There are several different types ofmass media in theUnited Kingdom:television,radio,newspapers,magazines andwebsites. The United Kingdom is known for its largemusic industry, along with its new and upcoming artists. The country also has a largebroadcasting,film,video games andbook publishing industries.
The United Kingdom has a diverse range of providers, the most prominent being the publicly owned and funded British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).
The main BBCpublic service broadcasting channels accounted for an estimated 28.4% of all television viewing; the three main independent channels accounted for 29.5% and the increasingly important other satellite and digital channels for the remaining 42.1%.[1] Sales of newspapers have fallen since the 1970s and in 2009 42% of people reported reading a daily national newspaper.[2] In 2010, 82.5% of the United Kingdom population were Internet users, the highest proportion amongst the 20 countries with the largest total number of users in that year.[3]
The BBC's largest competitors areITV plc, which operates 13 of the 15 regional television broadcasters that make up theITV Network, theSky Group and the publicly owned and commercially fundedChannel Four Television Corporation.
Regional media is covered by local radio, television and print newspapers.Reach plc (formerly Trinity Mirror) operates 240 local and regional newspapers. TheSecretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport has overall responsibility over media ownership and broadcasting.[4]
TheBritish Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is thenational broadcaster of theUnited Kingdom. Headquartered atBroadcasting House inLondon, it is the world's oldest national broadcaster, and the largestbroadcaster in the world by number of employees, employing over 22,000 staff in total, of whom approximately 19,000 are in public-sector broadcasting.[5][6][7] The BBC is established under a royal charter and operates under its agreement with theSecretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.[8] Its work is funded principally by an annualtelevision licence fee which is charged to all British households, companies, and organisations using any type of equipment to receive or record livetelevision broadcasts andiPlayer catch-up.[9] The fee is set by theBritish Government, agreed byParliament,[10] and is used to fund the BBC's radio, TV, and online services covering the nations and regions of the UK. Since 1 April 2014, it has also funded theBBC World Service (launched in 1932 as the BBC Empire Service), which broadcasts in over 40 languages and provides comprehensive TV, radio, and online services inArabic andPersian.[11]
The BBC operates several television channels nationally and internationally. The main two in the UK areBBC One andBBC Two, where each English region, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have variations of the channel (excluding BBC Two in Scotland where it isBBC Scotland). Others include youth-focused channelBBC Three, cultural and documentary channelBBC Four, news channelsBBC News and theBBC World News, parliamentary channelBBC Parliament,Scottish Gaelic-language channelBBC Alba, and two children's channels,CBBC andCBeebies. The BBC has ten radio stations serving the whole of the UK, a further seven stations in the "national regions" (Wales,Scotland, andNorthern Ireland), and 39 other local stations serving defined areas of England. These areBBC Radio 1, offering new music and popular styles and being notable for its chart show;BBC Radio 2, playingadult contemporary, country and soul music amongst many other genres;BBC Radio 3, presenting classical music and opera, jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts. The station broadcasts theBBC Proms concerts, live and in full, each summer in addition to performances by theBBC Orchestras and Singers. There are regular productions of both classic plays and newly commissioned drama.BBC Radio 4, focusing on current affairs, science, history, factual and other speech-based programming, including drama and comedy; andBBC Radio 5 Live, broadcasting 24-hour news, sport and discussion programmes.
In addition to these five stations, the BBC runs a further five stations that broadcast on DAB and online only. These stations supplement and expand on the big five stations, and were launched in 2002.BBC Radio 1Xtra sisters Radio 1, and broadcasts new black music and urban tracks.BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra sisters 5 Live and offers extra sport analysis, including broadcasting sports.BBC Radio 6 Music offers alternative music genres and is notable as a platform for new artists.BBC Radio 4 Extra, provided archive drama, comedy and children's programming. The final station is theBBC Asian Network, providing music, talk and news to this section of the community.
As well as the national stations, the BBC also provides 40BBC Local Radio stations in England and the Channel Islands, each named for and covering a particular city and its surrounding area (e.g.BBC Radio Bristol), county or region (e.g.BBC Three Counties Radio), or geographical area (e.g.BBC Radio Solent covering the central south coast). A further six stations broadcast in what the BBC terms "the national regions": Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. These areBBC Radio Wales (in English),BBC Radio Cymru (inWelsh),BBC Radio Scotland (in English),BBC Radio nan Gaidheal (inScottish Gaelic),BBC Radio Ulster, andBBC Radio Foyle, the latter being an opt-out station from Radio Ulster for the north-west of Northern Ireland.
For a worldwide audience, theBBC World Service provides news, current affairs and information in over 33 languages, including English, around the world and is available in over 150 capital cities. It has an estimated weekly audience of 192 million, and its websites have an audience of 38 million people per week.[12] The service is funded by a Parliamentary Grant-in-Aid, administered by theForeign Office.BBC Online operates numerous sub sites that focus on different knowledge genre centred around the topics of science, nature and wildlife, arts and culture, religion and ethics, food, and history and language. For example, BBC Food contains recipes featured on various BBC cookery programmes, BBC History shares an interactive timeline of key events and individuals, BBC Nature contains a database of nature and creatures, and the language site teaches phrases and more in 40 languages.[13] Included in this range was the well receivedYour Paintings website that catalogued every painting in public ownership for view.[14] Other BBC services includeBBC Music,BBC Film,BBC Earth,BBC Weather,BBC Learning,BBC Schools,BBC Research,BBC Archives,BBC Sounds, andBBC Culture.
TheChannel Four Television Corporation is another publicly owned media company founded in 1982. Unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is instead funded entirely by its own commercial activities.[15] It consists of 12 channels includingChannel 4,Film4,E4, and its own streaming service.[16]
Sky is a broadcaster and telecommunications company that provides television and broadband Internet services. Sky's flagship product isSky Q and its flagship channels areSky Showcase,Sky Max,Sky Arts, andSky Atlantic.UKTV, is a multi-channel broadcaster, wholly owned byBBC Studios. It was formed on 1 November 1992 through a joint venture between the BBC andThames Television. It is one of the United Kingdom's largest television companies. UKTV's channels are available via a digital satellite or cable subscription in the UK and Ireland. TheDave,Drama andYesterday channels are also available onFreeview andFreesat, two free-to-airtelevision services in the UK. Most programmes on the channels are repeat broadcasts of productions from theBBC Archives. Other players in the United Kingdom media includeITV plc, which operates 11 of the 15 regional television broadcasters that make up the ITV Network.[17]
News UK is the current publisher of newspapers such asThe Times andThe Sunday Times.[18]Reuters is an international news organisation founded and based inEngland.[19] It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide and is one of the largest news agencies in the world.[20]
London dominates the media sector in the United Kingdom as national newspapers, television and radio networks are largely based there. Notable centres includeFleet Street andBBC'sBroadcasting House. Specialist local paperCity A.M. is a free, business-focused newspaper published in print Monday to Friday. It is typically available from around 6am at London commuter stations and is handed out at key points in the City, Canary Wharf and other central London locations.
Greater Manchester is also a significant national media hub. Notable centres includeMediaCityUK a 200-acre (80ha) media production facility inSalford.
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The Guardian national newspaper was founded in Manchester in 1821, and was known as theManchester Guardian until 1959. In the 1950s, coinciding with the growth in television, theGranada Television franchise was set up bySidney Bernstein. Consequently, theGranada Studios were the first purpose-built television studios in the United Kingdom. The franchise produced television programmes such asCoronation Street and theUp Series.
TheBBC currently has two of its six major business divisions based hereBBC North Group that comprises a number of important departments includingBBC Breakfast,BBC Children's,BBC Sport,BBC Radio 5 andBBC North West. The other division isBBC Future Media. In additionITV has two major divisions of its business based hereITV Studios responsible for UK and international network production andITV Granada its regional service provider. TheUniversity of Salford also has a media campus and research center based atMedia City.[21]
Edinburgh and Glasgow, and Cardiff are important centres of newspaper and broadcasting production in Scotland and Wales respectively.[22]
Freedom of the press was established in Great Britain in 1695.[23] Founded by publisherJohn Walter in 1785,The Times is the first newspaper to have borne that name, lending it to numerous other papers around the world, and is the originator of the widely usedTimes Roman typeface, created byVictor Lardent and commissioned byStanley Morison in 1931.[24] Newspaper and publishing magnateAlfred Harmsworth played a major role in "shaping the modern press" – Harmsworth introduced or harnessed "broad contents, subordinate regional markets, independence from party control" – and was called "the greatest figure who ever strode down Fleet Street."[25]
The Economist was founded byJames Wilson in 1843, and the dailyFinancial Times was founded in 1888. FoundingThe Gentleman's Magazine in 1731,Edward Cave coined the term "magazine" for a periodical, and was the first publisher to successfully fashion a wide-ranging publication.[26] Founded byThomas Gibson Bowles,Vanity Fair featuredcaricatures of famous people for which it is best known today.[27]
A pioneer of children's publishing,John Newbery made children's literature a sustainable and profitable part of the literary market.[28]The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes was published by Newbery in 1765.[28] Founded by SirAllen Lane in 1935,Penguin Books revolutionised publishing in the 1930s through its inexpensivepaperbacks, bringing high-quality paperback fiction and non-fiction to the mass market.[29] Formed in 1940,Puffin Books is the children's imprint of Penguin Books.Barbara Euphan Todd's scarecrow story,Worzel Gummidge, was the first Puffin story book in 1941.[30]
TheGuinness Book of Records was the brainchild of SirHugh Beaver.[31]E. L. James' erotic romancetrilogyFifty Shades of Grey,Fifty Shades Darker, andFifty Shades Freed, have sold over 125 million copies globally, and set the record in the United Kingdom as the fastest selling paperback.[32]Copyright laws originated in Britain with theStatute of Anne (also known as the Copyright Act 1709), which outlined the individual rights of the artist. A right to benefit financially from the work is articulated, and court rulings and legislation have recognised a right to control the work, such as ensuring that the integrity of it is preserved.[33] The Statute of Anne gave the publishers rights for a fixed period, after which the copyright expired.[34]
The United Kingdom print publishing sector, including books, server, directories and databases, journals, magazines and business media, newspapers and news agencies, has a combined turnover of around £20 billion and employs around 167,000 people.[35] Popular national newspapers includeThe Times,Financial Times,The Guardian, andThe Daily Telegraph. According to a 2021 report by the Media Reform Coalition, 90% of the UK-wide print media is owned and controlled by just three companies,Reach plc (formerly Trinity Mirror),News UK andDMG Media. This figure was up from 83% in 2019.[36] The report also found that six companies operate 83% of local newspapers. The three largest local publishers—Newsquest, Reach and JPI Media—each control a fifth of local press market, more than the share of the smallest 50 local publishers combined.[36]
Traditionally British newspapers have been divided into "quality", serious-minded newspapers (usually referred to as "broadsheets" because of their large size) and the more "tabloid" varieties. For convenience of reading many traditional broadsheets have switched to a morecompact-sized format, traditionally used by tabloids. Online-only newspapers based in the UK such asPinkNews also exist.
The Guardian is a liberal, "quality" broadsheet and theFinancial Times is the main business newspaper, printed on distinctive salmon-pink broadsheet paper.[37] Scotland has a distinct tradition of newspaper readership (seelist of newspapers in Scotland). The tabloidDaily Record has the highest circulation of any daily newspaper, outsellingThe Scottish Sun by four to one, while its sister paper theSunday Mail similarly leads the Sunday newspaper market. The leading "quality" daily newspaper in Scotland isThe Herald, though it is the sister paper ofThe Scotsman, and theScotland on Sunday that leads in the Sunday newspaper market.[38] In November 2014, a new newspaper was launched in Scotland calledThe National.[39]
The Art Newspaper is a monthly print publication based in London. It covers news of the visual arts as they are affected by international politics and economics, developments in law, tax, the art market, the environment, and official cultural policy.
In March 2016,The Independent ceased printing its physical newspaper, becoming an online-only publication.[40][41][42][43] On 29 November 2019, its sister newspaper, thei newspaper and the i's website were bought by theDaily Mail and General Trust (DMGT).[44][45][46]
Reach plc operates 240 local and regional newspapers in the United Kingdom as well as the national newspapersDaily Mirror,Sunday Mirror andThe People, purchasedNorthern & Shell in 2018.[47][48] In 2018TheGuardian.com,News UK andThe Daily Telegraph created a joint platform for advertisers to buy online adverts across the multiple leading news websites, called The Ozone Project.[49] Later in the yearReach plc joined the platform, bringing nearly all of UK's national newspapers onto the platform.[50] As of 2020, the newspaper with the highest circulation is the free of charge newspaperMetro with 1,426,535 readers.[51]The Sun and other tabloid daily newspapers have seen a large drop in circulation.[52]
In March 2024, theConservative government of Rishi Sunak announced a ban on acquisitions of newspapers by foreign states, followingThe Daily Telegraph andThe Spectactor purchases by an Emirati group led bySheikh Mansour, deputy prime-minister and vice-president of the United Arab Emirates, virtually forcing those takeovers terminated.[53]
| Title | Days of publication | Circulation | Established | Owner | Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Daily Telegraph | Daily | N/A | 1855 | Press Holdings (Frederick Barclay) | Broadsheet |
| The Sunday Telegraph | Sundays | 1961 | |||
| The Times | Daily | 1785 | News Corporation | Compact | |
| The Sunday Times | Sundays | 1821 | Broadsheet | ||
| Financial Times | Daily | 104,024 | 1888 | Nikkei Inc. | |
| The Guardian | Daily | 111,953 | 1821 | Scott Trust Limited'sGuardian Media Group. | Compact |
| The Observer | Sundays | 152,129 | 1791 | ||
| i | Daily | 148,163 | 2010 | Daily Mail and General Trust | |
| i Weekend | Saturdays | N/A | 2017 | ||
| The Independent | N/A | 1986 | Sultan Muhammad Abuljadayel Alexander Lebedev Evgeny Lebedev | Online only |
| Title | Days of publication | Format | Established | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Mail | Daily | Broadsheet (1896 – 1971) Tabloid (since 1971) | 1896 | Daily Mail and General Trust plc |
| The Mail on Sunday | Sundays | Tabloid | 1982 | |
| Daily Express | Daily | Broadsheet (1900 – 1977) Tabloid (since 1978) | 1900 | Reach |
| Sunday Express | Sundays | Broadsheet (1918 – 1992) Tabloid (since 1992) | 1918 | |
| The Sun | Daily | Tabloid | 1964 | News Corporation |
| The Sun on Sunday | Sundays | Tabloid | 2012 | |
| Daily Mirror | Daily | Tabloid | 1903 | Reach |
| Sunday Mirror | Sundays | Tabloid | 1915 | |
| Sunday People | Sundays | Tabloid | 1881 | |
| Daily Star | Daily | Tabloid | 1978 | |
| Daily Star Sunday | Sundays | Tabloid | 2002 | |
| Morning Star | Daily | Tabloid | 1930 | People's Press Printing Society |
| Eastern Eye | Weekly | Tabloid | 1989 | Asian Media Group |
| Title | Days of publication | Format | Established | Owner | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evening Standard | Weekdays (evening) | Tabloid | 1827 | Alexander Lebedev (75.1%) Lord Rothermere (24.9%) | Greater London |
| Metro | Weekdays | Tabloid | 1999 | Daily Mail and General Trust plc | Wide availability in the major cities |
| City A.M. | Weekdays (morning) | Tabloid | 2005 | City A.M. Ltd | Wide availability in the major cities |
| The Shuttle | Weekly | Tabloid | 1870 | Newsquest Media Group | Wyre Forest area ofWorcestershire |
| Asian Express | Weekly | Tabloid | 1999 | Media Buzz Ltd | |
| Yorkshire Reporter | Monthly | Tabloid | 2013 | Pick up Publications Ltd | Widely available in Leeds and its surrounding areas |
| Asian Standard | Weekly | Tabloid | 2017 | RF Publishing Ltd | Widely available as regional titles in Bradford, Kirklees, North East and Leeds |
A large range of magazines are sold in the United Kingdom covering most interests and potential topics. British magazines and journals that have achieved worldwide circulation includeThe Economist,Prospect,Nature,New Scientist,New Statesman,The Spectator, theRadio Times, andNME.
In 1477,William Caxton inWestminster printedThe Dictes or Sayengis of the Philosophres, considered "the firstdated book printed in England."[54] The history of the book in the United Kingdom has been studied from a variety of cultural, economic, political, and social angles. The learnedBibliographical Society first met in 1892. In recent years influential scholars includeFrederic Sutherland Ferguson,Philip Gaskell,Ronald Brunlees McKerrow, andAlfred W. Pollard. As of 2020, seven firms in theUnited Kingdom rank among the world's biggestpublishers ofbooks in terms of revenue:Bloomsbury,Cambridge University Press,Informa,Oxford University Press,Pearson,Quarto, andRELX Group.[55]
The University of Oxford'sBodleian Library was founded in 1602. TheBritish Library was formally established in 1973 and is thenational library of the United Kingdom.[56] It is one of thelargest libraries in the world. As alegal deposit library, the British Library receives copies of all books produced in the United Kingdom and Ireland, including a significant proportion of overseas titles distributed in the UK. The library is anon-departmental public body sponsored by theDepartment for Culture, Media and Sport. The British Library is also a majorresearch library, with items in many languages and in many formats, both print and digital: books, manuscripts, journals, newspapers, magazines, sound and music recordings, videos, play-scripts, patents, databases, maps, stamps, prints, drawings.[57] Its collections include around 14 million books,[58] along with substantial holdings of manuscripts and items dating as far back as 2000 BC. The library maintains a programme for content acquisition and adds some three million items each year occupying 9.6 kilometres (6 mi) of new shelf space.[59]
TheLegal Deposit Libraries Act 2003 stipulates that the British Library receives a copy of every printed work published in the United Kingdom. Five other libraries are entitled to copies:Cambridge University Library, University of Oxford's Bodleian Library, theNational Library of Scotland, and theNational Library of Wales. The London-based Copyright Agency became the Edinburgh-basedAgency for the Legal Deposit Libraries in 2009.[60] In 2013 the publishing contributed to the UK creative economy with 231,000 jobs.[61] British publishers such asPenguin Books andPearson remain dominant players within the industry and continue to publish titles globally.
Radio in the United Kingdom is dominated by the BBC, which operatesradio stations both in the United Kingdom and abroad. TheBBC World Service radio network is broadcast in 33 languages globally. Domestically the BBC also operates ten national networks and over 40 local radio stations including services in Welsh onBBC Radio Cymru, Gaelic onBBC Radio nan Gàidheal in Scotland and Irish in Northern Ireland.[62] The domestic services of the BBC are funded by thetelevision licence.[63] The internationally targeted BBC World Service Radio is funded by theForeign and Commonwealth Office, though from 2014 it will be funded by the television licence.[64] The most popular radio station by number of listeners isBBC Radio 2, closely followed byBBC Radio 3,BBC Radio 4 andBBC Radio 1. Advances indigital radio technology have enabled the launch of several new stations by the Corporation.[65]
Rather than operating as independent entities, many commercial local radio stations are owned by large radio groups which broadcast a similar format to many areas. The largest operator of radio stations isGlobal Radio, owner of the majorHeart,Smooth Radio andCapital radio brands. It also ownsClassic FM andRadio X. Other owners areNews Broadcasting andBauer Media Audio UK. There are a number of licensedcommunity radio stations[66] which broadcast to local audiences.
The United Kingdom has no analoguetelevision. A free to air digital service is made up of twochartered public broadcasting companies, theBBC andChannel 4 and two franchised commercial television companies, (ITV andChannel 5) specialising in entertainment, drama, arts, science, nature, documentary, sports, comedy etc. In addition to this, the United Kingdom's free-to-airFreeview service runs a large number of entertainment, music, sport and shopping channels from the likes ofCBS,UKTV andSky. There are five major nationwidetelevision channels:BBC One,BBC Two,ITV (ITV1/STV),Channel 4 andChannel 5 — currently transmitted by digital terrestrial, free-to-air signals with the latter three channels funded by commercial advertising. The vast majority of digital cable television services are provided byVirgin Media with satellite television available fromFreesat orSky andfree-to-air digital terrestrial television byFreeview. The entire countryswitched to digital (from a previously analogue signal) in 2012.[67]
TheBBC operates severaltelevision channels in the United Kingdom and abroad. The BBC's international television news service,BBC World News, is broadcast throughout the world. The domestic services of the BBC are funded by thetelevision licence[63] and not only operatesBBC One andBBC Two, but alsoBBC Four, theBBC News,BBC Parliament and children's television channelsCBBC andCBeebies. The international television broadcast services are operated byBBC Studios on a commercial subscription basis over cable and satellite services. This commercial arm of the BBC also ownsUKTV.[1] Channel 4 is similarly chartered to the BBC, with a remit to provide public service broadcasting and schools programs, however it runs commercialadvertisements to provide a revenue stream. It produces a number of digital channels, branded asChannel 4, as well asMore4 andFilm4.
The commercial operators rely on advertising for their revenue, and are run as commercial ventures, in contrast to the public service operators. TheITV franchise transmits two different networks in different parts of the country. These are known asITV1 in England, Wales, Scottish Borders, Northern Ireland, Isle of Man andChannel Islands andSTV in Central and Northern Scotland. ITV also operatesITV2,ITV3,ITV4, andITVBe viaITV Digital Channels. The broadcasterSky owns several flagship channels, includingSky Arts,Sky Showcase,Sky Nature,Sky Cinema andSky Atlantic.[68]
TheRoyal Television Society (RTS) is an educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world.[69] TheRadio Academy is dedicated to "the encouragement, recognition and promotion of excellence in UK broadcasting and audio production".[70] It was formed in 1983 and is run via a board of trustees, with a Chair and a Deputy Chair, and a Managing Director.[71] Their responsibilities include designing, planning, and implementing projects and programmes.[72]
TheUnited Kingdom has been involved with theInternet throughout its origins and development. Thetelecommunications infrastructure in the United Kingdom providesinternet access to businesses and home users in various forms, includingfibre,cable,DSL,wireless andmobile.
The share of households with internet access in the United Kingdom grew from 9 per cent in 1998 to 93 per cent in 2019. Virtually all adults aged 16 to 44 years in the UK were recent internet users (99%) in 2019, compared with 47% of adults aged 75 years and over; in aggregate, the third-highest in Europe. Online shoppers in the UK spend more per household than consumers in any other country. Internet bandwidth per Internet user was the 7th highest in the world in 2016, and average and peak internet connection speeds were top-quartile in 2017. Internet use in the United Kingdom doubled in 2020. The United Kingdom's most visited websites include google.com, youtube.co.uk, facebook.com, bbc.co.uk, google.co.uk, and ebay.co.uk.[73]
Broadcast media (TV, radio,video on demand, streaming), telecommunications, and postal services are regulated by theOffice of Communications (Ofcom).[74] Ofcom has wide-ranging powers across the television, streaming, radio, telecoms and postal sectors. It has a statutory duty to represent the interests of citizens and consumers by promoting competition and protecting the public from harmful or offensive material.[75][76] Some of the main areas Ofcom presides over are licensing, research, codes and policies, complaints, competition and protecting radio. Ofcom also oversees the use of social media and devices and analyses media use of the youth (ages 3 to 15 years old), to gather information of how the United Kingdom utilises its media.[77]
Following theLeveson Inquiry thePress Recognition Panel (PRP) was set up under theRoyal Charter on self-regulation of the press to judge whether press regulators meet the criteria recommended by the Leveson Inquiry for recognition under the Charter. By 2016 the UK had two new press regulatory bodies, theIndependent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), which regulates most national newspapers and many other media outlets, andIMPRESS, which regulates a much smaller number of outlets but is the only press regulator recognised by the PRP since October 2016.[78]
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