcasters remains highly valued despite proliferation of content providers
• Viewers in Wales remain the second largest consumers of broadcast TV in any of the nations
• BBC One (38%) and ITV Wales (28%) are still the first and second most-used sources for news about the nation
• Smart speakers and smartphones see growth in use for listening to radio. Analogue and DAB remained the most popular platforms for radio listening Q1 2023

Media Nations Wales 2023 finds that three-quarters (75%) of those who watched content from the PSBs in Wales – BBC, ITV, S4C, Channel 4 and Channel 5 – said that the broadcasters performed well on providing ‘a wide range of different types of programmes, such as drama, comedy, entertainment or sport.’ This figure is higher than in any other nation in the UK.

Public service broadcasters succeed in bringing the nation together

Public perception of the public service broadcast channels remains positive, with seven in ten viewers in Wales (69%) saying they were satisfied with them overall. This figure is consistent with the UK average. A similar percentage of viewers (68%) recognised the contribution of these broadcasters in delivering ‘programmes that help me understand what is going on in the world today.’

Programmes produced by the public service broadcasters, live sport and special events, in particular, dominated the list of most-watched programmes in 2022. Not surprisingly, given Wales’ love of rugby, Wales’ Six Nations Rugby match versus France was the most watched programme with an average audience of 652,000. The State Funeral of HM Queen Elizabeth II held the second position with 624,000 viewers and the FIFA World Cup at number three with 612,000 viewers.

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