BBC ‘has become propaganda channel’ says Dr John Lee

The BBC saw Christmas Day TV ratings plummet to the lowest level on record in 2020, with audience levels comparable to 1981. BBC One’s most-watched programme was Call the Midwife, which pulled in just 8 million viewers. The fall in viewing figures reflects a long-term decline in audiences for the corporation.

Call the Midwife aired at 7.40pm and attracted less than half of the viewers who tuned in for the special episode of Gavin and Stacey last year.

Over 17.1 million people watched the one-off episode, making it the most viewed Christmas broadcast of 2019.

It’s not the first time Call the Midwife has failed to pull in audiences, as the programme previously held the record for the lowest ratings for a Christmas Day show in 2018, when it attracted 8.7 million viewers – over half a million more than this year.

More people tuned in to watch the Queen’s Christmas broadcast this year though.

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The annual speech drew in 7.2 million viewers in 2020, up from 6.4 million the year before.

News channels also attracted larger audiences than usual, as Britons sought to keep up-to-date with the latest coronavirus news.

BBC Weekend News (6.7 million) and BBC News at Six (6.5 million) both ranked in the top ten watched shows, having not appearing in the rankings last year.

Former Brexit Party MEP Rupert Lowe said he was not surprised by the drop in the BBC’s Christmas viewing figures.

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He wrote on Twitter: “Not shocked in the slightest to see BBC Christmas figures falling even further.

“Remind me why we’re all forced by law to pay for the licence fee? Outdated and unfair!”

Other social media users said the lower figures represent the “dismal” TV line up offered over the festive period.

One person wrote: “It didn’t help that their Christmas schedule was boring, tired and uninspiring!”

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Another user agreed and said: “The BBC Christmas/New Year offering really was dismal, wasn’t it?

“It seemed to consist mainly of one-sided political propaganda.

“I remember getting the Radio and TV Times as a 60s child and excitedly plotting what programmes I would watch over Christmas. All sadly gone…”

A third wrote: “BBC channels are not great at the best of time but over Christmas they were appalling!”

The low viewing figures over Christmas reflect a long-term decline in audiences for the BBC.

The shift partly represents a change in viewing habits, as audiences have moved towards watching programmes on-demand on platforms such as BBC iPlayer, ITV hub or to streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime.

Full ratings for Christmas Day 2020 have been published by Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board (BARB), and include people who recorded a broadcast and watched up to seven days later.

They are treated as the official ratings for a TV programme.

Comparable figures for TV audiences date back to 1981 when records began.

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