Leading TV broadcasters in the United Kingdom (UK) 2020, by audience share

As of 2020, the BBC, ITV, and Channel 4 were the top three leading TV broadcasters in the United Kingdom (UK). In this regard, the BBC held an audience share of about 32 percent. ITV and Channel 4 had audience shares of 21.6 and 10.2 percent, respectively.

BBC One viewing

BBC One was the most popular TV channel in the UK in 2019/2020, with about 65 percent of the population using the service at least once a week. The audience spent on average 7 hours weekly watching the BBC’s leading channel.  

BBC finances

The BBC relies on the television license as its main means of funding. In 2020, the BBC generated 4.9 million British pounds in revenue, most of which was attributed to the license fees paid by UK households. That same year, BBC One accounted for most of the BBC’s television programming spend, with costs exceeding one billion British pounds. In addition, the BBC had to incur an overall cost of 42 pence per user hour to deliver TV services through its main channels in 2020.