BBC pushes for 20 million Glasto viewers

The BBC expects to reach up to 20 million viewers with its coverage of the Glastonbury Festival this year. The broadcaster will provide 250 hours of coverage across all platforms from the event, including 30 hours on its TV channels, which will be beamed out under the BBC Music umbrella for the first time.  Coverage on TV begins with the One Show on BBC1 at 7pm on Friday before moving to BBC2, BBC3 and BBC4. The BBC’s Director of Music Bob Shennan said: “It’s a hugely important event for BBC Music for a variety of reasons” adding“It’s one of the world’s greatest music festivals and it’s certainly the biggest single weekend commitment the BBC has, bringing music to our audience" and “We expect that our content across the weekend will reach somewhere around 19-20 million people, which is a very significant portion of the population.”

More than 100 artists will be filmed for broadcast and live streaming, including headliners Florence And The Machine, Kanye West, Chemical Brothers, Rudimental, DeadMau5, Hot Chip, 'tSunday ea time legend' Lionel Richie and closing Pyramid Stage act The Who.

Shennan added: “The majority of people want to take what we give them on television and radio, and they listen to it as a linear experience. But being able to delve into lots of different stages and artists, going into the complexity of what Glastonbury has to offer is one of the great opportunities of our digital coverage.”