Goodbye Alesha...

Dannii Minogue maybe, looking at the DS headlines.

Oh God...Jamelia as an X Factor judge. That doesn't really bear thinking about.

So we have TXF marathon to face this weekend - Daily Express are claiming 20 million viewers - no chance!! 16-17million tops for the sunday reveal.

The special guests this weekend are appealing to older viewers Robbie williams is the youngest performer age 32? and should pull in the viewers - I still want to know how many adults 18 and over actually watch the show.

I am guessing that 25% of the viewers are actually kids/teenagers who can't afford to go out.

You don't think the sack comment might refer to celebrity apprentice? If not its quite rude of her to talk of someone actually getting the sack in order for her to get a job. Perhaps with her big mouth she'd be suited to loose women or maybe T4 are afte her, I can hardly see it being something big shes more famous for appearing on panel shows than her singing nowadays.

Thats not true. Drama repeats on ITV1 are quite costly for the channel in terms of repeat fees to actors, writers, etc. There is a completely different scale of repeat fees for digital only channels meaning that cost of repeating say Frost on ITV1 could be x10 to x20 times the cost of repeating it on ITV3

Just thought this would be interesting as we head into the big finals:

16 to 34's
The X Factor 2008
Semi-Final
Performance Show - 2.46m (52.4%)
Results Show - 2.61m (56.3%)

Final
Performance Show - 3.37m (63.7%) [increase of 0.91m]
Results Show - 3.44m (62.9%) [increase of 0.83m]

Strictly Come Dancing 2008
Semi-Final
Performance Show - 1.21m (27.2%)
Results Show - 0.92m (17.7%)

Final
Performance Show - 1.75m (38.9%) [increase of 0.54m]
Results Show - 1.59m (35.2%) [increase of 0.67m]

Adults ABC1
The X Factor 2008
Semi-Final
Performance Show - 3.48m (35.9%)
Results Show - 3.66m (36.4%)

Final
Performance Show - 5.15m (48.5%) [increase of 1.67m]
Results Show - 5.17m (47.9%) [increase of 1.51m]

Strictly Come Dancing 2008
Semi-Final
Performance Show - 4.49m (46.6%)
Results Show - 3.72m (34.2%)
* note - show finished 10 minutes early

Final
Performance Show - 5.57m (55.9%) [increase of 1.08m]
Results Show - 5.93m (55.8%) [increase of 2.21m]

The last 'demo' break on this thread was on 01/11/09 (albeit different category), which had:

BBC Breakfast have just had an extended feature discussing tonight's X Factor final. So even the BBC are taking part in the "Cowell W***fest"

Maybe Jamelia is going to captain a team on a panel show? she seems to be carving out a little career in those now.

Sean Lock on 8 Out of 10 Cats... please!

ITV1 - Friday (21:00)

Mister Eleven - 3.45m (15.7%)

That's the trouble with stripping BGT or IAC across the week. ITV1 comes back down to earth with a very big bump the week after they finish.

Robson Green, Champions League, The Bill and now Mister Eleven. Owch.

Friday 11th December Overnights
BBC One
13:00- BBC News at One: 2.52m (37.4%)
13:30- BBC Regional News: 2.61m (36.9%)
18:00- BBC News at Six: 4.40m (23.9%)
18:30- Regional News: 5.33m (27.2%)
19:00- The One Show: 4.37m (21.6%)
20:00- EastEnders: 7.93m (37.2%)
20:30- A Question of Sport: 3.37m (15.2%)
21:00- Have I Got News For You: 5.03m (22.7%)
21:30- Live at the Apollo: 4.35m (20.2%)
22:00- BBC News at Ten: 4.47m (24.2%)
22:35- Friday Night with Jonathan Ross: 3.34m (24.0%)

BBC Two
18:30- Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two: 2.77m (14.2%)
21:00- Victorian Farm Christmas: 3.00m (13.7%)

ITV1
18:00- ITV Regional News: 3.39m (18.4%)
18:30- ITV News and Weather: 3.54m (18.0%)
19:00- Emmerdale: 6.47m (32.7%)
19:30- Coronation Street: 8.32m (40.2%)
20:00- Tonight: 4.62m (21.7%)
20:30- Coronation Street: 8.27m (37.3%)
21:00- Mister Eleven: 3.45m (15.7%)
All other programmes got under 2.52m

Tonight did really well last night. Not sure why?! The soap ratings are a little low for December, though the shares look okay. Mr Eleven did about how I expected, as it looked bad from the previews. Note to ITV: don't run brand new drama on Fridays. I'll let them off with this one beause it's just a two parter which they probably wanted to burn off, but recent history shows that new drama series on ITV just don't do well on Fridays. Good rating for Victorian Farm on BBC2.

Thanks to MattJ for the ratings.

Biggest shock out of that lot is Tonight! I'm guessing the Christmas themed investigation into cut price presents gave it a huge boost. I think it will do well in its new slot in the new year and I think a revamp and sandwiched between the 2 Emmerdales is very good idea where I think it will get 3.5m+ and it also gives ITV more opportunities for the Monday & Friday 8pm slots.

As expected for Mister Eleven. It was never going to do well on a Friday and there are many bizarre scheduling decisions over Christmas on ITV. For example Taggart's 100th on Christmas Eve, one Sunday with all repeats a poor film premiere, Bridget Jones film repeat in primetime. A lot of the programming seems pretty good, but I would just move some of the shows around a bit.

This week (so far) has been one of ITV's worst in a while I think with 2 new shows underperforming and 2 other programmes below what they should be getting. It's lucky for ITV they have the big weekend which should bring in 5/6 excellent rating shows with 6m+.

I can see now why Royal Variety is next Wednesday, because apart from that and the 2 soaps ITV have nothing next week which is going to rate highly.

EastEnders looks a bit on the low side, but as already stated the share is about right. Shame though, as last night's episode was quite good.

Very good rating for Tonight... must be one of its highest ever! (apart from the Millionaire Tonight in '03 I think and probably a few others).

OK for the soaps, good for the Beeb in the 9pm slot. I don't actually think Mr Eleven's rating is too bad.. surprised it wasn't under 3m myself.

And to continue with past days, I can say that last night, the 9pm slot had 21.97m million, which is really low like Wednesday and Thursday were - both also slightly above 22m.

The week averaged 22.44 million viewers - the lowest rated week since w/e 12th September 2009.

ITV need to start realising that young people do not watch their dramas, so if they insist on making them (which I believe they should) they are going to have to use programmes like X Factor to lead into them and promote them thoroughly throughout.

Mister Eleven, if promoted properly, could have got up to 8m viewers on Sunday night I think, with a high 16-34 rating.

Tonight its basically a handover to ITV1 for the evening:

6.00pm Harry Hill's TV Burp
6.30pm Cheryl Cole's Night In
7.30pm The X Factor Final: Part 1
9.30pm The British Comedy Awards

And the same for tomorrow:

6.45pm All Star Family Fortunes
7.30pm The X Factor Final: Part 2
9.30pm I Dreamed a Dream: The Susan Boyle Story

Big big ratings on the cards for some of these I reckon, Cheryl Cole's Night In and The Susan Boyle Story will rate well methinks.

Given the runtimes I predict averages of 13m and 15-16m for tonight and tomorrow, with peaks obviously higher. What about others?

ITV messed up with Mister Eleven with a silly slot and bad promotion. It's basically throwing a show away if it's not marketed and scheduled correctly. Will make up for a p*sspoor weeknight performance this week!

dream on. it's been in the can for over a year and stank like a fish kebab.

ITV could have moved IAC a week later, adding a night, avoiding Children in Need, then they could have gone for...

6.00 Cheryl Cole
7.00 X Factor Final
9.00 IAC Final

6.00 Susan Boyle
7.00 X Factor Final
9.00 Mr Eleven
10.00 Comedy Awards

I'm not saying they should have done that, just that it was an option.

Most things have been in the can for that long, given that ITV have spent most of 20009 saving money by filling the schedule with leftovers and spreading its new commissions out. As for the quality of it, that's subjective.

I don't think they've all been on the shelf for this long, and from the 20 minutes of it I saw, it was absolutely dire, and ITV were right to burn it off here, as if they'd put it on as part of 'the big weekend' it wuld have stank up the whole weekend. It had flop written all over it.

there was no quality. lost it for me at the first ad break when the main character had to actually spell out the fact that she hadn't married Mister Eleven...

not that ITV think their audience are morons or anything...

I don't think Mister Eleven would have got 8m with an X Factor lead in. Maybe around 5-6m?

I just hope ITV don't put Married, Single, Other on Friday's next year. It's got potential to do well from what we've heard and seen from the upfronts videos. If they put it on a Sunday night with the first couple of episodes after Dancing on Ice, it'll do very well imo.

After hearing about the Dancing on Ice preview show being on Friday, it's possible that the DOI spin-off will run at 9pm on Fridays instead of 8pm. After DOI ends, there's Marco's Kitchen Burnout. Then, from late summer it's the Paul O'Grady Show. It seems like ITV are going to turn Friday 9pm into an entertainment slot next year, which I think is the way to go.

Just going to quote shows from a few different posts from earlier this year so we can see what dramas ITV still have on the shelf:

- Octavia - unaired
- Whatever It Takes - aired; Summer 09
- Monday Monday - aired; Summer 09
- Sleep with Me - airing; Christmas 09
- Mr Eleven - airing; Christmas 09
- Collision - aired; Autumn 09
- Married, Single, Other - unaired
- An Englishman in New York - airing; Christmas 09
- The Prisoner - unaired
- Father & Son - unaired
- U Be Dead - unaired
- Wuthering Heights - aired; Summer 09
- Gurush - aired; Summer 09
- Single Handed - aired; Summer 09
- Albert's Memorial - unaired
- Boy Meets Girl - aired; Summer 09

And for the 'regular' drama:

- Poirot/Marple - some episodes airing; Christmas 09
- Heartbeat/The Royal - whole series of shelf?
- Midsomer Murders - one/two episodes on shelf

So the ones, that (I think) are still on the shelf, with no airdate in sight are:

- Octavia
- Married, Single, Other
- The Prisoner
- Father & Son
- U Be Dead
- Albert's Memorial

Along with Heartbeat/The Royal and one or two Midsomer. Does anyone know about specific lengths with regards to the above? I know The Prisoner is 5 nights (I think), dunno about the others though...

I predict about 14.5-15m for tonight's show. That would seem a big boost from the ~12m it's been getting in recent weeks, but I think it's entirely possible.

If we look at the trends for previous X Factor series, and compare the average for the 5 performance shows leading up to the final to the final performance show rating and see the boost, we get:

2005- 8.5m---> 9.2m [+9%]
2006- 8.7m---> 10.4m [+20%]
2007- 8.9m---> 11.4m [+28%]
2008- 10.6m---> 13.2m [+25%]

The 2005 final had a 70 minute clash with Strictly, hence the low boost. Also the 2006 final had a 45 minute clash against Strictly which depressed its boost.

This series, the 5 performance shows leading up to the final have averaged 12.3m. There's a 30 minute clash against Strictly tonight and an earlier start, so I don't think it'll be boosted as much as 2007 or 2008. But a 15-20% rise should be possible, which would give it a rating around 14.5m.


Heratbeat and The Royal have 9 hours left each.

- Octavia: 1x90
- Married, Single, Other: 6x60
- The Prisoner: 6x60 or 3x120
- Father & Son: 4x60
- U Be Dead: 1x120
- Albert's Memorial: 1x120

What are the chances of U Be Dead and Albert's Memorial being turned into 2 x 60 and either going on Monday @ 9pm or spread to Monday/Tuesday @ 9pm the week after Above Suspicion?