THE BBC is becoming less appealing to young people, according to the corporation’s annual report.
Reach among 16 to 34-year-olds has slipped, with only 76% of 16 to 34-year-olds using any BBC service in a normal week, down from 81% last year.
Among children under 16, just 72% use BBC services in an average week - which is well behind YouTube and a fall of 1% on the previous year – while half used the children’s and education services on average per week.
The report said over the longer term the BBC’s performance, particularly amongst seven to 12-year-olds, and especially use of children’s and education services, is trending down.
Global audience numbers are also down, according to the report, with just 63% of UK adults saying they find the BBC is effective at reflecting the UK to the world.
The corporations global weekly reach was down 9% while the international weekly audience for BBC News dropped 10%.
The weekly audience for the BBC World Service was down 12%, with the television audience within that down by almost a fifth and the radio audience down by almost a quarter.
In 2022/23, eight in 10 (79%) UK adults thought that the BBC provided programmes, content and services that are important to the people of the UK (9% said unimportant).
Seven in 10 UK adults believe the BBC should stay a public organisation that makes programmes, content and services for everyone in the UK.
The report said there was too much variation in how well it served audiences.
It stated: “There is still too much variation in how well we serve and represent different parts of the UK and also different people, especially those from less well-off backgrounds, people belonging to ethnic minorities and people who are disabled.
“We are continuing to look hard at how our content and services could resonate more strongly with these audiences.”
In total, 86% of adults from less well-off backgrounds use the BBC on average per week, close to the UK average of 88%, but the BBC said “we know they are less satisfied than better-off groups”.
