He was notably absent from the National Television Awards earlier this month, an ITV1 event, despite being nominated.

I do wish ITV & Sky would make the announcement on this one already. I hate when these things drag out. Same goes for the BBC saying its going to axe something but not telling us what, or when.

Maybe Harry Hill is just trying to up his ITV deal. I'm not convinced he would go to Sky1. But I guess Avalon have a big say too.

The BBC know full well axing anything causes a fuss, and it's far better from their point of view to just say nothing and let things fade.

In 1985 the BBC publicly came out and said Doctor Who was axed, only to have to do a u turn when they realized the cost of a new season of Who was less than the cost of the negative publicity of axing it. It's a lesson they've learned.

its a shame they think about it like that, you are right Hotel Babylon was quietly axed, despite running for a few years.

It'll be interesting to see how TV Burp did last night, as the last series did very well in the Autumn, but it had a weaker schedule around it last night, and started halfway through SYTYCD, which won't have helped. Also, the best ofs weren't doing that well a few weeks ago. On the other hand, a YBF repeat got 5.5m in the slot last week with a football lead-in. I really think anything between 4-7m is possible, especially with the surprisingly weak performance of the Review of The Year show. Overall prediction for it: 5.2m.

When it comes to that bastion of middle class dullness, tennis, the BBC's public service remit is thrown out of the window. Who needs regional news or politics when you can watch two posh blokes hit a ball, thats real PSB

Having it on BBC2 would deliver an equal audience, there's no valid reason for the BBC to yet again put RATINGS ahead of it's PSB remit

BBC 2 would algo deliver and equal audience for News + Politics and this is a major event of national significance.

No it's not. It's a tennis match, tennis is a fairly minority sport.


BBC2 cannot offer regional output for those areas without the analogiue signal

Morning fellow number crunchers. Not a great result for the BBC but the tense third set should have provided a decent enough peak at least. However the next 35 minutes will probably see the audience tapering off considerably.

So the programme has run 15 minutes under so they are filling the gap with a 30 minute edition of Keeping Up Appearances. BSI at work again?

It'll be The Politics Show at 12.15 then they'll replace the planned 45 minute edition of Cash In The Attic at 1pm with a 30 minute episode at 1.15.

Handy programme, Cash In The Attic. It comes in 30, 45 and 60 minute chunks.

The Super League Show is on at 1pm in the North though, for 45 minutes!

London-based BBC management don't give a deletive-expletive about the North.

New ratings.... new ratings.... new ratings....

Consolidated figures Monday 28th December - Thursday 31st December 2009


(part-week only, to end of 2009)

BBC1

1. EastEnders 10.58m
2. New Year Live 9.32m
3. Day of the Triffids 7.06m
4. Holby City 6.36m
5. A Matter of Loaf and Death 5.59m
6. Waterloo Rd 5.43m
7. The Turn of the Screw 5.25m
8. A Close Shave 5.19m
9. Celebrity Mastermind 5.05m
10. TOTP New Year Eve 4.90m

BBC2

1. Three Men Go Ireland 3.82m
2. Jools' Hootenanny 3.09m
3. Not Again: Not the Nine o'Clock News Story 2.91m
4. Top Gear Special rpt 2.67m
5. June Whitfield 2.58m
6. This is Your Life (Whifield) 2.58m)
7. Not the Nine O Clock News 2.36m
8. Ab Fab 2.33m
9. James May Toy Stories 2.32
10. Springwatch 2.26m

ITV1

1. Coronation St 9.88m
2. Emmerdale 6.81m
3. Grimefighters 4.65m
4. YBF 4.09m
5. Countrywise 3.72m
6. The Bill 3.59m
7. News at Ten 3.30m
8. Morgan Review of Year 2.92m
9. River Monsters 2.69m
10. Sleep with Me 2.64m

C4:

1. Tsunami 2.52m
2. Deal No Deal 2.43m
3. Come Dine with Me 2.37m
4. F Word 2.05m
5. Simpsons 1.77m
6. Turin Shroud 1.68m
7. Chatty Man 1.57m
8. Worst Weather 1.40m
9. Man on Earth 1.30m
10. River Cottage 1.30m

Source: KMR, in today's Sunday Times Culture section
(Note: Duplicates removed)

Good timeshift for Day of the Triffids, and New Year Live did well given Scotland will have been stripped from the overnights.

NYL may even make the 2009 Top 20 if BARB confirm these figures once they report?

(Note that the KMR/Sunday Times figures I posted last week for Christmas week, which seem to have passed everyone by given there wasn't one single comment on them, were generally higher than the reported BARB figures for BBC1/2 and mixed and generally a little lower for ITV/C4)

Not much to choose from is there? What will it be? Are You Smarter Than A 10 Year Old or Ross Kemp on Gangs?

Has it ever occurred that there might be other people in this great and diverse nation of ours who don't share your working class chip-on-shoulder view of things?

The fact that tomorrow will confirm that several million people tuned in to some or all of this match will show how wrong you are.


What regional shows have been shunted to BBC2, out of interest?

Perhaps one also has to ask why the powers that be decreed that the BBC would only be able to offer regional opt-outs across England on BBC1 on digital, whereas analogue didn't have that restriction. I suspect this wasn't the BBC's doing.


I suppose the average may have been higher across 3h40m than over 5h if Murray had taken it the full distance.

I would think the peak will be very decent around 11.15-11.30am. Didn't the rained-off F1 early in 2009 get something like 6m casual viewers around 11am, and that was only paddock talk?

Nah, everyones too busy debating on soap clashes and the BBC's public service commitment to regional politics to comment on ratings.

I wasn't aware there was more than one provider of numbers in the UK - I thought it was only BARB who then passed the raw data to the likes of Attentional. But if KMR's numbers didn't match BARB's last set of officials, it looks like they must do their own research - or at least have a different definition of the 'official' number.

Still, the timeshift for Triffids was very impressive. That makes it the most successful new drama on the BBC in all of 2009 - which I think says quite a lot about the BBC's limited popular success with new drama last year. There's some long-term big hitters like Ashes to Ashes coming to an end this year, and they'll need something equally popular to replace them.

--

Regarding Murray's match today, I'm not sure we'll see that much. Past ratings experiences with Tennis matches (usually at Wimbledon) tells us that people tend to start switching off some way before the end if the result looks one-sided. I suspect a lot may have tuned out once he went a break down in the second set. He did rally a bit from there to make a fist of the third, but I reckon a lot of the viewers will have gone.

BBC2 was never regionalised. It was never a problem until BBC1 went ratings chasing crazy and wanted to drop low ratings regional stuff (except for the cute photos of snowmen of course, when then the "regional news" in worshipped on a high alter in Shepherds Bush Green by the DG). Wonder what will happen if it snows during Wimblydon when some British player gets past love all?

They always make a hash of last minute scheduling. A couple of weeks back when the snow hit the League Cup rather than replacing the 40-minute highlights programme with a 40-minute filler (such as an Inside Sport special or something like Comedy Connections), they bring the schedule forward 40 minutes, pissing off a few late night viewers in the process I'm sure.


As much as I like TV Burp I do feel it's passed it's peak, so disappearing to Sky wouldn't be such a bad thing.

I get the feeling that is why ITV are holding firm & dont want to overpay. We havent heard anything yet of the other Hill shows he was supposed to be developing so I think ITV are struggling to find other shows for HH apart from YBF/ Burp.

That really would merit a climate change special documentary!

IIRC he has expressed a desire on a number of occasions to get behind the camera and try his hand at writing/producing original comedy series' for ITV, an area in which ITV is incredibly weak at present, and so far they haven't taken him up on it.

If ITV cannot utilise one of their main talents appropriately, then is it any wonder that he's considering jumping ship?

TV Burp is a neat show but he should be given the freedom to try other formats and projects.

Off topic, but it snowed widely across England in early June 1975.

An absolutely extraordinary weather event that one though and one we are very unlikely to experience again!

BBC1 are now back on schedule with Allo Allo.

Only on the BBC could Rugby League Highlights be cut short because live Tennis finished early!