Broadcast Prism One story, split by channel. See the full spectrum.

Compare how UK TV news channels cover the same stories

Every day we transcribe the main UK TV news broadcasts and compare them, revealing which stories every channel agreed mattered, and which only one chose to run.

8 channels analysed · 116 days archived · 880h transcribed · generated Fri 23 October 2026, 01:19 BST

Findings from Yesterday

The widest gap on one story

BBC News gave 39m to “Witkoff to meet Putin as Trump presses Zelensky to make a deal” since 14 October. Two channels gave it none.

BBC News 39m
BBC Two 37m
Sky News 22m
Channel 4 17m
BBC One 15m
GB News 9m

No coverage Channel 5 · ITV

Total airtime per channel, 14 Oct to 21 Oct 2026

See the full breakdown →

Same story, two framings

BBC One and Sky News framed “Witkoff calls Putin a humanitarian as Russia signals new talks” differently.

BBC One broadcasts Witkoff calling Putin a humanitarian, whereas Sky News condemns applying the word humanitarian to Putin.

You are you are a humanitarian also, sir

BBC One

using the word humanitarian anywhere near him, even if it was for that purpose,

Sky News

4 channels ran this story · both quotes aired within hours of each other

See the full breakdown →

The widest gap on one story

GB News gave 23m to “Mahmood's indefinite leave plan in retreat as Home Office drops key date” since 21 October. Six channels gave it none.

GB News 23m
BBC Two 10m

No coverage Channel 5 · BBC News · BBC One · Channel 4 · ITV · Sky News

Total airtime per channel, 21 Oct to 22 Oct 2026

See the full breakdown →

Same story, two framings

ITV and Sky News framed “UK takes 32 government services offline in global PHP cyber alert” differently.

Sky News presents the fix as quick and manageable, whereas ITV1 warns that many websites may remain unsafe because the code is so widespread.

but the code involved is so common it's feared many will remain unsafe.

ITV

It shouldn't take a huge amount of time to fix this.

Sky News

4 channels ran this story · both quotes aired within hours of each other

See the full breakdown →

Today — Thursday 22 October 2026

What's new: today's coverage as it comes together, and how far the analysis has got.

Analysis progress23 of 24 broadcasts analysed · 8 of 8 channels analysed
Updated 3 minutes ago
BBC News
analysed 4/5 broadcasts
BBC One
analysed 4/4 broadcasts
BBC Two
analysed 2/2 broadcasts
Channel 4
analysed 2/2 broadcasts
Channel 5
analysed 2/2 broadcasts
GB News
analysed 2/2 broadcasts
ITV
analysed 3/3 broadcasts
Sky News
analysed 4/4 broadcasts

Newly detected in the last 48 hours

New

Emerging

YouGov poll shows Reform UK election confidence down 17 points

A YouGov poll found 44% see Reform UK as capable of winning an election, down 17 points in a month, with a former party staffer conceding a difficult summer.

1 channel
Reform UK

New

Emerging

Home Office asylum seeker rape and harassment booklet cost taxpayers £21,635

A Home Office booklet telling asylum seekers not to rape or sexually harass people, including partners and children, cost taxpayers £21,635, according to GB News.

1 channel
Asylum Seekers

New

Emerging

Government launches Be Ready campaign urging households to keep 72 hours of supplies

The government has launched the Be Ready campaign, advising households to keep 72 hours of water, food and other essentials to cope with cyber attacks, extreme weather or infrastructure disruption.

4 channels
Emergency PreparednessCyber SecurityDefence

New

Emerging

Minister defends £1.3m-a-day Scunthorpe steel bailout but gives no clear plan

A government minister defended spending £1.3 million a day to keep Scunthorpe's blast furnaces running as a national security necessity, but could not set out a clear long-term plan.

1 channel
British Steel
View today's full breakdown →

Yesterday — Wednesday 21 October 2026

What converged: the most recent finished day's cross-channel summary — where channels agreed and where they differed.

The editorial agenda was dominated by North Sea Gas, Aberfan, and North Sea. Sky News showed a distinctive focus, giving Cyber Security 2.4x the average airtime share of the 4 channels that covered it. Notable coverage gaps occurred where Aberfan was omitted by GB News; and Inflation was omitted by BBC News, GB News.

5 channels led with “Government expected to approve Jackdaw and delay Rosebank”; ITV led with “King, Queen and Prince William join Aberfan 60th anniversary commemorations”; Sky News led with “Global PHP vulnerability forces government websites offline”. See every channel’s lead →

Most contested topics

The topics drawing the most flagged language over the last 14 days, weighted so recent days count for more. Quotes shown in context on each topic page.

UkraineNorth Sea OilCyber SecurityKing CharlesFrance ProtestsReform UK

Top Stories Covered

21 broadcasts

Peaking

Government expected to approve Jackdaw and delay Rosebank

The government is expected to approve the Jackdaw gas field in the North Sea while delaying a decision on the Rosebank development.

7 channels
North Sea OilEnergyJackdawJackdaw Gas +3 more

13 broadcasts

Peaking

King, Queen and Prince William join Aberfan 60th anniversary commemorations

King Charles, Queen Camilla and Prince William joined survivors and bereaved families in Aberfan to mark 60 years since the disaster, which killed 144 people, including 116 children.

6 channels
Aberfan

12 broadcasts

Emerging

Witkoff calls Putin a humanitarian as Russia signals new talks

Steve Witkoff met Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg, praised him as a humanitarian after a prisoner release, and Russia said it could resume peace talks next month while fighting continued.

4 channels
UkraineRussia-Ukraine WarUkraine WarUS-Russia

11 broadcasts

Emerging

UK inflation hits 3.5% as national debt passes £3 trillion

UK inflation rose to 3.5% in September as fuel prices climbed, while national debt reached £3 trillion ahead of next week's Budget.

6 channels
InflationNational DebtUK Budget
View the full Wednesday 21 October 2026 breakdown →

Recent days

What got the airtime: the most-covered stories of the last few days, how that agenda split by category, and the week just completed.

Across the last 7 days, Cyber Security, Sentencing and Barclays emerged as new topics, while coverage of Ukraine, Ukraine War and Russell Brand faded. BBC News stood out, giving School Shooting 3x the average airtime share of the 6 channels that covered it. France Protests and France led the agenda overall.

23 broadcasts in 3 days · aired in the last day

Emerging

UK takes 32 government services offline in global PHP cyber alert

Governments and firms worldwide are rushing to patch critical PHP flaws, with 32 UK government services offline as a precaution and no confirmed breach reported.

6 channels
Cyber Security

28 broadcasts in 3 days · aired in the last day

Peaking

Government approves Jackdaw gas field with Rosebank decision pending

The government has approved gas production from the Jackdaw field in the North Sea, saying it will support energy security and jobs, while a decision on the Rosebank oil field remains pending.

8 channels
North Sea OilEnergyJackdawJackdaw Gas +3 more

11 broadcasts in 3 days · aired in the last day

Peaking

Storm Austin to bring amber winds before Storm Bulow hits at weekend

Storm Austin is forecast to bring damaging winds and travel disruption to south-west England and the Channel Islands, with Storm Bulow set to follow at the weekend.

5 channels
StormsStorm AustinWeather

9 broadcasts in 3 days · aired in the last day

Emerging

Judges given new powers to punish sentencing no-shows

Judges in England and Wales can impose extra punishments, including up to three weeks in cells and loss of privileges, on criminals who refuse to attend sentencing, with the changes due next year.

6 channels
SentencingCriminal Justice

The week in review

Week 42 · 12–18 October 2026

BBC Two never covered “Russell Brand” all week — 115 min across 7 channels.

Read the week’s superlatives →

Browse all 3,082 stories

Across the whole archive

Zoom out: patterns over every day we've ever analysed — and where to go next.

Broadcaster Alignment Map

Channels move closer together when they cover similar stories, and farther apart when their agendas differ.

Most Covered Topics (All-Time)

Topics that received the most TV news coverage across all dates.

01

Immigration

immigration
32h 22m 8 channels
02

Andy Burnham

politics
30h 31m 8 channels
03

Ukraine

war
29h 44m 8 channels
04

Labour

politics
24h 15m 8 channels
05

Reform UK

politics
22h 47m 8 channels

News Agenda by Category

Project-wide share of news coverage devoted to each topic category.

politics 22.9%
international 13.1%
crime 11.2%
environment 7.7%
media 6.6%
war 6.2%
health 6.1%
sport 5.7%
Stories — all 3,082 → Broadcasts — 880h transcribed → Channels — compare all 8 →