BBC Debate beaten by Britain's Got Talent in the ratings
Double the number of people watched the ITV talent show than Jeremy Corbyn
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Britain’s Got Talent has once again beaten a high-profile political TV debate in the ratings, last night’s BBC Debate being watched by approximately 3.5 million viewers, compared to the ITV show’s 7.2 million.
Earlier this week, Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn were grilled by Jeremy Paxman on Channel 4 and Sky News, with 2.9 million people tuning in; Britain’s Got Talent managed 8.5million viewers.
Overnights TV, the country’s leading analyst of broadcast ratings, revealed the new figures, pointing out how 7 million tuned into the 2015 BBC Leaders Debate.
Figures peaked during the BBC Debate at 4.7 million, a 23.4 per cent share of the TV watching audience. According to their figures, 11 per cent of the UK — 6.5 million — watched at least three minutes.
The debate saw Jeremy Corbyn talk policies with Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron and Conservative representative Amber Rudd. Much of the discussion over the 90 minutes fell on why Prime Minister Theresa May didn’t make an appearance.
The BBC has been accused of left-wing bias as the audience appeared to support Jeremy Corbyn, despite polling firm ComRes choosing audience members representative of supporters from across the parties.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments