Broadcast PR Stats and Predictions for 2025 and Beyond – The Latest Trends

Lets dive more into BBC Regional radio where there have been significant changes which have been fully implemented this year and will affect coverage in 2025.

 The most significant is content sharing between radio and online. It’s definitely a requirement now and a trend moving forward into 2025 that any guests are seen and heard. Zoom /Teams interviews are being recorded with audio and video and the content shared digitally on BBC regional news websites.

All 39 BBC Local Radio stations still have their own dedicated local programming from 6am to 2pm on weekdays. For the breakfast shows the focus is on hyper local – regional statistics, local voices, case studies and stories. They are unlikely to take a lifestyle PR generated story.

Having a spokesperson available just between 0830-1230 a classic half day on a fixed day simply won’t cut it any more as BBC and commercial regional stations have the luxury of being offered a huge amount of content from PR’s They’re asking for maximum flexibility for ad hoc pre-records later in the day – or even a separate day. Without this your story is unlikely to get traction.

Between 2pm-6pm on weekdays, the BBC now produces 18 afternoon programmes across England, with a number of local stations sharing programming with neighbouring stations. This is an opportunity for PR generated content particularly if you are able to provide regional statistics and a good compelling 3^rd party non-brand spokesperson. These shows love a celebrity or an influencer someone who listeners will want to tune in and catch up with. They’ve got to be willing to talk about other things rather than just the brand. For BBC regional stations one brand mention is all they’ll agree to but you are reaching potentially several hundred thousand listeners.

Between 6pm-10pm on weekdays, there are ten local programmes across England meaning many stations have lost their evening shows. These programmes areas broadly mirror the BBC’s local television areas: North West & North East, Yorkshire & Lincolnshire, Midlands, London & East, South and South West. Again regional broadcast PR stats are critical and ideally a big name ‘ talent’ or personality.

The final opportunity for BBC regions is at the end of the day- A national ‘all-England’ programme which runs from 10pm across the week and from 2pm on Sundays. This equates to a national opportunity with a reach of several million listeners.

A PR challenge for the BBC itself, we must not forget the stress and worry that presenters and producers up and down the country must have been going through over the past year and will continue to face in 2025

That said, BBC local radio is not about to close their doors – far from it.  There are still going to be broadcast PR opportunities in the regions, and some will now allow your story to be heard across a much larger area.  Also, with the BBC’s drive to shifting resources to digital output, there is now a greater chance that your broadcast PR story could end up online as well as on the radio.   Just this week the BBC in Leeds has announced all their radio interviews conducted over Zoom or Teams will need to have spokespeople in vision as the content will be used digitally in a further streamlining of services.

However, stories do need to be stronger than ever and with the right spokespeople if they are going to stand out from the competition.

That’s a debate broadcaster themselves are having and 2025 is going to be challenging

It’s no surprise that we have seen broadcasters take the first step to removing themselves from terrestrial TV and growing their audience on YouTube. Broadcasters like Rupert Murdoch’s Talk TV are no longer broadcasting as a traditional television channel and have moved solely online and YouTube . Three months after the move TalkTV  say they hit one million subscribers on  YouTube

Scott Taunton, TalkTV’s president of broadcasting says that this is a trend here to stay and a reflection of audience preferences for online viewing.

He said: “Two years ago, we would not have been brave enough to launch a channel without a linear presence, but audiences of all ages have moved fast and smartphones are now the primary device where news is consumed.

Our prediction is that a live viewing via streaming TV rather than traditional channel viewing, alongside clips being shared on social media is here to stay.

YouTube in particular is dominating TV viewing habits with more than 9 in 10 online adults using the service, according to UK regulator Ofcom’s Online Nation report.

In fact, let’s repeat again, CASE STUDIES. Without them your story will be unlikely to make air. All national broadcasters are telling us they are critical.  They need to be willing to comment online as well as speak on air. For example, this from a producer at LBC news:

“Would one of your spokespeople (ideally a case study) be interested in contributing a 350-400 word Op-Ed for our LBC Views section on this? This would be tweeted out to our 680,000 followers and would feature on our website, which attracts 13 million viewers per month”

We can’t stress this enough – if you don’t have flexibility with spokespeople availability and ensure this fit the broadcaster’s agenda you won’t get coverage.  In past times a half day of spokesperson availability was generally enough for us to fill a radio schedule, with a TV interview either side.   But now programme changes, particularly in radio, means live interviews could be offered anytime from early morning to late afternoon.

There is a commitment from all broadcasters to ensure representation and this will continue to be a major decider in who they book onto their programmes.

A continuing broadcast PR trend for 2025 will be having local spokespeople willing and available in the regions. Local voices is something you’ll hear the BBC in particular request.   If you’re commissioning research you should include regional breakdown for at least 8 or 9 regions, but better still single counties or cities.

The final broadcast PR trend is the emergence of verification and trust checkers. Just because you’ve commissioned some research it doesn’t mean it will make air, even if 2000 people have been polled or your client has spoken to a global audience.

The 2024 Reuters Institute Digital News Report suggests that trust in BBC News rose from 55% in 2022, external, up to 61% in 2023, external and 62% in 2024, external and they want to ensure this level of trust continues. Nationally the BBC will review the research via BBC Verify with a fine toothcomb and reject if they feel it doesn’t stand up to scrutiny.