It is a disservice to this country that we are devoid of a centre-right television news outlet that at least would make an effort, particularly in international news, to show a narrative closer to the truth than that served up on the nightly left-wing platter. I find, if one has a masochistic tendency to watch, it is better served up as a cold dish (i.e., recorded) and watched later after one has had chance to digest the in-house offerings, which are more tasty than what is on the 1-News and Three News menus.
Back to the point. I will start with Australia which, unlike here, appears to have four channels favouring the centre-right. They are Sky News and channels 10, 9 and 7. I just might have solved the problem of why so many Kiwis are moving there…The two channels favouring the left are the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), predictably government owned, and the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), which operates along the lines of Māori television and is government owned but independent of it and providing multi-cultural programming.
It is interesting to note the ABC’s declining popularity across all its digital platforms. In round figures in 2021–2022, its audience was 17 million, in 2022–2023 it was 13 million and this year it is just under 11 million. The most watched news channel in Australia is Channel 7, with a 34 per cent share, followed by the ABC with 31 per cent. The ABC is the most trusted no doubt on the basis it is government owned. People need to wake up to that misconception.
Sky News in 2024 increased its viewership 142 per cent year on year. Sky News is also accessible on YouTube and this is where it is getting phenomenal growth. A report earlier this week showed a further 50 per cent increase in viewer numbers. One of the reasons given is its reliable reporting that has increased trust and engagement. (Left media outlets take note)
In June 2022, Sky News had 2 BILLION viewers globally and in October 2023 that figure had almost doubled in one year to a staggering 3.8 billion. It is in the top five of all channels available on YouTube and is regarded as one of the most trusted for news. It is probably the farthest to the right of any news channel globally.
In Canada the two main news outlets are the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), government owned, and Canadian Television (CTV), which is privately owned. The general consensus among media watchdogs is, as in NZ, both channels have a left bias. There appears to be not much to choose between these two.
CTV has a two per cent higher viewer rating than CBC, which is two per cent above CTV in trust, presumably because it is government owned. Viewers in Canada also need to wake up! CTV ranks first overall and for news. Recently CBC made a big leap from 11th place to fourth, largely due, it is thought, to broadcasting the King’s speech from the throne. Maybe he needs to visit more frequently.
The UK presents an interesting picture, with millions so fed up with the institutional bias of the BBC (something which they laughingly deny), that they are not paying the licence fee. As of May 2025, in the UK 49.4 million access services offered by the BBC each week including, interestingly, 70 per cent of under 16s. BBC News at Six averages 3.6 million viewers weekly. The BBC’s average weekly reach of the adult population declined from 74 per cent in 2019 to 60 per cent in 2024
Internationally the BBC is accessed by 450 million viewers weekly, well behind Sky News Australia’s nearly four billion. Again, interestingly it is popular with the younger adults aged 16 to 34. On the latest available data the BBC has a 34 per cent total share of the total broadcast viewing in the UK. In August of this year, GB News overtook the BBC and Sky News UK for the first time in key time slots. GB News leans centre right.
America presents a stark difference between left- and right-wing television. The big three news channels in the US are regarded as Fox News, CNN and MSNBC, the latter two being centre left, MSNBC very much so. The dominant player is Fox News, with a daily audience of 2.158 million in prime time. MSNBC registered 1.261 million, a 65 per cent increase and CNN averaged 786,000 a gain of +77 per cent. The other right of centre network is Newsmax, a relative newcomer, now fifth in cable news popularity.
The big increases in audience for CNN and MSNBC cannot be ignored. The increases are even more pronounced in the key 25–54 demographic. It shows how much audience they had lost. Whether this increase in audience numbers will continue will be interesting to see.
So while the left-wing media is still playing a part in the broadcast landscape, in gardening parlance, America has at least some green shoots appearing in terms of audience numbers. Overall though, my research shows a dominance of the right-wing over the left. Something else to take into account is the growth of digital services on offer that are increasingly taking people away from traditional media.
The numbers for Sky News on YouTube though are mind blowing. Of course, those on the left wouldn’t have a bar of them. These people would do well to remember they have achieved, not on bias, but on the basis of trust and being honest purveyors of news. The same can be said of other right-leaning media. That is the difference.
One other thing to note is just because a media outlet is government-owned, one must not therefore assume it is more trustworthy. Safer to assume the opposite.
JC is a right-wing crusader. Reached an age that embodies the dictum only the good die young. This article was first published HERE
Back to the point. I will start with Australia which, unlike here, appears to have four channels favouring the centre-right. They are Sky News and channels 10, 9 and 7. I just might have solved the problem of why so many Kiwis are moving there…The two channels favouring the left are the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), predictably government owned, and the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), which operates along the lines of Māori television and is government owned but independent of it and providing multi-cultural programming.
It is interesting to note the ABC’s declining popularity across all its digital platforms. In round figures in 2021–2022, its audience was 17 million, in 2022–2023 it was 13 million and this year it is just under 11 million. The most watched news channel in Australia is Channel 7, with a 34 per cent share, followed by the ABC with 31 per cent. The ABC is the most trusted no doubt on the basis it is government owned. People need to wake up to that misconception.
Sky News in 2024 increased its viewership 142 per cent year on year. Sky News is also accessible on YouTube and this is where it is getting phenomenal growth. A report earlier this week showed a further 50 per cent increase in viewer numbers. One of the reasons given is its reliable reporting that has increased trust and engagement. (Left media outlets take note)
In June 2022, Sky News had 2 BILLION viewers globally and in October 2023 that figure had almost doubled in one year to a staggering 3.8 billion. It is in the top five of all channels available on YouTube and is regarded as one of the most trusted for news. It is probably the farthest to the right of any news channel globally.
In Canada the two main news outlets are the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), government owned, and Canadian Television (CTV), which is privately owned. The general consensus among media watchdogs is, as in NZ, both channels have a left bias. There appears to be not much to choose between these two.
CTV has a two per cent higher viewer rating than CBC, which is two per cent above CTV in trust, presumably because it is government owned. Viewers in Canada also need to wake up! CTV ranks first overall and for news. Recently CBC made a big leap from 11th place to fourth, largely due, it is thought, to broadcasting the King’s speech from the throne. Maybe he needs to visit more frequently.
The UK presents an interesting picture, with millions so fed up with the institutional bias of the BBC (something which they laughingly deny), that they are not paying the licence fee. As of May 2025, in the UK 49.4 million access services offered by the BBC each week including, interestingly, 70 per cent of under 16s. BBC News at Six averages 3.6 million viewers weekly. The BBC’s average weekly reach of the adult population declined from 74 per cent in 2019 to 60 per cent in 2024
Internationally the BBC is accessed by 450 million viewers weekly, well behind Sky News Australia’s nearly four billion. Again, interestingly it is popular with the younger adults aged 16 to 34. On the latest available data the BBC has a 34 per cent total share of the total broadcast viewing in the UK. In August of this year, GB News overtook the BBC and Sky News UK for the first time in key time slots. GB News leans centre right.
America presents a stark difference between left- and right-wing television. The big three news channels in the US are regarded as Fox News, CNN and MSNBC, the latter two being centre left, MSNBC very much so. The dominant player is Fox News, with a daily audience of 2.158 million in prime time. MSNBC registered 1.261 million, a 65 per cent increase and CNN averaged 786,000 a gain of +77 per cent. The other right of centre network is Newsmax, a relative newcomer, now fifth in cable news popularity.
The big increases in audience for CNN and MSNBC cannot be ignored. The increases are even more pronounced in the key 25–54 demographic. It shows how much audience they had lost. Whether this increase in audience numbers will continue will be interesting to see.
So while the left-wing media is still playing a part in the broadcast landscape, in gardening parlance, America has at least some green shoots appearing in terms of audience numbers. Overall though, my research shows a dominance of the right-wing over the left. Something else to take into account is the growth of digital services on offer that are increasingly taking people away from traditional media.
The numbers for Sky News on YouTube though are mind blowing. Of course, those on the left wouldn’t have a bar of them. These people would do well to remember they have achieved, not on bias, but on the basis of trust and being honest purveyors of news. The same can be said of other right-leaning media. That is the difference.
One other thing to note is just because a media outlet is government-owned, one must not therefore assume it is more trustworthy. Safer to assume the opposite.
JC is a right-wing crusader. Reached an age that embodies the dictum only the good die young. This article was first published HERE
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