Even if XF auditions do well next year, 7-8.30pm for SCD next Autumn would still be "playing it safe" IMO. Between 7-8pm, SCD basically would have a free run against average opposition, and as we've seen this year and last year for one episode, the majority of viewers who watch SCD for one hour already won't tune over to watch XF's first 15-30 minutes - they'll finish off watching SCD. In that respect, SCD is in a strong position of knowing that it can hold onto a large number of viewers between 8-8.30pm as it would already be on air for 60 minutes building up that audience. I know in 2009, both shows clashed (XF beginning 30-60 mins after SCD) and XF came out on top, but that was a different situation as XF was usually starting when SCD had that awful mid-show filler bit which gave viewers a perfect opportunity to tune over. Obviously the SCD producers realised what a massive mistake that was and since then reverted back to a 2-show format and have been packing in all the big names and personalities into the final half an hour to prevent viewers from turning over - if they do that next year between 8-8.30pm, they'll have a good chance of still denting XF and not denting itself in the process by that much.


Yeah, the tide is certainly turning at the moment. You can see that all the wheels are in motion for the BBC to have a strong year in 2012 on Saturday nights. Whilst The Voice may not be an XF-sized hit (nothing is), I'm pretty sure it will make an impact. There's been so much talk about it in the newspapers already, more talk about it than about any new LE show before launch in the last 5 years, that it's bound to start well - especially when the BBC marketing and publicity goes into overdrive (which they naturally will do for such an important commission). And given the upward ratings trends the show has experienced immediately after episode 1 in the USA and the Netherlands, the show over here could be in for a good time. The Voice's potential success will make it even harder for TXF to rebound as XF wouldn't be compared well to the new Voice format in terms of word of mouth (in addition to the potential later SCD scheduling etc).

I've got The Exit List starting in Q1 (24th March) but I get what you mean. However ITV Media isn't always entirely accurate, as when advertising the High Stakes sponsorship it had it down for Q3 so The Exit List may not entirely air in Q1. I hope not anyway as I can see it bombing out on its own in January if they put it there.


I'm not sure if BBC1 will go for that schedule, although I agree it'd be brilliant for them if they do. I don't think they'll run DW and Merlin simultaneously for more than 1 or 2 weeks, and particularly in October when SCD has a longer running time there won't be room for everything unless Doctor Who starts at about 5:45pm, which I can't see happening. I think C.M.W has said that Doctor Who will be back next year at around the same time when the second half of this series aired. Also when it was recommissioned it was said that 'a good chunk' of the episodes will air next year, not all of them. So I can see them running the first 6-7 episodes of Doctor Who at the same time as it aired this year, with the other 6-7 in January/February 2013, with SCD and Merlin running as normal. Arrangements for future years will depend on whether Merlin continues beyond its five year plan (which I think it should). If it does then I can see Doctor Who keeping a split season like I've proposed above, but if Merlin ends I think Doctor Who will take its slot.

I agree that BBC1 have been very clever with SCD's scheduling this year and it's paying off - and good on them for doing it. ITV/Syco need to make sure that TXF stabilises/recovers next year or things could start getting difficult for them if it drops significantly again.

If BBC One aired Strictly 7-8.30 I think ITV1 would match them with The X Factor; 8.30 would be too late for The X Factor and starting it halfway through Strictly would be suicide. Despite the fact that the likes of Doctor Who, Merlin and Casualty would perform well, Strictly would be dented by The X Factor and vice versa. The press arguments between the two channels over scheduling would overshadow the shows; and ITV1's arguments would probably be easier to sell.

I have to say though, I do think the Voice is more likely to fail than be a success.

While they've managed to get a decent enough name for the first judge, they still have four more opportunities to mess up with the remaining three judges and the all-important host.

I do think they have high expectations for this show and are probably aiming for 7m+, although I suspect 6m+ would be seen as acceptable.

I think the BBC will end up choosing 4 solid names. They might not end up being the best of the best, but the fact they've managed to get Jessie J for one of the judges' spots already, shows they're looking at people in a completely different league to the usual types they have on their light entertainment shows (the Barrowmans, van Outens etc). And the people who have been rumoured have generally been good names. Assuming they have 4 solid/good name judges, even if they turn out having poor chemistry and aren't entertaining in real life, it's worth noting that editing can make a hell of a lot of difference during the auditions stage. I mean, you just have to look at TXF this year - people were praising the new panel initially during the auditions stage (the producers edited it really well, it seems) but when it's come to the live shows they've been really criticised. The point is though that the people working behind the scenes on The Voice are clever and experienced enough to edit the auditons in a way which will make the judges look interesting, entertaining and have good chemistry, even if that's not the case in reality. They'll find one way or another to make sure it happens. That might end up being a flaw come the live stages when the judges' proper personalities and entertainment value is revealed, but for The Voice, it'll be the auditions stage when most of the potential growth happens and they can then hope that during the live stages, it remains relatively stable, which would be job done after what will hopefully be a decent rise over the auditions stage. The key ingredient for The Voice is the whole "blind auditions" aspect - considering how well that "blind auditions" gimmick has gone down in other countries, it should receive a similar sort of reception here, I would think.

I wonder if one reason is because it's now starting at 10.15 or, as in this week, 10.30, rather than ten, and viewers are willing to stick with a show that ends at 10.30 but after that on a Sunday people start thinking about going to bed. Also, a couple of episodes have been opposite HIGNFY which does the same kind of thing, and also it's been opposite MOTD2 virtually every week whereas in the New Year there were quite a few occasions when that wasn't on because of the FA Cup or on later.


Yeah, if ITV1 is a bit too trendy I think quite a lot of people gravitate towards ITV3 for some traditional ITV drama, especially as you say on a weekend evening. I know when ITV3 started they said their aim was to be a default channel in the sense that if there was nothing else on there'd be a decent film or drama, and they specifically wouldn't do continuing serials so people didn't have to commit.


Yeah, and ITV used to do that a lot a decade or so ago with two parters running on Sundays and Mondays, they scheduled a series of Cold Feet like that (although that seemed to confuse quite a few viewers). There's no chance of them moving Downton off Sunday, it's absolutely the most Sunday show imaginable, but it doesn't run non-stop from September to December, does it, so there are options.


But then you'd end up having to fill the awkward post-9.30 slot which as the Lottery Awards proved this week is a pain, especially as you're limited to half hour shows because of Match of the Day, so you'd end up with Vicar of Dibley repeats again. And also, it's a flagship show, it shouldn't be shoved from pillar to post and flung out at teatime.

6.2m for The Jury (6.4m with +1).

Strong start, but it lost 800k from start to finish.

Other 9pm ratings

Junior Apprentice - 4m
The Choir: Military Wives - 2.3m
Hippos : Nature's Wild feast - 2m (2.2m inc +1)
New Hotel Inspector - 1.4m

not bad in the circumstances of the Conrad Murray verdict being announced at 9.15.

Good start for The Jury. Not surprised though as Young Apprentice never works. Tuesday & Wednesday will be interesting for The Jury. We shall see.

True. It was a good drama, too.

It's going to drop as the week goes on though, and will be badly hit by Frozen Planet.

I don't think we'll bother with Young Apprentice on the DSRPG again this series, it's a bit too predictable.

I thought The Jury might touch that 7m mark. Looks like it was close at the beginning but lost momentum throughout, possibly due to the breaking news elsewhere.

Masterchef: The Professionals returned with 2.8m (10.8%).

Also at 8pm...

Panorama - 3m
Go Greek For A Week - 1m (1.2m with +1)
The Gadget Show - 900k

In daytime, C4 launched two new shows - The Renovation Game and Drop Down Menu. Both got just 200k

Meanwhile, Pointless got 3.1m.

Do you have the Lost Heroes rating? I don't get the C5 overnights at the moment.

Cheers.

The 800k switch off is telling - I thought it was distinctly ordinary and something done a dozen times before. I think BBC1 aired something similar the other week - in daytime. There's probably a reason why a second series wasn't commissioned 9 years ago. Indeed, one wonders why ITV has now returned to it 9 years on.

Sure, as a lawyer I'm biased, and tend to find legal dramas are either brilliant (This Life, Kavanagh, North Square), totally preposterous (like Corrie's comedy trials 2 weeks after the arrest...) and/or plain dull. This one was the latter.

What were the ratings for series 1 btw, and how did that hold over the week?


Unless ITV flashed up a banner saying "Jackson verdict - guilty - see News at Ten" (and if they did, i missed it), I can't see what difference that would have made. How would the typical ITV 9pm drama viewer have known?

Panorama seems to be hitting the 3m mark a bit more often of late.

Pointless is doing very well. What was Weakest Link getting on BBC2 before its promotion to prime time?

6.2m is pretty reasonable for The Jury, and the 800k switch off comes as no surprise as the show was quite plodding and predictable I thought.

It wont do so well opposite Frozen Planet on wednesday.

I still think 4m for Junior Apprentice is pretty poor, but it was to be expected as I know a lot of people who feel slightly uncomfortable watching it.

There is no typical viewer. I think if you had a strong interest in courtroom drama you might be more likely to be following the Murray case and know that the verdict was due on Monday night.

Lost Heroes got 400k (1.6%)

BB - 1.4m
BBOTS - 500k

BBC One
06:00 Breakfast: 1.5m 33.0%
18:00 BBC News at Six: 5.5m 26.6%
14:10 Land Girls: 1.3m 18%
18:30 Regional News and Weather: 6.3m 28.2%
19:00 The One Show: 4.4m 19.2%
19:30 Inside Out: 3.4m 14.2%
20:00 EastEnders: 8.8m 35.0%
20:30 What's Fuelling Your Energy Bill? - Panorama: 3.0m 11.5%
21:00 Young Apprentice: 4.0m 15.7%
22:00 BBC News at Ten: 4.5m 20.9%
22:35 A Question of Sport: 2.6m 16.5%
23:05 John Bishop's Britain: 1.4m 14.4%

BBC Two
18:30 Strictly Come Dancing - It Takes Two: 2.6m 11.8%
19:00 Celebrity Antiques Road Trip: 2.3m 9.8%
20:00 University Challenge: 3.4m 13.7%
20:30 MasterChef: The Professionals: 2.8m 10.9%
21:00 The Choir: Military Wives: 2.3m 8.9%
22:00 Never Mind the Buzzcocks: 1.5m 7.1%
22:30 Newsnight: 0.8m 5.8%
23:20 Will It Snow?: 0.5m 6.1%

ITV1 (inc ITV1+1)
06:00 Daybreak: 0.8m 18.9%
08:30 Lorraine: 1.1m 20.3%
09:25 The Jeremy Kyle Show: 1.5m 25.9%
16:00 Ade in Britain: 1.2m 9.9% exc. +1
18:30 ITV News & Weather: 3.5m 15.8%
19:00 Emmerdale: 7.4m 31.9%
19:30 Coronation Street: 8.9m 36.7%
20:00 Little England: 3.5m 13.6%
20:30 Coronation Street: 8.8m 33.5%
21:00 The Jury: 6.4m 24.4%
22:00 ITV News at Ten & Weather: 3.1m 14.6%
22:35 Real Crime with Mark Austin: The Game Show Killer: 1.9m 13.6%

C4 (inc C4+1)
11:00 The Renovation Game: 0.2m 3.9%
12:00 Drop Down Menu: 0.2m 2.4%
17:30 Come Dine With Me: 2.2m exc. +1
18:00 The Simpsons: 2.3m exc. +1
18:30 Hollyoaks: 1.6m 6.4%
19:00 Channel 4 News: 0.8m 3.2%
20:00 Go Greek for a Week: 1.2m 4.0%
21:00 Hippo: Nature's Wild Feast: 2.2m 8.1%
22:35 Britain's Sex Gangs: 0.9m 6.0%
23:40 Derren Brown: The Guilt Trip: 0.3m 5.1%

Channel 5
18:30 OK! TV: 0.4m 1.6%
19:00 5 News at 7: 0.2m 0.8%
19:30 Lost Heroes of World War I: 0.4m 1.6%
20:00 The Gadget Show: 0.9m 3.4%
21:00 New The Hotel Inspector: 1.4m 5.5%
22:00 Big Brother: 1.4m 7.4%
23:00 Big Brother's Bit on the Side: 0.5m 5.3%

BBC Three
22:30 Mongrels: 0.35m 2.1%
23:00 Mongrels: 0.33m 2.8%

BBC Four
20:30 Only Connect: 0.69m 2.7%

ITV2
21:00 Hell's Kitchen USA: 0.46m 1.8%
22:00 Hell's Kitchen USA Finale: 0.40m 2.1%

Sky1
20:00 Terra Nova: 0.64m 2.5%

I think ITV had a flash about the Murray Verdict. I was watching The Jury and remember hearing the news before 10.00 pm.

Not surprised The Jury lost viewers. I suspect I will record the rest of it - certainly Wednesday's - and then not get round to watching it.

Seems channel 4 have had a few really bad nights but ok for Nature's Wild Feast not much better for Five to.

I thought The Jury would have been closer to 7m rather than 6m. Still a good start, but it's going to be in for a rough ride over the next few nights with Death in Paradise and Frozen Planet to contend with. I can see it around 4.4.5m over the next couple of episodes.

Poor for the soaps IMO. All down massively on last year. They just can't seem to build any momentum - which for the time of year is very disappointing. Corrie and EE just be over 9m now on a Monday night and close to pushing 10m, so to see figures under 9m, its abit underwhelming really.

I've added some daytime and multichannel ratings to my post. Thanks to DS and to Attentional.

Daybreak still chugging along with 800,000

Judging from the latest press reports, it seems like ITV are finally going to bite the bullet on the "presenters" question.