Channel profile
BBC Two
How much the agenda changed
This channel changes its topic mix sharply from day to day, often moving quickly between categories.
Stories this channel missed
Number of times this broadcaster did not cover stories that several other channels covered.
Time spent on news stories
15h 1m 22s of this channel's 17h 55m analysed was identified news stories — ad breaks, weather, sport and trails count as “not news”.
Recent broadcasts
The latest broadcasts behind this channel's analysis — open one to see its annotated timeline.
Newsnight, followed by Weather
Newsnight's lead story examined the decline of British nightlife, reporting new research for the programme by the Nighttime Industries Association that found nightclub numbers have fallen by 36% since 2020, with two music venues closing every month and two pubs every day. The Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, has responded by cutting business rates for pubs and music venues. Rapper Tinie Tempah said many venues from his early career no longer exist and argued that grassroots venues are vital for emerging artists. A panel including Michael Kill of the Nighttime Industries Association and drag performer Bimini discussed causes such as taxation, changing habits, transport, and safety, with several calling for a VAT cut to 10% as a more substantial measure.
Newsnight, followed by Weather
The Prime Minister said today he is confident that the killers of PC Andrew Harper can be excluded from an early release scheme, and the broadcast traced the government's evolving position over three weeks, from a review to exclusions for certain offences, and then to today's announcement asking the Justice Secretary to present a plan in September to reduce early releases, including returning foreign national offenders and addressing IPP sentences. The panel debated whether this was a listening PM or a U-turn, with criticism from police and the victim's commissioner, and figures showed the original scheme to free 6,000 prison spaces had been reduced to around 5,000 after exclusions, with about 1,000 more places needed.
Newsnight, followed by Weather
Andy Burnham is set to begin his summer tour with an announcement in the East Midlands focused on reviving declining high streets. The plan includes giving councils more powers to block new vape shops, requiring planning permission for them, and preventing them from reclassifying as convenience stores. The government will also consult on scrapping the 'Aim to Permit' rule to allow local authorities to restrict betting shops and 24-hour slot machine venues, and proposes longer closure orders for businesses linked to organised crime, such as 'dodgy barbers'. The measures also include guidelines on shop fronts and signage. East Midlands mayor Claire Ward defended the approach, while entrepreneur Luke Johnson and others argued that business rates and employment costs remain the underlying problems.
On screen
Stills are sampled automatically at 60-second intervals. Where shown, the still is the nearest available frame from the relevant broadcast segment and is included to show what was on screen during that part of the broadcast. A still may not correspond to the exact second of a quoted phrase.
Category trend (last 30 days)
How this channel's coverage changed by category over the past month.
Flagged quotes over time
Contested and charged quotes per hour of analysed airtime. Flagged quotes reflect the language this broadcaster aired, not a judgement of its accuracy.
Distinctive vocabulary
Words and phrases this channel used far more often than the rest of UK TV news over the last 30 days. Distinctive vocabulary describes word choice relative to other channels, not accuracy or bias — terms reflect the stories a channel covered as much as how it framed them.
- insight 16× more often · 15 uses
“insight and interviews each weeknight.” Newsnight, followed by Weather · Thursday 13 August 2026
- panel 5.1× more often · 30 uses
“as well as Reform UK. But first, let me introduce your Newsnight studio panel.” Newsnight, followed by Weather · Thursday 13 August 2026
- net 4.3× more often · 24 uses
“it was just over 60% concerned about climate change and supported net zero.” Newsnight, followed by Weather · Thursday 13 August 2026
- careful 4.2× more often · 18 uses
“Be very, very careful.” Newsnight, followed by Weather · Tuesday 11 August 2026
- front pages 3.8× more often · 12 uses
“at a few of the stories on the front pages.” Newsnight, followed by Weather · Wednesday 12 August 2026
News agenda by category
How this channel divided its coverage compared with the cross-channel average.
Timeline
This channel's topic coverage day by day — what it ran, and how much time each story got.
Thursday 13 August 2026
Topics covered
politics
Nigel Farage
environment
Climate Change
Stories missed
No coverage gaps for this channel on this date.