In terms of the overnights, BARB don't actually publish programme data, they publish what is called impacts by time data, so the audience to a channel at a given period, be it, 1 minute, 5 minute, 15 minute intervals. These audiences to a channel are then mapped to the unofficial network programme listings and audiences provided the next morning. So in terms of local news, it is the sum of all programmes at the time of the local news...if a region did not show local news in the region, that audience would be included in the overnights. However, 8 days later when consolidated viewing is produced, programme audiences are produced. These are taken from transmission logs provided to BARB by the broadcaster. In the case of the BBC, there will be logs for programmes across all regions. In the logs, the broadcaster will specify what kind of programme it is, i.e. whether it is a network or regional programme. If it is a regional one, so in this case River City, audiences in that region will only be included to that programme and not to a national programme. Likewise with all regional news, there will be separate audiences for all the programmes with regionality. I think yesterday an example was found where a regional London news had a network audience applied to it, most likely due to an error in the transmission log. Does this make sense? Essentially the overnights come with various caveats.

Thanks for clarifying that. What was happening last winter was the BBC London News at 6.30 was appearing in the official Top 30 (which caused some confusion as it appeared to be getting a huge audience akin to the entire population of London) when in fact it was the sum of all the local BBC programmes in that slot. I fear BARB are doing the same thing again but they don't seem to do it with the ITV local programmes at 6 pm.

Nice boost for EE yesterday. The promotion for the baby swap reveal seems to have been fairly low key, for obvious reasons, but it should pull in an audience of around 9m tonight. Fridays is never the best day for EE though and I reckon the high rating will be on Monday where it should pull in ~10m. I understand there has been some promotion on BBC1, but I thought it would have been talked about a lot more.

Corrie should have really been higher than 8m for the exit of one of the 'oldies', but yet again that's down to the awful Thursday scheduling. On a Monday it would have managed 10.5m easy I reckon. It will be touch and go as to whether Monroe will get a recomission, because the last 2 episodes have fallen quite dramatically. They could take a risk and promote it to Mondays, but it could end up flopping and go sub 4m.

Bit of a better Thursday for Ch4. Three In A Bed pulled in a strong +1 audience and Time Team boosted the schedule. Slight boost for 10pm too.

Amazing for Celebrity Juice which carries on getting bigger and bigger. It definitely shouldn't be promoted to ITV1 though, because I reckon it wouldn't attract an audience of more than 3m due to the content.

Last night's soap time-slots according to Attentional:

Emmerdale 1: 19:01 - 19:28
EastEnders: 19:28 - 19:57
Emmerdale 2: 20:00 - 20:27
Coronation St: 20:31 - 20:58

Sounds good then if it's being compared with State of Play.

Am I right in thinking SoP has never been repeated (by the BBC anyway)? I missed it completely when it first aired, and I have yet to see it.


If Downton Abbey returns in September, then they will presumably be starting with the trailers fairly soon...?




Easy win for EE over Corrie, despite it being a landmark Corrie episode (Liz McDonald's departure). Thought Corrie would have got a sure 10m there.

Watchdog closer to respectability after last week's poor return. Presumably people realised it was back this week.

Murphy's Holby City did ok, increasing its gap over the Old Tricks repeat-repeat-repeat, but really should be doing better against such weak competition.

Great night for BBC3 there. Russell Howard must be due a promotion to BBC2 - or even BBC1?


I don't. Makes me consider emigrating if this is what the future of this once great nation looks like!


I think this has happened twice, perhaps 3 times, in the past 2 years?

trickytree - if you're contacting BARB, please could you raise the issue of audience shares not adding to 100% which I raised a couple of days ago.

I can 100% promise you this is NOT rounding. Let me explain:

Audience shares w/e 3/4/11 (from top page of BARB website):

BBC1 - 20.4
BBC2 - 6.6
ITV1 - 15.7
C4 - 5.5
C5 - 4.5
C4+1 - 0.8
Other viewing - 45.2

Adds to 98.7

(whereas BARB says Total TV - 100)

We are only adding seven numbers to one decimal place. Even if every number was at its outer limit - eg

BBC1 - 20.4499
BBC2 - 6.6499
etc

...the total additional viewing would be 0.35 (ie 7 * 0.04999)

ie Total still only 99.05, still way short of 100.

Also bear in mind this happens every single week. If there was some rounding issue (which I've demonstrated it can't be anyway), you would expect it to be under 100 sometimes and over 100 sometimes. It is well under 100 every single week.

Van Damme Behind Closed Doors (ITV4) overnights:

22/3- 348k
29/3- 169k
05/4- 120k
12/4- 115k

So, an ongoing downward trend for the show.


IPL Cricket (ITV4) overnight ratings so far:

Fri 08/4- 14:45-19:30: 167k (1.6%) ... peak: 303k
Sat 09/4- 11:00-19:30: 193k (1.9%) ... peak: 402k
Sun 10/4- 11:00-19:30: 238k (2.4%) ... peak: 416k
Mon 11/4- 15:00-19:30: 237k (1.8%) ... peak: 367k
Tue 12/4- 11:00-19:30: 160k (1.6%) ... peak: 292k
Wed 13/4- 11:00-20:00: 197k (1.8%) ... peak: 385k

Pretty good ratings there considering ITV4's average channel share is about 1.0%.

Grrrrr...a few bugs on the website. For reference, looking at the actual data files. Here is the share for that week.

Channel Share
BBC1 20.384
BBC2 6.559
ITV1 (SD) 15.656
C4 5.432
C5 4.483
C4+1 0.79
Others 46.705

Looks like a definite website issue, they are obviously using an additive model and my guess is since new channels have launched they 'forget' to update the 'Others' calculation (for the website that is, the actual data files themselves are fine).
Either way, I'll raise and get sorted.

p.s. anyone know how to get tables formatted nicely in these posts?

Many thanks!!

Just to say this problem has been going on for quite a while.

It also has a knock-on effect - eg the channel share graph is wrong for Others (and has been for a long time). Don't know whether it can be retrospectively corrected.

I love the humour, even my Dad finds it hilarious. It's the only laugh out loud thing I can watch now (besides Family Guy and The Inbetweeners)

There isn't really a way I'm afraid trickytree1979 unless you put a dash in between to show the different columns or something, ie.

Channel - Share
BBC1 - 20.384
BBC2 - 6.559
ITV1 (SD) - 15.656
C4 - 5.432
C5 - 4.483
C4+1 - 0.79
Others - 46.705

For instance. Thanks for the data by the way that you are providing.

Very good rating for EastEnders - and an absolutely brilliant repeat figure on BBC Three. I don't watch too much linear TV, so I don't know what the promotion is like, but I couldn't blame them if they wanted to keep it subdued after all the bother at the start of the year.

Watchdog is now doing what it was meant to be doing all along (after that disastrous revamp) and providing a very solid base for BBC One in a terribly difficult slot. The ITV soaps still not seeing a lot of luck in that hour. Not great again for Monroe following on at 9pm - I don't know that it'll be back. It doesn't seem worth it, to be honest - though we know how hard 9pm 6-parters are.

Celebrity Juice is going from strength-to-strength. Keith Lemon is very 'in' at the moment, and thats why I'm extremely reluctant to write off 'Sing as You Can' just yet. It won't matter if its impossibly naff, if it turns out funny.

Finally, a brilliant night for BBC Three. It's a credit to Danny Cohen how he left the channel so healthy. He built a very solid roster of returning staples like Good News, and they seem to be able to get viewers invested in their 9pm factual content as well. Both in terms of figures, and critical reception, I don't think the channel has ever really been in a better state.

From the news on This Morning today that Michelle Collins (ex Cindy Beale in East Enders) is taking over the Rovers in Coronation Street and her husband will be played by John Michie of Taggart is that an indication that Taggart is a goner?

TVE1
21:00 News 2.45m
22:05 Weather 3.67m
22:20 Red Eagle 3.28m
22:35 Great Reservations 3.47m

TVE2
20:30 Gafapastas 107,000
21:00 The Maternal Belly: Cats 247,000
22:00 Film: Vete De Mi 460,000
23:30 Days of Cinema 157,000
00:30 My Kingdom for a Knight 68,000

Antena 3
21:00 News 1.66m
22:00 Film: Til Deaths Us Do Part 1.72m

Cuatro
21:05 Football: Twente vs. Villa Real 1.73m
23:10 Criminal Minds 1.13m
00:00 Criminal Minds 1.13m
00:40 Criminal Minds 688,000

Telecinco
21:00 News 1.8m
22:00 The Reunion 1.88m

La Sexta
20:00 News 621,000
21:30 The Intermediate 1.37m
22:25 Bones 1.85m
23:15 Bones 1.34m

All Day Shares
TVE1 - 15.6%
TVE2 - 2.4%
Antena 3 - 10.9%
Cuatro - 6.9%
Telecinco - 14.9%
La Sexta - 5.6%

Fab for EE last night. It's been getting some brilliant BBC Three figures of late. But the share at 7.30pm is very good too. Amazing considering the promotion for this week has been low key.

Was expecting 10m for Liz's exit. Once again Corrie have failed to deliver. OK so it was rather awful but viewers don't know how bad or good a show will be until they have seen it.

That'd have required a 41.6% share having just calculated it, which apart from Tram Week I don't think they've ever achieved on a Thursday.

Each to his own. But I can't think of anything worse to watch with a parent!

I read on another forum about a dad who watched Inbetweeners with his two early teenage sons, all finding it hilarious, which I thought rather distateful - and presumably excruciating for the sons. But Celebrity Juice is far worse!

When I was a teen, Spitting Image and Carrott's Commercial Breakdown were enough to have me squirming with embarrassment on the sofa because of some vaguely sexual remark or hint of nakedness.

Perhaps I'm turning into Mary Whitehouse as I head into my mid-thirties...


Bit of a circular argument reducing it to percentages. If 10m Corrie fans were suitably moved to watch Liz McDonald's final episode, then 10m Corrie fans would have tuned in.

8m is disappointing on any analysis.

Oh yeah, I agree with that. Two things though:

a) it wasn't advertised
b) the timeslot is awful

Hopefully if their Champions League deal changes it means Coronation Street can go back to Wednesday but I doubt that.

Note on an important change to the listings for the ITV1 Royal Wedding schedule, see below:

6:00am - Daybreak
8:25am - The Royal Wedding
10:45am - The Royal Wedding
12:15pm - The Royal Wedding
1:30pm - The Royal Wedding
4:05pm - Nanny McPhee
5:55pm - ITV News and Weather

BBC1's schedule - for the moment at least - remains as:

6:00am - Breakfast
8:00am - The Royal Wedding
1:40pm - BBC News
2:00pm - Midlands Today
2:10pm - The Royal Wedding
4:00pm - BBC News
4:05pm - Wallace and Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death
4:35pm - FILM: Shrek
6:00pm - BBC News at Six

This may lead to some dodgy reporting if the gap between the two network's if the gap is closer than expected, ie. ITV1 may have the higher 'rating' in the top 30 for the day for instance because it has got it in 4 blocks, but head-to-head BBC1 may have the lead - which would only be visible from the 15 minute breakdowns, for instance you may get (as a simplified example - only up until the 1:30 for both channels and changed timings slightly):

10.0m - Royal Wedding (ITV1, 10:45 to 12:15)
8.0m - Royal Wedding (BBC1, 08:30 to 13:30)
5.0m - Royal Wedding (ITV1, 12:15 to 13:30)
3.6m - Royal Wedding (ITV1, 08:30 to 10:45)

That shows ITV with a higher rating, but if you average the two out you get 8.0m for BBC1 and 5.9m for ITV1.

So be aware for suspect reporting in the overnights.

^ Interesting timing changes from ITV. I suppose it makes sense from a ratings POV breaking it up into smaller chunks. The BBC should've also broken it down into smaller chunks because now they're less likely to get a big BARB average rating, which might not chart in the Top 10 of the year. If it had been broken down like how ITV have done it, they would've almost certainly got an entry into the Top 10 of the year list. I'm a bit surprised the Beeb didn't break it down into smaller chunks because they usually have done for these sorts of live events in the past.

Feel a bit sorry for One Life to Live fans. Its ratings are not that much worse than General Hospital, and far better than Days, and yet it is getting the chop.

All My Children has looked vulnerable for a while though so I'm not surprised to see that one go.

ABC:
8pm - Wipeout - 6.20m (1.9)

FOX:
8pm - American Idol - 20.98m (6.1)
9pm - Bones - 11.93m (3.7)

NBC:
8pm - Community - 3.45m (1.4)
8.30pm - The Paul Reiser Show - 3.31m (1.1)
9pm - The Office - 7.69m (3.9)
9.30pm - Parks & Recreation - 5.23m (2.6)
10pm - 30 Rock - 4.50m (2.2)
10.30pm - Outsourced - 3.54m (1.7)

Shocking start for The Paul Reiser Show and Community dropped 22% to a series low. But after 9pm, everything was up double digit percentages for NBC.

Idol was down 10% from the equivalent episode last year though in finals that's likely to reduce to around 7%. Bones did well at 9pm as CBS & ABC aired repeats.

Tvbythenumbers

I think what ITV1 have done is ridiculous.
It's like having two ratings for the same episode of Coronation Street, for each side of the break to see which comes out higher.
Talk about desperation to get a false big rating.

It's what the broadcasters usually do with these big events anyway. For example, the BBC split their World Cup broadcasts last year into three bits when giving the programme logs to BARB so they got a pre-match/match/post-match ratings. ITV didn't do that with the 2010 World Cup but traditionally it's the sort of thing broadcasters have done for years - just look at the way ratings were reported for Princess Diana's funeral:

Procession to Abbey BBC1 14.78 (Sat 09.10)
The Funeral BBC1 19.29 (Sat 11.00)
Journey to Althorpe BBC1 11.64 (Sat 12.00)

More here. I don't think ITV will get a big rating anyway. Even with their split figures, I think they'll be outperformed quite comfortably by the BBC. Also, there's the possibility that the BBC might split the programmes into chunks when they 'officially' send the programme logs to BARB like what they've done with the World Cup/Euros in recent years. So when the BARB consolidated figures are released, we might see split ratings for the BBC's Royal Wedding coverage too.

Splitting an 8 hour coverage into 4 chunks is quite a lot different to splitting a 30-minute Corrie episode into 2 bits, you've got to admit!

Thanks for info rzt, I didn't know channels could break up ratings like that when they report them, kind of seems like cheating to me