Looks like The Bridge is getting remade not only In the UK and France but the US as well as FX has picked it up for 13 episodes. Interesting theyve gone for US and Mexican rather than US and Canada but I guess they wanted to retain the language barrier aspect,
I fear for the US version of this after The Killing. But who knows.
How are the US remaking Borgen also (as it has been reported they are)? I cannot imagine that great series will translate to US politics.
It would translate superbly though into UK politics (indeed you could pretty well just relocate every Borgen episode into Britain 2013 without hardly a rewrite).
So there surely has to be a British version of Borgen so that millions here can see what they are missing. Indeed as some of the recent Danish episodes were half in English you could even employ some of the cast as they all appear fluent.
I would much rather have this great show balancing coalition politics, modern drama, family trials and tribulations and a female PM versus the media (Borgen) set in a UK context as that would at least be something different to yet another troubled maverick cop show (Spiral).
The BBC should be signing up a British Borgen now. Though I guess some of the true to life storylines in Borgen would probably create huge consternation in the upper reaches of the beeb even in a fictional British politics setting.
BBC Three:
21:00 - Sun, Sex and Suspicious Parents: 965k (4%)
22:30 - EastEnders: 573k (3.7%)
00:30 - Sun, Sex and Suspicious Parents: 250k (7.5%)
E4: (inc.+1)
18:30 - The Big Bang Theory: 940k
19:00 - Hollyoaks: 820k
5*:
18:30 - Home & Away: 512k (2.5%)
Film 4: (inc.+1)
21:00 - Die Hard: 570k
More 4: (inc.+1)
21;00 - George Clarke's Amazing Spaces: 320k
Yesterday: (inc.+1)
19:20 - Last of the Summer Wine: 250k
Dave: (inc.+1)
21:00 - QI XL: 410k
All the usual sources except ITV Media who haven't updated.
_____________________________ RTE: Sunday:
Last round of The Voice blind auditions average 714k
922k watch Eng v Ireland rugby match from kick off to final whistle (the Wales match had 654k)
RE Friday's soap article. For the second Corrie, DS says 8.21m (33.9%) (+1: 154k) but Hassan posted Corrie (20:30) - 8.87m (36.6%)..................which is correct?
RE Friday's soap article. For the second Corrie, DS says 8.21m (33.9%) (+1: 154k) but Hassan posted Corrie (20:30) - 8.87m (36.6%)..................which is correct?
The figure I posted included HD but not +1. That figure of 8.21m presumably doesn't include HD.
Did Channel 4 forget about their focus on 16-34s when they bought the cricket rights for 1999-2005? I watched loads of it, and most of the ads were for walk-in baths, hair dye ("No one can tell, Just For Men gel." :rolleyes:), funeral insurance, mobility scooters and hearing aids.
And it's always been the same whenever I've seen Countdown.
Dallas seems to be falling like a stone. It just shows that without JR it would have been nothing.
Not bad for the football, in fact very good, as it didn't feature an English team, well Celtic are British, but most of their support is in Scotland.
Did Channel 4 forget about their focus on 16-34s when they bought the cricket rights for 1999-2005? I watched loads of it, and most of the ads were for walk-in baths, hair dye ("No one can tell, Just For Men gel." :rolleyes:), funeral insurance, mobility scooters and hearing aids.
you have heard of hipsters right? they do all those things ironically
16-34s and ABC1 are the most valuable demos that's why C4 go after them and do pretty well in them. IIRC, C4's share of 16-34 viewers was up in 2012.
You mentioned C4 needing commercially successful shows but now you want them to attract more 65+ viewers, the demographic that advertisers will pay the least money for. C4 has always attracted a smaller but younger audience than ITV and the BBC. Why should C4 spend a lot of money trying to attract more older viewers in the probable expense of losing younger viewers when they will make less money in ad revenue?
And your last point contradicts itself, C4 dramas often get much better demos than ITV without getting a high overall rating. Black Mirror will skew a lot more upmaket than pretty much any drama on ITV and something like Fresh Meat will skew far younger and actually skewed much more upmarket than anything on ITV.
You're massively overestimating the power of the older audience. They watch too much television and are far too easily reached to be a valuable demographic for Channel 4. The basic Channel 4 strategy of reaching younger viewers is perfectly fine. It might very well mean that their overnight numbers don't look especially pretty these days (and the single upside to this 'older audience' strategy seems to be prettier overnights) but as long as these shows are hitting the rigt demographic sweet spots that doesn't really matter. UK commentators have become far too hyper focused on total audience numbers, which is understandable since those are the numbers that are easily accessible and regularly seen. The problem is advertisers aren't buying time to reach the biggest general audience possible they buy to reach specific demographics. If Channel 4 can sell themselves as the destination for 16-34 year old viewers then they'll be fine.
Having said all that I do think that they can (and should) reach their target audience with a more diverse range of shows than they currently offer. Their schedule is incredibly one dimensional these days and does desperately need an injection of new life into it. The likes of Black Mirror are all well and good but they do still need to find returnable drama that can attract more than a cult audience. They essentially need a 'British Homeland' or a new Shameless. And by that I mean a drama that can pull in a strong audience for them and has some degree of crossover with a more mainstream audience. Its a difficult balancing act though and they haven't managed to get it right lately.
Jay Hunt wants Channel 4 to be a commercial version of the BBC, a commercial channel with a lot of PSB-type programmes. The public is not just restricted to 16-34 and ABC1 adults, and the number of people over 65 is increasing. As living standards have improved in the UK (over the last 20-30 years), people are more likely to live older, a fact that has been proved recently by the Census (the number of centenarians living in the UK has increased three-fold to over 12000, since 1990).
Older people might watch more television, but they are valuable. Sky signed a £5million sponsorship deal with ITV to promote their Broadband service around ITV's dramas. ITV's Dramas are mostly aimed at those over 50 (Lewis, Midsomer Murders, Agatha Christie novels etc...) Quite a valuable deal, one which I doubt you would find on C4.
I agree with your point AlexiR about the diversity of Channel 4's range of shows. Their new drama Complicit is a little like a 'British Homeland', yet they've put a two-hour long pilot on a Sunday against BBC1 and ITV dramas. The plot sounds really interesting, and to me anyway, it should be a six-part series airing on Thursdays. The problem with a lot of C4's dramas is that they contain quite a lot of swearing and violence (Shameless, Utopia). Some of the crime dramas on the BBC and ITV don't have much of either.
RE Friday's soap article. For the second Corrie, DS says 8.21m (33.9%) (+1: 154k) but Hassan posted Corrie (20:30) - 8.87m (36.6%)..................which is correct?
Hassaan was correct and DS were wrong as they didn't include HD. The figures were:
Dallas seems to be falling like a stone. It just shows that without JR it would have been nothing.
Not bad for the football, in fact very good, as it didn't feature an English team, well Celtic are British, but most of their support is in Scotland.
You have clearly overlooked their support in Ireland.
Did Channel 4 forget about their focus on 16-34s when they bought the cricket rights for 1999-2005? I watched loads of it, and most of the ads were for walk-in baths, hair dye ("No one can tell, Just For Men gel." :rolleyes:), funeral insurance, mobility scooters and hearing aids.
And it's always been the same whenever I've seen Countdown.
I agree very much with your post. Although the point I'm making is that C4 don't focus enough on the older audience in primetime.
Channel 4 bought these just as the channel was going through its end of millenium popularising phase (Big Brother, Friends etc...). The ECB rights were very lucrative although in 2003, C4 was given a remit, basically to 'be more quirky'. Jay Hunt and David Abraham have taken the 'quirky' part to a whole new level.
Well, they were lucrative for the ECB, but apparently one of C4's cricket commentators said in his book that 2005 was the only year C4 broke even on the cricket.
Viewing of BBC One, weekdays only, 15:05 - 17:15, among children aged 4-15
January 9 - February 3 2012 (BARB weeks 3-6)
59k (4.85% share, 8.4% skew)
January 7 - February 1 2013 (BARB weeks 2-5)
42k (3.35% share, 2.4% skew)
You're not far off: BBC One has kept quite a good proportion of kids it had, although the skew to the kids demo is well down. Quite weird how low the skew was before, though: about a third of the audience were over 65!
All above figures are consolidated.
Thanks. Not quite beating last year though but suggesting the move means there are only really 17,000 potential extra viewers for CBBC during it's slot - and I guess even if all those kids are watching kids shows elsewhere not all of them will be watching CBBC. It's possible that actually their rivals have benefitted more from BBC1 axing the slot.
With the rumoured BGT premiere date of the 13th April, and the announcements of the changes to The Voice format, here's how I think The Voice will be scheduled:
I imagine it'll be back on the same night as BGT, so;
Live Shows: 8th (15th and 22nd - if there's only three live shows as rumoured)
Although it wasn't on the list of complaints about The Voice last year it's worth noting the Battle rounds have already been filmed and Knockouts are due to be filmed shortly, so by the time they get to air three months will have passed and I do think whether being made by the judges or the public these shows always have more energy live - though The Voice live shows from last year probably counter that argument.
Tuesday 12th February: BBC One:
19:00 - The One Show: 4.91m
Screenwatch haven't tape-checked The One Show correctly (odd as it's an Attentional blog ). TOS ran from 18:58 to 19:27, so tape-checked from 19:00 to 19:25 it got 4.57m (21.2%). Still a good rating against Emmerdale. AlexiR might call it a solid utility player and I can't see it being cut back despite many on here disliking it. I quite enjoy it. As Steve Williams have commented, it contains such a variety of stuff - consumer affairs, history, nature, science, entertainment etc. Its current-affairs content, while only amounting to a few minutes per week, was even cited in the BBC Executive's submission to the Trust when BBC One was last reviewed. There were statistics showing 'reach to current affairs' including and excluding The One Show (as the precise timings of reports could not be captured in the figures) - so it is clearly important to BBC One in helping to tick the current-affairs boxes.
Tuesday 12th February - More ratings
BBC One
06:00 - Breakfast: 1.51m (34.9%)
09:15 - Wanted Down Under Revisited: 1.42m (24.6%)
10:00 - Homes Under the Hammer (r): 1.63m (27.1%)
11:00 - Saints and Scroungers: 1.32m (22.3%)
11:45 - Cowboy Trap (r): 1.36m (21.9%)
12:15 - Bargain Hunt (r): 2.32m (31.0%)
13:00 - BBC News at One: 3.11m (37.6%)
13:30 - Regional News: 3.19m (38.2%)
...
14:15 - Only Fools and Horses (revised r): 1.32m (17.3%)
14:45 - Only Fools and Horses (revised r): 1.44m (18.0%)
15:15 - Perfection: 1.18m (13.5%)
16:00 - Escape to the Country (revised r): 1.54m (14.1%)
16:30 - Antiques Road Trip: 2.28m (17.1%)
17:15 - Pointless: 3.48m (20.9%)
18:00 - BBC News at Six: 5.43m (27.7%)
18:30 - Regional News: 6.70m (37.6%)
19:00 - The One Show: 4.57m (21.2%)
....
22:00 - BBC News at Ten: 4.90m (24.9%)
22:25 - Regional News: 4.49m (24.9%)
22:40 - The Hunt for Britain's Metal Thieves: 2.52m (19.6%)
23:25 - FILM: The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992): 682k (12.1%)
25:10 - Weatherview: 268k (9.4%)
25:15 - BBC News (to 26:00): 218k (9.7%)
Schedule update: Channel 5 will be showing a fast turnaround documentary on the horsemeat scandal on Monday 25th February at 10pm.
This means that the critically acclaimed series Bomb Patrol Afghanistan will not be launching as planned on that night, and will be rescheduled for the following week.
The quicker it's sorted, the better. Next week, their focus on the elusive 'remit' brings us; Obsessive Cleaners, Secret Shoppers and a fly-on-the-wall doc in a Fried Chicken Shop! Love to see where those fit into the remit!
Not sure that's very fair, because maybe not the Cleaners one but these kinds of shows have always been a part of C4, because they've always been big on lifestyle. Secret Shoppers is a consumer show and it probably has more PSB value than She's Gotta Have It which ran for many years (though I liked that show). It reminds me of The Tourist Trap which they did in 1998, which was a hidden camera show following the behaviour of holidaymakers of various nationalities, which was much talked about at the time.
And the fried chicken shop one is a Cutting Edge and that's always been a part of the strand. One of the most famous ones was about Gatwick Airport and the highest rating one ever followed shoplifters about. There was also an absolutely brilliant one in the nineties about tax-evading crap two-blokes-and-a-van companies in Salford which I'm sure everyone who watched remembers vividly ("I wanted a door in it!"). I don't see how this one differs that much, it presumably has interesting things to say about a sector of society who don't often appear on TV.
What C4 needs to do is sort out its bloody awful comedy and entertainment line-up, it's all panel games and clip shows which every other channel on the planet can do and indeed does do and often does better. Things like The Mad Bad Ad Show and Paddy's TV Guide are indistinguishable from anything you can see on ITV2 or Dave. And it's not as if popular entertainment can't be innovative, things like Don't Forget Your Toothbrush were genuinely light years ahead of other shows while being hugely popular, it reinvented the genre. Even Eurotrash had a wit and a charm about it, it had its tongue firmly in its cheek and my parents used to love it. Heavens, even Celebrity Juice is more innovative than most of C4's entertainment - and popular.
19:30 - Celtic v Juventus: 4.15m (18.4%) peak: 5.16m (21.5%) at 20:25
Well, that didn't do so badly, did it? I think people forget that Celtic aren't a foreign team and that audience does include all those in the city in which they play. Celtic must be in the top ten of Britain's most supported clubs, and there's probably about as many Celtic fans outside Glasgow as there are Arsenal fans outside London.
Did Channel 4 forget about their focus on 16-34s when they bought the cricket rights for 1999-2005? I watched loads of it, and most of the ads were for walk-in baths, hair dye ("No one can tell, Just For Men gel." :rolleyes:), funeral insurance, mobility scooters and hearing aids.
And it's always been the same whenever I've seen Countdown.
Well, there was an obvious reason for C4 to go for older audiences in afternoon slots because up until the middle of the last decade, ITV and BBC1 were showing kids programmes so all households with kids would be watching those and it was an obvious alternative. Those were the days when Countdown was often the most watched programme on the channel, because it was usually the only adult show on TV at that time. And even quite recently, ITV's aggressive pursuit of housewives during the day meant it was complementary scheduling for C4 to aim at an older audience. The difference now is that ITV are showing things like Alan Titchmarsh which appeal to the same audiences.
And of course the reason they bought the cricket was that it also appealed massively to black and Asian audiences, which is why it fitted squarely into C4's remit. But as you point out, though the demographics were great, it never really got a massive audience.
Well, they were lucrative for the ECB, but apparently one of C4's cricket commentators said in his book that 2005 was the only year C4 broke even on the cricket.
That's true. But in terms of overall viewers, it was well received. Certainly helped revolutionise televised cricket (well at least before Sky came along).
That's true. But in terms of overall viewers, it was well received. Certainly helped revolutionise televised cricket (well at least before Sky came along).
10 million watched the final Ashes test, good for a sport where interest had been declining for years. However, it was too late for Channel 4 then as this was their last season.
Comments
I fear for the US version of this after The Killing. But who knows.
How are the US remaking Borgen also (as it has been reported they are)? I cannot imagine that great series will translate to US politics.
It would translate superbly though into UK politics (indeed you could pretty well just relocate every Borgen episode into Britain 2013 without hardly a rewrite).
So there surely has to be a British version of Borgen so that millions here can see what they are missing. Indeed as some of the recent Danish episodes were half in English you could even employ some of the cast as they all appear fluent.
I would much rather have this great show balancing coalition politics, modern drama, family trials and tribulations and a female PM versus the media (Borgen) set in a UK context as that would at least be something different to yet another troubled maverick cop show (Spiral).
The BBC should be signing up a British Borgen now. Though I guess some of the true to life storylines in Borgen would probably create huge consternation in the upper reaches of the beeb even in a fictional British politics setting.
Death In Paradise was slightly up on last week. Thought the flood documentary on Channel 4 would have done better.
BBC One:
13:45 - Doctors: 1.71m (21.1%)
19:00 - The One Show: 4.91m
19:30 - EastEnders: 7.73m (33.8%)
20:00 - Holby City: 5.1m (21.3%)
21:00 - Death In Paradise: 6.2m (25.7%)
BBC Two:
20:00 - Alex Polizzi- The Fixer: 2.43m (10.2%)
21:00 - The Railway: Keeping Britain on Track: 1.69m (7.1%) inc.HD
ITV:
17:00 - The Chase: 3.89m (inc.+1)
19:00 - Emmerdale: 7.16m (33.1%)
19:30 - Celtic v Juventus: 4.15m (18.4%)
peak: 5.16m (21.5%) at 20:25
Channel 4:
18:00 - The Simpsons: 1.81m inc.+1
18:30 - Hollyoaks: 1.2m (5.9%)
20:00 - Supersize v Superskinny: 1.76m inc.+1
21:00 - The Year Britain Flooded: 1.97m (8.7%), +1: 310k
22:00 - Utopia: 633k (inc.+1)
Channel 5:
13;45 - Neighbours: 760k (9.4%)
17:35 - Neighbours: 961k (5.6%)
18:00 - Home & Away: 764k (3.9%)
21:00 - Extraordinary People: 1.16m (4.8%), +1: 124k
23:00 - Dallas: 327k
Mutichannels:
BBC Three:
21:00 - Sun, Sex and Suspicious Parents: 965k (4%)
22:30 - EastEnders: 573k (3.7%)
00:30 - Sun, Sex and Suspicious Parents: 250k (7.5%)
E4: (inc.+1)
18:30 - The Big Bang Theory: 940k
19:00 - Hollyoaks: 820k
5*:
18:30 - Home & Away: 512k (2.5%)
Film 4: (inc.+1)
21:00 - Die Hard: 570k
More 4: (inc.+1)
21;00 - George Clarke's Amazing Spaces: 320k
Yesterday: (inc.+1)
19:20 - Last of the Summer Wine: 250k
Dave: (inc.+1)
21:00 - QI XL: 410k
All the usual sources except ITV Media who haven't updated.
_____________________________
RTE:
Sunday:
Last round of The Voice blind auditions average 714k
922k watch Eng v Ireland rugby match from kick off to final whistle (the Wales match had 654k)
RE Friday's soap article. For the second Corrie, DS says 8.21m (33.9%) (+1: 154k) but Hassan posted Corrie (20:30) - 8.87m (36.6%)..................which is correct?
The figure I posted included HD but not +1. That figure of 8.21m presumably doesn't include HD.
Shocking Rating. I take it this show has just continued to drop each week?
And it's always been the same whenever I've seen Countdown.
Not bad for the football, in fact very good, as it didn't feature an English team, well Celtic are British, but most of their support is in Scotland.
Jay Hunt wants Channel 4 to be a commercial version of the BBC, a commercial channel with a lot of PSB-type programmes. The public is not just restricted to 16-34 and ABC1 adults, and the number of people over 65 is increasing. As living standards have improved in the UK (over the last 20-30 years), people are more likely to live older, a fact that has been proved recently by the Census (the number of centenarians living in the UK has increased three-fold to over 12000, since 1990).
Older people might watch more television, but they are valuable. Sky signed a £5million sponsorship deal with ITV to promote their Broadband service around ITV's dramas. ITV's Dramas are mostly aimed at those over 50 (Lewis, Midsomer Murders, Agatha Christie novels etc...) Quite a valuable deal, one which I doubt you would find on C4.
I agree with your point AlexiR about the diversity of Channel 4's range of shows. Their new drama Complicit is a little like a 'British Homeland', yet they've put a two-hour long pilot on a Sunday against BBC1 and ITV dramas. The plot sounds really interesting, and to me anyway, it should be a six-part series airing on Thursdays. The problem with a lot of C4's dramas is that they contain quite a lot of swearing and violence (Shameless, Utopia). Some of the crime dramas on the BBC and ITV don't have much of either.
Thanks for these. Where do you get the Irish TV ratings from?
You wish.
Hassaan was correct and DS were wrong as they didn't include HD. The figures were:
ITV (exc HD): 8.21m (33.9%)
ITV (inc HD): 8.87m (36.6%)
ITV (inc +1 and HD): 9.02m (37.3%)
I have full access again by the way
Channel 5
20:00 - Benidorm ER: 1,147,500 (4.8%) exc +1
I've PMed you proof of the rating as I'm a prediction-game participant
You have clearly overlooked their support in Ireland.
I agree very much with your post. Although the point I'm making is that C4 don't focus enough on the older audience in primetime.
Channel 4 bought these just as the channel was going through its end of millenium popularising phase (Big Brother, Friends etc...). The ECB rights were very lucrative although in 2003, C4 was given a remit, basically to 'be more quirky'. Jay Hunt and David Abraham have taken the 'quirky' part to a whole new level.
RTE press office on twitter
Thanks I thought DS' figure looked low.
Although it wasn't on the list of complaints about The Voice last year it's worth noting the Battle rounds have already been filmed and Knockouts are due to be filmed shortly, so by the time they get to air three months will have passed and I do think whether being made by the judges or the public these shows always have more energy live - though The Voice live shows from last year probably counter that argument.
Screenwatch haven't tape-checked The One Show correctly (odd as it's an Attentional blog
Tuesday 12th February - More ratings
BBC One
06:00 - Breakfast: 1.51m (34.9%)
09:15 - Wanted Down Under Revisited: 1.42m (24.6%)
10:00 - Homes Under the Hammer (r): 1.63m (27.1%)
11:00 - Saints and Scroungers: 1.32m (22.3%)
11:45 - Cowboy Trap (r): 1.36m (21.9%)
12:15 - Bargain Hunt (r): 2.32m (31.0%)
13:00 - BBC News at One: 3.11m (37.6%)
13:30 - Regional News: 3.19m (38.2%)
...
14:15 - Only Fools and Horses (revised r): 1.32m (17.3%)
14:45 - Only Fools and Horses (revised r): 1.44m (18.0%)
15:15 - Perfection: 1.18m (13.5%)
16:00 - Escape to the Country (revised r): 1.54m (14.1%)
16:30 - Antiques Road Trip: 2.28m (17.1%)
17:15 - Pointless: 3.48m (20.9%)
18:00 - BBC News at Six: 5.43m (27.7%)
18:30 - Regional News: 6.70m (37.6%)
19:00 - The One Show: 4.57m (21.2%)
....
22:00 - BBC News at Ten: 4.90m (24.9%)
22:25 - Regional News: 4.49m (24.9%)
22:40 - The Hunt for Britain's Metal Thieves: 2.52m (19.6%)
23:25 - FILM: The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992): 682k (12.1%)
25:10 - Weatherview: 268k (9.4%)
25:15 - BBC News (to 26:00): 218k (9.7%)
This means that the critically acclaimed series Bomb Patrol Afghanistan will not be launching as planned on that night, and will be rescheduled for the following week.
Many thanks in advance!
Not sure that's very fair, because maybe not the Cleaners one but these kinds of shows have always been a part of C4, because they've always been big on lifestyle. Secret Shoppers is a consumer show and it probably has more PSB value than She's Gotta Have It which ran for many years (though I liked that show). It reminds me of The Tourist Trap which they did in 1998, which was a hidden camera show following the behaviour of holidaymakers of various nationalities, which was much talked about at the time.
And the fried chicken shop one is a Cutting Edge and that's always been a part of the strand. One of the most famous ones was about Gatwick Airport and the highest rating one ever followed shoplifters about. There was also an absolutely brilliant one in the nineties about tax-evading crap two-blokes-and-a-van companies in Salford which I'm sure everyone who watched remembers vividly ("I wanted a door in it!"). I don't see how this one differs that much, it presumably has interesting things to say about a sector of society who don't often appear on TV.
What C4 needs to do is sort out its bloody awful comedy and entertainment line-up, it's all panel games and clip shows which every other channel on the planet can do and indeed does do and often does better. Things like The Mad Bad Ad Show and Paddy's TV Guide are indistinguishable from anything you can see on ITV2 or Dave. And it's not as if popular entertainment can't be innovative, things like Don't Forget Your Toothbrush were genuinely light years ahead of other shows while being hugely popular, it reinvented the genre. Even Eurotrash had a wit and a charm about it, it had its tongue firmly in its cheek and my parents used to love it. Heavens, even Celebrity Juice is more innovative than most of C4's entertainment - and popular.
Well, that didn't do so badly, did it? I think people forget that Celtic aren't a foreign team and that audience does include all those in the city in which they play. Celtic must be in the top ten of Britain's most supported clubs, and there's probably about as many Celtic fans outside Glasgow as there are Arsenal fans outside London.
Well, there was an obvious reason for C4 to go for older audiences in afternoon slots because up until the middle of the last decade, ITV and BBC1 were showing kids programmes so all households with kids would be watching those and it was an obvious alternative. Those were the days when Countdown was often the most watched programme on the channel, because it was usually the only adult show on TV at that time. And even quite recently, ITV's aggressive pursuit of housewives during the day meant it was complementary scheduling for C4 to aim at an older audience. The difference now is that ITV are showing things like Alan Titchmarsh which appeal to the same audiences.
And of course the reason they bought the cricket was that it also appealed massively to black and Asian audiences, which is why it fitted squarely into C4's remit. But as you point out, though the demographics were great, it never really got a massive audience.
That's true. But in terms of overall viewers, it was well received. Certainly helped revolutionise televised cricket (well at least before Sky came along).
10 million watched the final Ashes test, good for a sport where interest had been declining for years. However, it was too late for Channel 4 then as this was their last season.