Of course, apart from Eurovision, there is one other event taking place today, and the following is for relevance in the morning:

2010: Chelsea 1 Portsmouth 0
Programme - 13:10 to 17:30: 3.9m (32.6%)
- Match: 5.5m (46.0%)
- Peak: 6.5m (48.2%) @ 16:40

2009: Chelsea 2 Everton 1
Programme - 13:00 to 17:30: 3.6m (42.4%)
- Match: 5.4m (54.0%)
- Peak: 6.8m (56.9%) @ 16:50

2008: Portsmouth 1 Cardiff 0
Programme - 12:50 to 17:30: 5.0m (41.1%)
- Match: 7.3m
- Peak: 8.2m (51.8%) @ 16:30

2007: Chelsea 1 Manchester United 0
Programme - 12:40 to 18:00: 7.0m (53.7%)
- Match: 9.7m (62.6%) [15:00 to 17:30]
- Peak: 11.5m (65.3%) @ 17:15

2006: Liverpool 3 West Ham United 3 (Liverpool won 3-1 on pens)
Programme - 13:00 to 18:00: 6.5m (51.9%)
- Match: 8.8m (62.0%) [15:00 to 17:45]
- Peak: 11.3m (64.7%) @ 17:30

2005: Arsenal 0 Manchester United 0 (Arsenal won 5-4 on pens)
Programme - 13:00 to 18:10: 7.3m (50.5%)
- Match: 9.9m (61.0%) [15:00 to 18:00]
- Peak: 12.8m (67.1%) @ 17:30

2004: Manchester United 3 Millwall 0
Programme - 13:00 to 17:30: 4.3m (44.0%)
- Match: 6.3m (55.0%)
- Peak: 6.8m

2003: Arsenal 1 Southampton 0
Programme - 12:10 to 17:20: 5.3m (44.4%)
- Match: 8.3m
- Peak: 9.7m (55.7%) @ 16:50

2002: Arsenal 2 Chelsea 0
- Programme - 12:10 to 17:25: 4.1m (43.0%)

Let's see if today can see a big figure bounceback with two underdogs in the final. I doubt that, and Man United clinching the title possibly will do nothing to help ITV.

Do you know which of those were on the BBC and which on ITV DMN?

2002 to 2008 - BBC1
2009 to now - ITV1

I think.

I think (I stand to be corrected) that the last 3 declining Finals have been on ITV1, the Beeb's last one was the 2007 11.5m-peaking Final. I think the derisory 4m for the 2002 Arsenal v Chelsea clash was the last of the ITV matches when they last stole the rights in the late 90s.

Today should see good numbers given the weather and the sight of two different clubs, both potential underdogs, battling it out.

[EDIT: yes, DMN is right. The Beeb's last one was 2008. ITV got the rights from August 2008]

Correct

Hasn't it been suggested that broadcasters will be able to choose the act, but not the song?

With the money the BBC put in, I suspect they can pretty much do what they want. We don't even have to qualify when we finish last.

I suspect you will have "a brilliant Sunday" too if the overnights confirm the opposite!

And you call me...

will the curse of DMN's predictions deny Utd the championship today?

Not that I think many people would want to timeshift these programmes anyway. The highlights programmes of This Morning have been a flop at weekends, only attracting 7pc of the audience. Which begs the question, is This Morning worn out now and in need of replacement?

I wonder if the weekend This Morning highlights actually cost any money.

Next to nothing. There are whole areas of the schedule that ITV has effectively given up on now, such as weekend mornings. I wonder if they'll soon start subcontracting those day-parts to another company who would be able to get a financial return on them....in the same way as night-time looks like it's been been handed over to QVC.

Thanks. Do those highlights cost more or less than a repeat of an old American show such as Quincy or The Rockford Files?

Also the Coronation St omnibus will cost next to nothing, unless there is a clause in the actors contracts which states that they get repeat fees. However, a cheap as chips morning schedule means more money for peak time programmes. Yet is there any truth in the rumour that QVC is taking over ITV 2 in daytime as I imagine hardly anyone watches it during the day?

A few ratings from yesterday:

BBC One
21:00- Have I Got News For You: 5.17m (22.3%)
21:30- Outnumbered: 4.05m (17.7%)
22:35- The Graham Norton Show: 4.12m (26.3%)

ITV1
21:00- Paul O'Grady Live: 3.34m (13.9%) , +1: 116k

Thanks to MattJ
-------------------------------------------------
Fantastic rating for The Graham Norton Show - apparently its his highest rating for a show excluding Xmas/New Year specials. HIGNFY did better than recent weeks too, back into the 5's where it's been in previous series. Outnumbered up a million week-on-week. PoG still rating in the low 3's and showing no signs of getting back up to the 4m mark it started the series with.

Thanks for that, RZT.

Not a bad night for the ratings. I imagine the soaps rated quite high if "Have I got News for You" rated above 5 million.

Good ratings for BBC in the 9pm hour, better than last week. Poor for O'Grady, it has to be said.

Superb for Norton.

They'll cost less. The only thing ITV have to pay for is the cost of the re-editing. The presenters won't get repeat fees as their contracts will already have an "ITV has the right to exploit your original work in any way we see fit" clause. Guests also sign a release form which gives ITV all the rights to that performance in perpetuity.

Ah, thanks.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Three good BBC Friday ratings posted by rzt. Outnumbered doing very well, for a repeat.

I wonder how much longer Paul O Grady will last in peak time. His peak time ITV1 show just hasn't delivered. I bet they'll move him back to 5pm.

4m+ for Norton is excellent. Who was on the show last night?

I watched Outnumbered yesterday night. I thought it would do far worse than that, but it really looks quite good.

Most must be tuning in to see Lady Gaga

But excluding Benidorm its done much better than all the other ITV1 Friday night offerings. I don't they'll axe it.

Gwyneth Paltrow, Lady Gaga, Jason Byrne and Geoffrey Rush.