Excellent start for South Riding - it held up well throughout the hour too so I expect it'll retain a large portion of that audience next week. It dented the ITV shows by a half a million and very good for it to tie against Wild at Heart. Interesting that Antiques Roadshow did just as well as how Lark Rise to Candleford was doing in that slot in recent weeks, so I suspect this time next year they'll have Countryfile at 7pm, Antiques Roadshow at 8pm and then Upstairs Downstairs at 9pm.

Interesting news about the Royal Variety, I can see why ITV wanted to get it exclusively as it's been getting 8m+ ratings in recent years. It fits in well with their other entertainment shows and 'event-TV' stuff which airs on Wednesdays (like awards shows). I don't think the BBC will mind too much though - it's only 2 hours every 2 years they're missing out on, and nothing like losing something like the FA Cup or England matches.


Brilliant stuff. Just missing out on the 10m (inc. +1) figure, however, and remains behind Big Brother in Channel 4's all-time list (which Channel 4 and some other sources use):

1. Woman of Substance - 13.9m (January 1985)
2. Four Weddings and a Funeral - 12.4m (November 1995)
3. Gregory's Girl - 10.8m (January 1985)
4. Big Brother: season three final - 10m (July 2002)
5. Big Fat Gypsy Weddings - 9.7m (February 2011)
6. Friends: final episode - 9.6m (May 2004)
7. Nuns on the Run - 9.2m (April 1993)
8. Celebrity Big Brother - 8.8m (January 2007)
9. Dark Night of the Scarecrow - 8.3m (May 1985)
10. International Snooker - 8.3m (December 1984)

I'm baffled why this MOTD2 was even on because normally the contract doesn't extend to highlights of rescheduled games, they only normally do an MOTD and MOTD2 if there's a full fixture list over the weekend - you may recall last year that Man U vs Hull was rescheduled for the Saturday of fourth round weekend and the Beeb couldn't show highlights, and everyone complained. They've certainly never done an MOTD2 without an MOTD1 before.

They are able to request to do highlights in "exceptional" circumstances but, important thought that match was at the bottom of the table, and in the Black Country, I wouldn't have thought it would be for that. So I dunno why they did it.


I agree with this, there's maybe the prestige of hosting the Royal Variety Performance and it nomally does alright in the ratings but it's not like it's the biggest show of the year, as it may have been in the past. As you say, the likes of Children in Need serve the same sort of purpose and ITV presumably want the same sort of big event in their pre-Christmas schedules.

Of course the other day we mentioned the BAFTAs used to alternate between the two channels but the Beeb now have them exclusively, so they can work the other way too. Outside the football tournaments, I can't think of another show that now alternates between the two.


Hmm, dunno about that, because BBC Scotland are now delaying MOTD2 every week for SPL highlights, so it wouldn't have been too hard for BBC Wales to do that as well.

That does remind me that, because of the Welsh Labour Party Conference and the snooker, BBC2 Wales was opting out on Saturday from 2pm to midnight, which must be the longest sustained opt-out for years.

ok so it wont be billions, but it would save alot more than some back room jobs.

Demographic Information for Sunday 20th February: http://i52.tinypic.com/23ly3de.jpg

- Top Gear was the #1 show of the day for 16-34s and 18-49s, while South Riding was #1 show for ABC1s.
- Like virtually all period dramas, South Riding skewed old (65% of its audience aged 55+) and had an upmarket audience (60% of its viewers were ABC1s).
- Antiques Roadshow's 3.0m viewers aged 65+ makes it the almost the most popular programme of the week with 65+ year olds (Corrie had a slightly higher 3.1m for its Monday episodes). In terms of skew, however, it's probably the highest for a primetime BBC1/ITV1 programme.


23:30- Being Human: 310k

OK for ITV1 I guess; still being hurt by stupid scheduling that won't change anytime soon. BBC1 had a very good night, with South Riding performing excellently. I have to agree with Dancc in regards to Five's bizarre schedulign at 8pm which really hurt the schedule.

I think the Royal Variety Performance moving to ITV full time makes sense but it's only 2 hours a year so I doubt the BBC will be overly concerned about losing it.

Can you confirm, absolutely definitely, that no other Channel 4 shows in the past 29 years would have made that list if you include in-week repeat showings?

Brookside, for example?

If you can't, then you shouldn't include the aggregated BFGW rating.

If you were to include in-week repeat showings, then the 1m+ which BFGW got for its Thursday repeat would also be included so it would actually probably put it even higher than it's on that list, doing it the way you suggest. I'm simply posting the list that Channel 4 has sent out to the press and mentioned by websites like Radio Times and noted in sources like Media Guardian too. It's not a list which I've made myself.

Oh, we haven't had that debate for a few weeks of people being unable to keep track from Monday to Thursday - yet somehow manage fine from Friday to Monday. On that logic weekends should be abandoned completely - it's a wonder Britain doesn't grind to a halt on Monday mornings when everyone returns to work with no idea what they did last week!


Such a simple solution.


Quite a surprise they've gone for such a lengthy deal - three years to coincide with Britain's Got Talent wouldn't have been surprising, but ten years is possibly one of the longest current commitments in UK television. I don't think any current sporting rights go beyond 2015.

Not really too much of a loss for the BBC either - it's one night where they can burn off a repeat or two rather than shell out for the RVP.

Having done a Google search, The Independent lists a slightly different top 10 to the one Channel 4 has released to the press (presumably this list has some shows which include the "in-week repeats" ratings?):

1: Woman of Substance (13.9m/4 January 1985)
2. Four Weddings and a Funeral (12.4m/15 November 1995)
3. Gregory's Girl (10.8m/8 January 1985)
4. Big Brother 3 Final (10m/26 July 2002)
5. Cutting Edge "Shops & Robbers" (9.8m/14 February 1994)
6. Big Fat Gypsy Weddings (9.7m/8 February 2011)
7. Friends (9.6m/28 May 2004)
8. Nuns on the Run (9.2m/18 April 1993)
9. Brookside (8.9m/31 January 1995)
10. Celebrity Big Brother (8.8m/19 January 2007)

Most notably, that Cutting Edge doc wasn't in the other list. Also Robbie was right that Brookside's highest-rated episode (inc. omnibus) would've made it into this sort of list but not quite enough to surpass BFGW by similar comparison ratings-wise. On the whole though this list is pretty similar to the one posted previously (with just the snooker and movie omissions).

Well, Cutting Edge certainly got a repeat in the same week, it used to be shown on Monday nights and then be repeated on Friday afternoons. The Graham Taylor doc got a repeat in that slot too, which given the amount of swearing must have sounded more like a smoke alarm than a television programme on Friday teatime.

It's not the gap as much as the overkill on Friday/Monday then nothing on Tuesday/Wednesday. When there's a free slot to spread it out a bit, why not?

And trust me, I didn't want to go to work this morning.

You're actually obsessed with +1 ratings. Every time I look at this thread you're moaning about it!

But your contributions consist of you mostly moaning at Robbie!

Come on Chris, you're better than this constant sniping. It's uncalled for.

Updated FA Cup quarter-final draw...
Stoke v West Ham
Manchester City/Aston Villa v Everton/Reading
Birmingham v Bolton
Manchester United v Leyton Orient/Arsenal

ESPN will be showing Everton vs Reading on Tuesday 1st March.
ITV1 get to choose whether to show the Manchester City game or the Arsenal replay on Wednesday 2nd March.

Seven
18:00 Seven News 1.33m
18:30 Today Tonight 1.27m
19:00 Home and Away 1.06m
19:30 My Kitchen Rules 1.46m
20:30 Bones 1.15m

Nine
18:00 Nine News 1.22m
18:30 A Current Affair 1.02m
19:00 Two and a Half Men (R) 0.82m
19:30 Two and a Half Men 1.06m
20:00 $#*! My Dad Says 0.87m
20:30 Underbelly Files: The Man Who Got Away 1.02m

Ten
18:00 6pm with George Negus 0.42m
18:30 Ten Evening News 0.34m
19:00 The 7pm Project 0.71m
19:30 Glee 0.92m
20:30 NCIS (R) 0.75m

Eleven
18:30 Neighbours 0.38m

Another week, another win for Neighbours. Nice to see Neighbours doing well though. Does anyone know if it was the top digital programme at all?

Yes, by far.

Every other digital programme was below 300k. Nearest was Heartbeat with 295k.

Thanks! And thanks for the updates!

That is fantastic news. I'm pleased, as the programme is getting better and better each week. I bet Susan Bower is breathing a huge sigh of relief!

NCIS is a reliable performer both in new episodes and repeats, I agree about securing first run rights. They do advertise it for big episodes but that's about it really.

A few other noteworthy things from last night's Australian ratings:

- Cookery series My Kitchen Rules got off to a mediocre start, but gradually the ratings have been creeping in the right direction and last night's result was its best Monday result so far by some distance. Tonight, it will be joined in the Seven schedule by Conviction Kitchen, which follows the journey of twelve ex-criminals as they learn the skills needed to run a high-end restaurant. It gets a cushty slot after hit drama series Packed to the Rafters.
- The last of the three special Underbelly telemovies was barely above 1 million. It is an astonishingly low result for a programme with the Underbelly name attached to it. The last Underbelly series, The Golden Mile, averaged 1.71m. It followed A Tale of Two Cities which averaged 2.16m in 2009 and peaked at 2.58m.
- Nine favourite Two and a Half Men is down significantly year-on-year. The new episodes are down 24% and the reruns by as much as 29%. Australia seems to be falling out of love with the hit CBS sitcom, starring Charlie Sheen, who has made headlines recently for his controversial personal life.

Not a problem, happy to help. It's fantastic to see Neighbours doing well, I agree.

It's easy to forget this was a programme on the brink of the axe not so long ago - despite its loyal young audience - now it's thrashing its digital rivals nightly and even scoring wins over its former network, too. The move has been a huge success and Neighbours has quite literally been given a new lease of life.

Whilst Ten are left scratching their heads and thinking "perhaps Neighbours wasn't rating so badly for us after all."

Also, if they were to win first run rights, it would mean they could show 2 seasons in one year to catchup.

CSI, whilst still rating well for C5 standards, is not what it was. NCIS meanwhile, is going from strength to strength. Time to prioritise I feel.

I do wonder how Channel 5 would cope when The CSI Franchise comes to an end. They do have US imports like The Mentalist and NCIS so it would soften the blow. I would put NCIS back to Fridays and have The Mentalist followed by CSI on Tuesdays and have Wednesdays for factual, movies or football. NCIS was bought to fill a gap on Saturdays and became popular, they moved to Fridays and it's been a staple of the schedule ever since.

The Exorcism of Emily Rose trending at #3 on Twitter. Hope it does well, it's a good film. Haven't watched Channel 5 in a very long time, but the hideous 5 watermark in the corner is very distracting.

Mrs Brown's Boys has gotten a mostly positive reaction on the thread so it'll be interesting how it does, I thought it was good but it's weird that it was put it in a post news slot rather than paired with another comedy.