This may sound harsh, but ITV have only themselves to blame really - their Harry Potter coverage has been so hasty, and they should've created their own hype a couple of weeks back and have some clipshows/documentaries as a lead-up to the premiere, rather than having it on when a lot of people have already seen the film and most of the hype is over. It would've been a fair bit of money well spent to do a Harry Potter season with well-promoted programming.

Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone got 3.35m (21.4%) - so yes, their best rating of the day. +1 added an impressive 572,000, by a fair way the best timeshift figure of the day. So, if you look at it that way, it got close to 4m.

in that case, ignoring The One Show vs Daybreak, maybe she should have stayed at the BBC.

Try to take on Sunrise and Today and they'll be on a hiding to nothing I feel. Have they learnt nothing from entering the 6pm news/current affairs war? There isn't enough viewers around I wouldn't have thought for a third major commercial breakfast programme to be viable.

I agree, her move was ridiculous. I don't see why ITV were so desperate for them to present a breakfast show TBH. Why focus on the early morning when primetime is so limp?


Ah right, thanks.


They should've stuck that in primetime and aired Behind the Magic/Odd One In before it and Penn & Teller and The Marriage Ref after it.

Wah Wah Wah, does anyone have any tissues for poor old Andy?

Viewers have the choice of what they want to watch and the majority chose to watch BBC1, get over it.

No one is forced to watch BBC1, just give Tonight's The Night and Lee Mack credit that they obviously appeal to an audience even though they arent your thing.

so Daybreak: Australia, it is then.

Thanks for that. A decent rating I suppose, although not surprising considering Potter mania at the moment. Dave01's suggestion of having Potter from 6.30-9pm would've resulted in better ratings for them in peak-time on Saturday and next couple of weeks, that's for sure.

Incidentally, I've noticed ITV1+1 ratings on Saturdays seem to be quite a bit higher than on other nights. I think this might have an impact on TXF's (and other programmes) core 'ITV1' ratings this Autumn, especially in terms of y-o-y comparisons.

I doubt +1 will have much affect on The X Factor to be honest - people will want to watch it live (EDIT: Unless it clashes with Strictly). The other shows are getting reasonable +1 figures because people have reached the news on BBC1 or have come home drunk and want something easy to watch.

Ten shows News and kids shows and it's a good alternative to the two Breakfast shows, not to mention that unlike in the UK, the breakfast shows especially Sunrise rate quite well, think Sunrise get 0.4m which is quite good for a morning slot.

It seemed to have quite a big impact with BGT earlier this year (ratings often around 500k) and I think it'll be even bigger with TXF as it's an even bigger show. It's no biggie, people will look at the ratings which suit them, but the warning signs are there that it could have an effect on its figures (as well as other factors of course).

Edit: it'll effect auditions shows more though.

Incidentally, I've noticed ITV1+1 ratings on Saturdays seem to be quite a bit higher than on other nights. I think this might have an impact on TXF's (and other programmes) core 'ITV1' ratings this Autumn, especially in terms of y-o-y comparisons.[/quote]

It might for the early stages but i would have thought when it gets to the Live Shows it won't have much impact

But could people have decided to watch on +1 so they could basically watch the main show then switch immediately for the result, missing out Coronation Street and the second show filler as a result? The X Factor is formatted slightly different as it's over two different nights.

I suppose, as Samthefootball's said, the auditions/boot camp/judge's houses could see a strong +1 figure but I don't think the lives will...now watch me proved wrong.

BTW, I agree with those who say they should hold The X Factor back an air it as double headers in September for more impact and to get into the rhythm of Saturday/Sunday on autumn nights.

I'm not familiar with it - but thus far I've only read negative comments so I was just directing those people to a source of blame!


I'd make two points - first, that I disagree with the comments about ITV having 2 soaps & 2 Syco shows as their only hits. Wild At Heart, Doc Martin and Downton Abbey are 3 of the most successful returning dramas on UK TV just now. Add Benidorm to that list if you accept it as a drama, otherwise call it one of the most successful comedies on UK TV in recent years. Then as "supporting" acts for reality TV, you've got I'm A Celebrity and Dancing On Ice. They've turned out a bunch of successful new dramas this year as well.

Secondly, all channels are defined by their successful shows. Think BBC1 and you'll think of Eastenders, The Apprentice, Strictly Come Dancing, New Tricks and Doctor Who. BBC2 it's Top Gear and maybe Mock The Week. For Channel 5, it's the US imports. For CBS, it's now NCIS and the Chuck Lorre comedies (until recently it was CSI & Survivor). For FOX, it's American Idol looming large over everything else (but also, to a lesser extent, Glee & House). For ABC it's Desperate Housewives, Modern Family, Grey's Anatomy and Dancing With The Stars. If I was more clued up, I could go international with this point! When you've got a problem is when you're NBC (2005-2010) are you're simply associated with hit shows from times gone by (Friends, Frasier, ER).

EDIT: On a second reading, I realise you said "identified by" rather than "only hits" which may be true. But the second paragraph still applies.


Sing If You Can was aided by the BGT lead-out - I suspect it would be doing terribly if it aired at 8pm right now. On BBC1 with John Barrowman hosting, it'd probably get about 5m. Don't Scare The Hare started at 5.30pm anyway, it was never going to be a hit. There comes a point where the title of a show alone gives off such an overpowering stench of crap that no channel can save it!

I don't see that it's such a controversial opinion, tbh. I think mediocre shows on BBC1 tend to do better than on ITV1. But I also think mediocre shows on ITV1 do considerably better than they would on Channel 4. And so on...

I simply think that if John Barrowman and his show were to defect to ITV1, it'd be doing no better than anything else on their schedule just now.

Somehow I dont see Barrowman moving to ITV, hes a pretty loyal guy.

Seven
18:00 Seven News 1.59m
18:30 New Series: Sunday Night 1.33m
19:30 New Series: Great Migrations 1.04m
20:40 Downton Abbey (Series Finale) 1.59m
22:10 Castle (R) 0.62m

Nine
18:00 Nine News Sunday 1.46m
18:30 The Block 1.59m
19:30 60 Minutes 1.31m
20:30 The Mentalist (Season Finale) 0.87m
21:30 The Mentalist (R) 0.55m

Ten
18:00 Ten Evening News 0.44m
18:30 Merlin 0.81m
19:30 MasterChef Australia 1.73m
20:45 Die Hard 4.0 0.74m

ABC1
19:00 ABC News 0.71m
19:30 Grand Designs 0.91m
20:30 Midsomer Murders (R) 0.59m

GO!
20:00 The Big Bang Theory (R) 0.34m
20:30 The Big Bang Theory (R) 0.27m
21:00 Two and a Half Men (R) 0.24m

Corporation Shares
Seven: 30.0%
Nine: 26.9%
Ten: 24.6%
ABC: 12.2%

I agree, but I think BBC1's identifiable hits are more varied than ITV1's, hence the more rounded look to the channel.

I'd argue the top six identifiable hits (not necessary the biggest rating, but when someone asks about a channel, these would be remembered first) for the two channels would be:

EastEnders: Soap
Doctor Who: Family Sci Fi
The Apprentice: Reality/Business
Strictly Come Dancing: Reality/Celeb based
New Tricks: Crime Drama
Casualty: Hospital Drama

Coronation Street: Soap
Emmerdale: Soap
The X Factor: Reality/Syco
Britain's Got Talent: Reality/Syco
Dancing On Ice: Reality/Celebbased
I'm A Celebrity...: Reality/Celeb based

BBC1's has far more depth than ITV1's. And that goes right through the chhanel.

ITV has a reputation of being a soap and reality channel. Whether that is a reality or not is up for debate but it has to have acquired that reputation because viewers have felt it only shows those two genres for the most part.

The soaps and BGT, X Factor, Celeb, DOI are all great money spinners for ITV but they also alienate a large amount of TV viewers who feel ITV dont make shows that interest them. Thus, when they make shows in other genres they dont do too well because viewers dont bother to look at whats on ITV or just expect it to be cheap rubbish.

BBC gets good audiences for middling shows because they produce a wide range of shows in all genres. They dont alienate certain groups like ITV.

What about Doc Martin? Wild At Heart? Downton Abbey? Benidorm?

There's no doubting that the likes of XF/BGT/IAC get more "buzz", but that's simply the nature of those shows - they're live, with real people, generate online discussion, have a younger fanbase and they're interactive. Stick X Factor on BBC1 and it'd be by far the most talked about show. The Apprentice gets far more buzz than New Tricks for the same reasons (albeit it's not live).

They could still use more in the way of sitcoms, but that's not really an ITV problem so much as a whole UK TV problem.

In terms of drama, they've fielded a whole bunch of hits this year and very few flops. A couple of fact ent series that are good filler for 6 episodes at 4m or so which I think they needed (rather than all those authored journeys).

Tuesdays are obviously an ongoing concern that look unlikely to be solved anytime soon. They've failed to do enough to fix Saturdays in Q1 and that might come back to bite them in the ass. But compared to where they were not so long ago (and given the circumstances), I think Peter Fincham has done a pretty good job.

I don't think people IDENTIFY ITV1 with them though. Yes, they're hits but if you ask someone to describe a channel, would ITV1 be described as home of costume and family drama?


I completely agree with you but I'm not saying as such that ITV1 is in a horrific state, but people still identify the channel with just soap and reality, even though that's not the case.

I think they really need to improve their entertainment slate if they want this to change, so people don't automatically link ITV with the Syco shows.

Just found out that the Dalai Lama was a guest judge for this episode. I'm not making this up
http://www.masterchef.com.au/dalai-l...chef-judge.htm
I wonder if he's available for Strictly?

I agree to a point - as I outlined above, successful reality shows are always "bigger" in terms of media buzz even if the ratings don't say so and that makes them channel defining. I don't think you could compare Casualty to something like I'm A Celebrity or The Apprentice because of that. Or New Tricks to The X Factor - I don't think New Tricks is anymore channel defining than Downton Abbey or Doc Martin. In any event, I'd argue that Casualty more soap than drama. Just 'cause I'm clearly in an argumentative mood!

With regard to what George says about "alienating" viewers, I don't think that's true. They've drawn strong audiences across several new dramas this year. So clearly they can draw different audiences to the "reality/soap crowd". Indeed, their problem seems to come with the factual and reality filler (where you'd assume closely identified with X Factor would help!) rather than drama. Or when they try to make drama that appeals to younger viewers (again, The X Factor lot!)

Worth noting that I'm one of those pesky X Factor people - I watch that, BGT and pretty much nothing else on ITV1 apart from Champions League.

It got 3.3m with +1, which is in the region of ~3.5m and in line with the 3.6m and 3.4m that the previous two in similar slots, so actually the rating wasn't completely awful.


I agree that they probably won't bother with any more as 3.2/3.3m isn't really high enough. A shame as it is so much better than most new LE shows but it hasn't caught on. Odd One In definitely won't be back though, thankfully, as that rating is appalling. I agree that running the Potter films until 9pm would have been much better as Odd One In disrupts the flow and feels totally out of place at 8:15pm. Chamber of Secrets should boost it a little next week but I still hope it's axed.

3.9m is a very good rating for Philosopher's Stone at 4:30pm though and it's clear that it should have aired in primetime.

As for +1, it should affect the audition shows mostly for TXF, but I can't see it having too much of an effect on the live Sunday results shows. I include +1 anyway so it won't matter to me but if the ratings are down without it I'm sure the press will have a field day!

Had Lord Sugar not fired Melody before the final he might have made an appearance on the Apprentice.

Big Fat Gypsy Weddings premiered on Dutch TV last friday with 1.2 million viewers only beaten by it's lead-in Hollands Got Talent and the news.

Peak audience of 10.7m viewers saw Tom win last night's #Apprentice on #BBC1

Source: Sam Hodges

Slightly higher than the last two peaks for Apprentice Finals: 10.6m (2009) and 10.5m (2010).

Share 36.3%.

ITV1 share for the day 10.9%