How we calculate our reach with the media

This coverage helped share the experiences of people across North Yorkshire and raised awareness of the issues that matter most to our communities. 

By combining audience and circulation data for each piece of coverage, we estimate that our stories reached more than one million people across the UK.

How we calculated our reach

To keep this estimate clear and transparent, we added together the typical audience sizes of the media outlets that featured our work during this period.

Audience and circulation figures are taken from publicly available sources, including Radio Joint Audience Research for radio audiences, Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board data for television viewing, and the Audit Bureau of Circulations for newspapers and magazines. 

Website and online visitor numbers are drawn from reputable analytics tools and information provided by the media outlets themselves. 

The figure of over one million people represents an estimate of potential reach across all media platforms between July 2024 and October 2025. It combines published audience, circulation, and website visitor figures, which are measured over different time periods (weekly, monthly, or per issue), so the total should be seen as an indication of scale rather than a precise count of individuals.

We did not include very large global site totals (for example, BBC News’ global web audience) to avoid overstating our reach.

Our coverage in numbers

Radio

• Greatest Hits Radio York & North Yorkshire — 57,000 to 60,000 weekly listeners (five features)
• BBC Radio York — around 53,000 weekly listeners (two features)
  Radio subtotal: approximately 400,000 people

Television

• That’s TV — around 1,300 daily viewers (five segments)
  TV subtotal: approximately 6,500 people

Print

• Local and regional newspapers including The Press (York), The Northern Echo, Darlington & Stockton Times, The Scottish Farmer, Yorkshire Post, and The Scarborough News
• Combined circulation: approximately 100,000 readers

Online

• Local and regional sites including The Northern Echo and Darlington & Stockton Times (around 117,000 monthly visitors each) and Agriland (9,300 monthly visitors)
  Online subtotal: approximately 244,000 visitors

Adding these figures together gives a conservative base total of around 750,000 people.

When we include one of our sector features — Farmers Weekly, which reaches over 623,000 monthly visitors — the total rises to more than 1.3 million potential viewers, readers and listeners.

Why your story matters

Healthwatch’s visibility across regional and national media platforms has brought critical health and care issues into the spotlight. It ensures the people in charge of your care are listening. Through every headline and interview, we’re making local voices impossible to ignore.

We know that real stories can drive real change. If you’ve had a positive or negative experience with health or care services, consider becoming a Healthwatch case study. Your story could highlight what’s working well, or help shine a light where improvements are needed. Speaking up really does make a difference.