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A report by the broadcasting giant recorded a dramatic nine percent fall in viewing figures from 2017 to 2018, as audiences grew fed-up of the constant Brexit rhetoric. Channel 4’s flagship news segment was not the only broadcaster to fall foul of the decline in public interest in the biggest political issue of modern times, after BBC’s Newsnight also suffered a drop in viewership. The annual report by the broadcaster stated: “Brexit fatigue has disproportionately affected viewing to the main two in-depth news review programmes, Channel 4 News and BBC’s Newsnight.”

However, the news agenda is unlikely to shift too far away politics, as attention turns slightly away from Brexit and onto the Tory leadership race. On Sunday Channel 4 news anchor Krishnan Guru-Murphy will host a leadership debate among the remaining candidates. Along with the UK’s exit from the bloc, Channel 4 attributed the slump to the huge shift to digital formats. It saw the a 26 percent boost in online viewing through All 4 during 2018.

'Brexit fatigue' has been blamed for poor viewing figures

Its Youtube platform has also seen signifiant growth and increased its viewing figures to 133 million. Alex Mahon, chief executive of Channel 4 said: “Digital viewing grew by a whopping 26 percent in 2018. That allowed us to reach a record 915 million views across the year. “It’s the largest annual rise we’ve ever recorded. It’s incredible to have a rise like that after eight years of continuous growth.”

Channel 4 attributed the slump to the huge shift to digital formats

Although online content is booming, the report also highlighted a fall in its viewership among young and black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) audiences. Audience figures for BAME individuals fell by six percent. In addition the share of 16 to 34-year-olds tuning into Channel 4 fell by three percent.