They can't show it through the night on Channel 5 or 5* as the former is locked into a contract with Supercasino and the latter closes at midnight. (think it timeshares with a teleshopping/adult service, not sure which)

So no, you won't be able to tune in during the middle of the night to see housemates sleeping this time around.

I wouldn't rule out an online 24 hour feed yet, perhaps also as a separate service on Sky/Virgin - Channel 5 are promising an announcement with regard to this soon - but based on the schedules for the first 2 days it doesn't look like there will be live streaming on either Channel 5 or 5*.

Agreed, not really keen on this. I know that all the leftover people I know that still like the show will not be able to watch, me included obviously. And all the 18-19 year olds will be either celebrating or drowning their sorrows. I hope it doesn't influence ratings too much, but it's a smart move because on the Wednesday, they would have had the premiere of Twilight to contend with, on Thursday night, there is nothing big to be contending with.

A great night for BBC1 but not so for ITV1...though, before Show Me the Funny, how long has it been since Tuesday 9pm beat Monday 9pm on the channel?

Big Brother's launch is as well scheduled as it could have been. Torchwood may cause a little bit of opposition in the 16-34s. Town and Single Handed shouldn't cause too many problems.

There were a couple of 19:45-21:00 shows last year with 3 guest performances


Is an old BBC1 show the best they can come up with for the 11.30pm slot?

I do wonder if Cowboy Builders could see a fall that week. Up against Emmerdale/Coronation Street and an hour earlier than normal. Hopefully the revised start time will be well promoted


They might always get accidentally released the day before

Bored with CBB now.:yawn: (though I begrudgingly admire their clever scheduling trick, the cunning b***ards)



ITV have made an effort on Christmas day in the past. For instance:

Doc Martin (2006)
Inspector Morse (1987)
Hilda Ogden's last ever episode of Coronation Street (1987 - a very successful rating-winer this.)
Duty Free (1986)

and, most notably,

Morecambe & Wise (1978-1980) when they were sensationally poached from the BBC.

Remains to be seen if they're brave enough to go with Downton Abbey this year.

Although Endemol's loyalties would be with C5. It would have been the best piece of scheduling of the year had it paid off - but C4 played their ace card that bit too early - why they put it in on Sunday initially I don't know. I do think too C5 did move it last minute to avoid it.

Also notice Holiday Hijack isn't in the Sunday schedules - C4 surely not pulling it. It's sub 1m, but a lot of stuff has been lately.



It's a different show - it's been on 5* and is stand up recorded at a Montreal comedy festival.

It's not the same Just for Laughs you are thinking of with the pranks on unsuspecting members of the public. It's a live stand up show that has previously aired on 5* but not Channel 5. It's quite a good series and features many notable UK comedians including Alan Carr, Rhod Gilbert and Michael McIntyre as well as some of the biggest comedians from around the world.

Actually makes more sense as the money saved on filming sleeping housemates could go into the peak time show. I think Channel 5 are clever enough to realise the overkill and fanzine shows on Channel 4 were putting viewers off.

Yet another programme that used to be on Channel 4.

Keep this up and they'll soon be calling themselve Channel 4+1

I think there probably is a degree of truth to that. At least people can't complain too much about the coverage being overkill when it starts. It looks like there will be 3 hours coverage a day on Channel 5 most days, and as little as 1 hour on 5*. Disruption to normal programming across both channels will be minimal.

It will be over by mid-November, the main series is only 8 or 9 weeks long making it the shortest since 2003. If it turns out to be 8 weeks it will be the shortest ever. It depends whether Celebrity Big Brother is 3 or 4 weeks long but the total run time is 12 weeks.


Brian & Emma also took to Twitter and said it would begin on 17th; however Marcus (voiceover) did let slip it would be the 18th which he later back tracked on. But whether it is part of an elaborate plan or just a last minute change is anyones guess.

That is really good news. In recent years the normal run of the show has dragged on FAR too long.

It's shaping up to not be the "wall-to-wall Big Brother from August through to January" that some were forecasting. A refreshingly restrained approach is most welcome.

Anyway, sorry if I've waffled on too much about this today. I can't help myself sometimes.

The launch of BIG BROTHER will surely be a monumental day in Channel 5 history.

Big Brother is the live feed - without it it's not Big Brother, though it doesn't necessarily need a window on C5, though personally I'd have gone for an hour or two of live streaming from 11pm over a fanzine show. Bit on the Side seems somewhat unnecessary, especially when disjointed from the main show - and they became more of a burden than an asset in the last few years on C4.

Rangers are out of the Champions League, which I believe'll mean ITV will have to air an all foreign tie later this month?

UEFA Champions League 3rd qualifying round result : Malmo 1-1 Rangers (Malmo win 2-1 on aggregate).
Which I think means (and someone correct me if I'm wrong) that Arsenal are the only surviving British team in the 4th and final qualifying round.

Apologies for duplicating.

Fanzine shows get better ratings than live feed, thats what it ultimately boils down to. Streaming is good to have especially at night but its no loss if they don't show it.

they are already showing Meerkat Manor in the evenings, so why expect better at night?

Somewhat strange scheduling topic about to appear - but I wonder if ITV will promote The Sooty Show on (presumably) Saturday mornings from September? Would be nice to see a kids show get some promotion and do a decent figure of say 500k to 700k which would be good for a kids programme in 2011.

Based on PR today, they should promote it a bit, in my view.

EDIT: It's actually airing on CITV from September and on ITV1 from 2012 - so the above is somewhat moot.

from the looks of the promos for Eden, Eden on Freeview would be an utter joke, it looks like a channel that benfits from good picture quality, or at least better picture quality fhan Dave Ja Vu had.

I don't think it will matter that much for international sales of Downton Abbey considering in the US at least, the last series was cut from 8 hours to 6.


Also

A shame to see The Hour fall again on BBC2 last night. I had quite high hopes for that and I'm really quite enjoying it. One of the few BBC2 dramas that would seem to have returnable potential as well, but I don't like its chances at 1.8m.

I don't know what it is, but holding on to viewers for more than a couple of episodes does seem to be a real problem for BBC Two or Channel 4 dramas, regardless of how well they might be received. It's no wonder both channels - though they find some success with one-offs or two-parters - struggle to establish any returning ones.

The announcer at the end of Sherlock said "Sherlock will be back next year".

Apparently Live Who Wants To Be A Millionaire is back on 20th and 21st August. I'm guessing the 20th August episode will have a XF lead-in.


I think Sherlock will return on New Year's Day next year - it could get a very high rating. Having said that, I also think Endeavour will air on New Year's Day next year too, on ITV1, so a potential drama clash there.