As Britain and the U.S. ready for war, a second conflict is shaping up behind the front lines. 
   This is the battle for ratings. 
   As troops pour into the  Middle East,  Britain ’s 24-hour news channels are cranking up for action hoping to cash in on the ratings boosts a war will inevitably bring. 
   “Everyone is very well aware of the ground CNN made up in 1991,” says Andy Roberts, executive buying director at Starcom Motive in London. “These news channels are looking at this as something that could establish them.”  
   To this end, the stations are sending in teams of journalists and recruiting veteran reporters and presenters, each hoping it has put together the winning arsenal. 
   The main players in this push to rule  Britain’s 24-hour cable and satellite news world are Sky News, BBC News 24, ITV News Channel and the European arm of CNN. 
    To be sure, all of these players could arguably do with higher ratings. Even the dominant player, Sky News, owned by the Rupert Murdoch-controlled BSkyB, only mustered a 0.9 percent share among pay TV homes in January, according to BARB. 
   BBC News 24 and the ITV News Channel weighed in with 0.6 percent and 0.2 percent respectively in the same time period. CNN’s audience share is not measured in Britain , but some experts put it below these other players. 
   In fact, the concept of a 24-hour news channel has never gained the stature that CNN has in the U.S. In part this is due to the lower cable and satellite penetration in Britain – only about 40 percent of households have these services. 
   What’s more, most believe that, with three British news channels and one American fighting in this small market, there are too many players. 
    But perhaps it is also because the British news channels are largely newer on the scene and just haven’t had the chance to prove their worth in the same way.    
   Enter the war with Iraq. If it materializes, it could make or break the channels in this over-populated sector. 
   Pundits expect Sky News, because of its premier position, to do very well during the hostilities. 
   But some wonder if perhaps one of the biggest beneficiaries could be BBC News 24. Despite the multi-channel world we live in, viewers still have special trust in their relationship with Auntie, as the BBC was once widely known. This relationship flourishes in times of trouble. 
   “Normally people do come to the BBC in times of crisis,” says Andrew Canter, head of Broadcast for the London-based Media Planning Group, referring to the free-to-air news broadcasts. Some experts believe that this relationship will also benefit the 24-hour news channel. 
   Possibly with the least firepower to capture ratings is CNN. In  Britain, many view CNN as being a bit too American. This is unlikely to be a big benefit for the station in a time when many folks are not completely behind the American push for war. However, a poor performance in  Britain will not break this pan-European channel. 
   One of the more vulnerable players in the battle is the ITV News Channel. It does have the benefit, like the BBC and unlike Sky News and CNN, of also having a free-to-air new broadcast to build awareness. However, it doesn’t have the wallet and heritage of the BBC and it is newer into the market than Sky News.
   It seems certain that all news channel viewing figures will benefit to some extent in the short term from a war, if indeed one materializes. The next big challenge will be to pull a CNN – to keep these viewers coming back after the conflict is resolved.    

March 12, 2003© 2003 Media Life

-Heidi Dawley, an American living in London, is the European correspondent for Media Life

Printer-Friendly Version |  Send to a Friend
Cover Page | Contact Us