Good spin. I wonder if Bit On The Side was down to The Inbetweeners which Paul says done really well. Or the fact that its a bit poo

I know.

22:35-23:45: Our War: 1.07m (8.5%)


2100 * 4.05
2105 * 3.54
2110 * 3.45
2115 * 3.48
2120 * 3.44
2125 * 3.38
2130 * 3.40
2135 * 3.42
2140 * 3.40
2145 * 3.52
2150 * 3.46
2155 * 2.54

Thanks for that rzt. Looks like the main Big Brother show was up and down like a yo-yo due to the commercials, outside of the commercials it looks like it was in the ~5.3m to 5.4m range for the majority of the programme apart from the peak at 21:55 which I can only explain from the BBC1 rating at that time.

Also, am I right in saying Big Brother's Bit on the Side actually won its slot? If so, means that Channel 5 won the night from 9pm to 11:30pm. It seems like the last half hour dragged Bit on the Side down a lot as viewers tuned out.

Its in line with 2009 and 2010 so its done as expected and as well as it could. 2009 saw a 5.1m launch dropping to 3m the next day, 2010 saw a 5m launch dropping to around 3.2m. If it continues a similar trend it should average around 2.7m overall which is how it probably would have rated on Channel 4 and more or less the same as last year. The real test is tonight and tomorrow, tonight it faces Xtra Factor, tomorrow it faces Sex and the City movie. And then further test on Monday to see how much it can bounce back. After the weekend then it will be clear how the series will pan out.

Good figure for BOTS getting 676k, but I can't help but think it would have got pretty much the same figure by airing straight after on 5* as Big Mouth was often around that. They made a good decision launching BOTS on Channel 5 but perhaps they should have moved it to 5* to help begin to build that channel.

Thanks rzt. Looks like repeats of The Chase are gaining momentum quite quickly. On Tuesday and Wednesday it was probably only a couple of hundred thousand behind Pointless whilst the two were head to head. I think The Chase might pull ahead when the new episodes begin.


Thanks a lot once again. At least Torchwood was stable whilst it was on air rather than dropping throughout like it did in the first few weeks. Looks like CBB grew throughout the first 50 minutes or so before settling at ~5.5m. The early finish dragged it down a little. Bit on The Side collapsed throughout the show really but that was to be expected given the lead in as casual viewers watched a bit of it before tuning out. It still finished at a decent level and it performed well last night so they should be happy with it.

Solid for CBB last night, I knew it wouldn't go below 3m like some were expecting. Not too bad for The Bachelor but not great given the lead in and it would probably have got ~1.0m or so without the lead in which isn't great considering all the promtion it had. Decent for Bit on The Side though, with a very solid share. Nothing too eventful elsewhere, although CBB dented C4 quite a bit.

3.22m for Channel 5 was comparable with C4 - (which was on a cold dark January evening), even if it drops further tonight (which it will) - the show will likely maintain a healthy rating.

Arguably The Bachelor would have got more without BB as C5's promotional efforts would have been focused on that instead. To benefit from BB it would probably be better off premiering in it's final week rather than running alongside it.

If they had cast someone who wasnt a complete t***er it might have done better. Then again maybe not. Maybe he is completely right for this piece of shank.


and they finished 6th or lower between 6.30 to 9pm so it was a night of two halves for Five

Thanks. Looks like Torchwood was pretty stable this week then. I don't think the overnights are going to bounce back above 4 million again though, maybe 3.8m next week.

With regards to The Bachelor, given its situation it didn't do very well but in the grand scheme of things a show pulling 1.3m at 10pm on Channel 5 is a good rating and well above the slot average. If it can maintain then it will be worth a re-commission with a different celebrity.

Demographic Information for the five terrestrial channels between Saturday 13th and Thursday 18th August: http://i53.tinypic.com/nx2rd.jpg

Aside from EastEnders and Coronation Street, the Celebrity Big Brother launch was by far the most watched programme among 16-34s and 18-49s in that period. Also it might come as a surprise to some, but BB's audience wasn't as downmarket as you'd expect - a 47% ABC1 skew is high for a light entertainment show on a commercial channel. About 34% of the CBB launch audience were made of 16-34s, whereas last summer's BB launch audience had 39% made of 16-34s, but it's worth noting that CBB usually has a slightly older audience profile than normal BB.

I know I keep banging on about My Family, but I just thought I'd mention Radio Times website is saying the September 2nd edition is the last ever episode, so no Christmas special.

A little plug for D.M.N.'s X Factor Ratings Thread:

http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1520666

He's put a lot of effort into this again this year.

All excellent stuff for Channel 5 and the demos are excellent, though contrary to popular belief most people who watch BB/CBB aren't under 30. Indeed CBB has been doing well in the 35-44 and ABC1 demos.
Makes me wonder if Channel 5 is now serious about taking on the big two commercial channels.

I'll take credit for the 2009 and 2010 bits, but the other bits are thanks to rzt, so kudos to him to. But thanks for the thanks.

(ps - I'm afraid a My Family Ratings Thread does not exist, so you'll have to keep banging on about it in here... providing there's not a wall nearby... )

Second night in and another excellent rating - higher than all but one prediction on the Ratings Game. Channel 5 couldn't have asked for more really. A terrific start to the series, which is continuing to defy critics.

The Bachelor squandered most of that lead-in despite a lot of promotion. But Bit on the Side performed very well, especially in terms of audience share. I thought it was much improved last night on the previous episode. Shame it's not on Channel 5 every night.

Elsewhere, not much of note. Channel 4 were predictably hit. Channel 5 a comfortable third once again.

Paul, in today's ratings article you claimed that:

"While Celebrity Big Brother experienced an even greater dip at the start of its last series on Channel 4 in 2010, the broadcaster will be hoping the show steadies, as channel executive Richard Desmond recently stated that he did not expect the show to fall under 3m."

What is your source for this please? I remember reading he would be disappointed with 2m, but not that.

An excellent start to CCB on five. And good retention for the second episode. Am I right in thinking the normal BB will run directly after the CCB version? If so, what total overkill. I think BB may get lost in the schedules if this is the case as the colder months draw in, with many new shows on all channels. Personally, I think they should have left BB where in belongs, in TV Hell. Sure, the ratings are good but after 11 years the format is beyond tired. Don't get wrong, I've watched my own fair share of BB, but I choose to let this one and all further ones pass me by as there's just so much better stuff to watch if you look hard enough.

It's just an hour a day, how is that overkill? I think there would have been a gap originally but negotiations between Channel 5 and Endemol took so long that it scuppered that, but of course they still want their money's worth.

As for there being "better stuff to watch", name one better entertainment show that was on last night at 9pm!

I think an hour a night for the next 13+ weeks for my life is overkill. Granted the schedules are pretty clear at the moment but once the new TV season starts, I fear BB will sink much further. It works through the summer months when there's nothing else on, but I think running it to Xmas or whenever it does indeed end, I just think it will get lost.

New TV season doesn't change anything really assuming it airs at 10pm most nights. Not everyone wants to watch the news at that time.

Also, it's not running until Christmas. Not even close. I think it's around mid November it ends.

Shame it's not on 5* every night, it's truly awful. Just as bad if not worse than Big Brother's Big Mouth.

Maybe people will have had enough by 10pm. The show peaked way too early (series 3) and ever since then had been on the decline. As someone who's watched BB in the past, it just kinda takes over your life when it's on every night for x amount of weeks.

Well, I disagree. Big Mouth was far worse. The studio was much smaller for a start. There were too many silly VTs. There were random musical guests that nobody had even heard of and added NOTHING to the show. The guests were mostly terrible and irrelevant. And even the audience members were recycled rent-a-crowd types that had nothing interesting to say most of the time. It worked when Brand did it but as soon as he left it shot right downhill.

Bit on the Side was pretty bad on Thursday because there was sod all to talk about really, but I felt it got into its groove a bit more last night. Emma is great, as is her female co-host. With an average audience of nearly 700,000 and an audience share above 6% it is a success whatever way you look at it.

They are targetting more casual viewers like you with apps for iPhone/Android containing video of all the best bits from the House.