Dr Who Ratings Thread

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  • FunkmasterTFunkmasterT Posts: 14,369
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    Quite a dip from the last two episodes, but I suppose it's to be expected that the audience will drop shortly after a series opener. Still a very good figure, and perhaps if it gets into a fixed timeslot it'll prove a bit.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 3,635
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    I would also counter in that during doctor who there was the important manchester united match on tv!

    Does this rating count video/dvr recordings?
  • jimbo_bobjimbo_bob Posts: 1,935
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    craggers wrote: »
    I would also counter in that during doctor who there was the important manchester united match on tv!

    Does this rating count video/dvr recordings?

    The overnights don't - I think. I believe video and dvr recordings are called "timeshift" ratings and are incorporated into the final figures a week or so later. I know someone will corresct me if Im wrong though! :)
  • FunkmasterTFunkmasterT Posts: 14,369
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    craggers wrote: »
    I would also counter in that during doctor who there was the important manchester united match on tv!

    Does this rating count video/dvr recordings?

    Yes that provided a bit of a dillema for me, too :p
  • stcoopstcoop Posts: 3,209
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    craggers wrote: »
    Does this rating count video/dvr recordings?

    No, we won't have those for 11 days, so it should finish with an excellent (compared to almost everthing else on TV) 7.5ish million. I'd expect the ratings for the BBC3 showing tonight to jump up over last week's too.
  • The SlugThe Slug Posts: 4,162
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    Muttley76 wrote: »
    I wasn't saying I didn't share some of the frustration, just saying that historically the viewing figures for Doctor Who have varied considerably for a range of reasons. I think the scheduling may be part of it, but there may be other factors too.

    And I'd like scheduling to be taken out of the equation, so that those other reasons aren't further complicated unnecessarily.

    I know that it doesn't really matter in the big scheme of things. The powers that be have far more information and understanding (I hope) of all the issues than most of us. I can't see them axeing Doctor Who because it loses a million viewers when the time is changed. :p

    But there are other factors that shouldn't matter yet they do. If you start getting newspaper headlines saying that ratings are plunging, for example. So much of what people choose to watch is influenced by their perceptions which come largely from the media. So if people start seeing headlines that make them think Who isn't what it used to be, as ridiculous as it sounds, some will be slightly put off watching it! Then if the timeslot continues to vary, some of those who are 'on the cusp' between 'viewer' and 'fan' may be slightly less interested in looking out for it. And so on. You get into a vicious circle. It has the potential to lead to the slow death of the series.

    I know - doom and gloom! :D

    I'm giving a very simplistic view of things there. People are complicated and the reasons they have for watching/not watching a programme are many and varied. But trends can be demonstrated sometimes, and people can be influenced by all kinds of odd factors.

    But the BBC have a solid programme with excellent viewing and appreciation figures now. They shouldn't be scared by the tactics of other companies into playing around with the schedules. I believe Doctor Who is a strong enough show to stand up to whatever ITV or others put up against it. I'm not so convinced that it can survive being shot in the foot by its own schedulers. I hope that by the time the 2010 series is shown, common sense will prevail.
  • RooksRooks Posts: 9,080
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    The Slug wrote: »
    And I'd like scheduling to be taken out of the equation, so that those other reasons aren't further complicated unnecessarily.

    I know that it doesn't really matter in the big scheme of things. The powers that be have far more information and understanding (I hope) of all the issues than most of us. I can't see them axeing Doctor Who because it loses a million viewers when the time is changed. :p

    We often disagree but not this time :) The fact that the show did well at similar times in the last few weeks suggest that the time of the show has had minimal impact on the overall ratings. If it can get 8 million plus viewers around the 6:30pm timeslot on more than one occasion suggests that people are willing to watch at that time and do know the show is on. Given the show has been on at two different times in the previous weeks would also give viewers a reason to check on the timing of the show. The argument that "People didn't know it was on" doesn't wash because that should have happened last week too. The reality is that ratings do flucuate over the course of the series for numerous reasons and the BBC won't be too concerned at the moment (though I suspect they'd be more worried that it didn't do better against such weak competition). If the show stays above 6.5 million for the rest of the run then they'll be delighted.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 3,635
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    Yes that provided a bit of a dillema for me, too :p

    I recorded who and watched the match, so did a few people I know so I'd imagine it could well be a factor
  • MulettMulett Posts: 9,055
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    The Slug wrote: »
    6.20pm didn't do Partners In crime any harm, did it? Yes there was the blaze of publicity with DT telling every interviewer at every opportunity that it was on at 6.20, but the fact is that people came in, sat down and watched it. . . . But I stand by what I said just now, and what I've said since the 6.20 timeslot was first revealed. Any time in that 6pm to 7pm area is perfectly fine, as long as you LEAVE IT THERE! :mad:

    I agree with much that you have said. There are two things that do worry me though.

    Firstly, as the evenings get longer/hotter I think the available audience between 6pm and 7pm will decrease and this will impact on Who's figures.

    The second thing is that - even at weekends - a show that's on early evening (i.e. before 7pm) doesn't have the prestige of a show that's on when there is a greater available audience (after 7pm). Long term, having Doctor Who on earlier (and moving it around the schedules) will impact on its profile and its audience.

    A stable timeslot after 7pm will give it a more consistent and loyal audience. An earlier timeslot will mean it is far more likely to suffer when the days are bright and sunny.

    Remember, not everyone watches Doctor Who religiously and we should never take for granted that people will tune in. There are very good examples of shows being moved just slightly in the schedules and it having a disasterous effect on viewing figures.
  • Sharon87Sharon87 Posts: 3,698
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    Despite the figure, the audience share is good. A little down on last week though, but it seems as if fewer people were watching TV anyway.

    The overnights will be over 7m, so that's not too bad.
  • TimCypherTimCypher Posts: 9,052
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    Rooks wrote: »
    The argument that "People didn't know it was on" doesn't wash because that should have happened last week too.

    It 'washes' for me, as, rather embarrassingly, I got completely mixed up, and thought it started at 6:40, so I didn't switch on the TV until then.

    Once I realised it was on, I switched off, waited until it had finished, then watched my recording from the start.

    Took a look at the five minutes breakdown, and the audience grew by over two million from the start of the episode to the end, so I guess I wasn't the only one caught out.

    Regards,

    Cypher
  • RooksRooks Posts: 9,080
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    TimCypher wrote: »
    It 'washes' for me, as, rather embarrassingly, I got completely mixed up, and thought it started at 6:40, so I didn't switch on the TV until then.

    Given that it had been on at different times over the last two weeks, why did you think it started at 6:40? What I mean by my statement is that it isn't like it's on a 7pm each week then suddenly it's at a different time. It's had three different times and only this week has the ratings dropped. Why now rather than last week? It could be the timeslot but it didn't effect it last week or the week before. There's many possible explanations and I think the timeslot is only a very small part of the possible reasons for the ratings drop. Give it a few more weeks and a much clearer picture should emerge.
  • stcoopstcoop Posts: 3,209
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    Rooks wrote: »
    Given that it had been on at different times over the last two weeks, why did you think it started at 6:40? What I mean by my statement is that it isn't like it's on a 7pm each week then suddenly it's at a different time. It's had three different times and only this week has the ratings dropped.

    Because if it starts later people will still be there to watch it from the start, if it starts earlier then they come in from the time they expected it to start. And given that the ratings jump up just before the time it started last week it's not a massive leap to make.

    It should be interesting to see what the ratings for tonight's BBC3 showing are, as I'd be astonished if they weren't up on last week.
  • jimbo_bobjimbo_bob Posts: 1,935
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    I don't want to insult anybody but these days there is something called a TV guide available to people. You can buy it in places like WH Smith - you can even get one free with a newspaper. It tells you what time TV programmes are on. I use it all the time and never miss my favourite TV programmes. Why can't other people do the same? :confused:
  • stcoopstcoop Posts: 3,209
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    jimbo_bob wrote: »
    Why can't other people do the same? :confused:

    I have no idea. There's literally a couple of dozen ways of checking what time TV shows are on, but there is a sizeable minority who just don't bother for whatever reason.
  • RooksRooks Posts: 9,080
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    stcoop wrote: »
    Because if it starts later people will still be there to watch it from the start, if it starts earlier then they come in from the time they expected it to start. And given that the ratings jump up just before the time it started last week it's not a massive leap to make.

    And did the ratings jump to over 8 million at 6:45pm? They didn't. In fact the ratings didn't jump at all during the whole episode. The 5-minute breakdown shows a fairly even growth over the course of the episode. I'd suggest that means that the majority of viewers didn't simply tune in at the same time as last week expecting the show to be starting at that time. I'd also suggest that the growth seen in the episode is pretty much the same as you'd find in any other Doctor Who episode of the new show.

    If your suggestion held up then it stands to reason that for last weeks show the first part of the ratings should have been higher and the growth should have been smaller because people were tuning in earlier expecting to see it earlier, therefore already on the channel. Yet they weren't. Either way, I'm not stating this as fact, just an interpretation of the data in front of me and that simply says that the timeslot had minimal impact.
  • jimbo_bobjimbo_bob Posts: 1,935
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    stcoop wrote: »
    I have no idea. There's literally a couple of dozen ways of checking what time TV shows are on, but there is a sizeable minority who just don't bother for whatever reason.

    Probably so they can come on here and have a moan :rolleyes:;):)
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 13,767
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    stcoop wrote: »
    I have no idea. There's literally a couple of dozen ways of checking what time TV shows are on, but there is a sizeable minority who just don't bother for whatever reason.

    people don't bother to check what time their favourite programme is on or they have been blind for the past week and not seen any of the trailers that are on every night.:confused:
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 4,952
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    people don't bother to check what time their favourite programme is on or they have been blind for the past week and not seen any of the trailers that are on every night.:confused:
    Ah, but in order to see the trailers you have to be watching TV. And I only watch TV when I know there's something on that I want to watch. It's a bit of a Catch 22.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 13,767
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    Mickey S wrote: »
    Ah, but in order to see the trailers you have to be watching TV. And I only watch TV when I know there's something on that I want to watch. It's a bit of a Catch 22.

    but that is your viewing habits which don't necessarily correspond to others.

    given the amount Who is trailed I would be surprised if someone did miss one which always states the time it is on too.
  • TimCypherTimCypher Posts: 9,052
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    Rooks wrote: »
    Given that it had been on at different times over the last two weeks, why did you think it started at 6:40?

    Dunno - just got it into my head that the programme had moved from 6:20 for PiC, to 6:40 for subsequent episodes.

    Back to 6:20 next week, I see...

    Regards,

    Cypher
  • amos_brearleyamos_brearley Posts: 8,496
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    People SHOULDN'T need to check what time their favourite programme is on! I don't bother checking when any of the soaps are on because the network actually respect that viewers tune in out of habit at a certain time and watch these shows.

    I also think another factor "killing" the ratings is the awful sandwich of programmes of which DW is the meaty filling. "The Kids Are Alright" and "I'd Do Anything" have around 5 million viewers whilst DW rises to 7-8 million. A better lead-in show and follow-up would be much more pleasing.
  • stcoopstcoop Posts: 3,209
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    As I predicted the ratings for the BBC3 Sunday showing went up over last week (by 25%, in fact). Not conclusive proof of people catching up after missing it on Saturday obviously, but not an unreasonable assumption to make either.
  • MulettMulett Posts: 9,055
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    I also think another factor "killing" the ratings is the awful sandwich of programmes of which DW is the meaty filling. "The Kids Are Alright" and "I'd Do Anything" have around 5 million viewers whilst DW rises to 7-8 million. A better lead-in show and follow-up would be much more pleasing.

    The Kids Are Alright is truly dreadful. I stayed tuned in to 'I'd Do Anything' this week to - oh dear lord! It gets worse.

    You are certainly right about the importance of a good lead-in show - when a big soccer match has been on before Doctor Who, it's add a couple of million onto the viewing figures.

    I can't help but think that with its earlier time slot and being surrounded (on both sides) by standard BBC rubbish, its amazing Doctor Who is still getting the viewing figures that it is.

    I think Saturday nights on BBC1 are pretty shameful right now.
  • amos_brearleyamos_brearley Posts: 8,496
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    I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but can you imagine a line-up of DW, followed by "Britain's Got Talent", then "Casualty"? They're usually the top three rated Saturday shows, but scattered across time and space. ;)
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