If ITV1 fell behind our favourite channel, Channel 5, and Corrie got fewer viewers than Neighbours. Can't see it happening and ITV have bolstered their factual and drama and sport content, but the rest of their output is tat only hardcore ITV viewers could appreciate. Sadly in the digital era the loyal ITV viewer is becoming rarer.

I have to agree with Dancc, even against the Strictly final, 1.7 million is dire for ITV, no way it can be spun as "ok".

Just seen 'Home for the Holidays' a Channel 4 programme being advertised on ITV1 so clearly Channel 4 want that to do well...

As a comparison Brucie isn't too happy to be reminded of, his alleged flop Bruce's Big Night on ITV attracted 9 million to 19 million who were watching his former show, The Generation Game, on BBC1. 1.7 million is just a flop.

if that is the Veron Kay show ive seen advertised, that seems dreadful.

Nobody is saying it is ok, but it is predictable, there is an obvious reason for it, and it isn't a trend that will be repeated every week until the next 'Cowell show' that some people seem to be suggesting.

LOL!

Last night was more or less the same as the Saturday before Christmas last year except ITV ran a new TMO last year

8pm Take Me Out 4.84m (18%)
9pm Bridget Jones's Diary 2.11m (8.6%)

Shares were 37.4% to 12.6%. ITV doesnt invest much in the weekend before Christmas because most of the demand for advertising is earlier in December. The BBC take advantage of that and win big. Much the same as BBC have been running weak programming for a lot of November & early December against IACGMOOH.

With a finite budget, if you spend more against the SCD you have to take away from what you will be spending elsewhere.

Dream on Glenn. Next year Five will become even more niche. Losing football, no UK produced drama, UK produced entertainment limited to BB and celeb vehicles ala Tamara Ecclestone and Amy Whatsherface.

It's a good point you raise. I don't think any commercial broadcaster has a serious amount of viewer loyalty any more, those days are long gone. Probably Sky has the most as people think because they are paying for it, it must be good! At various points of the year we've seen ITV1, Channel 4 and Channel 5 fall to some spectacular lows in certain situations. The only solution for surviving the digital era is providing consistently good content. Multichannel cannot ever hope to offer that- it's just a few hits scattered very thinly across hundreds of channels and buried amongst mountains of repeats. It's winning the war largely thanks to all these specialist channels that hone in on a certain type of viewer and lock them in, becoming their default channel for when nothing grabs them on the main channels, which tend to schedule more broadly for all demographics.

I know this was just a cheap shot post from an ITV shareholder but...

1) the football season runs to May and the expected bigger than usual results for the end of the 2011/12 season should more than make up for its absence in Q4;
2) there hasn't been any UK produced drama on Channel 5 for a few years now, so not sure what that has to do with anything, although I haven't seen what has been commissioned and I suspect you haven't either;
3) there will be other UK produced entertainment programmes on Channel 5 next year;
4) with Amy Childs' show moved out of primetime from the new year, it remains doubtful to me that we will be seeing too much more of that kind of programme on the channel.

If you had a BARB box, you would have counted in the overnights. It's people who watch from today who get added to the officials.

Some good stuff on tonight. One of those rare occasions when all 4 channels have strong offerings. Sadly, that usually means depressed.ratings as each cancels out the other.

If Panorama got 1.7m against a big-stunt episode of Corrie, George S would be slating that as a dire audience even though it's Panorama against a big-stunt episode of Corrie.

Looks like ITV were wise to schedule a repeat of Westlife for 7pm on New Year's Eve.

Just Henry trending on twitter which isnt bad considering its not a twitterati style programme.


Shame about the SCD tour adverts but I suppose they have to take the Beeb's ££££'s

one wonders how Twitter will react to ITVs public service gem that is "Tweets of the Year"

Well Panorama manages to combine poor ratings with a preachy talking down to the audience style so it deserves what it gets.

Lost Christmas was also trending strongly. I don't see either setting any rating fires.

Indeed. I'm thinking about 3m for Lost Christmas and 4m for Just Henry. A shame as whilst I didn't see Lost Christmas, Just Henry is excellent.

Well, it usually gets more than 1.7m.

My point is that if a primetime BBC1 programme got 1.7m, even if it was a posh arts programme or a current affairs programme about corruption in Azerbaijan, you'd be quick to jump in to scoff at how badly it did. But when an ITV programme gets 1.7m you make every excuse under the sun rather than admit that that audience last night was beyond pathetic. Next year ITV might as well just screen a caption that says "Back in 1 hour". It'll probably do just as well in the ratings.

it would also receive the most praise of any ITV program on this thread.

Well, be fair, Tuesday nights will continue that trend until the football returns.


The difficulty ITV have is that Strictly is appeals more widely compared to The X Factor which is aimed more at younger viewers - the BBC can aim programming at an family/older viewership and claim good ratings opposite The X Factor; ITV1 cannot do the same thing with Strictly.

The only thing ITV1 can really do is steer young and hope. Take Me Out did reasonably (not to BBC One standards v The X Factor but decently) last year so maybe tie that in with a Harry Hill hour and Benidorm (even if it's a repeat) and see what happens...it can do no worse after all.
Last edited by Fudd : 18-12-2011 at 22:21

Young James Herriott tonight could give an indication of how well Young Inspector Morse does on New Year Bank Holiday.

This could start a whole new trend for TV dramas:
Young Poirot
Young Rumpole
Young Jane Tennison

and how about a prequel to New Tricks featuring the old dogs as young coppers. I think that idea could appeal greatly to the BBC as a replacement when the New Tricks cast all call it a day.

what about Young Sherlock Holmes? sat in the 80s?

We could also revive the Casualty 1900 format, and have it feature Charlies first day on the job as a young nurse.

I actually rarely comment on the specific ratings of BBC programmes at all. That usually annoys the BBCista's even more as they feel that we should feel obliged to say well done to Holby, Countryfile, Antiques Roadshow, etc and get all huffy when they get ignored.

Young Upstairs Downstairs? Nah, maybe the beeb have done that one already, Come to think of it, there hasnt been a Holby spin off in months now. Of course its only ITV that is being derivative in some peoples heads