WOW - great to see a C4 show in the top 5.


You can see why ITV3 has taken over ITV2 as most popular MC. These drama repeats seem to do very well.


Great to see Celebrity Juice do well. It's a really fun show and seems to have become one of the ITV2 "main shows."

I doubt the BBC will be that bothered, the show has been declining in audience over the years and is something of an anachronism. It no longer seems to have the big star names of the past. But it would be interesting to know if the BBC were given the chance to bid for it.

I think we're starting to see the impact of the 20% spending cuts at the BBC over the next few years.

If someone else (ie primarily ITV or Sky) makes a substantial bid for Event X - which would mean the BBC needing to pay a lot more for Event X than it does at present - then the BBC is going to find it almost impossible to justify doing so at the same time as it is making substantial redundancies and renegotiating the pay deals of top stars downwards.

Up to now there's been quite a bit of talk about cuts but we've not really actually seen that feeding through on screen. I think this is now going to start happening.

I hate when people do this. Just say "doubt .... will be that bothered" and then don't justify it . Then you put "the show has been declining in audience over the years" and don't put any figures? Obvioulsy it's not going to be 20 million or whatever it was about 30 years ago. But just having a look on MG the last two have had 8.8m & 8.3. So pretty good IMO.


Good point didn't think of that.

I dont disagree, but whatever happens the BBC still has 3 billion plus income-its got to spend the money somewhere. This is where it starts to get ridiculous if the anti-BBC lobby makes a meal of everything the BBC does. Whether its the RVP, FA Cup, stars salaries -everything is under the microspcope of a vocal and sometimes meddlesome crowd. Like I say-money has to be spent somewhere.

The live programme averaged 3.4m/ 24% share.

The highlights show averaged 1.4m/ 11% share.

Yes, but a lot of the BBC's costs are fairly fixed - all the infrastucture, buildings, studios etc etc.

At a time of cuts it's the discretionary items that come under pressure. If they are asked to pay a lot more for something - whether it's US Masters golf, the Royal Variety (and who knows F1 or Six Nations in a couple of years time) it's very hard to justify spending a lot more on something when overall you are making significant cuts.

Because if they do spend more anywhere, then the cuts in other areas have to be even steeper.

Surprising news re the RVP, and I wonder if there's a bit of surprise at the BBC at this news too.

Fair enough if ITV has decided to pump tens of millions of pounds to secure this fading spectacle for a decade, which the Beeb feels it would rather put into making quality programming than trying to outbid ITV for something they alone can make some ad money out of.

But if the Beeb hasn't even had the chance to respond and it's a bit of a stitch-up, like over the FA Cup/England rights, then that leaves a sour taste.

Either way, I suspect the Beeb will quite happily let ITV get on with taking the RVP ever-more downmarket. It's not the event it once was.

Not necessarily. You take the stance that you need £3bn to run those networks. Maybe you could actually run it for £2bn with an efficient operation. I know £1bn probably is just loose change to you but it would make me very happy.

Bring back Queen Victoria!

*bangs head against nearest wall*

Why Channel 5, why? The original schedule had Superman followed by Ghost Rider. Then they changed it to include that factual repeat. Not needed! If they'd left it alone they'd have beat Channel 4 in the primetime shares last night. Sundays were working just fine without these factual repeats in between, now Hancock is going to get a crap lead-in next week instead of a good lead-in from Superman 2.


Very good rating for classic Gadget Show on Dave. It seems to have fitted in excellently there.

I wished the loose change bit did apply.

Its not my stance the 3 billion is needed, Im just assuming thats the income. As far as I know the BBC does not give money back, and I know the spend is far more than just programme acquisition. Presumably if efficiencies resulted in 2 billion rather than 3 the Beeb could buy the Premiership rights. Though presumably you would be looking for a reduction in the licence fee

You can see it being Cowellised cant you?

It's the lack of genuine big star names that's been killing interest in the RVP.

Every year recently, it's been the same old B-, C- and Z-listers. Here-today, gone tomorrow pop sensations, reality celebs and whichever stand-up comic has been ubiquitous that given year.

Bet it will be Russell Kane this year. He's on everything else at the moment, I sometimes tune in to Newsnight and expect to see him as a guest, or even the presenter...

They should name it the Royal Light(weight) Entertainment Show.

Just noticed how poorly MOTD did last night, in stark contrast to its mega OMG ratings of recent weeks. On the face of it an odd decision to show a movie premiere on Two and move it to One last night when there were no real high-profile fixtures on in the Premier League.

Where did I say I disliked Downton?

I thought it was ok, didn't really see what all the fuss was about, but it was certainly a good effort and nice to see ITV attempting that sort of thing again.

It was the first time I recall it being moved when BBC2 didn't have some other sporting commitment at the same time (eg, snooker). I suspect they'd scheduled the film for last night, knowing there were no PL fixtures expected this weekend due to the FA Cup, then WBA/Wolves rescheduled a postponed fixture, and the late slot on BBC1 was the only place left for the highlights.

There was only one Premiership game over the weekend - West Brom vs Wolves - unless you were a fan of either team, you wouldn't have cared about MOTD last night.

I see. Makes sense now, thanks.

Still, it just about beat the FA Cup highlights programme on ITV1 according to Bushmills.

Anyone have all the first week ratings of OK TV?

Event X will be televised anyway, so this is a good thing as it should mean more of the license fee getting spent on new programming that otherwise wouldn't exist.

Some amazing growth for NCIS in the officials.

Wednesday 2nd February: 1,745,000
Wednesday 9th February: 2,708,000

Up 55% week-on-week.

Having never seen the Royal Variety, I find it ideal programming of ITV 1, to say nothing of the fact it involves a winner from one of there rubbish saturday night reality shows.

Losing the RVP is probably not something the BBC welcomed but it depends what figure ITV is paying for it. In a time of deep cuts at the BBC, I dont think paying loads for a show that basically just boosts album/dvd sales for entertainers just before Christmas should be a priority.


From a programming perspective I think the cuts have already begun. 3 part series seem to be replacing 6 part series as the cost and risk is becoming too much. Sherlock, Wallender, Zen, South Riding, George Gently (just 2 episodes per series) are examples of this.

From a sports programming perspective I think the BBC will make an effort to keep Six Nations, F1, Wimbledon, Football Tournaments, Olympics but everything else could be up for grabs and I cant see them poaching anything.

Back to ratings, fantastic for South Riding. I expected it to be lucky to push over 5m. Good rating for a brilliant Being Human episode too

Rzt - do you have the rating for the late night Being Human repeat at 11:30pm?