The BBC's Real Official New Year's Message

I didn't know this until Charlie mentioned it, but between Doctor Who (which I watched, and after which I immediately switched the TV off) and Eastenders on New Year's Day came an extra item - a New Year's message, not from the Queen, or the Prime Minister, or the Archbishop of Canterbury, but from Sir David Attenborough, the patron saint of the BBC. And it was a campaigning message too:

Hello. I'm David Attenborough. I'm speaking to you from my home because, like many of you, I've spent much of the last year indoors, away from friends, family, and access to the natural world. It's been a challenging few months for many of us but the reaction to these extraordinary times has proved that when we work together, there is no limit to what we can accomplish. Today we are experiencing environmental change as never before. And the need to take action has never been more urgent. This year, the world will gather in Glasgow for the United Nations Climate Change Conference. It's a crucial moment in our history. This could be a year for positive change, for ourselves... ..for our planet... ..and for the wonderful creatures with which we share it. A year the world could remember proudly and say we made a difference. As we make our New Year's resolutions, let's think about what each of us could do - what positive changes could we make in our own lives? So here's to a brighter year ahead. Let's make 2021 a happy New Year for all the inhabitants of our perfect planet.

Just as The World at One was signalling yesterday that it approves of Black Live Matter, so BBC One couldn't let New Year's Day pass without signalling its commitment to urgent action on climate change at the United Nations Climate Change Conference. 

Admittedly, probably because Doctor Who isn't what it used to be, the audience for this was under 5 million, so its reach wasn't anywhere near what it would have been even a few years back.  

On which theme, here's the BBC's Lizo Mzimba:

The Doctor Who New Year special Revolution of the Daleks was the BBC's most watched show last night with an overnight audience of 4.69 million. The two most watched programmes overall were ITV's Coronation Street with 5.02m and the ITV Evening News won the night with 5.54m.

Lizo then added a coda:  

Doctor Who's overnight figure is up by almost a million from the previous episode, March's series 12 finale The Timeless Children.

This is an area I know a bit about. The Timeless Children was the second lowest-watched Doctor Who ever, only beaten by the episode which preceded it. It 'achieved' a meagre 3.78 million viewers. Jodie Whittaker's first episode had got 8.2 million viewers, so the programme had lost some 4.4 million viewers under her - and showrunner Chris Chibnall's - tenure. Doctor Who seasonal one-offs always get higher figures. Peter Capaldi got 6.34 million for his in 2014. This year's 4.69 million, therefore, is dire for Doctor Who. To say it isn't the audience-puller it used to be is a considerable understatement. 

So Sir David's homily won't have been seen by the VAST majority of the public, and those catching up with Doctor Who on the iPlayer won't be catching it either.

The BBC doesn't have the reach it used to have.