‘You could fully interact with only on social and get a full experience from, which is smart’
Sky News
Political turmoil and conflicts around the world have not always made for easy viewing, but Sky News’ ability to put events into context quickly and accurately across platforms has resulted in increasingly broad engagement.
Judges said the Sky News Digital team had provided “a masterclass in how to complement a traditional broadcaster”, amplifying the channel’s journalism “with bold, innovative content that not only reaches new audiences but redefines what news looks like for the next generation”.
A digital-first commissioning approach with shows such as 50 Days of Trump has helped Sky News to become the biggest UK broadcaster on TikTok with nearly 8m followers and one of the largest English-language news accounts globally, while it has also provided Instagram Carousel content, threads on X, livestreams, and audience Q&As.
Judges said that Sky News’ focus on putting digital thinking first had created a brand “that you could fully interact with only on social and get a full experience from, which is smart.”
And with 2024 being a year of elections, the results are in: 3.2 million watched Sky News’ General Election live streams on its owned platforms, while 4m joined on YouTube and nearly 1m on TikTok. US election video views stood at 5.7m on owned platforms and 14.4m on YouTube.
Shortlist
BBC TV Social
BBC for BBC iPlayer
BBC iPlayer had a record-breaking year on social media with posts averaging well over 100m views per week. TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and more have been employed to drive engagement of shows such as Gavin & Stacey, Wallace & Gromit, Michael McIntyre and Philomena Cunk, with iPlayer achieving over 6bn video views on social.
S4C
S4C for S4C
Digital first and digital-only content across genres and platforms have helped the Welsh-language broadcaster to reach new and diverse audiences, underlined by its dedicated YouTube channel for sport securing 20% of watch time hours from viewers aged 13-24. Catch-up services S4C Clic and iPlayer also secured record returns, with a 31% increase in hours across 2024.
Talking Pictures TV Encore
Talking Pictures TV Encore for Talking Pictures TV
Averaging around 500,000 video views a month across all platforms, Talking Pictures TV’s on demand service Encore has enjoyed consistent growth with just under 200,000 users now registered, who have average viewing time of around 25 minutes. Further growth is expected with upcoming launches on Samsung and LG Connected TV apps, and an Android mobile app.
The Official BBC Wonder Chase on Roblox
BBC Children’s & Education, BBC Young Audiences & Mobile Pie for BBC
Combining characters and presenters from brands such as Doctor Who, Match of the Day, and Wallace & Gromit, this BBC-backed Roblox game aimed to immerse players and extend engagement with 3.3 million visits and 1.1 million hours played across 12 branded mini-games, with average session time of 6.7 minutes.
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