The soaring price of gasoline in Europe, which has touched off numerous protests, particularly by truck drivers, has fueled a 300-percent rise in the number of viewers tuned in to BSkyB's Sky News channel.

The channel, citing overnight ratings on Wednesday, said that over the previous 48 hours, 2.5 million viewers had tuned in in the U.K. alone. In a statement, Sky News chief Nick Pollard said:"The amazing viewer reaction only serves to underline Sky News' reputation as the place to turn to -- on all platforms -- when a major story breaks.

On Wednesday, British DJ Terry Wogan was forced to use his cell phone to broadcast the first half hour of his program from his car, when he was caught in a traffic jam caused by truck drivers' go-slow protest.

Source: Studio Briefing