For those interested in ITV's structure of drama in recent years, I have conducted some research on BARB to assess how ITV have scheduled their crime/thriller dramas, with a special emphasis on how Tuesday nights fared, now one of ITV's worst nights.

ITV began their Monday/Tuesday drama split formula in October 2004, when it seemed News at Ten was destined to return. Before this, ITV had had relative success with entertainment specials on Tuesday such as Abba: The Reunion, which got over 7 million in a 9pm slot, and movies which all performed with over 4 million viewers.

FRANCES TUESDAY - 9.07m
FRANCES TUESDAY - 8.42m

It was an extremely good start for ITV's new plan, with the Tuesday episode not falling too much at all.

However, their next try with 2 drama premieres in November '04 didn't do so well, with the Tuesday episodes falling considerably (over 1m).

LAWLESS - 7.17m
LAWLESS - 5.66m
LIE WITH ME - 7.24m
LIE WITH ME - 5.41m

Into January '05, The Commander gave ITV perhaps little confidence to continue with their Monday/Tuesday split:-

THE COMMANDER - 5.80m
THE COMMANDER - 4.75m

However, change was around the corner. With a different and improved ad campaign, ITV won stellar figures (and not much of a drop either) with their next Monday/Tuesday premiere:-

LIKE FATHER LIKE SON - 8.45m
LIKE FATHER LIKE SON - 7.81m

But, there was inconsistency. In March '05, Bloodlines did not perform.

BLOODLINES - 5.67
BLOODLINES - 4.41

After this, ITV experienced their worst ratings blip to date, with a period of cheap and glossy entertainment, factual and dramas that didn't do very well, alongside some underperforming films.

Into the autumn, ITV were celebrating their 50th anniversairy, and the next two split dramas were to perform solidly:-

MARIAN, AGAIN - 6.76m
MARIAN, AGAIN - 5.95m
CLASS OF '76 - 6.92m
CLASS OF '76 - 5.73m

Into November, ITV began to really impress with some of their best figures:-

TRIAL AND RETRIBUTION - 8.99m
TRIAL AND RETRIBUTION - 8.45m
WALK AWAY AND I STUMBLE - 8.38m
WALK AWAY AND I STUMBLE - 7.60m

We had to wait for February for quite a poor drama premiere, which still did not too badly in the ratings:-

LOVE LIES BLEEDING - 5.81m
LOVE LIES BLEEDING - 4.56m

However in March, ITV's falling drama production standards were showing and figures were taking a knock:-
A GOOD MURDER - 4.83m
A GOOD MURDER - below 4m
THE BEST MAN - 5.12m
THE BEST MAN - 4.03m

Between this period, it would seem ITV lost confidence in their Monday/Tuesday split.

Their final ever Monday/Tuesday drama split ended on a sweeter note:-

LOSING GEMMA (MON 2103) 5.98
LOSING GEMMA (TUE 2103) 4.87

And that was the last time until now ITV have split drama from Monday to Tuesday.

To conclude:-
There is no denying the fact that ITV's drama lost viewers, usually about 1 million, going into Tuesday's schedule. However, this is to be expected anyway, and these drama premieres were new. I think it propped up Tuesday nights, and ITV should certainly consider doing this again. And, maybe, making a special deal with film companies to air films in a split Monday/Tuesday fashion.

Entertainment used to do well on Tuesday evenings too, and it might be worth ITV considering major series going in the 8pm slot. Send in the Dogs and Tourist Trail seem to have done reasonably well in Tuesday's 8pm slot, and perhaps shows like these need to be commissioned more often, but not too often for this slot.

Finally, it is worth bearing in mind that dramas split on Monday & Tuesday tended to perform better near Christmas, and in the New Year. They struggled in Spring and early Autumn. ITV should probably air their longer series like Law & Order, Doc Martin, Benidorm, Wild at Heart etc in these slots, leaving these drama premieres for seasonal airings.

I can't be doing with Katie Price either, but you can't deny, there is a certain section of the population that seem to worship her.

If Jordan is contraversial, just wait until next year when John and Edward go into the jungle

See, ITV missed a trick there.

Had they been voted out from the X Factor last Sunday, they could have been jetisoned straight into I'm A Celebrity.

I think Katie Price joining I'm a Celeb could be a blessing in disguise.

I mean let's face it, she'll bring in the ratings, the publicity, and even the entertainment!

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/xfactor/...-tv-deals.html

Imagine that: "Top of the Pops Christmas Special with John and Edward!"

Top 5 Adults 18-49:
1. NCIS (CBS) – 4.2
2. The Biggest Loser (NBC) – 3.7
2. NCIS:LA (CBS) – 3.7
2. V (ABC) – 3.7
5. Dancing With The Stars (ABC) – 3.4

Susan Boyle was on DWTS, which was up 10% on last week.
The Biggest Loser beat NCIS:LA in the 9pm hour.
V was down 29%, the biggest fall for any show this season from premiere to second episode.

Cancellations:
FOX have axed Dollhouse.
ABC have axed Eastwick and Hank.

http://tvbythenumbers.com/2009/11/11...7-rating/33329

I've not seen numbers that low since Richard and Judy on Watch.

[angry rant]
I honestly think I could do a better job than Stuart Murphy at Sky1. For gods sake, you've got finite resources (albeit much larger than BBC Three, E4, ITV2 et al) so focus them on some big hitting commissions - not daytime tat that people could take or leave. Your business model relies on must see programming to drive subcriptions - so commission some bloody must see programmes. (Tip: tatty chat shows, blooper reels and davina mccall dance contests are not it!)
[/angry rant]

In other news, I did about the same amount of shoulder shrugging as I do everytime one of these celebrity line-ups is announced. I know Katie Price is going to court controversy and gain headlines for IAC, but do we think it might simply turn some people off as well? She has the hardcore fanatics who frequent the showbiz section and watch her ITV2 rubbish - but their numbers are quite small - what about the majority of the casual 8m plus viewers who usually watch IAC anyway?

I agree. From a ratings perspective signing her up is a masterstroke.

The line-up's quite good for I'm A Celebrity really. None of us were expecting A-Listers and I think we have ourselves a few characters in there which is what it's all about really.

What is it with ITV's obsession with Strictly Come Dancing? First they shamelessly nick the format, then they nick its stars...


Might not be such a good idea for 'The Fix Factor' to link up with 'The Phone-in Fraudsters'?

Anyway, most viewers will be thinking "Christ on a bike, not more reality shite, what time's Top Gear back on?"


Or perhaps not at all?


Big drop for FF's figures, yes? Wasn't the overnight reported at 7.4m for FF and 6.8m for CF?


It's a magnificent achievement for CF to be getting such stellar ratings, beating ITV1's entertainment offerings, and fully deserved.

I don't think anyone predicted Countryfile would be the show experiencing the biggest ratings growth in 2009.


Another successful BBC1 idea copied by ITV1.

They'll probably launch their own version of Countryfile before long.

(oh, hang on...)


Yes, but let's be clear, the overnights we all discuss each day on here are just that - fag packet calculations of how many watched. The only ratings figures that count are the ones BARB publish every Wednesday.




Comments please from those who've been slagging Strictly off for the past 2 months...

I assume Gino D'Acampo, "celebrity chef", whoever he or she is, is a chef who cooks for celebrities?

Sabrina Washington?

I'm more a celebrity than some of this lot...

In 2007-08 they found that a show which averaged less than 92% of the networks 18-49 average was cancelled with exceptions for shows on Fridays (where ratings are lower) and unscripted shows. That didn't apply so much last year and a few more factors came into play.

The 18-49 average is fairly broad. 18-34's are also very valuable but the figures aren't so widely released. How I Met Your Mother and Glee perform particularly well in that demo. FOX are targeting that demo with their Wednesday schedule, so it's possible that those numbers are more important for Glee than its 18-49 ratings (which are good anyway). Adults 18-49 living in households with an annual income over $100,000 are the holy grail but those numbers are even more rare.

The CW specifically target women 18-34, a policy which caused Reaper to be axed despite decent 18-49 and 18-34 ratings as it skewed too male.

Cable news targets adults 25-54. Then other cable networks are far more specialised.

I have heard of 4 of those, but for some reason I cannot get over the feeling that theres something a bit sad that people would want to go on this show.

Camilla from Strictly Im surprised about-I thought she had bigger and better plans after retiring Strictly champ.

Saddest is Jimmy White as he just about fits the bill, brilliant yet ultimately unfulfilled at Snooker and now unable to recapture former glories-in this daft world there really is only one place to go.

Also noted from the official ratings:

- HIGNFY - 7.69m Fri/Sat

- James May's Toy Stories - 5.61m Tues/Sun

- SCD:ITT dominating BBC2's figures - 2.6-2.8m very good this early in the contest

- Eggheads doing well for the 6pm slot


I'd rather not.

Will Simon Cowell even allow BBC1 to show the Christmas No1 now he owns the right to anoint the festive chart topper?

From the DS article:


Yes, I noticed that what's left of Queen have another Greatest Hits album out.

Is Fix Factor actually a programme or a shopping channel?

Can somebody list the overnights from the opener for each series of I'm A Celeb ?

Good for the soaps and Holby City. The F Word improved which is slightly strange considering the tougher competition - maybe the documentary crowd who had watched Seven days on the Breadline and who are not fans of Around the World?

Horizon held up ok on BBC2 but CSI was down, obviously hit by Collision.

Collision held up well - I know it shed 1.2m but it's not dropping anymore, which is important. 7.5m is still apparently 'respectable' which beggars belief TBH.

I thought John Sargeant's show would do better than that - every other channel did ok, but I think 8pm on ITV is cursed which is why...


If I was head of ITV I'd forget about Holby City and put the soaps in the slot anyway. Even if they're a couple of million down on their usual average, that's still better than what anything else gets in that slot.

I think it's time for a(nother) soap revamp because I think ITV could be more successful across the week with:

Monday and Wednesday: as now

Tuesday
7.00 John Sargeant's Tourist trail etc.
8.00 Coronation Street
8.30 Emmerdale
9.00 The Bill

Thursday
7.00 Emmerdale
7.30 Countrywise/Grimefighters
8.00 Coronation Street
8.30 Emmerdale
9.00 *Programmes that currently take the Tuesday 9pm slot*

Friday
7.00 Emmerdale
7.30 something like Heartbeat/The Royal/Kingdom
8.30 Coronation Street
9.00 *As usual*

Coronation Street is the first soap on as people are used switching from EastEnders to Coronation Street on Monday and Friday. It should also boost Emmerdale. Emmerdale at 8.30 should give a reasonable lead in to the 9pm slot as well. I think The Bill will be helped by the weaker Tuesday night schedule coupled with a 'crossover' lead in from Holby City.

There's no extra episodes of either soap to provide this - the Tuesday 7pm and Friday 7.30pm shows are being dumped, replaced by hour long shows. The reason for hour long shows is at 8pm people may get hooked into the 7pm show and wait to watch the EastEnders repeat, therefore maximising viewers on ITV1.

I'd dearly love to dump the 7pm Emmerdale on Thursday and 7.30pm episode of Coronation Street on Monday to take both of them to one episode per day - but financially that's not possible ATM.


I don't think Simon Cowell was willing to just give over his goldmine to ITV.

I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here opening overnight ratings
Series 1 (2002): 6.4m (33%)
Series 2 (2003): 10.0m (46%)
Series 3 (2004): 10.1m (n/a%)
Series 4 (2004): 9.0m (35%)
Series 5 (2005): 9.5m (38%)
Series 6 (2006): 8.9m (38%)
Series 7 (2007): 8.7m (38%)
Series 8 (2008): 8.9m (35%)

Series 3 had Jordan in it and I remember there was a lot of publicity surrounding the show then. Quite a clever tactic from ITV to bring in Jordan a week later for the new series as it's going to get high ratings for the launch anyway so just as the ratings might dip in the second week, she pops along and they'll go back up again.

I think with the X Factor lead in, it should beat the opening ratings for the last three series. I wouldn't be surprised if it becomes the most watched series opener, beating series 3's high.

By the way, I hadn't realised there'd been 8 series already! The show's done well to keep the ratings at a good level for so long (last year's series was the most popular one since 2005).

I think it's safe to say that if Sting has a Greatest Hits album to flog in time for Christmas, he'll be going on Strictly to do it, not Fix Factor:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8355611.stm

He's gone up in my estimations...

I'll LOL all next week if it gets beaten by Top Gear.

I'm a Celebrity looks certain to get bums on seats again this year. ITV have cleverly given it a lead-in from either The X Factor or Coronation Street on EVERY SINGLE OUTING.

Although I think it's silly how ITV are treating Coronation Street, I think for Britain's Got Talent week, and I'm a Celebrity launch week, extra episodes should be aired just to maximise revenue and stuff. And that would make up for the episodes lost for Wednesday's football, I'd guess.

If ITV had thought about this soap revamp, they might have got some long term happiness.

"desperately" may be the word you were looking for...

Yes it's done very well. Looking at the ratings it has managed to hold up considering its longevity.

I think the opener should be up this year with such a valuable lead-in. And with Katie Price going in a week later it should be enough to keep people watching. They've done well to get her on board and capatalise on all the publicity she's generated this year. It's definitely provided the show with a bigger pre-series buzz than we've had previously.

I dont think its that clever to use Corrie as a lead in every night. For the first couple its ok but is just messing Corrie around after that and I suspect that both it will just serve to damage Corrie and Im A Celeb viewers will tune in regardless of its lead in.

I don't think it will have any lasting damage on Corrie. It's a tactic ITV has used frequently in the past.

Well of course its not gonna cause lasting damage but for the couple of weeks its moved around it will be lower than usual and its not needed. Make the effort for the first couple of shows to maximise the start then after that people know its on everynight at either 8:30 or 9.

Considering the hype and massive lead-in, I'm pretty sure ITV should be expecting a record launch for IAC. It'd only need to retain 65% of the XF inheritance to do it, after all!

With Corrie and TXF bumping it up, I expect the series will be hitting the big numbers almost every night (with the likely exception of CIN). The BBC, thankfully, seem to have lined up a relatively complementary schedule with enough scripted stuff to go against it.

It'll be providing the show with a bigger lead-in than anything else in the schedule (X Factor excluding).