It's not, by any stretch.

But as we have often commented on here before, those less in the know about TV ratings elsewhere in the media (eg, the tabloids) have reported smaller gaps than that as a "trouncing", and I expect (hope, pray... ) that they can be relied on again today.

But I agree. It's a credible number for DA and ITV on Christmas Day, towards the top end of my scale of expectations anyway - though EE was pretty near the top end too, all considered.

[BTW, it's not 9.9m vs 8.6m plainly! It's either:

- 9.9m vs 8.1m (no repeats included)
- 9.9m + BBC3 repeat of EE (unreported as yet) vs 8.6m]

So? By the time series 3 is broadcast this minor (and I stress minor) ratings defeat to EE will have long been forgotten.

But it WASN'T 9.9 v 8.6. You're including the Downton repeat on ITV1+1 but not the EastEnders repeat on BBC Three.

Not really Ratings realated but I have just been on the Radio Times site and Dancing on Ice runs for 12 episodes that would mean the final this year is March 25th.

This lie will of course be widely reported today, as the ITV Lies Machine spins into action - unless the BBC Press Office can get the correct information out there first.

On that basis what about the Downton repeat next Sunday - shouldn't that be included in the final figures?

Overall, BBC One topped primetime with 30.3%, only marginally ahead of ITV1, which put in 29% (+1: 1.3%). Channel 4 claimed third with 5.8%, beating BBC Two's 5.2%, and Channel 5's 1.9%.

So factoring in ITV+1, which is basically the way some people choose to timeshift on the same evening, it was a dead heat between BBC1 and ITV1 on Christmas day.

I would say Downton is here next year on Xmas day, and BBC1 will be looking over their shoulders nervously...

If you believe DS unlike ITV1+1 those that watched on BBC Three were not first time viewers but viewers tuning in for their second dose of misery from the Square in just a few hours !

SCD did fine. There's nothing else BBC1 could put on that would do well against Corrie every year.

You can't use the xmas day rating to predict whether figures for the next series will be way down. For one thing the xmas day show is a one off event with a cast of celebs that you won't see again. It works well for what it is and SCD is a lot more adaptable to a xmas special than ITV's big hitters are eg. XF, BGT, which is presumably why it keeps being wheeled out year after year. It was one of my highlights of the evening; I didn't bother with Corrie which seemed to be more miserable than EE for once.

Am very surprised EE came out on top in the DA tussle. Hats off to those who predicted it would. I looked at the figure for the last episode of DA before this one and thought EE it had no chance. I suppose DA being on for a colossal 2 hours counted in EE's favour. Had the episode been shorter I suspect the numbers would be closer. Good figures for both considering.

Year on Year comparisons make horrible reading for BBC1

EastEnders DOWN 13%
Doctor Who DOWN 14%
Strictly DOWN 20%
AbFab DOWN 28% (on Come Fly with Me last year)

Coronation Street UP 3%
Downton Abbey UP 105% (on Poirot last year)
Emmerdale DOWN 7%
Family Fortunes UP 36%

That doesn't even make sense in the context of what I said. You included a repeat for one programme, but not the other.

So, if we are going to adopt ITV's preferred methodology, the big battle was:

EastEnders 10.62m
Downton Abbey 8.6m

An even bigger trouncing then - 2m....

Strictly needs to go back to having popular ex-contestants competing.

It's worth noting that BBC News sources on Twitter (i.e. Lizo, Head of BBC News etc) were quoting the +1-included figures for ITV1, so I suspect those are the ones which will be reported by BBC News and carried around by most websites. The ratings list I posted previously was from a BBC source too (who reports for Doctor Who News website).

I don't think the newspapers will have as much of a negative slant on Downton Abbey's loss to EastEnders, as you're hoping for. EE was the bookies favourite to win anyway, so it's not like a big surprise where the underdog won, nor really is it a trouncing, all things considered.

I like Strictly, and this years series was a massive sucess.

but the Xmas Special is feeling more and more irrelevant every year. Especially when (like last night) they book celebs who could quite easily take part in the main series (last year had celebs like Vince Cable and June Brown who woulden't do a full series)

it is a watchable show, but if they are going to show it, it needs to be on at say 6pm and not taking up such a prominent place in primetime.

Ab Fab is hardly relevant if we're doing y-o-y comparisons since it wasn't on last year. EE being down against the juggernaut that is DA is no great surprise. Everyone is praising the show for managing to do so well against it, I should have known you would be the one to buck that trend.

The only surprise is DW not doing better and the inexplicably high rating for ASFF. SCD not being closer to/beating Corrie is a surprise too but that battle is always unpredictable. Kudos to Corrie for coming out on top by such a sizeable margin though.

You're an evil man!

I imagine by airing DA on xmas day that there's some trade off in terms of ad revenue for ITV. Does it work out as being worth it in the end?

How the Beeb are reporting yesterday's ratings...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16332285

That's a rubbish Christmas Day Ratings article from BBC News. Usually it's much better than that, with tables etc. Interesting that they directly compared EE to Corrie's rating rather than to Downton's. They even make it sound better for DA than it was by saying it was 3rd most watched show (rather than saying it was 4th behind DW), as they're using peaks.

Merry Boxing Day to everyone - looks like Robbie already has the gloves on, though it really is a sad state of affairs when EastEnders wins the ratings on Christmas Day.

It shows how the BBC's strategy of same old same old every year is failing, and it pretty much fell apart this year with The Royal Family gone. Even for a household which is more ITV than BBC this is the first time in years I don't think I watched the BBC at all on Christmas Day.


Have to agree I was rather underwhelmed by it - although Christmas specials which try and avoid any mention of Christmas are often a bit of a let down. It rated nicely enough though and even though low on the laugh side, it wouldn't have been out of place on Christmas Day itself.



Was that a new episode or repeat. I think Jonathan Ross would have been better in that slot really and possibly have rated better than it did on Friday.


A bit disapointing really - thought it would have cleared 2m at least, although films on TV are somewhat unpredictable. I expect the list of Top 10 premieres on TV is quite different to what they took at the box office.


I'm surprised actually the BBC aren't repeating the Dirty Den episodes this year considering it's 25 years since they first aired. I imagine though they've been on Gold or something.


It's 100 years - it's the one time they'll get the funding for it and it's better than yet another detective or medical show surely. And the film is essentially a story set on the Titanic rather than about the Titanic itself - this looks like it'll be more from the angle of the crew than a couple of passengers. And it'll rate far better than a repeat of the film I imagine - unless it really is a Titanic flop!


Thanks rzt - and may I add my thanks for all the effort you and a select number of others put in to supplying this thread with the data the rest of us bitch about over the last 12 months.


So close - yet so far. The ITV soaps though seem to have really benefitted from the BBC's same old same old strategy of recent years - and IMO had they switched Family Fortunes and Emmerdale they might have been even closer.


ITV have had a great year and so much of it was off the back of Downton. Their new drama has served them well and it looks like they'll keep it up next year. We seem to be hearing much more about new drama from ITV than we do from the BBC lately.

Since 2006 BBC1 have used the Strictly Christmas Special to hold their share up against ITV's biggest Christmas Day programme Coronation Street. Last year, IIRC, was the very first time Strictly had won the head-to-head in the overnights. Remember, in 2005 The Green Green Grass was on against Corrie and took what was probably BBC1's lowest ever primetime Christmas Day rating since before ITV was born.

Last year's Strictyl Xmas show had June Brown, Vince Cable and Fern Britton to attract the headlines. I've thought ever since I heard it that this year's line-up was distinctly "meh", almost as if the BBC only decided on a Xmas Show a week before filming it. (On second thoughts, for "meh" read "p**s-poor). I think, if I'd had to predict Strictly's ratings in the Ratings Prediction Game, I'd have gone for lower than Corrie (I said 9.1m) but 1m or more higher than it got.

Amazed at ITV's performance. I did not think Downton Abbey would do any where near that well, 8.6m is a fantastic achievement for Christmas day. For ITV to be within 1% for the evening

Remember that silly thread about how DA would top EE according to the Mail or somebody and a few people in that thread were saying it was almost dead set to happen. For me it would always be EE and I still don't really get why people thought DA would slaughter it, made no sense what so ever.

Great win for EE there, deserved for a sensational episode.

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