When's TV Burp back? I think that'll give a good indication how ITV1 will schedule. If it's back on the 8th, they won't want The X Factor to be aired at 7.30pm one week, then 8pm the next. Saying that, I reckon they'll just shove everything forward ten minutes so Merlin doesn't get a headstart.

The even more stupid thing is they've said the Saturday episode is basically the last 15 minutes from Thursday plus Friday - and then they've gone and split that in half too.


Completely agree, especially as it's part of a 22-part series every single viewers seems to agree is far too long. It'll hit the first look on E4 tonight too with it not finishing much before 1am - and I guess next week too when it won't begin until after the C4 episode.

Signing up Ashton Kutcher was a masterstroke for Two and a Half Men; his appointment meaning some of the hype from Charlie Sheen's sudden departure continued into the new series and it picked up a...I don't think there's a big enough superlative for the kind of figure it got! 2 Broke Girls benefited and pulled in a great figure for its premiere. Hawaii Five-0 may be moved if it can't do more with the lead in; posssibly not the overall 3.4 figure but the fact it lost 0.6 over the hour. Still a good rating for it.

Dancing with the Stars was always going to be dented by the CBS line up and this may be the case where the series gains on the launch instead of dropping slightly. Castle did very well to practically match Hawaii Five-0 in the demo with a much smaller lead in demo wise.

Hell's Kitchen put up a fight for FOX. I can see the logic of ignoring premiere week and starting the shows the week after; that way they can produce some hype after the other channels have settled into their schedules. Terra Nova and The X Factor have a lot to live up to looking at last night!

Considering the opposition, I guess The Sing Off didn't perform too badly. The Playboy Club was squeezed by consistent performers and it probably won't bounce back from that.

105 minutes is awfully long, think 90 minutes would have been succifient, if Channel 4 really wanted to celebrate the 100th episode, they have delayed Mary Portas by a week and aired Shameless at 9pm.

8th October I believe.

I love this schedule. Cram it in, BBC!!! Cram it all in!!!

The following week Strictly will fill Dr Who's slot with a mammoth close to two hour show. The following three programmes could start a little bit later cos there will be no MOTD. 8th October will be the last Secret Fortune.


Last year in the same weekend Merlin had the slot Dr Who has this year with X Factor starting at 7pm. Merlin took 5.5m in the overnights and 6.4m in the officials.

ITV1 shouldn't throw The X Factor around the schedule in that case. Keep it around the 8pm slot, and move everything 20-30 minutes later in the schedule.

ive not spent any time wondering about the X-Factor schedule, as long as I know when TV Burp and Merlin airs, im going to be a happy bunny.

that said if the might X-Factor should be able to stand a few schedule changes.

Where else will ITV viewers get there fill of "mock the mentally unwell" now that Jeremy Kyle is off to the states.

I don't think Dr Who would be hurt that much, given it's the series finale. It's good for a 5.5 million overnight even against X Factor.

Firstly total viewers don't matter.

Secondly I don't think there's any more pressure on The Big Bang Theory than there was last week. It was always going to need to produce a big number because its anchoring a big night for them. I don't think anyone would realistically expect it to perform in the same league as the 9PM hour did for CBS last night though. Ultimately I suspect CBS are looking for a 4+ from it. Not that I think that'll be enough to help Person of Interest over the long run.


Understandably people like to focus in on the big shows but the much more important issue is the network as a whole. To some extent both men can survive Terra Nova and The X Factor under performing much more important to them will be how the rest of the schedule holds up. They desperately need Glee to bounce back from a poor season both creatively and commercially and they need House's numbers to at the very least hold but preferably see a little bit of growth (especially now its back at 9PM). That Tuesday comedy block is a big issue as well. They need to make that work. More often than not its the little things and not the big ones that kill you.


As things stand I'll be amazed if House gets another season. Come December/January time I fully expect Fox and Universal (who produce it) to be announcing that it'll be the final season. The show is simply too expensive to continue to produce unless it has a big rebound this year and the cost of getting Hugh Laurie on board for another season will only make things worse.

I also fully expect Fox to hold steady with the 2-3 new drama and 2-3 new comedy pick-ups we've seen recently. Of course if The X Factor bombs that number may very well rise.


To be honest I think CBS should be thanking Charlie Sheen more than anybody else. Despite the fact they fired him and their in the midst of a lawsuit with him Sheen still went out and promoted Two and a Half Men. The guys been all over television the past couple of weeks in theory promoting his Roast on Comedy Central but in reality promoting Two and a Half Men.

Amongst all the other discussion the news about Michael McIntyre quitting BGT seems to have gone under the radar a bit. I have to say I'm quite surprised, as I thought he would definitely return. It all sounds like a friendly parting of the ways but The Mirror suggests ITV kept him waiting around for dates and he couldn't wait any longer to work out when he needed to keep free. Sounds like Syco's usual last minute antics have cost them this time as McIntyre was an asset to the show.

With the Hoff gone it looks like they're down to Amanda again. I said it last year and I'll say it again, I think it's time for her to go. Unfortunately she seems desperate to stay and I think she'll remain on the panel. As for new judges, David Walliams is being talked about again and I think he'll do it this time. Cheryl would get the media talking in a way that BGT hasn't really done for a couple of years.

They could switch to 2 females and one male, but I think they could do with an 'alpha male' character as well, and with Amanda unlikely to go they might want to bring a fourth judge in. I'd like Cowell to return full time but he probably won't. With it being a fairly small commitment maybe they could get Robbie Williams or someone like that to do it (Robbie might be a good shout as with Gary doing X Factor Take That are very much 'friends' of Cowell's shows. If not, maybe with 2 new judges it could be worth giving the Hoff another go. He wasn't bad at all last year and probably deserves another shot.

Charlie Sheen = ratings on cable as well. His Comedy Central Roast scored a 3.8 in the demo and 6.4 million viewers.

Adjustments to the US numbers for finals and the CBS line-up got even bigger.

Two and a Half Men - 10.7 (+0.4)
2 Broke Girls - 7.1 (+0.1)
How I Met Your Mother - 5.2 (+0.1)
Hell's Kitchen - 2.6 (+0.1)
Dancing with the Stars - 4.0 (+0.1)
Castle - 3.2 (-0.1)

And the final minutes of Two and a Half Men had an 11.4 in the demo and more than 31 million viewers.

I think it is safe to say that CBS has a future without the CSI Franchise, I do think NY and Miami will be gone within the next few years and Vegas, I think CBS will give it a final season but not just yet as they need to see how it performs with Ted Danson as the new lead.

I wonder whether NCIS: Los Angeles will ever move from Tuesdays at 9pm as it has its own audience and I think the NCIS lead in could be used to help a new show.

The bbfc have the DW finale running for 45 minutes 22 seconds. While it's possible they've made a mistake, it's unlikely: http://www.bbfc.co.uk/AVV283406/

I guess that its a mistake on the part of BBC Press website, I wonder if that is the same case with SJA.

None of the replacements fill me with any promise, but it is a shame the Hoff, Michael and Amanda didn't get another year as until Simon returned and stepped on the Hoffs toes and got Michael's tongue surgically attached to his arse, they worked rather well.

Like last year I think a new panel would be better than having just Amanda remain - but if Amanda staying is the price of keeping Cheryl away from it then it's a price worth paying.


P.S. Ratings wise any figures please for the 5pm and 8pm slots on E4 in the post-Friends era?

When is Doctor Who Confidential showing on finale night? If it's straight after the finale that might take some viewers away from Merlin. Not everyone has a PVR.

I can see them bumping it back up to 4 judges this year, Cheryl & Simon being 2 of them along with Amanda and a new male. I didn't think last years worked so much, Hoff didn't have a clue and Michael came across as feeling above the show. They didn't really gel either.

Thanks.

I have decided to catch up on the Doctor Whos I have missed, so I watched the Night Terrors one (I think that's what it was called) on iPlayer tonight, and it told me that one was around 42mins and 30 secs, so it seems we're getting about three extra minutes for the final episode.

I like that name for it.

If Amanda's due date is January then I don't see how she can do the auditions. Which would mean her returning for the live shows at best (assuming Cowell quits altogether) - then getting fired before the next series. It's not easy to drop a pregnant woman at the best of times, let alone when she's practically begging for her job in the press!

There's always the chance of Cowell doing the whole thing this time - there was never any real reason why he couldn't do the auditions this year.

Cheryl remains the best option for them but I'm not sure she'll do it. David Walliams is pretty popular just now. The Hoff hasn't been fired yet - and Cowell definitely likes him so he could be back. I'm not sure if McIntyre leaving is good for The Hoff or bad? They could use some tabloid fodder. Better talent and doing something different with the format as well would help.

Doing something different with the format is a must really - it's starting to feel tired, especially compared with X Factor which despite being 3 years older feels much fresher. Having a reduced number of contestants in the live shows and running them weekly with a 2 night final would be an improvement. The only thing would be that they couldn't have too many live shows if they were running weekly as they'd lose momentum (America's Got Talent lost a lot of steam at the live shows this year and ended up getting a lower rating for its finale than last year despite the auditions being way up). Overall though, weekly (or twice weekly, Saturdays and Sundays) would be better, as if they run it across the week any momentum built during the auditions will be crushed with the silly scheduling of the semis which they've done for the last 2 years. Some sort of bootcamp like on AGT would be good. They could do with getting it out of the way before Eurovision and the Jubilee too, and the schools' half term is shifting a week later to fit with the Jubilee this year, so running across a week could be awkward anyway.

Better talent is a must too. They need acts that'll get people talking, not just decent singers and dancers. That's why a properly executed YouTube round (not the half-hearted thing they did this year) could be good.

As for judges I agree it could be difficult for Amanda, but she's coming across as being quite desperate for the gig so getting rid of her is almost impossible! Its a bit weird though as her making a grand return at the live shows isnt going to make an impact like Cowell's return did. They need tabloid fodder and a comedian for 2 of the other seats. I'm not sure about the Hoff either. McIntyre leaving could either encourage the producers to ditch him and go for another revamp or keep him for consistency. Of course, if McIntyre really is just leaving for his tour then I guess there's a (very) small chance of Cowell doing it again next year for one year only with McIntyre returning for 2013 once his tour is done.

I Have just seen on the Sun website Cheryl has said no to the show.

Mistakes in the slick well oiled machine that is the BBC Press Office? I don't believe it!


In theory he needed to be in the US putting The X Factor together although given how rushed and poorly The X Factor US was put together I'm not entirely sure what he was doing.

I suppose the other argument is that he (and ITV) wanted to test the water for the format without him ahead of The X Factor and the Talent auditions were the easiest and safest way to do that - if they rated badly he'd be back to rescue the live shows. I do wonder what would have happened with The X Factor if the Britain's Got Talent auditions had gone badly ratings wise.


I'm split on the Cheryl Cole rumours. On one hand if she signs for Britain's Got Talent (or an X Factor return as some are reporting) it'll guarantee she's nowhere near The Voice on BBC1 but on the other hand it'll mean she's on Britain's Got Talent and that just feels wrong on so many levels.

To be honest I think they'd be better off doing a complete overhaul of the judging panel in they can't get McIntyre back. As many have pointed out though dropping Holden might not be the best PR move for them all things considered. Can they have another year where Holden is the only returning judge? Probably not. Which means either Simon returns fulltime or The Hoff does or both. Although if the live shows proved anything its that if Simon is going to be on the panel they need someone who can be a counterpoint to him and disagree with him and the live shows suggest The Hoff and Holden can't/won't provide that.

Of course depressingly a Simon/Amanda/Cheryl panel would probably give the production team and ITV everything they want. After everything that happened with X Factor US the press would go into meltdown at the thought of Cowell and Cheryl on the same show again. And Holden will be able to do the whole new baby thing as part of the promotion for the show.