Extraordinary for BFGW. So many TV producers across the country are trying to work out and replicate exactly what has made it so phenomenal. I fear for the future.

Speaking of which, extraordinary for Outcasts too. Does anyone have the breakdown for the hour? It is likely to fall further next week against BFGW and the Brits. ITV must think Christmas has come early rescuing Taggart for a week at least.

It's ironical that the BBC boss who commissioned this batch of drama (and shifted Outcast away from it's original concept) is inheriting the success of her predecessor. Some people have a gift.

Moving Silk to Monday may give it a chance and it could be sufficiently middle of the road to restore viewers to the 9pm slot. It's not trying to be new or different (Peter Moffatt rehashing his short legal career again!) and the best I have heard it described is 'OK' but that could be what viewers are looking for after Outcasts.

ITV drama looking pretty good at the moment.

While we wait for DS to update, here's some more ratings from yesterday:

ITV1 (inc HD)
21:00- Taggart: 3.15m (12.4%) , +1: 129,200 (0.5%)

Channel 4
21:00- Big Fat Gypsy Weddings: 7.47m (29.2%) , +1: 710,900 (3.9%)
* total audience: 8.18m
* peak (exc/inc +1): 8.2m/9.1m
* highest 'C4 Total' overnight rating since BB5 final in 2004 (8.3m)

BBC Three
20:00- Snog, Marry, Avoid?: 574,300 (2.5%)
20:30- Hotter Than My Daughter: 475,300 (2%)
21:00- Sun, Sex and Suspicious Parents: 769,100 (3%)
22:00- Eastenders: 1.28m (6.3%) inc. HD

Dave (inc. +1)
22:00- QI XL: 510k

E4
22:35- Bob’s Burgers: 196,900 (1.3%)

ITV2
21:00- The Vampire Diaries: 430,900 (1.7%) , +1: 94,300
22:00- Secret Diary of a Call Girl: 475,700 (2.3%) , +1: 47,200 (0.41%)

Sky Living
20:00- Cougar Town: 250,300 (1.1%) , +1: 50k
20:30- Cougar Town: 209,800 (0.9%) , +1: 47k
* well up from slot average of: 94,200

Watch (inc. +1)
20:00- No Ordinary Family: 393k

Other ratings already posted here and here.

Sources: Broadcast (1), Broadcast (2), C4Sales, Mike Teevee

I just actually realised that because of the soap clash, Big Fat Gypsy Weddings was the most watched programme yesterday.

I think I just threw up in my mouth a little!!

It's not as if the soaps are much better..

They're on too often as well.

EE rebounded nicely on BBC 3

have to confess I missed the start of EE last night, so I watched the BBC 3 repeat.

An average of 411,000 watched the first Irish election debate on TV3 last night.

How does that compare to how programmes usually rate at that time on TV3?

Gosh that's much lower than I would have expected! Mind it was terrible, only 2 parties spoke, and the setup was terrible, all sitting at a table, haven't heard a good comment about it today. Best bit was Enda Kenny winning the debate on the poll on politics.ie

About what TV3's top rated shows would get (excl. X Factor). Coronation Street gets 450-500k; Emmerdale 250-300k. The Apprentice (Ireland version) was getting about 400k too.

So pretty good considering the Ireland vs Wales game on Sky Sport and the fact that the man who will be PM wasnt taking part in the debate.


which is the same as the RTE set up last time. There wont be an audience at any of them and you cant blame the tv stations for the calibre of the participants!

I thought Apprentice did better than that, sorry! I thought I read on boards that it got 900K. my mistake. Must be only Tubbers and sporting gigs that do huge numbers these days or are they way down now too?

double post

Of course. I have never suggested otherwise.

Equally, I could (and often do) not bother PVRing a show because I know it is on again later in the week and I will be better placed to watch it then, and won't get chance to watch the recording before that time anyway.

But the "aggregators" in our midst do not, and will not, capture that form of timeshifting.


Yep, no doubt we are going to get more freakshow-celeb-reality TV.

I maintain that ITV will inevitably come up with a freakshow weddings concept; they can hardly not jump on the bandwagon with those ratings.

As for Taggart, maybe Outcasts was part of a sneaky BBC plan to secure its recommission?


I have no issues with this as a means of reporting, you'll be delighted to learn...

If I was being ever so slightly pedantic, I'd say "aggregate audience" not "total".

Are there figures for the gender breakdown of the Gypsy Wedding audience? I think I know the answer though!

The Royale Wedding perhaps?

my sister was watching something called "Wedding House" on a C4 channel the other night, I expect ITV will go for something like that.

Maybe when The Biggest Loser has finished flopping, they can combine the two, and make a UK version of Shedding for the
Wedding .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shedding_for_the_Wedding

Well you're the one who was saying you don't mind the word "total" just a page ago !:

It also easily fulfilled my speculative prediction, and easily topped BBC One and ITV1 combined in the 9pm hour. I wonder when that last happened? And to two first run dramas, as well. It's just a phenomenon at the moment and has been steadily growing. No idea where it'll stop or what sort of longevity it might have. I can imagine the bubble could burst quite quickly when it does, but it'll still leave very strong numbers when it does. A lot depends as usual on how C4 decide to play it...

Disaster for Outcasts, but it was on the cards after last night. Clearly with a production so expensive and long-in-the-making they had to give it a shot - and they did the best they could. But time to sweep it away now. Make sure Silk gets the slot it needs.

That line up isn't the greatest advert in the world for BBC Three, is it?! Still, it all rated OK. Very poor for Bobs Burgers and Secret Diary is OK, but hardly going to encourage ITV2 to get involved in more original productions or co-productions.


I hadn't spotted that Watch was doing really rather well from No Ordinary Family. It's been clearing 600k in the officials for the past few weeks, with nothing else on the network over 200k. Sadly for them, though, it's going to be a one season wonder as ABC are almost certainly going to cancel the show in May.

Big questions need to be asked about Ben Stephenson now as BBC drama controller. When was the last time he commisoned a show that became a successful returing series?


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I dont understand people saying Silk needs to be on Mondays.

Mondays are quite competitive at the moment, Biggest Loser will soon be ending an a higer rating show probably will take its place, then you have One Born Every Minute doing well on C4 and Glee on E4.

Tuesdays are going to be safe for Silk, Holby City lead-in, probably a similar audience crossover, poor ITV opposition and BGFW ends before Silk starts too.

Expanding on what Dancc's posted about the weekly shares, here's the January All-Day BARB shares for the last five years for each of the major broadcasters and their portofilio of channels:

BBC
2006: 35.0%, 2007: 34.7%, 2008: 34.3%, 2009: 33.3%, 2010: 32.4%, 2011: 33.3%

ITV
2006: 24.2%, 2007: 23.6%, 2008: 24.0%, 2009: 23.6%, 2010: 23.1%, 2011: 23.6%

Channel 4
2006: 14.4%, 2007: 14.8%, 2008: 12.7%, 2009: 12.6%, 2010: 12.3%, 2011: 12.2%

Channel 5
2006: 5.8%, 2007: 5.7%, 2008: 5.7%, 2009: 6.2%, 2010: 5.5%, 2011: 5.7%

The BBC experienced a 2.8% rise y-o-y, helped by both BBC1 (+0.5%) and BBC2 (+4.4%) being up y-o-y which is really good for the two terrestrial channels to overturn that continuing decline which has plagued the terrestrial channels the last decade. In raw share, of the BBC channels BBC2 was up the most from the previous January (7.1% vs. 6.8%), no doubt helped by strong performances of the Eric & Ernie biopic and the shift of Top Gear to January. Also a noteable mention for BBC4 which was up 40% year-on-year (0.5% to 0.7%)!

ITV were up 2.2% y-o-y, this despite the main ITV1 channel falling 4%. ITV1's decline was offset by rises for ITV2 (+9%), ITV3 (+19%) and ITV4 (+38%), and as Dancc said a couple of days ago ITV3 (2.5%) was the most watched digital channel in January (overtaking ITV2 - 2.4%). The rise for ITV4 is particularly impressive and it looks like acquiring the cricket highlights was a very good move for the channel.

Channel 4 as a corporation were down 0.8% y-o-y. Given the loss of CBB, I actually don't think that's too bad. Despite the massive success of Big Fat Gypsy Weddings, like ITV1 the main C4 channel was down (-6%) but the digital channels rose: E4 (+13%), Film4 (+9%), More4 (+9%) but not enough to prevent C4 from losing share overall (albeit every so slightly).

Channel 5 as a whole were up 3.6% y-o-y: in terms of %-rise that's the most out of any the major broadcasters. The main C5 channel was up 2.4% (from 4.2% to 4.3% share) and 5USA was up 12.5% y-o-y. Fiver was flat compared to last January. C5 as a corporation have done well holding their market share since 2006 - the best out of the 4 major broadcasters.

Over the last 5 years in the month of January, like I said C5 have done best to hold onto their market share (-1.8%), with ITV second (-2.5%), BBC third (-4.9%) and C4 last (-15.3%). Overall, the 4 broadcasters had a 74.8% share of total TV viewing in January 2011 which compares to 79.4% in January 2006.

I know its an ask but do you have the Sky and UKTV shares also?

No I don't have those shares. I'm not sure which channels exactly would come under Sky and UKTV? And I think there's been changes in the last few years as to what has joined the Sky portfolio and what hasn't, so I thought I best leave calculating those two shares! I mean, I could do it if you give me a list of channels in each portfolio and which channels used to be in each portfolio in certain years and which didn't.

I don't know whether he commissioned Luther but he went against the modest ratings and reception to commission a second series. His tenure so far as been characterised by 'event' drama rather than potential series.

My rationale for Silk on Monday rather than Tuesday is because, traditionally, people don't watch drama on Tuesday. When was the last time either channel had a successful Tuesday drama? I don't think Silk is strong enough to buck that trend.

Edited to add- irrelevant now as the BBC have confirmed South Riding on Sunday, Mrs Brown's Boys on Monday and Silk on Tuesday. Outcasts is still listed for Monday and that may be its last week in prime time.