Climate change on television reaches the engaged but misses distant audiences

Abstract Television is a widely used medium for climate information worldwide, yet its role in public engagement remains underexplored. Here we examine both the representation of climate change on television and the audience engagement with it. We analysed 23,478 hours of programming across 20 German television channels over 61 days in 2022 and further assessed audience engagement with climate content through a representative survey ( n = 1,445). In the beginning of the polycrisis context of autumn 2022—including war, inflation and energy insecurity—2.2% of broadcast hours addressed climate topics. Climate coverage was concentrated in news formats, reaching mostly to the climate-engaged majority, but remained largely invisible for climate-distant groups who prefer entertainment programmes. In addition, the results reveal unequal gender representation in television programmes and a perceived over-representation of politicians. Taken together, these findings suggest that strengthening inclusive storytelling, diversifying representation and innovating formats may enhance the reach and inclusivity of televised climate communication.