Will Barb be updating any time this year!!!

I'm not fond of them, but they do at least have their hits in that genre. I'd like to see E4 take the same approach there as they have with drama/comedy and just do a few but make them good. Also, the ITV2 shows probably take themselves a bit too seriously for E4. It's hard to imagine an E4 announcer introducing Paris Hilton's British Best Friend without laughing! E4 does skew female but not to the extent that ITV2 does and not so obviously.


NBC did a show called "The Sing-Off" which did OK across its run as a filler in December but it was entirely a capella singing which I think took away from it a bit. With a lack of show choirs in the UK it may be difficult to do a talent show but there must be a format in there somewhere.

America's Best Dance Crew does very well for MTV in the States but with so many dance shows now on in the UK, the time has passed. If they had got it on quickly last year when Diversity won BGT, then it might have worked.


I think that's the kind of thing E4 could do. They wouldn't get away with something like The Bachelor because it seems a bit more serious. But someone like David Mitchell can put a light hearted take on a format like Beauty and The Geek. Channel 4 also did a similar style of show called Playing It Straight but never got anywhere with it either. I'd favour Beauty and the Geek if one were to return.

Playing It Straight was hilarious.

Without question, the big ratings story of Monday was Five's excellent performance, which saw it become the third most popular network between 9pm and midnight. Channel 4 could only equal The Gadget Show at 8pm, whilst BBC Two fell way behind Paul Merton at 9. By 10pm neither channel could compete with the 2001 Johnny Depp thriller From Hell romping home to victory to claim a 9% share.

You sound like a talking Five Press Office!

Whilst I see your point, I find it difficult to get overly excited about something getting 1.5m when BBC1 and ITV1 have shows getting up to 10m at the same time, and dramas getting 5-6m. I know it's good for Five but it's all relative.

Posting to view my previous post.

Yeh im the same. I dont really take that much interest in Five's ratings at all. I know 1.5m is good for Five but after all it is still a terrestrial channel and BBC2 and Channel 4 get over 1.5m all the time.

Yeah exactly, it's not even like they're competing with BBC2 and C4, as Five are rarely ahead of them. They're a bit of a pathetic excuse for a channel really with no original scripted content, bland factual, horrendous 'entertainment' and imported crime dramas and soaps. Riviting. :sleep:

Seems to have been a slight increase for the main programming last night, but strangely The Lakes seemed to have a dip, working against the norm. Five having three programmes above 1m on a Monday is unusual. The soaps performed well.

BTW, it seems that the National Final for Eurovision could be on Friday 12th March this year (thanks to the DS Eurovision thread for this nugget of information) - where would it fit in? 7pm-8pm with results at 8.30pm? 8.30pm-10pm? Though this information comes from someone who is going to perform on a show, and his slot could be being pre-recorded for the weekend.

Ouch!

Don't hold back!

Oh I agree. The only time I find myself watching Five is if there's nothing else on and I fancy a laugh with Live From Studio Five.

Big budget British dramas are unfortunately not something Five can afford right now. Of course these will rate well for the BBC and ITV but IMO low 5s is nothing special for these networks. They should be aiming for 6m+ for homegrown dramas at this time of year. Fair enough it's difficult when you have two big ones against eachother attracting a similar audience but for me it's just not very impressive. Are we going to have another Whitechapel this year? Looking doubtful. But that set the bar very high, especially in ITV's case.

For Five to achieve around an average of around 1.3m viewers over 4 and a half hours is excellent, whatever way you look at it. Press officer, supporter of the underdog, or just somebody who understands ratings. The conclusion should be no different.

Expect a mob of people wanting the show to die come done the street in the morning...

FIVE should think about creating FOX style drama. Just one drama very well done will attract viewers to any other drama it ever does.
If needs be, work on partnerships in the US or Australia. I'm sure a Aussie broadcaster will work with FIVE.

Aren't Five owned by RTL? I thought they were one of the richest media companies in Europe? How come they're not ploughing more money in to Five and trying to get more benefits out of it? They could have eaisly started a CSI/Law and Order franchise over here before ITV snuck in, for example.

It is quite good in a "it's so bad it's good" kinda way.

But without taking a few risks and spending money on homegrown dramas the channel will never grow and will continue to be lost in the multi-channel world. To be fair to Five they have made an effort before with acquiring Neighbours, Minder, Suburban Shootout etc but all have failed apart from Neighbours and that is not too healthy. When they keep making shows like Live at Studio Five and Celebrity Quitters and show endless film repeats then they will struggle.

The only time the word "good" should be used in the same sentence as Live at Studio Five is when its axed and everyome says good riddens.

I suspect you won't have to wait too long.

Some notable ratings performances there.

The 6pm BBC1 newshour seems to be doing incredibly well in 2010, even with the snow all gone. Maybe the weather introduced new viewers to the teatime news hour?

The One Show seems to have moved up a notch, and Inside Out did very well for what it is - somewhat putting Panorama to shame. Time BBC1 did the decent thing, pensioned it off, and offer strong complementary scheduling to keep the second Corrie in check.

Great for Hustle, even though it's been a patchy series this run for me, and not one I've bothered with every week. Surprised it didn't edge in front of Bore and Order till this week, but the Corrie crutch and Monday night apathy helps it.

And that's a very good post 10.30pm figure for Inside Sport - bodes well for the Winter Olympics.

Assuming they get some snow in Vancouver before Friday...!

As for BBC2, the 6pm pensioner-hour is doing very well, despite the strength of the BBC1 news hour.

And that's a very good rating for Glee on E4, even if it is rubbish. Utter rubbish.


Perhaps it was because their trailers seemed to have rather given the plotline away. (I don't watch*, but my parents do and they seemed outraged at the trailer (and the NTA "preview") when I was round the other day - sad isn't it that I go round to catch up with them and they just moan and whinge about ITV and Corrie...)

I wonder if BBC1 will reveal Archie's killer in a promo before the live episode, just to get people to tune in?

(*unless the other half is out and there's a chance Rosie Webster might be on... )


I'd rather hope that 2010's biggest sporting day, with Jenson and Lewis duking it out for the F1 title and England reaching and winning the World Cup Final , BBC1 will take advantage and do something a bit more special than that. How about:

12.10 F1 - British GP
14.45 F1 Forum [boost the 12-2.45 ratings...]
15.30 EE omnibus
17.25 BBC News
17.45 Goalfest! - England's Road to the Final
18.45 FIFA World Cup Final - the Build Up
19.15 FIFA World Cup Final - England v Spain
21.50 Arise Sir Wayne! : The Nation Celebrates - Live
22.45 News
23.10 Film: Escape to Victory

I imagine ITV1 will have a Midsomer Murders repeat at 7.30pm - it will be less humiliating...


Anyway, back to the world of the living. Will BARB be updating tomorrow?

Obviously, these will be late schedule changes. I don't think even the BSI would be stupid enough to tempt fate like that...!

Why do people keep asking that? Is something going happening tomorrow. Why does something bad always happen!

Yep, they have nothing that appeals to me apart from the odd film, and now they're turning into Sky Movies but without the blockbusters judging by the Sunday schedule! The factual is dull and lifeless, the imports are dreary (although I can't blame them for FlashForward, as it did sound promising) and as far as entertainment goes, they seem to travel from one horror show to another. Britain's Best Brain, Heads or Tails, Live From Studio Five (well it isn't factual is it!) etc. It's a complete mess.


Whilst I appreciate that big budget dramas are out of reach, that does not mean that homegrown drama and comedy should be cut altogether. E4 have shown that scripted programmes do not have to be big budget, look at Skins, The Inbetweeners, Dead Set, Misfits. None of them had huge budgets yet they are/were all very successful, and are of a high quality. Surely Five are capable of producing good quality drama/comedy without a massive budget. Instead the only original scripted content they've come out with in the last couple of years is that dreadful Minder remake.

Whilst low 5s are nothing special for BBC1 and ITV1, both Hustle and L&O would be on around 6m if they weren't competing against each other. I highly doubt there will be another Whitechapel this year but you are forgetting that it launched on 'Snow Day' and therefore had a boosted debut.

What Five getting praised for averaging 1.3m for most of primetime says to me is thatthe network is severely under-performing overall as it ought to be getting at least these figures every night, if not higher, and should be competing with BBC2 and C4, which they are failing to do on a regular basis.

Oh, and who's the BSI? BBC Scheduling Something?

Wanna bet?

I can see the networks trying to outdo each other if England reach the World Cup final - maybe back to days when the FA Cup Final used to air long before kick off?

BBC Scheduling Idiots