Regarding this abomination of an idea (from Germany yikes!), could this really work as the 6.30/7.00pm Saturday show or would it be shoehorned into Tuesday night flopzone at 8.00pm? I think we all know Mel Sykes + Mark Wright = low ratings. I am thinking 3.0m on a Saturday and 2.2m on a Tuesday.

I'm thinking allot less!

Arguably though its the smash hit that allows you to create the strong successful schedule. If you take Big Brother out of the equation for Channel 4 would it have been anywhere near as successful during its tenure? It gave them a massive promotional base for new and existing shows and it just generally brought a lot more eyes to the network as a whole. A large part of the problem they're currently having is that they're basically relying on almost everything now being a complete self starter and it just seems unreasonable and unlikely.

If you look at something like 10 O'Clock Live. You'd think that if they were launching that a few years ago it would have gone on Friday night in the middle of a Big Brother sandwich on eviction night. That would have locked in a strong audience for it and then potentially have allowed it to stand on its own in future series. But as it was it was just thrown onto a wasteland of a schedule and expected to do it by itself.

And to be honest with you I think the problem with Gypsy Wedding is that it doesn't drive all that much positive attention to the channel. Big Brother certainly brought a lot of negative press but it also brought a lot of great coverage and seemed to be a talking point for people. Gypsy Wedding just seems to be an excuse for everyone to slag off gypsies...

It just amazes me that of all the international formats currently being sold or at least available to be brought that this is the one ITV have settled on.

I was actually pleasantly surprised by H&A yesterday. It was up on the past couple of times the channel aired double bills of the soap due to football:

Yesterday 18.00 795k (4.1%); 18.30 787k (3.8%)
11/03/11 18.00 879k (4.4%); 18.30 719k (3.4%)
25/02/11 18.00 719k (3.9%); 18.30 670k (3.4%)

Also I can't remember the last time the lunchtime edition hit a 5% share, must be a very long time ago. More recently it has settled to around half of that.

It does seem as though it might be (slowly) turning a corner. And deservedly so, because the show is in a good place right now quality wise.

It meant she wouldn't be hosting cheap filler tat like A Night With Westlife and be ignominiously sacked from a rubbish breakfast tv show....

I've just noticed that Channel 5 dropped both their news programmes yesterday to fit in their soap double bills. Tut, tut, tut! Shouldn't they be fined for that?

I assume it is meant for a Saturday slot, but if commissioned, it could end up in Tuesday slot, when someone realises just how shit it is.

Wasn't Beat The Star a German format which was filmed in Germany? Haven't ITV learnt their lesson yet???

just checked and yes it was.

That said watching the video I posted, its easy to see why they would film a non-broadcast pilot on the German set, which is after all what is being filmed

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/news/...y-man-can.html

They only have to meet a certain number of hours per year so no, no fine will be necessary as all relevant targets will be met.

The timing of the football was perfect as they are currently winding down the BSkyB service and moving over to ITN. Staff can be trained on the new working practices without having to worry about preparing for any bulletins. Indeed they could have had a normal programme on Thursday at 5pm if they wanted to as there was no need for 45 minutes of buildup, but they decided not to whilst the changeover is taking place.

I do find it ridiculous though that due to the new set not being ready staff are having to be shipped via taxis between the newsroom at Channel 5's base where the show will eventually come from, to ITN HQ at Gray's Inn Road. That's clearly not an ideal setup for anyone involved with the programme and is probably making it more stressful than it needed to be.

Another quality offering from the cesspit known as ITV Entertainment. I reckon 2 million might regard this as interesting viewing, but this will be another long line of breaindead offerings from the people's channel. BBC One must be relishing this as even their weakest offerings will have double the audience of this.

Well if Lets Dance does get a good rating tomorrow it will be down to past performance imo.
Just a loud mess.

Friday 17th February 2012
BBC One
20:30 - Room 101: 3.40m (14.0%)
21:00 - Hustle: 5.34m (22.9%)
22:35 - The Graham Norton Show: 3.48m (23.3%)

BBC Two
20:00 - Mastermind: 2.08m (8.8%)
21:00 - Baka: A Cry from the Rainforest: 1.13m (5.1%)

ITV1
20:00 - Safari Vet School: 2.45m (10.4%)
21:00 - Law & Order: UK: 4.32m (18.5%)
* +1: 294k (1.6%)

Channel 4
20:30 - New Girl: 854k (3.5%)
* +1: 148k (0.6%)
21:00 - The Bank Job: 913k (3.9%)
* +1: 171k (0.9%)

Channel 5
20:00 - World's Toughest Trucker: 1.04m (5.3%)
21:00 - The Mentalist: 1.13m (4.9%)

Sky1
21:00 - Stella: 660k (2.3%)

Primetime Shares
ITV1 - 22.5% (+1: 0.8%)
BBC One - 21.6%
BBC Two - 5.9%
Channel 5 - 4.2%
Channel 4 - 4.2%

Source: DS. Ratings include HD and are tape-checked.

I think BBC One and ITV1 will be pleased with their 9pm ratings, but the other three terrestrials not so pleased. Dismal for The Bank Job on Channel 4.

Where all of ITV's junk ends up, I had to laugh yesterday when someone mentioned moving The Biggest Loser and upsetting its fans, what both of them.

oh give over. Its just another variant of the Generation Game.

Really some folks here need to get out a bit more.

All time low for The Mentalist. Previous low was 1.19m.

I'm not too concerned though as it's likely the combination of the last ever Hustle and the last in the series of what's turned out to be quite a strong performing run of Law & Order: UK had an effect. Next week both of these programmes will be out of the equation so I'm expecting it to return to normal levels.

Here's an interesting one. Ant and Dec said on Twitter on Thursday in response to someone that Britain's Got Talent is returning "late March/early April". And now Stephen Mulhern has said at the end of the Britain's Got Talent live stream on YouTube that it returns "in March". So it looks like we can definitely pencil in Britain's Got Talent for an earlier return date this year.

That will probably be due to the Jubilee but it also suggests to me that the live shows may start on May Day this year. I pencil a start date of Saturday 24th March. You may recognise that start date from somewhere.... coincidence? Or deliberate?

Which brings me onto Take Me Out, that isn't due to finish until Saturday 7th April. Would ITV run Take Me Out at 19:00 before Britain's Got Talent or shift Britain's Got Talent forward to 19:30 with Take Me Out afterwards, limiting BBC's options with The Voice as it would be pushed to 18:30 to avoid a clash?

Assuming this actually happens, is ITV trying to crush The Voice from the get-go?

I made a similar response to the post

I think tonight's TV Burp answers the question of why L&O is failing, did they really spend a whole episode, saying they were looking for Harry Hill?

Room 101, needs a rethink, for starters drop the "You Tube clip" element, that isnt what I buy my licence fee for.

GeorgeS I suppose there is an element of " The Generation Game" to it, but its a rubbish version of The Generation Game, with non of the heart or warmth that made viewers love it.

Exactly - the production line of TV hosts is grinding to a halt and T4 has given the nation Ben Shepherd, Dermot O'Leary, Steve Jones and Vernon Kay - though interestingly the women don't seem to do so well. Indeed in terms of breaking new talent T4 probably ticks that box more than anything else C4 does.

I think for now Saturdays will remain on C4, but I suspect Jay Hunt wants rid.


Beat the Star actually did rather well for ITV - far better than anything they put on Sunday over the Spring and Summer last year. If people ditch the snobbish attitude a minute My Man Can is actually a half decent light entertainment format which doesn't rely on celebrities, isn't a talent show and isn't a derivative quiz show with blue lighting - it's exactly the sort of thing ITV needs more of. They need to get the main hosts right though - it needs a comedian on board really.

Where have you got the idea from that Law & Order is failing? It's been performing well this series

Its not like ITV has form for moving shows to dent BBC's new hits......

its ratings have been no better than the axed Hustle.


I knew about Dermot and Vernon not the other two, yes its fair to say that T4 has given many presenters a launch pad for a career.

As for the girls, June Sarpong has done OK since, but yeah nothing like the men mentioned.

Of course it's down to The Voice - the Jubilee isn't the issue people here over the last year have made it out to be and I'm sure the finals will be in the same slot in May as usual, with the final over Jubilee weekend - the show considers itself to be by royal appointment after all, so the association will be of more benefit than harm.

BGT usually has a Sunday auditions show and could easily flesh out the stage before the semi-finals. Eight shows would take it through to the Champions League final on the 19th May, then perhaps have a Top 40 revealed show on Sunday 20th and the live shows from Monday 28th.

Yeah, but really the BBC missed a trick in not getting The Voice to air much sooner in the year. Leaving it so late in the day was always going to open up the potential for some spoilers from ITV.

It won't do either show any favours though as I'm expecting there to be sizeable interest in The Voice at launch regardless.