Public Service TV Sees Slight Rise in Religious Programming
In recent findings, Ofcom reported a modest rise in the airtime dedicated to religion and ethics on public service television channels. The data revealed that public service broadcasters aired 171 hours of such content last year, with the majority being produced by the BBC.
While ITV and Channel 4 each contributed one hour to religious programming, Channel 5 did not air any. Comparatively, the previous year saw 168 hours dedicated to similar content.
Despite the increase, the 2025 figures remain significantly lower than the 254 hours recorded in 2013, the year with the highest amount of religious programming on record.
Daisy Scalchi, who leads the BBC’s Religion and Ethics department for TV, emphasized the corporation’s ongoing commitment to such content. She stated, “The BBC’s commitment to religion and ethics content is demonstrably strong. Audience habits have changed dramatically over the last 15 years, and we need to meet audiences where they are today – this includes programming in both peak and daytime TV but also programming that can gain a strong audience over time, and at their convenience, as viewers come to our content on iPlayer and other BBC platforms.”
Scalchi further noted the BBC’s extensive contribution, providing nearly 99 percent of the UK’s broadcast religion content, covering a range of formats from documentaries to live debates.
However, the BBC has faced scrutiny over its understanding of religious matters. Former journalist Roger Bolton criticized the network for its “relative illiteracy about religion.” Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell also expressed concerns about the representation of religion within the BBC’s broader output, stating, “My concern is much more about the place of religion across the whole output of the BBC, rather than simply seeing it as religious broadcasting in that rather more narrow definition. So I note with sadness and some distress the sometimes appalling lack of religious literacy in so much of the BBC.”
At the Religion Media Festival last month, the Archbishop reiterated these concerns but also acknowledged positive examples of religious programming, such as the BBC’s recent pilgrimage series, which he believes fosters a deeper understanding of faith across the media landscape.
This article was originally written by www.christiantoday.com
