A new study by UK broadband comparison site Cable.co.uk has uncovered the TV channels and services with the most educational content.
The research was undertaken by the team behind UK mobile and broadband comparison site www.Cable.co.uk, in response to the closure of all UK schools and BBC’s decision to air 3 hours of educational content each day.
For the study, the team looked at the most popular children’s TV channels in the UK across the span of two weeks (Monday to Friday), to see which provided the most educational content.
Firstly, it was revealed that there is an average of nine hours and 26 minutes of educational programming for children each day on Freeview television, from CBeebies, CBBC and Channel 5.
TV channel Nick Jr. (not available on Freeview) was revealed to have the highest amount of educational content in its programming, with 8 hours and 15 minutes of programmes per day described as such.
On the other hand, educational programmes account for just 1% of CITV’s weekly schedule – making up 11 minutes per day – with Sony-owned Pop airing no such shows.
The full list of TV channels, ranked from most educational content to least, includes:
- Nick Jr. – 8 hours 15 minutes (of educational programming shown each day)
- CBeebies – 4 hours
- CBBC – 3 hours 38 minutes
- Channel 5 – 1 hour 36 minutes
- BBC Two – 1 hour
- CITV – 11 minutes
- Pop – 0 minutes
When looking at the proportion of each channel’s children’s programming that contained educational content, Nick Jr. was still the highest of the bunch, with 69% of its weekly programming described as such. Channel 5 actually had the second-highest proportion, with 50% of its daily 3 hours and 15 minutes of children’s programming containing educational content.
As part of the research, the team also looked into the educational content available on streaming services available in the UK. It found that – of the children’s shows available on each platform – Netflix had the highest amount of educational content, at 24%, with Amazon Prime (18%) and Disney + (16%) falling behind.
Alongside the research, the Cable.co.uk team have also created an online guide, detailing the best internet providers and alternatives for homeschooling.
Commenting on the findings, Dan Howdle, consumer telecoms analyst at UK mobile and broadband comparison site www.Cable.co.uk, says: “Lockdown three has once again brought to light the issues involved with parents trying to home-school while working from home themselves, not to mention the problems for those unable to access the internet at all. We wanted to see which TV channels offered the most educational content, to help ease the burden of parents across the country.”
