EXCLUSIVE: Netflix was the most-watched TV service in the UK for three months last year, overtaking dominant domestic network BBC1 for the first time, according to a Deadline analysis.
The unseating of Britain’s most popular channel may not have been permanent, but it represents a possible inflection point in the battle between traditional broadcasters and U.S. streaming giants. The BBC said it was “meaningless” to compare the entirety of Netflix with a single channel and that its portfolio had double the number of viewers of the Squid Game streamer.
Viewing figures from BARB, the UK’s official ratings body, showed that Netflix’s audience reach overtook BBC1 in September, October, and November 2024 (chart below). For these three months, Netflix’s average audience reach stood at 43.2M, compared with BBC1’s 42.3M viewers.
BBC1 pulled ahead again in December, despite Netflix posting a record reach of 46.4M after streaming series
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