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 · 57 days archived · 337h transcribed · generated Mon 24 August 2026, 14:29 BST

Findings from Yesterday

The widest gap on one story

BBC News gave 58m to “US tariffs on Canadian goods take effect after trade talks collapse” since 19 August. Four channels gave it none.

BBC News 58m
Sky News 9m
BBC One 7m
ITV 1m

No coverage Channel 5 · BBC Two · Channel 4 · GB News

Total airtime per channel, 19 Aug to 23 Aug 2026

See the full breakdown →

Same story, two framings

BBC News and BBC One framed “Zelensky rejects wartime elections as sacked minister pushes for vote” differently.

BBC ONE West describes public support for wartime elections as very limited, while BBC NEWS presents a poll indicating half of Ukrainians support elections now, disagreeing on public backing.

50% of Ukrainians support holding elections now even without a ceasefire

BBC News

His call for elections seemed to fall flat, there was very little support for it

BBC One

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

See the full breakdown →

A harder week on one channel

BBC News gave 63% of its airtime to bad-news stories over the last 30 days, more than any other channel.

BBC News 63%
Channel 4 58%
Sky News 56%
BBC One 55%
ITV 53%
GB News 49%
Channel 5 47%
BBC Two 40%

Share of airtime over 30 days, by what each channel chose to run

See the full breakdown →

Room for the lighter stuff

Channel 5 gave 35% of its airtime to light stories over the last 30 days. No other channel gave more than 26%.

Channel 5 35%
ITV 26%
BBC One 19%
GB News 18%
Sky News 17%
BBC News 15%
Channel 4 10%
BBC Two 8%

Share of airtime over 30 days, by what each channel chose to run

See the full breakdown →

Today — Monday 24 August 2026

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

Analysis progress7 of 21 broadcasts analysed · 4 of 8 channels analysed
Updated 1 minute ago
BBC News
analysed 3/5 broadcasts
BBC One
transcript ready 0/3 broadcasts
BBC Two
scheduled · 22:30 0/1 broadcasts
Channel 4
scheduled · 19:00 0/1 broadcasts
Channel 5
analysed 1/2 broadcasts
GB News
scheduled · 19:00 0/2 broadcasts
ITV
analysed 1/3 broadcasts
Sky News
analysed 2/4 broadcasts

Newly detected in the last 48 hours

New

Emerging

Montagu's Harrier nests successfully for second year with six chicks

A rare bird of prey, identified as Montagu's Harrier, has nested successfully for the second consecutive year, according to reports.

1 channel
Montagu's Harrier

New

Emerging

Leaders pledge support for Europe's front line

Leaders have pledged support for Europe's front line, reaffirming their commitment to regional security and stability.

1 channel
Europe Security

New

Emerging

Post Office review still without reviewer a year on

A year after a review was announced, no reviewer has been appointed, raising concerns about the review's progress and implementation.

1 channel
Post Office

New

Emerging

Nuffield Trust report finds NHS dentistry access almost impossible

A Nuffield Trust report has found that accessing NHS dentistry is almost impossible, highlighting severe shortages and long waiting times.

1 channel
NHS
View today's full breakdown →

Yesterday — Sunday 23 August 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 A66, Ukraine, and US-Canada. Sky News showed a distinctive focus, giving A66 1.5x the average airtime share of the 5 channels that covered it. Notable coverage gaps occurred where A66 was omitted by GB News.

3 channels led with “Seven die in head-on crash on A66 in Teesside”; BBC News led with “Zelensky warns wartime elections could split Ukraine”; GB News led with “Home Office defends asylum booklet on rape and child abuse laws”; and 2 others. 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.

WildfiresUkraineCleveland PoliceImmigrationHeatwaveMeghan Markle

Top Stories Covered

11 broadcasts

Fading

A66 crash: Police officers and five young men named as investigation continues

Seven people have died in a head-on collision on the A66 in Teesside, according to BBC One West.

6 channels
Cleveland PoliceA66Coastal SafetyCoastguard +11 more

7 broadcasts

Emerging

Government to give mayors powers to overrule councils on major planning

The government has announced plans to give English mayors authority to overrule councils on planning decisions.

4 channels
HousingMayors

5 broadcasts

Emerging

Government to confine serious offenders to GPS restriction zones from October

The government has announced plans to use GPS monitoring to create restriction zones for serious offenders released from prison, adding conditions to their release.

3 channels
PrisonersCriminal Justice

3 broadcasts

Fading

Humanoid robot breaks 100m world record at Beijing games

The World Humanoid Robot Games are underway in Beijing, showcasing advanced humanoid robots from around the world.

2 channels
Humanoid RobotsChina RobotsRobotRobotics
View the full Sunday 23 August 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, EU-China, Europe Security and India emerged as new topics, while coverage of A66, Wildfires and Harry and Meghan faded. Channel 4 stood out, giving TikTok 3x the average airtime share of the 5 channels that covered it. Ukraine and Royal Family led the agenda overall.

27 broadcasts · aired in the last day

Fading

A66 crash: Police officers and five young men named as investigation continues

Seven people have died in a head-on collision on the A66 in Teesside, according to BBC One West.

6 channels
Cleveland PoliceA66Coastal SafetyCoastguard +11 more

10 broadcasts · aired in the last day

Fading

Humanoid robot breaks 100m world record at Beijing games

The World Humanoid Robot Games are underway in Beijing, showcasing advanced humanoid robots from around the world.

4 channels
Humanoid RobotsChina RobotsRobotRobotics

7 broadcasts · aired in the last day

Peaking

Andy Burnham in Kyiv pledges support and Storm Shadow missile tech

Prime Minister Andy Burnham traveled to Kyiv for Ukraine's Independence Day and announced an agreement to produce Storm Shadow missiles.

3 channels
Ukraine

7 broadcasts · aired in the last day

Emerging

Government to give mayors powers to overrule councils on major planning

The government has announced plans to give English mayors authority to overrule councils on planning decisions.

4 channels
HousingMayors

The week in review

Week 34 · 17–23 August 2026

Channel 4 never covered “Royal Family” all week — 168 min across 7 channels.

Read the week’s superlatives →

Browse all 1234 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

Andy Burnham

politics
19h 12m 8 channels
02

World Cup

sport
17h 30m 8 channels
03

US-Iran

international
13h 35m 8 channels
04

Wildfires

environment
13h 3m 8 channels
05

Immigration

immigration
12h 47m 8 channels

News Agenda by Category

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

politics 22.9%
crime 12.4%
international 11.0%
environment 10.4%
sport 9.5%
health 5.6%
media 5.1%
immigration 4.7%
Stories — all 1234 → Broadcasts — 337h transcribed → Channels — compare all 8 →