I don't really think that is the case this time - the US media machine runs a bit differently to ours and the Cheryl Cole fiasco will be seen as just that, and it isn't the way you want to launch a show.

His own fault though for putting friends before talent - and Cheryl Cole isn't blameless in agreeing to swan in and take a place on the panel anyway. Would have been a much safer option for her to take the Sinita role as Judges Houses then perhaps a guest slot on a live show and try and break the US that way.

Provisional schedules for BBC from Saturday 11th June onwards up now on DigiGuide:

Saturday 11th June
5:15pm - F1: Canadian Grand Prix Qualifying Live
7:15pm - So You Think You Can Dance Final
8:20pm - The National Lottery: Who Dares Wins
9:10pm - So You Think You Can Dance Final Results
9:40pm - Casualty
10:30pm BBC News

Sunday 12th June
4:40pm - BBC News
5:00pm - F1: Canadian Grand Prix Live
8:15pm - Antiques Roadshow
9:00pm - Case Histories
10:00pm - BBC News

Will be interesting to see if SYTYCD can bounce back to some sort of respectable figure for the final or whether it'll go out with a wimper.

Operastar should in theory do well next weekend, but a high F1 figure may mean that viewers will stick with BBC1 for the weekend afterwards. ITV have to hope it rates well next weekend, but there again I don't think they are expecting fantastic figures for it from next Sunday onwards. I'd say between 4m and 5m they'd consider good myself, but with it being Summer I can see it being slightly under that.

The BBC provisionals also lean to the theory that Luther could air on Thursdays and Fridays from 16th June, as suggested earlier.

Friday 27th May 2011 - Soaps
BBC One
13:45 - Doctors: 1.56m (22.1%)
20:00 - EastEnders: 7.49m (35.0%)

ITV1
19:00 - Emmerdale: 6.09m (33.5%)
* +1: 105k
19:30 - Coronation Street: 7.91m (40.3%)
* +1: 108k
20:30 - Coronation Street: 8.38m (34.9%)
* +1: 235k

Channel 4
18:30 - Hollyoaks: 802k (4.6%)

Channel 5
13:45 - Neighbours: 657k (9.3%)
17:30 - Neighbours: 1.02m (7.5%)
18:30 - Home and Away: 751k (4.7%)

Ratings include HD and are tape-checked where necessary.

Multichannels
BBC Three
22:00 - EastEnders: 757k (3.8%)

E4
19:00 - Hollyoaks: 249k (1.4%)

5*
18:30 - Home and Away: 430k (2.5%)

Source: DS

Ratings for the tea-time soaps look a tad down, in particular Home and Away at first glance. Good rating for the second Corrie, although the percentage share looks incorrect.

Can't see SYTYCD bouncing back at all - why would people suddenly be interested in the final?

Will ITV launch it's summer Saturday schedule that night?

Okay, different audience levels, but surely you could make the same argument for all the other talent shows?


It appears not as Odd One In's first episode airs on 18th June. Penn and Teller: Fool Us is also set to begin on the same night, suggesting ITV is airing a film on 11th June.

Looks like the "Friday night before a bank holiday weekend effect" took its usual toll on the early evening soaps. Neighbours and H&A look low but both have already sunk much lower earlier this year at Easter, Royal Wedding and early May bank holidays.

Especially as Nicole, in an interview with DS said, as a host she's more of a 'coach and support to the contestants'. If that isn't the job of a judge, I don't know what is.

ITV1 must be getting very excited this weekend. I reckon 13 million for the ECL final and 11 million for BGT tomorrow night. For the daily shows of BGT, I'll go for 11 million and 13million for the final, OK this is quite a bit down on 2009, but is still very good and confirms the show as the biggest show on television.
As for all this Cheryl Cole claptrap:yawn:

I think that's a bit over optimistic. Last year's semi finals averaged between 8m and 10m. This year it will probably be the same or a little lower.

Weather isn't too good next week, I'm still going for 10-11 million with 13 million for the final. BGT has fallen off a bit, but certainly isn't sliding down the ratings to the delight of the tabloids who seem to love it when a popular show tanks in the ratings and laugh at its demise.
Now an odd one yesterday on Channel 5 News, when the newsreader mentioned that the X Factor could be being cancelled. Maybe this is wishful thinking on Channel 5's part as they know that BB would do nothing against TXF.

13 million peak or average?
I would guess around 10m match time average with possibly 12m peak. Going higher if it goes to extra time/penalties.

BGT more difficult though. Aside from the final, I think for the performance shows, Monday will be the highest rating maybe around 10.5m-11.0m as it gets the head-start on Eastenders, falling to 10.0m-10.5m on Tuesday, then 9.0m-9.5m against the Apprentice on Weds, Thurs and Fri will then hang around low 9m as it looks like the weather is going to hit 25 degrees plus from Thursday/Friday onwards (weather is likely, but not 100% certain yet though).

I think on the whole ratings will be broadly similar to last year with the difference being the results shows should be a bit higher this year as the half-time Coronation St won't be cancelled and replaced with TV-Burp repeats.

Friday 27th May 2011
BBC One
20:30 - A Question of Sport: 2.56m (11.3%)
21:00 - Have I Got News For You: 4.55m (20.2%)
21:30 - Outnumbered: 3.35m (15.3%)

BBC Two
20:00 - RHS Chelsea Flower Show: 2.00m (9.0%)
21:30 - Paul Merton's Birth of Hollywood: 1.80m (8.6%)

ITV1
21:00 - Paul O'Grady Live: 3.42m (14.7%)
* +1: 133k

Channel 4
21:00 - The Million Pound Drop Live: 1.88m (8.6%)
* +1: 183k

Channel 5
20:00 - Eddie Stobart: Trucks and Trailers: 1.35m (6.1%)
21:00 - The Mentalist: 1.61m (7.2%)

Primetime Shares
ITV1 - 21.6% (+1: 0.5%)
BBC One - 19.3%
BBC Two - 7.5%
Channel 4 - 5.6% (+1: 0.6%)
Channel 5 - 5.5%

Ratings include HD and are tape-checked where necessary.

Multichannels
ITV2
21:00 - American Idol: 608k (3.0%)

Source: DS

Seems like O'Grady lost out in the 9pm hour, even during the Outnumbered repeat if you look at the percentage shares.

How did Law & Order do on Five last night? The Digital Spy writer for last night's UK ratings article didn't mention how Law & Order did at 10 pm.

How did Rookie Blue do on Universal Channel during it's first season?

Pretty average Friday. I think HIGNFY is still capable of 5m+ when sandwiched between two decent rating programmes.

POG still in that 3-3.5m bracket. He should get a boost in a few weeks though with the Lady GaGa special.

Quite sad seeing how dead Friday night's is now compared to say 9 years ago looking at BARB:

Friday 24th May 2002
BBC One
20:00 - EastEnders: 10.65m
20:30 - Alistair McGowen's Big Impression: 7.09m
21:00 - Have I Got News For You: 8.12m
21:30 - Blackadder II: 4.99m

ITV1
19:00 - Emmerdale: 8.41m
19:30 - Coronation Street: 10.82m
20:00 - under 4.13m
20:30 - Inspector Morse: 4.39m

Channel 4
21:00 - Big Brother: 5.97m
22:05 - Fraiser: 3.23m
22:35 - Fraiser: 2.95m
23:05 - V Graham Norton: 3.01m
23:35 - Big Brother Live: 2.52m

Probably helped that Channel 4 were a lot more competitive back then as well.

2.52m for Big Brother Live?! Some Saturday highlight shows struggled to hit that at the end. In nine years the soaps appear to have lost nearly 2m in 'regular' audience each, though it's unfair to take just one record as gospel.

Back to last night - good for Coronation Street and EastEnders, though the share seems slightly low for the latter's second episode. Paul O'Grady seems pretty consistent and must be pretty cheap to make. I think ITV would do much better if they aired crime drama's there, though. Have I Got News For You needs a better lead out IMO - surely the BBC could've arranged it so they had two new shows to air in the 9pm slot instead of just one?

I think a more typical audience for the big two soaps in 2002 would have been 12 million, Coronation St peaking at 19 million for the death of Richard Hillman. However, 2002 marked the era when Coronation St and Emmerdale went into overkill mode with extra episodes and remember the Monday 8.30 episode was only supposed to be temporary.

Would be interesting to know the total numbers watching TV back then amd whether as well as audiences becoming increasingly fragmented (for obvious reasons) whether there has been a significant decline in overall viewing too.

And more recently would be interesting to know how the total audience in the US compared on Thursday night to the night before (and the week before) considering Wednesday was considered "in-season" and Thursday out of season, so presumably half of America just stopped watching TV.

Not sure we can reliably compare stats from the two years (because the panels were different), but the "reach" for 2002 compared to 2010 shows that people are watching more TV now than before.

http://www.barb.co.uk/graph/weeklyReach?data_series[]=2010&data_series[]=2002&submit=View+Graph

K

I believe only about 60 pc of the population had access to satellite/cable then, so for 40 pc of the population like me their viewing would be restricted to the four main channels( Channel 5 reception was very patchy in W Cumbria on analogue). However, the switch to digital now means 93 pc of the population have access to Freeview at the very least.

Friday night tv here is good, but could be better. Paul O'Grady is such a polarising presenter loved/hated, he is off next week but on June 3rd it is a Lady Gaga special - let's see if she causes a viewing spike. Low for the soaps - do Friday episodes tend to timeshift better?

Does anyone think POG ought switch nights with PM Life Stories, POG seems a better fit for Sat night and as it goes out live could benefit well from a BGT lead in.

Next week's EastEnders looks like an even bigger week then i first thought
One of it's biggest weeks in years and involves a kidnapping and which runs across the week and David Essex joins on Friday.

Good to see the BBC are not letting BGT have an easy run like last year

Paul O grady Imo would be better on Saturday night's but i always enjoyed the tea-time shows

Norton was first with Gaga a few weeks ago. POG has a long way to go in the guests department - constant soap stars and ITV "personalities" won't cut it with a mass audience, not in primetime anyway.

So just another ordinary week on EastEnders then.

Not at all.
Not had a murder since last summer and there's been No death since last summer either (Baby james if that counts)

There hasn't been an action packed week for sometime