Of course the fact its Christmas Day boosts some figures but shows like Doctor Who and Eastenders this christmas are event TV. Wallace and Gromit would still have easily got over 10 million in May. The fact they are non-reality shows and can attract huge audiences is even more impressive.

Terrible Tuesday for the main two at 9pm again. One crumb of comfort for ITV is that neither of their documentaries lost anymore viewers - not that there were many more to lose! BBC1 won't be too upset that Paradox is holding up above 3m, though it'll be an interesting battle against The Bill next week.

Jamie's Christmas did excellently for Channel 4, and obviously offered The F Word a much needed boost as well. Emmerdale, Holby City and EastEnders performed as well as could be expected.

I think there is an incentive. And that is huge audiences that can be spread elsewhere. Christmas can be the perfect time to launch a drama/comedy pilot, which ITV could not really charge much for advertisers anyway, because who can be sure of its success.

Pilots are worthwhile, and have brought us some of our best TV shows, especially when that specific genre is unfamiliar. Cold Feet is an example, and ITV should start to launch comedy & drama pilots. They do in America, following big lead-ins, and it works fantastically.

And then, when a drama genre on a channel becomes more successful, viewers are bound to trust a longer series of drama or comedy.

Lets take an example. ITV had a few bad years of crime drama in the first 5 years of the 21st century. And only last year did it really make its mark, and that is nearly wholly down to Monday Night Thrillers, which didn't ask too much from viewers. That led to ITV commissioning Law & Order UK, which was a consistent success over quite a lengthy series.

ITV need to do that with family drama. The polished, glitzy drama they offer is awful anyway, might I just add. Stuff like Mr Eleven may as well not be shown because it's all about things that noone has any relation to, or has any warm feeling with.

So why are ITV wasting so much money commissioning 3-6 part series, like Boy Meets Girl, The Palace, Monday Monday. Shit like that.

ITV should pilot dramas in sandwiched or really good slots (not too many pilots at once, maybe 5 in a year). And there could be a weekly comedy slot for pilots, like there was with Cold Feet and The Grimleys (I think).

Because, of course, apart from crime/period/detective drama (Sunday/Monday/Wednesday), there's no established slot for drama on ITV.

Slots non-crime ITV drama could launch in:-

Thursday at 9pm, occasionally

Saturday at anytime, preferably after a reality show, or sandwiched in-between one. This was the great advantage of having The X Factor sandwich, something ITV never really took advantage of.

Sunday at anytime, preferably after a reality show, or sandwiched in-between one. X Factor could run just on Sunday's, or new drama pilots could launch betwene episodes of Dancing on Ice, maybe.

There are limited slots for new dramas to go, because of ITV's surge in its football, entertainment, factual and crime drama slate. And no drama will ever be able to kick off at 9pm on a Tuesday. That should be entertainment/factual/reality (a mix of all three)

ITV should certainly think about using The X Factor and Britain's Got Talent much more wisely. They're valuable lead-ins that aren't being exploited. I think putting Doc Martin after TXF this year was a waste - it's not a show that needed that lead-in.

Absolutely. Those lead-ins are like gold dust.

I think the days of pilots making it to air in the UK are over. Reason being that there are two types of pilot:

US pilots - mega money up to $4m spent on a one hour show. Very glitzy and special effects driven

UK pilots - low budget, characters not fully developed, in short not very professional

Though it does beg the question why ITV are airing so much rubbish in the week before Christmas. How about Law and Order for Monday, Piers Morgan Life Stories Special on Tuesday (say...Robbie Williams?), The Royal Variety Performance as it is, The Bill Thursday and Whitechapel on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (repeat of series 1)?

It'd do better than what they're broadcasting at the moment! Obviously they expected Robson Green to do better, but all the same they surely expected Mister Eleven to bomb, giving it the Friday slot. Out of My Depth on Monday night, which is great for drama?! And The Bill was struggling when it had momentum, so they couldn't have had high hopes for it this week.

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BTW, congratulations on the report writing, PJMillar.

How about a coming-of-age drama? Something warm, yet not over-sentimental, and a bit witty. One boy set in a school, for example?

Or, maybe a revival of Thunderbirds, with a pilot sandwiched between Britain's Got Talent, and given lots of publicity.

There's all sorts of ideas floating about I'm sure. Just a shame ITV have been choosing the wrong ones! Ones that ITV can never, and will probably never be able to get right.

ITV need to focus on dramas that can appeal to everyone, because everyone watches The X Factor and Britain's Got Talent. And that's the biggest challenge. America can do it, and have used the Superbowl very well to launch new shows, like Happy Days and The Wonder Years.

And, yes, ITV1 gets its second "all hours share for the week" win of the year!

http://www.barb.co.uk/graph/viewingShare?_s=4

Plus NaT appears in the top30 - twice (or 3x if you include the friday NaT @ 10:30!).

K

So why don't ITV go all out to do what happens in America? How about this (because they're never going to read to my fantasy schedules!):-

2010:-

Sunday (?) January
7:00pm Dancing on Ice: The Final
9:00pm NEW DRAMA/COMEDY PILOT (specifically the week after the end of Wild at Heart)
9:30pm Dancing on Ice: The Final Skate-Off

Saturday (?) May/June
7:00pm Britain's Got Talent
8:30pm NEW DRAMA PILOT
9:30pm Britain's Got Talent: The Result

Sunday (?) December
7:00pm The X Factor
8:30pm NEW DRAMA PILOT
9:30pm The X Factor

Thus effectively spending lots of money in these 3 sandwiched slots, perhaps £2 million, (£1 million for the 30 minute pilot).

A few things ITV need to do when trying to launch a new drama/comedy...

A well respected cast (Kingdom got viewers just for the name Stephen Fry), and that doesn't mean Shane Ritchie and Bradley Walsh.

Something quirky, unusual and exciting, risky, totally out of the box (Lost, FlashForward, Desperate Housewives, Ugly Betty, Glee) - those are always the break out hits. Safe never wins.

Good timeslot, as discussed.

Good promotion. You have to make ITV drama cool - because as was discussed with Mr Eleven, ITV dramas don't appeal to young people because they are seen as crap or stuffy and old. How do you do that? I'm not entirely sure, but using X Factor/BGT slots to promote it would help.

Guest stars - These are crucial as far as I am concerned. They get you so much press and are pretty much the only reason you could get a spike in viewers mid-series. Dannii Minogue showed on Beautiful People last week she is actually a really good actress - use her in a drama after X Factor - massive audience.

I think ITV may need to start by looking back to go forward. Bring back the likes of Fat Friends, At Home with the Braithwaites, Cold Feet maybe even Bad Girls, London's Burning - alebit it's a female focused market, but they're successful non-crime dramas that people enjoyed. When they've re-established their reputation in non-crime drama, they can start taking risks again. At the moment they only have two hits IIRC - Doc Martin and Primeval.

As has been said they need to use the lead ins offered by Britain's Got Talent, The X Factor and (IMO) Dancing on Ice much better. If Lewis/Wild at Heart cannot maintain a half decent audience without a Dancing on Ice leg up they should go. They're perfect shows to launch family dramas after yet they're not being used. And ITV won't have them forever.

Because in the UK it has always been about the writing and getting the scripts right rather than tweaking at the production stage which is what the US does.

ITV cant afford to spend big on pilots that might not work so they will wait for the script to be right before commiting

Well, this is why I don't like the presence of Dancing on Ice on Sunday's, because I think it's counter-productive for other shows. The soaps would be settled in a Sunday evening slot, because at least they wouldn't be around all the time to avoid clashes with EastEnders and other stuff.

And Wild at Heart will perform as well, if not better, with a Coronation Street Sunday lead-in than a Dancing on Ice lead-in. That's why I think Dancing on Ice should be tried on a Tuesday and Thursday.

I think Primeval does just as well without a lead-in, edging just over the 5 million viewer mark, which is very good for a show of its nature. It should build to around 6 million, I hope, if it's given the January-February slot to which it enjoyed in the first two series. It was messed around, and pitched against Doctor Who, in its last series.

I don't think ITV should bring back drama, except at Christmas. I think London's Burning would be the only one I'd bring back, if I were to bring anything back. And Cold Feet I'd give a Christmas special.

I think the main thing ITV need to do now is sort out The Bill, and put it back to Thursday at 8pm. The experiment didn't work, but all credit to them for trying. They should've made it low key. Revamps are best done low key sometimes because they achieve things, and audiences are surprised. Take this year's Emmerdale as an example. The producers didn't change the theme tune and make it rubbish, he just made the stories better. And it's an on-going gradual revamp too.

Oh, and by the way, I think you're missing Benidorm, which you could now class as a comedy drama because it doesn't have a laughter track and is on for the full hour. It still has features of a sitcom, though. In any case, yes, ITV have a very modest non-crime drama slate.

And on the subject of London's Burning and The Bill (which are two similar shows really), I would put them on as series instead of making them permanent fixtures in the schedule, which will give writers the time to make the stories and narrative fresh and not predictable. They could both occupy the Thursday 8pm slot, leading into ITV's factual slate, perhaps.

Yes, I'm sure they will! But that's my point, if they do get scripts that they think can really appeal to the mainstream, they should air them in the slots I posted above.

I mean, wouldn't you agree? With 17 million viewers either side, these dramas could pull in at least over half of that. I mean, that would be the aim.

The thing is, I see no other way of making quality, popular drama in the UK anymore. Combining the script (as you say) with top production could lead to many exports for ITV and it could be good for the British drama industry in general.

Yes, I think you're right, though I do think variety is key. And if I'm honest, ITV have a good variety of non-crime drama, even if the list is only modest.

Doc Martin - older skewed audience; comedy/drama; warm)
Benidorm - younger/middle-aged skewed audience; sitcom; taboo-ridden; working class)
Primeval - young audience/sci-fi/family/experimental (not a carbon copy of Who).

I think your Dannii Minogue idea is good. And I think ITV need to think about trying to find the 'Scrubs' of the UK. The 'Friends' of the UK. 'The Wonder Years' of the UK.

Moving Wallpaper was good, and if it was given a post-News at Ten slot and persevered with, it might be able to hold a 2-3 million viewers.

I agree with you. Surely with the profits ITV are making on Monday nights as it is, why are they NOT showing drama after 4 weeks of I'm a Celebrity. It would've been the perfect slot for the 100th episode of Taggart. Christmas Eve is a bit wrong really. It confuses me why ITV don't want to have drama on Monday as much as possible!!!! They already miss out with Britain's Got Talent and I'm a Celebrity for 4 weeks (at least) of the year. ITV must average so highly for Monday at 9pm this year.

If ITV really pull their finger out in ensuring all Monday slots are filled with either crime drama or the above entertainment (with perhaps the occasional repeat or serious documentary), they could be seeing an average of over 6 million viewers all year! A big feat!

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Thanks

MG's ratings round-up: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009...s-jamie-oliver

DS haven't updated.

Good for Channel 4 at 8pm, good EastEnders share, mediocre for the rest really.

I'd personally keep Dancing on Ice at the weekend - maybe splitting it over Saturday and Sunday a la X Factor:

For example:

SATURDAY
6.00 Ice Skaters do the Funniest Things
7.00 You've Been Framed
7.30 Harry Hill's TV Burp
8.00 Dancing on Ice
10.00 After Life (repeat - but to test the water for a new series)

SUNDAY
7.00 Wild at Heart
8.00 Dancing on Ice: The Skate Off
9.00 *New non-crime drama*


I doubt it'll be ready until Autumn 2010 at the earliest, so maybe it'll be pitched alongside The X Factor. If so, it could be up against Merlin.


I think the issue with ITV at the moment, as you stated in an earlier post, is that non-crime drama is not that popular at the moment. Doc Martin, IIRC, came through at the end of the popularity era so it was able to jump on the bandwagon. I think by bringing back some 'established' dramas, it'd give ITV some bankers to work from, to improve the reputation. Working from a clean slate is very difficult.


I'd say Tuesday at 9pm would be better, with the soaps in the 8pm slot before it. But I agree with your other points.


Fair enough - though I do consider that as more of a comedy!


I'd agree on that. I think shows can look tired if they're constantly on.

Unfortunately, safe usually does win over quirky on this side of the pond.

I don't think something like Glee would have rated well on ITV. I haven't watched it, but isn't it similar to Britannia High, and that flopped big time last year. Britannia High was bad, but people wouldn't have known that until watching the first episode, but only about 3m were interested enough to watch the first one.

Family drama which has a warm feel to it is the way to go instead of the glossy stuff. Not good in terms of variety, but for the ratings it's probably the solution. I think the head of ITV drama talked about this in a recent interview, saying that they are now more likely to pass on the quirky shows as they haven't rated well on ITV in the last couple of years.

Also I agree with others that the DOI/BGT/TXF lead ins need to be used better. We already know that ITV's putting their new period drama 'Downton Abbey' in the post X Factor slot next year. So that's a good move.

ITV should try and give Married, Single, Other a slot following the Dancing on Ice semi and final shows. Wild at Heart should be finished by then, and I really don't see the point of airing Lewis there when it can rate well without a DOI lead-in anyway.

Glee is pretty much everything Britannia High isn't. Singers in a high school - I think that's where the comparison ends. Glee would work brilliantly if it were promoted well - Fox promoted it brilliantly in the US because they showed off how fantastic the script was with the clips they used. When I saw the promo for BH I knew it'd be awful - when I saw the promo for Glee I was already in love with the show.

Absolutely, safe always wins over here. Particularly with ITV drama, which is why it's predominantly crime based - a long tried and tested formula.

- Glee is far better than Britannia High, and Britannia High wouldn't have got good figures anyway as it was very, very isolated in the Sunday evening schedule.
- Downton Abbey would be wasted after X Factor. It probably needs a Corrie or Heartbeat type lead-in. X Factor would be best for Married, Single, Other - if they think that's the kind of drama they really want to pitch for.
- Because Sunday is one of the only nights where good drama is able to air to good audiences, whilst reality and entertainment shows can get brilliant figures midweek, that's why Dancing on Ice needs to move away from Sunday. Drama is the kind of thing people want to sit down to on a Sunday, given the choice. I know The X Factor completely refutes that, but still...I really think families and everyone else prefer dramas on Sunday's. And it's one of the only place dramas seem to be successful.


Yeah, you're very right. Would've been great after X Factor or Britain's Got Talent. It's wasted on E4 for a show with such potential in the UK.


Yes, but what do you class as safe? warm?

Because I don't think we actually have many warm, honest storytelling dramas anymore. Nostalgia not based upon time, but perhaps nostalgia based on the context of the drama, is the best way to go. Everyone went to school, that's why I think something like that would rate well. Waterloo Road is essentially exaggerated lies! You know, I don't know why ITV and the media in general tend to underestimate the British public just because they watch a lot of X Factor. Beautiful literature can make up for big, needless explosions.

Warm dramas tell stories about people, not criminal investigations and events. The Bill has gone from the former into the latter.

ITV need to make a drama where viewers fall in love with the characters, and like the variety of them. I think The Bill and London's Burning shows how that can be done on a low budget, which sometimes is the best, honest way, whilst imagine how good higher budget dramas could be.

But I agree with you on the crime drama front. In my opinion, The Bill has only become a crime drama in the last year or so. Before, it told stories about police officers, before it went too far and all the characters turned gay and stuff. Crime drama should be on Monday basically all year round, and perhaps on Thursday for a few weeks if need be, but avoided if possible. And detective drama (which I distinguish from crime, because it's all two hours long), can be 2 hours on Sunday's.

For all this talk of new "good" drama and TV pilots and "avoiding safe", it's just not going to happen. The people running TV in this country have no feel for their own business and no desire too either. The BBC exec is a politician and the ITV exec is a banker.

ITVs people arn't the showpeople of the early years. A shame because they would make far more money.

I wonder if even this will boost The Bill's ratings tomorrow to > 4m!