14% of Welsh adults are more likely to watch early evening BBC programme The One Show now that Welsh presenter Alex Jones, who is from Ammanford, Carmarthenshire, will be taking over the role vacated by Christine Bleakley.
Jones, a longtime presenter on Welsh-language channel S4C, seems particularly popular with younger viewers. 20% of 18-24 year olds in Wales said they were more likely to watch the show as Jones joins comedian Jason Manford on the sofa from tonight onwards. This is good news for the BBC who can expect to see higher audiences in Wales following the appointment of Jones.
However, it seems that local presenters are not the most important factor for Welsh adults when deciding which television programmes to watch. 69% of respondents say it would make no difference if the main characters were Welsh when deciding how likely they are to watch a TV programme and 69% agree it makes no difference whether the programme is exclusive to Welsh TV.
However location does appear to be an important factor: 35% of Welsh adults are more likely to watch a programme if it is mainly set in Wales and 41% are more likely to watch a show if it shows a variety of Welsh areas and landscapes.
When it comes to Welsh television presenters, almost a quarter (23%) of respondents cite BBC News presenter Huw Edwards as their favourite. Amongst 18-24 year olds, Channel 4’s Steve Jones comes out on top, with 43% of respondents naming him as their favourite Welsh TV presenter.
