I'd ignore Square Eyes if I was you. He's just an ITV hack who appears when The X factor is on or when ITV does something new. He nearly wet himself when Chiles and Bleakly went to ITV but for some strange reason didn't return to talk about Daybreaks ratings.

Suspicously he disappeared last year when Dancing on Ice and Britains Got Talent posted year on year falls.

Think Miranda will get 4m+ tonight against poor BBC1 competition. Hope Come Rain Come Shine gets 6/7m.

It is the celeb specials which killed it for me - plus recent tweaks have done nothing to bring viewers in - if anything they risk just alienating existing viewers.

I agree it needs to return to normal folk with the simple premise that you can be watching one day and playing a few shows later. If not live it at least needs to be filmed close to transmission (some recent series have been in the can for months) - and although I think it works well enough in a weekly slot, I think launching a series with a week of episodes (ideally live) before settling into a regular slot would give it a boost.


I agree. I wish too OFCOM would intervene with films shown in later slots which often air without ads - but still have the breaks to get the sponsor bumpers in. Even without OFCOM's intervention surely ITV could see the selling power of offering a late uninterrupted movie say once a week, with a sponsors name attached to the screening.




God Robbie - you must be gutted. Down on last year in what is arguably one of the best slots of the year - certainly better than the middle of June anyway!


Glad Misfits did well - thought it might under perform out of it's usual slot, but I think one of the highest rated episodes of the series. Series 3 confirmed too.

As for Todd Margaret - if More4 had given that a decent slot I might have given it a chance, but they didn't. A complete waste by More4 of what is probably their first original comedy since launching.


Reminds me of 100% which ultimately suffered when it had the same winner for 100+ shows and viewers got bored. As for The Krpyton Factor - no word on it for 2011, so presumably axed.

Seems like there is no News bulletin after 6:15pm on Sunday night on ITV1 for some bizarre reason.

Suggest that BBC breakfast will do very well -todays show had Kara and Artem(from Strictly), and the two Apprentice finalists in the 8.30 to 9.15 slot. I dont know whether it was Sian or Bill who pointed out how tenderley Artem was treating Kara(perhaps a bit sickly sweet over cornflakes), but certainly if people think the show is staid, boring and all about news-think again! From what i have seen Breakfast outdoes Daybreak in virtually every area. (Although im yet to work out what Daybreak is trying to do)

On Digiguide it's listed within Love Actually, says 'Including ITV News and Weather'.

Don't know why it's not listed in it's own right, presumably it will be a very short bulletin.

Pop Idol 1 averaged 7.27m and Pop Idol 2 averaged 8.24m so it was down from them. The XF1 finale was down just over 1m from PI2. Popstars was actually a bigger hit, with a 9.11m average for its first series but that dropped to 7.18m for The Rivals.

At the end of 2004, ITV had to choose between Pop Idol, X Factor or Popstars. Unsure of what to do next with Popstars (not helped by the fact that Nigel Lythgoe had gone to the US and 2 other key Granada execs had moved to Syco) and with concerns about Pop Idol minus Simon, Pete and Ant & Dec (who weren't doing it without Simon), they decided to stick with XF. I think they were also encouraged by the growth over the series, from a start of under 5m.

Apparently that Sun article says half of the soap's audience are over 55. However, balance this out with the pink pound that is even more loyal to the soap, a strong following across most age groups in the Northern ITV regions and it isn't so drastic for the soap. Yet I do imagine to ABC1s and people under 35 in the South it isn't such a big draw.
However, if you want really dreadful demos, the research STV did into High Road when they axed it revealed the average age of the viewer for this soap was 70 and the audience was dying out.

So ITV were quite brave to stick with a format that wasn't an overnight success. I do recall the odd person moaning when Pop Idol was ditched, but now in the fickle world of Saturday night TV Pop Idol has been completely overtaken by TXF and will probably be a footnote in Saturday night television. Also people in the early noughties were very cynical about Saturday night television, regarding most of it as trash.

A possible signal of how popular Neighbours will be on ELEVEN....

http://www.eleven.com.au/

In the poll at the bottom, it's last out of 4 shows - it is the only Aussie original programme in the poll.

The Apprentice did exceptionally well considering the late run time. Sports Personality of the Year did ok, and was boosted by the ad breaks in the film and by the end as people tuned in for The Apprentice. ITV1 held up well (first time I can remember saying that in a while!)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010...am-big-brother
I finally found this Article

C4's ratings since BB ended have been pretty dire on the whole.if C4 had a very bad year in 2011 is there a chance they would relook (not just the axing of BB,but the other shows like wifeswap etc)?

Yeah I agree with what you've said. Also, the scheduling for the live shows need to be better than the last series because it was clear that the clashes against EastEnders, early starts and half hour gaps between the performance and results shows were denting its average. The live shows earlier this year rated worse than the audition shows which is very unusual - usually the live shows rate a couple of million better than the auditions!

They should still continue with 2 hour episodes for the semi finals but this time have it all-in-one between 8:30-10:30pm (Mon/Fri) or 8-10pm (Tue/Wed/Thu). Also I think the final should be split back into a performance show and a 30-minute results show. 2.5 hours in a row was a drag especially with the relatively poor guest performers. I also do think they should have the audition shows stripped across 4 weeks on Sat/Sun to prop up both nights but that's probably unlikely given that ITV aren't doing it with DOI. I dunno why they won't because TXF and SCD have shown that having these shows across the weekend can be very successful and helps boost the ratings of programmes airing around it on both nights.

The scheduling last year totally backfired on them. Looking at how it did away from EastEnders and the shares, had it sired in the same slots as it did in 2009 it would have run 2009's ratings close imo. I doubt it would have matched them but the declines would have been <10% like the auditions instead of 25% or whatever it was! I'm not sure if having 2 hour episodes is the best idea. I'd reduce them to 90 minutes again but have an extra semi-final. Therefore there would be 6 acts + a guest + the result on each show. It would mean they'd lose an hour of BGT but they could make up for that by extending the audition shows to 75 minutes like X Factor.

As the final audition show/selection show will have to be shifted to Sunday because of the Champions League Final I'd run it like this:

Sunday: Final auditions, 8:30-10:00pm
Monday: Semi-Final 1, 9:00-10:30pm
Tuesday: Semi-Final 2, 8:30-10:00pm
Wednesday: Semi-Final 3, 8:30-10:00pm
Thursday: Semi-Final 4, 8:30-10:00pm
Friday: Semi-Final 5, 9:00-10:30pm
Saturday: Semi-Final 6, 8:30-10:00pm
Sunday: Final, 7:00-9:00pm and 9:30-10:00pm

For the sixth semi final importing the YouTube show idea from the US could be an idea (new acts who audition on YouTube) to freshen it up. Launching new series at 10pm on Tuesday-Thursday and a 30 minute preview of a new Saturday night show on the Sunday at 9pm are both ideas that should be considered too.

As for the Saturday/Sunday split, I agree that it would work really well but it doesn't look like they're going to do it as there will be 8 weeks between DOI and the Sunday BGT (that I'm sure will happen due to the Champions League) which is perfect for 4 weeks of Vera and 4 weeks of Lewis, so they'll probably run those dramas at 8pm with either a documentary or gameshow (hopefully the latter - Mr & Mrs would do pretty well there) at 7pm. I can see why they keep it on Saturdays as it boosts Saturdays which would be dead without it, whereas Sundays will be fine without it with the 2 hour dramas. I do think the final would be better on a Sunday though as it has to start earlier in the evening and more viewers will be in at that time on a Sunday as opposed to a Saturday.

Dancing on Ice, like Strictly, is preferred to an earlier slot - god knows why hardly anybody on this thread realises it! It's the later slots that hurts it - hence the really low ratings for the results show - it's low on Saturday and Sunday if late.

There are two choices if ITV wants the show to ever get back to the ratings of series three:

Air earlier on Sundays
6:00pm Dancing on Ice
7:30pm Wild at Heart
8:30pm Dancing on Ice: The Skate-Off
9:00pm Married, Single, Other
10:00pm News at Ten

Air Saturday/Sunday

See, I can see both of these ideas - but I can't see the current one doing okay. I always liked the 2008 Sunday winter schedule - and it did very well.

Lewis was down in 2008 because viewers just couldn't keep going till 11pm - as you say Score - starting Lewis and Vera at 8pm is always a good way forward.

Lewis did better this year in May than it did last year in March - despite the lack of a Dancing on Ice lead-in - I think that really says something.

A lot of people on this thread are aware that DOI is suited to an early-ish slot and rates badly for its late scheduled results show; that's why so many people on here keep commenting how bad its scheduling is!


Lewis' ratings in 2008 were actually up 4% compared to the previous year, in its 9-11pm slot. The 2008 series was its most successful series to date.


Lewis didn't have DOI lead-ins for 3 out of 4 episodes for its 2009 series anyway. In both the 2009 and 2010 series, the episode which started latest got the highest viewing figures. This suggests to me that viewers of Lewis (and possibly other murder mystery dramas too) are more than willing to watch the show up until 11pm.

Two of the main reasons why Lewis rated better this year compared to last year were:

1. STV viewers got to see the 2010 series while they didn't see the 2009 series. That's a boost of about +8% in the official ratings.
2. The competition on BBC1 for the 2010 series was extremely weak (Modern Masters) whereas in 2009 it faced another drama (No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency - this didn't rate well but it was more of an opposition than Modern Masters).


ITV did do something like this in 2008 (replace MSO with Kingdom). They changed it because they weren't getting their maximum potential return on investment. That's because they used up 36 minutes of their allocated 40 minutes of adverts in primetime by 9pm, meaning that the 9pm drama only had 4 minutes of adverts. Maybe as a one-off that's okay but over a 10-week period that's 40-minutes of potential adverts lost during Kingdom/the 9pm drama. It's not worth it financially doing it that way and I'm guessing that's why they changed their schedule in 2009 to get rid of that second drama. I suppose they could hold some more adverts till 9-10pm but that would mean having fewer adverts between 6-9pm so they lose out either way.

It wasn't the best of Miranda episodes though. The show walks a dangerous tightrope between comically overplayed and chronically overplayed - and tonight it was on the wrong side too often. But I remain a fan of the show, and love seeing a traditional old school sitcom - with its constant nods to past sitcom heaven - doing well.

As for Only Come Rain and Horses, I haven't viewed it yet. I intend to, and suspect that will be the surprise big winner tonight - if not the whole festive fortnight.

A perfect storm of arctic weather, the unexpected (to millions) absence of a 2nd Corrie, Corrie being on its high still, woeful BBC1 opposition, and David Jason leading in a heavily-trailed drama that looks to basically re-work the OFAH "sit" in a new setting, should guarantee an audience of many millions. Nailed on.

BTW, the Ruth Jones show was a pile of pants IMO.

The first turkey I've seen of the fortnight I think.

I don't know why you're calling it Only Come Rain and Horses - is it really just because Jason played a Cockney? It wasn't like OFAH at all, as for a start it was a straight drama not a comedy! It was pretty good though and I can see it doing well with 6m+.

The average prediction on the RPG for Come Rain Come Shine is about 5.5-6.5m. I see you predicted 9-10m on this thread earlier this week for it, which would make it the most watched one-off drama on British TV in at least 5 years. Somehow I can't see that happening ...

As I said before, it's funny how Robbie compares Come Rain or Shine to Only Fools yet forgets that BBC are airing a spin off over Christmas of that very show. I hope it rates well.

Ah, so the billions of people who were trapped in their cars which deflated the BBC1 big weekend are suddenly happy, free and ready to watch ITV then...?

Thanks for the Lewis clarification - didn't it rate best at 8.30pm rather than 8pm or something like that? But, the audience noticeably dipped if it went to 11pm IRRC, 10.30pm was sorta like the ideal transmission end.

Wasn't the problem two-hour dramas rather than one-hour drama?
- 6pm-11pm (having Dancing on Ice, Wild at Heart, Skate-Off and Lewis = six hours) in 2008
- 6pm-11pm in 2009 (having Dancing on Ice, Wild at Heart, Skate-Off, Kingdom and Piers Morgan)

6.30pm till 10.30pm would be fine wouldn't it? - without any ads for ITV News at 10 o'clock.

This may not sound very business-like, but surely if ITV were to launch some new family/contemporary drama in that 9pm slot (with the DOI lead-in) and have one less ad-break - that could be to its advantage - as these would be trial dramas?

Personally, I always felt Married, Single, Other was more suited to a Sunday night slot than a Monday night slot which was so familiar for Monday Night Thrillers - but it's easy to say that in hindight.

It looks like ITV has scrapped the Monday Night Thrillers entirely now - which is a massive shame - one of its best brands.

Why would I pretend to "forget" that? Rock and Chips has been mooted for years, greenlighted then put on ice, brought back again etc etc.

What I was getting at was the ruminations of the ITV Execs along "what shall we do next with David Jason then now Frost is done with?" lines.

"Say, what about we cast him in a new 2 hour drama as a working class Cockney living in a council flat whose grown up offspring falls on hard times and comes back to live with them whilst they get back on the straight and narrow? Not a straight comedy, be too obvious that, do it as a drama, tug on the heartstrings a bit, like the bits in Del and Rodney that brought a lump to your throat now and then"

"Lovely jubbly - sounds like we're on a winner with that one"

"Yep, bang it out in time for Christmas, stick it on the Sunday the week after X Factor when BBC1 will have Sports Personality and some boring costume drama on, and we'll clean up."

"Bonnet de douche!"



(I'm sure George will confirm this is how it works....)

Having looked back on BARB, only one episode of Lewis has started at 8.30pm. That was the first episode of the latest series which also was the most watched episode of the series. All episodes prior to that ran 9-11pm.


A combination of both I think. In 2008 it was: DOI, Wild at Heart, DOI, Kingdom/Lewis. In 2009 it was: DOI, Wild at Heart, DOI, Piers Morgan.


Yep that would probably be fine. But how would you fit 2 dramas into that because DOI would run 6.30-8pm, Wild at Heart 8-9pm, DOI 9-9.30pm... another drama would have to finish by 10.30pm but the allocated no. of ads would be done by 10pm.


Although I'd like to see the DOI lead-in used better, I don't think from a business point of view, ITV would do what you're suggesting. They would probably have to have 2-3 fewer sets of ad breaks during the 9pm drama or fewer adverts earlier in the evening (same problem essentially). As a one-off it could be okay but if they're losing 2-3 potential ad breaks every week for an expensive drama, that's a lot of money lost.


I don't think ITV have used the "Monday Night Thriller" brand in at least 18 months. I know there's been plenty of dramas airing on Mondays but I haven't seen them branded as that - they've simply been dramas which have aired on Mondays, most of which have been under the "Drama Premieres" tagline. I'm sure there'll be dramas back on Mondays after The Biggest Loser is over.