Case Study: Search Laboratory measures The Great British Bake Off’s channel switch success with Pulsar Platform

Search Laboratory Measures Channel 4’s Success Vs BBC on the Great British Bake Off

Search Laboratory used Pulsar Platform to assess how The Great British Bake Off performed in its first Channel 4 series compared with its final BBC series. The agency wanted to measure changes in audience interest and sentiment, including reactions to the new presenters, the carryover judge Paul Hollywood, and the emotional tone of social chatter during the finale week.

Pulsar Platform’s Trac tool was used to analyze Twitter data across the final week of the show, with modular AI powered by IBM Watson providing detailed emotion analysis beyond basic positive/negative sentiment. The results showed that Channel 4’s series drew lower engagement than the BBC era, with mentions dropping from 42,270 to 13,998 and engagements from 56,959 to 16,358, while emotions remained largely positive; for example, the new presenters Sandi Toksvig and Noel Fielding scored strong joy ratings, even as Paul Hollywood’s disgust rating rose sharply.

Search Laboratory