The line graph illustrates the number of people, measured in millions, who watched Channel One news at four different times per day, over a one-year period.
Overall, what stands out from the graph is that the 6 p.m news consistently attracted the largest audience throughout the year, while the 1 p.m. programme recorded the lowest viewing figures. In contrast, the 11 p.m. news experienced a rapid rise after its introduction before declining towards the end of the year.
Looking at the details, as regards 6 p.m. news, viewing figures were the highest at the beginning of the year, at just under 5 million in January. Although there were slight fluctuations over the following months, the audience remained relatively strong throughout. By December, the number of viewers had decreased gradually to around 3.3 million.
With respect to the 9:30 p.m. programme, viewing numbers rose steadily from approximately 3 million in January to nearly 4 million by May. This was followed by a sharp decline during the summer months, with figures falling to about 1 million in August. However, viewership recovered gradually towards the end of the year to back to 3 million.
In contrast, the 1 p.m. news showed little variation across the period, remaining close to 1 million viewers throughout the year, which was the lowest level of all in news programmes. The 11 p.m. programme, which was introduced in May, saw a rapid increase in popularity, reaching a peak of around 4 million viewers in August. After this point, viewing figures declined sharply, ending the year at under 1 million.