Is the BBC meeting its international news remit

IBT’s latest research, looking in detail at the content of TV’s flagship news bulletins, has revealed an alarming decline in the quantity and range of international stories, with serious implications for international NGOs wishing to use television to reach mainstream audiences. Professor Martin Scott, one of the report authors, explains.

Providing high-quality, impartial international news coverage has always been a fundamental purpose of public service media. It ensures universal access to reliable information about the world, regardless of market-driven incentives. At a time of rapid and intense geopolitical change – with shifting power dynamics having profound consequences for communities in the UK and around the world – international journalism has never been more important.

The BBC’s current Public Purposes, which were set in the 2016 Royal Charter, incorporate this objective via an obligation to ‘provide impartial news and information to help people understand and engage with the world around them’. Before that, the 2006 Royal Charter required the BBC to ‘bring the world to the UK’. As the UK government undertakes a new BBC Charter Review, it is vital that an obligation to provide comprehensive, distinctive and globally diverse international news coverage is retained, if not strengthened.

To investigate how well the BBC – and other broadcasters in the UK – are helping audiences understand and engage with the world, we analysed the international news coverage on their flagship television news programmes, social media feeds, news apps, and bulletins. Data collection took place across two non-consecutive weeks in January and February 2026 and also involved interviews with leading international news editors, correspondents, academics, and NGO representatives.

Three key findings about the BBC stand out.

Discuss challenges, opportunities and best practices related to communications in the international development and humanitarian sector.

Strengthening the BBC’s remit for international news

Is the BBC meeting its international news remit? On the evidence of this study, the BBC’s social media channels appear to be far more effective than BBC News at Ten at ‘help[ing] people understand and engage with the world around them’ in all its complexity and diversity. Given this, it is vital that the BBC’s new charter places firmer, measurable obligations on the BBC to sustain prominent, distinctive, and globally diverse international news coverage across both broadcast and digital platforms.

For international NGOs seeking to secure visibility for themselves and underreported crises, these findings indicate that they should consider proactively engaging with the BBC’s digital and social news platforms, rather than its flagship broadcast bulletins. It also suggests that they might prioritise programmes and channels that are still dedicating significant news time to international issues – including Channel 4 News, Sky News and Al Jazeera English.

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