BRITAIN IN CRISIS - FLOODS: Silver lining for BBC news at 10

0 Comments | Sunday Mirror, Nov 5, 2000 | by TOM KELLY

STORM clouds were gathering for the BBC's Ten O'Clock News - until the awful weather brought viewers flooding back.

Audiences had dropped to 3.7 million during the last Wednesday in October, but a record 6.5 million people watched the floods bulletin on Friday. The average audience for the old Nine O'Clock News was 5.4 million.

A BBC spokeswoman said: "The bad weather has helped bring people back."

The new figures came a day after the decision to shift the news to 10pm was criticised by the National Consumer Council.