another low for The Gadget Show, maybe its time to call it a day, or at least shortner the series length.

never mind, I cleary wasnt paying enough attention to The Street... to warrant my opinion on the ratings.

Strangeways is a sign of what ITV is getting right now. A well made documentary which gives the network credibility and good figures.

I hadn't remembered Modern Masters sinking to 1.4m. Did it really go that low? I thought it bottomed about 2.5m.

I have no memory at all of High Street Dreams, let alone how it rated. What did that get (and when)?


Nowhere near as bad as I expected for TSTCE. In fact, it did very well indeed for the post-news slot.

I don't think programming like this merited 90 mins of primetime flagship slot on BBC1. It might have made a diverting hour in a worthy BBC2 slot, and probably not rated that differently.

Strangeways is being artificially inflated by BBC1's dull, dire, worthy offerings. It is cheap ITV filler, and the BBC should have exploited that by launching something big and expensive against it. Instead, the next big Monday 9pm offering will probably compete with BGT or a new ITV drama.

It's a sign of ITV getting lucky...

(see my post above)

I believe "The Scheme" made its comeback in Scotland at 10:35pm on BBC1 last night therefore those figures will no doubt be inflated as the programme is well promoted and very popular in Scotland.

with all the cuts (I am gettitng seriously worried the BBC simply cant afford to scheulde its channels well) coming, i think we should expect to see more of this on BBC 1.

It wasn't a low. The most recent episode in the officials had 0.85m, so 0.9m in the overnights is already an improvement on that. It will probably timeshift close to 1m.

ok so low based on episode earlier in the series.

I still think im right that the series is just too long, and there isnt enough variety to cover the 15 or so episode they have a year (ok I cant remeber the exact number of episodes)

Ratings are down but it's still financially worthwhile for C5 to have so many eps, due to the sponsorship, competition money and website traffic it brings in. Also, It's not as if they have ready-made replacements that will do as well or better, audience-wise.

Its a well made programme. Of course so was Perspectives on Sunday night, but of course in your world any ITV hit is only because of your BSI friends....

Would it be getting 5m against, say, Waking the Dead or Silent Witness?

You know the answer to that.

Agree re Perspectives. An excellent series, exactly the sort of thing ITV should be doing. Shame it is rating poorly and is a 6x1hr annual commitment to quality. I do think they have marketed it as a bit too "elitist" though - I think "Perspectives" is a bit of a w@nky name...

It would still be pulling in 4m. If you think BBC1 can run new drama every night at 9pm you are


its just one aspect of the "quality" commitment. At least its not called Imagine

I believe all the excellent John Myatt (convicted art forger) series were made by ITV Studios for Sky Arts.

They would do really well on ITV in the Counrtywise slot or similar.

The guy is a genius and his programmes are so watchable.

Yes it won't be dumped quite yet because its really cheap for them to make.

Everything pretty much as expected there. Strangeways is holding up very well, and The Gadget Show continues to be below the 1m mark. It won't be axed, but it will probably revamped and possibly change days.

Film4's Australia season got off to a strong start last night with 504,000 watching 2008 thriller The Square. Not bad at all and compares favourably with what the big Hollywood blockbusters get on the channel. Their share also went up from 1% last Monday to 1.4% this Monday.

Great to see Film4 showcasting Australian films. My only gripe is the late slots for some of them but this is what PVRs were made for.

Er, I don't. I never suggested that.

Just that Sunday and Monday 9pm are the flagship drama slots and the best places to launch new drama - particularly when the other side have scheduled something more lightweight. There obviously is plenty of good new drama coming up on BBC1, they are currently trailing some of it, but it will air in high summer, during the holidays, against stronger ITV competition etc - that's all I'm saying. No need to twist it.

MG reporting that Channel 4 believe they have lost the 'bidding war' for Glee, with the show supposedly heading to Sky.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011...glee-channel-4

Although they do seem to use the Daily Star as a source, which probably isn't wise.

Edit: Broadcast reporting that C4 have pulled out of the bidding.

I'm no fan of Channel 4 but I take no pleasure from this turn of events, even though it's all very predictable. It seems to happen time and time again to them. This cycle of them establishing a hit US show on FTA television only for BSkyB to move in and take it away from them looks set to repeat endlessly.

And the end of the article is ominous:


Another Fox show. So if it's successful, another one that will end up on Sky1/Sky Atlantic in 2 years.

It all raises the question why on earth people bother with US shows on Channel 4? One of either two things will happen:

- It will flop in the ratings. Channel 4 will keep moving it about in the schedules before eventually burying it in a missable graveyard slot.
- It will be a hit. Channel 4 will look after it reasonably well unless the show is called The Big Bang Theory. Come renewal time BSkyB will easily outmuscle Channel 4 in the bidding thanks to all the money it fleeces from its customers.

Channel 5 have the right idea going for mostly procedural dramas which BSkyB are less interested in poaching, as although millions of viewers enjoy them week after week, they are not seen as shows which will convert people to pay TV. The stories are mostly self-contained in each episode, and so there is no "hook" to to make future seasons must-see.

I think Channel 4 need to re-think their acquisition strategy, especially when it comes to Fox shows. Otherwise this miserable pattern will repeat and repeat and eventually FTA viewers won't bother investing time in US TV on Channel 4.

What they have to hope for is that they find something that's popular in the US, but only mildly so in UK, so it gets enough US viewers to be renewed, but not enough to tempt BSkyB to take it on in UK!

Tricky!

K

Strangeways is a really well made documentary. I watched it last night and it was very interesting, but very sad to watch. ITV1 will no doubt bring it back with a figure like that.

The Hotel Inspector continues to do the business for Channel 5 and the soaps are performing pretty much as expected.

Are there any multichannel figures?

Over 50% of UK households get Sky 1. And in the demo that watches US programmes, I would expect the penetration rate of pay TV to be quite high.

So the majority will still get Glee if it goes to Sky.

Looking at BARB's 'reach' chart for the quarter. Over 25m tuned into Sky 1, and 34m to E4, so only nine million behind (roughly 4m households).

I really am not one bit surprised about Glee, and I should have sympathy for C4 and its viewers, and I have some for the viewers but not for C4, it knows thatr a shark like predator exists in the market (Sky incase anyone hadnt guessed) who acts in this fashion, channels will have to do what FX does, and take exculsive rights to shows.

The Gadget Show maybe not for the axe, but I think it needs shorter seasons and more variety.

One thing that worries me is the Dave repeats are largely the challange part of the show, and as such Channel 5 and the production company, are given good reason to keep up with the challange element of the show, even if it should be reducded.

But what if it goes on "Atlantic", The current share and reach for that is about a third of that for Sky1...

K

I wonder what channel 4 are going to replace Glee with?
I think channel 4 is the worst channel for US Drama.

If a show does not get bought by another channel it gets moved to stupid O clock time.
And they show them to late where as sky show most stuff after a few weeks.