Digital Spy's 9.09m is tape checked. MG's 8.8m is the full slot average inc +1.


DS: 9.09m (tape checked) + 258k = 9.34m
MG: 8.52m (full slot) + 258k = 8.78m

You seem to be taking more of a negative line of late. Understandable with some of these crap sounding shows we keep hearing about from the same few sources, but I think some patience is required. The programme budget has gone up for the second consecutive year. They have secured at least two of the most interesting new US shows of the season. There's talk of C5 productions upping their game and not just producing any old crap but formats of substance like Marco Pierre White's Kitchen Wars. There's plenty to be encouraged by IMO, even if there are some elements to what they are doing that you don't like.


What do you mean? I was making the point that these imports are not the usual sort of genre they go for. Ratings wise I think both could do very well, but yes neither is a sure thing.


True. But in the short term they got a show quite cheap that has rated really well for them and filled enough weeks that they can start CSI: Miami straight after CSI: Vegas has finished this year instead of having to run several weeks of reruns in between.


I have to say I don't think either NCIS: LA or Hawaii 5-0 were massively good buys, especially the former which they spent a hell of a lot on if the figures reported at the time were accurate and it hasn't done too great. Channel Ten in Australia shows both NCIS and NCIS: LA and the spinoff dies on its arse unless it has the support from NCIS. Over here C5 are already putting that lead-in to good use with Law & Order: Criminal Intent. NCIS: LA would be more expensive, and I don't honestly think it would be rating much better. Bones meanwhile was one they got automatically when they acquired Virgin's channels, it wasn't one bought in by them. Sky's acquisitions seem to be focussed mostly around Atlantic at the moment and criticially acclaimed shows with limited ratings potential. But they do have no shortage of cash to spend so they are always a threat.


Hence why I said primetime. But both of those replace repeats, so not much of a loss to anyone.


Not quite. Of course we can't ignore the bad stuff, I'm just saying don't let it detract from the other stuff going on. I don't think you can very well say that one show The Sun of all sources is reporting they are doing constitutes them becoming trashier than ITV2, when their current schedule is anything but.

Really's not that bad by the way. I'd actually say it's a classier version of ITV2. Instead of Jeremy Kyle in the afternoons you get Ellen DeGeneres and great guests like Simon Baker instead of a bunch of chavs with life issues.

I didn't include ITV +1 either which puts Corrie higher. We are talking first showing ratings. 8.4m isn't great for EE, it's fine, but not great.

Your defensive attitude when anyone mentions EE or BBC ratings in a bad light is very aggressive. You would fit perfectly on the soap forum ratings thread where defensiveness like yours from the EE fans have made the thread unreadable and unpostable. This is the reason I mostly only lurk on here and don't even enter the soap ratings thread anymore.

I would be shocked if S6 isn't the last series of Skins. It's ratings are really down the last two series and the shows creator has said himself he thinks S6 is the last E4 would commission. Apparently they had to prove themselves with S6, and as the ratings haven't improved there's no reason why E4 should recommision another series, it's expensive and not worth the cost anymore.

In his defence he is a successful producer so not entirely clueless when it comes to these things. In terms of being a mentor or coach to the contestants I don't think he's (on paper at least) a terrible choice my major issue comes from the fact that I don't like him and that he's utter terrible as a live performer. It seems to me that having him on the panel just undermines one of the interesting selling points of The Voice – namely the judges/coaches performing together and with their acts. Its worth mentioning that the moment that got the US version so some serious traction was when NBC released all four of the shows coaches performing Crazy together. It doesn't seem likely that the UK version is going to have something like that up its sleeve now nor does it seem like that we'll get spectacular weekly coach performances as the US does.


And once again Channel 5 have no one but themselves to blame for the fact that their trashy commissions and promotion of terrible reality shows detract from the rest of their schedule. If they want more focus on their US imports and their factual content the incredibly easy solution is to stop commissioning and promoting these awful reality formats. As I've said before Channel 5 currently feels like its being scheduled and commissioned by five or six different people who aren't aware of each others existence let alone actively communicating with one another. It is an utterly schizophrenic channel and someone there needs to take control of the situation and set some kind of consistent tone and vision of their content. Its all well and good saying that if you ignore all the crap they make and show Channel 5 is great but you could say that about absolutely any channel. You don't just get to ignore the crap. Its part of the channel.


Yet amazingly the exact same show has managed to find huge audiences in multiple markets across the globe which are equally as (over) saturated with reality contests as the UK is. I know you're determined to hate The Voice at all costs but it is getting slightly ridiculous particularly your continued insistence at pushing this notion that the entertainment budget was being used to pay for F1.

On the subject of F1 as much as fans might hate it I think the BBC did a pretty spectacularly good deal on that. They've managed to secure continued live coverage of races (admittedly not all of them) at a time when Sky have made it clear they wanted the rights. Do you really imagine that there's any circumstance away from this deal where the BBC can afford to outbid Sky for the exclusive rights to F1? It was never going to happen.


Since the decline of the CSI franchise CBS has shifted its focus to comedy with rather spectacular results. It seems unlikely that Channel 5 will follow suit on this particular approach. It is now perfectly possible to imagine CBS surviving without CSI and I'm not entirely convinced you can make the same statement regarding Channel 5 particularly at time when CBS aren't looking for a big new crime drama – they won't have space for a major 9PM drama commission next season I don't think. If Channel 5's plan for surviving post-CSI is 'do whatever CBS does' then they've already missed the boat I'm afraid.

Also lets not forget that Channel 5 also has the death of the Law & Order franchise to deal with. The mothership is no more, Criminal Intent is no more and frankly at the very best SVU is limping toward its death next season. That's another noticeable loss that they have to deal with and so far haven't really done so.

Branching away from crime drama with Dallas and Once Upon A Time is certainly a good move and where they schedule those is, I think, going to be key to the future success of their US imports. They cannot continue to rely on the (ageing) US procedurals nor can they continue to rely on the notion that the US networks are going to keep churning out new procedurals because they aren't. The rate of production on procedurals has slowed dramatically over the past few years and Channel 5 have to now adapt to that. Just to highlight this point ABC and Fox at best both have one procedural in development for next season (although neither of those is a straight procedural and ABC's reads like Once Upon A Time meets cop show and may not actually be a procedural at all), NBC at a stretch has two procedurals in development (one of them is Hannibal and the other reads as serialised soap or in fact their version of Revenge) and whilst CBS has procedurals in development they're only likely to pick up 2 or 3 dramas at most and I suspect at least one of them won't be a procedural. The well is running dry and Channel 5 need to adapt.

I should note that those are police/legal prodcedurals. There's a couple of medical shows that read as case of the week but given how Grey's has gone for Channel 5 I'm not sure medical drama is their future.

The first episode of The Voice UK starts with a performance of 'I Gotta Feeling' by the four coaches. Obviously the choice of song has been dictated by Will.i.am's limitations, but nonetheless it should create a buzz. By all accounts from those in the know it's a quality performance.

Emma Willis is presenting This Morning with Philip Schofield from today this week as Holly is 'away filming something' - in ITV Speak via Phil - aka The Voice.

I had never heard of her but she coped better than most other part time hosts have done before. Fitted in from the off.

They also had the three ladies from Birds of a Feather (or 'Light as a Feather' as Phil said they should now be called) promoting the 16 week stage tour of the version written by Marks and Gran that picks up the TV series two decades on,

They talked about wanting to do a Christmas special on TV after the success of Ab Fab but said the BBC were not biting. Phil whipped out a 'contract' and said that he was sure ITV would snap it up and urged them to sign on!

The beeb seem to be missing a trick there as the 16 week tour of the UK alone would be great PR for a one off special.

Bones was airing on Sky1 long before the takeover of Virgin's channels. It was only once they bought the channels and were preparing to rebrand as "Sky Living" that they moved Bones across from Sky1 (presumably as a bit of a tentpole in the schedule).

Thought so. Thanks for that Andy.

God yeah, you're right. I dunno what I was thinking there, sorry. That was a good acquisition by Sky then. Whilst I haven't seen it, I hear good things and the ratings are solid. As you said, it's become something of a tentpole for Living and its repeat value is also very high.

Indeed thinking about it the acquisitions they did take from Virgin they didn't treat too well. For example, they gave up on Sons of Anarchy which is now airing exclusively on 5USA (previously Bravo) and also pulled the plug on Chuck (formerly Virgin1). There are probably other examples too.

Of course the other side of the coin is Seinfeld now has a more suitable home in Sky Atlantic where it'll probably get shown again in full, although it may not last in that primetime slot it currently occupies. Virgin1 gave up on it very quickly after the ratings didn't mature, and it was a similar story with It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia which they ditched a few episodes into Season 3 never to return again. That by the way has quickly becoming one of my favourite shows since getting Netflix but I can see why it didn't rate as that kind of black humour won't be for everyone.

yes that was my thinking on this as well

all below quotes are from Dancc


hardly my fault, give alot of its recent commissions.


its certainly better than some of the C5 line up.


S1 has done well for Channel 5, but with the long term to consider, im not sure its any better than CSI repeats.


I would have given NCIS: LA a fair chance.


you know I have digiguide, and that I set it up, so that hides things like Big Brother, when Big Brother is on, the Channel 5 schedule can look a bit blank.


yes but half of the show is Ellen dancing, which isnt very exciting, and only every other show has a guest worth while. It maybe the better of the two. The rest of the line up is repeats from BBC 3, ITV 2 or E4.

How fondly remembered is Birds of a Feather though? It doesn't strike me as something that people are clamouring to see more of and unlike Absolutely Fabulous doesn't have the benefit of a relatively recent series or interest from international broadcasters to make it worthwhile. I suspect the BBC is also looking at the fact that they'll have The Royale Family, Mrs Browns Boys, Outnumbered and maybe a Miranda Christmas special for BBC1 this year so they don't really need Birds of a Feather to prop up the comedy line-up for the period. Plus there's the possibility that this stage revival isn't very good.

I can see why the BBC would pass on it and in the grand scheme of things its probably the right decision. They've got limited resources and investing those in returnable comedy is probably the better option. It might be a slightly different story if they were selling the Christmas special as a pilot for a full revival but even then I can't say that's a prospect that would grab me.

STV have had a policy of opting out of primetime shows - at the moment no Cornwall, Law & Order UK, Whitechapel, Safari Vet School, Benidorm, Eternal Law etc..

Some of these shows will never be shown up here in Scotland - others will surface in a few months, or several months time. At the moment we are putting up with Married Single Other (shown in 2010 on ITV), Midsomer Murders with John Nettles, plus cheap imports from Ireland and Australia, and cheap home produced fillers (Moviejuice/Scottish Passport...).

Last year STV claimed they were opting out of shows because they were "not relevant to Scotland" - so no Downton Abbey series 1, Doc Martin etc.. etc.. Then, due to public/media pressure they hastily showed series 1 of Downton (the final part screening on the afternoon series 2 started!!), Doc Martin etc..

The problem with STV is they want to hold off on "expensive" dramas/progs & try and buy them on the cheap at a later date. They then make a song & dance about them and proclaim them as "NEW to STV" - all the while forgetting the publicity buzz has gone and although viewers could have seen them elsewhere (ITV Player, ITV London via Sky, ITV3 or ITV4 etc..) many would miss them if they only have Freeview (and no access to a pc).



Oh yes and if you want to read about how bad STV are have a look at the "Not Scotland what are STV playing at?" thread in DS Broadcasting forum.

ABC:
8pm - The Bachelor - 8.09m (2.5)
10pm - Castle - 9.66m (2.1)

CBS:
8pm - How I Met Your Mother - 9.81m (3.8)
8.30pm - Two Broke Girls - 11.28m (4.0)
9pm - Two and a Half Men - 13.24m (4.1)
9.30pm - Mike & Molly - 11.27m (3.4)

FOX:
8pm - House - 6.97m (2.3)
9pm - Alcatraz - 5.96m (1.8)

NBC:
8pm - The Voice - 15.72m (5.8)
10pm - Smash - 6.47m (2.3)

NETWORKS:
#1 - NBC - 12.64m (4.6) - Up 207% vs 2011 (A18-49)
#2 - CBS - 10.99m (3.5) - Up 17%
#3 - ABC - 8.61m (2.4) - Down 23%
#4 - FOX - 6.46m (2.1) - Down 25%

Mixed night for NBC as The Voice was effectively flat while Smash dropped another half a point. CBS posted some gains following last weeks big slide and was up across the board from last year. Two Broke Girls did 40% better than Mad Love last year on the same night. HIMYM and M&M were up two tenths each while H50 added a tenth. Two and a Half Men was a repeat on the equivalent night last year.

Clear losers were ABC and FOX although The Bachelor is holding up alright opposite The Voice. In fact, with the exception of H50, all the problems last night for the networks were in drama.

Tvbythenumbers

That Channel 5 commission looks horrible. I don't see why it would be filler on 5* considering shows of about the same low pedigree were produced and put on the main channel.

Pretty good night for Channel 4 overall with a Coppers and True Stories pulling in decent figures. The later was a very quality and fascinating programme.

Diamond Queen and Whitecha both pulling in good figures. Coronation Street still doing well hitting those 9 millions. When was the last time Eastenders beat it on a Monday or Friday?

I wouldn't use language along the specific lines of, eg, "F1 being cut to pay for The Voice".

But the fact remains that the BBC has said very clearly in DQF that certain areas have been prioritised (eg BBC1 - cut only 3%) whereas other areas have been cut much more (eg BBC Sport - cut 15%).

- Almost holding the BBC1 budget meant they were in a position to get The Voice.

- Cutting Sport by 15% meant F1 had to partially go - as it was obviously more expendable than MOTD, Six Nations and the big "one offs".

I'm not saying the BBC made the wrong decision - it's a judgement call as to what the BBC's priorities should be.

But the BBC did take the above overall strategic decisions re BBC1 and Sport which led to these changes happening.

at this point im fully expecting C5 to commission an Amy Childs & Frankie Cocozza life swap series, the only thing im not sure if its going to be a gender swap series or not. The other problem is that im not sure what either of them do.

Re C5's Simple(ton) Life. I did/do actually like The Simple Life with Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie, but I must agree it is a backwards step for C5. It's guility pleasure viewing. Reputationally these sort of commissions are doing C5 no good. It might not be very fair of Media Guardian and others to pick up only on C5's reality commissions, but no one can stop them, or make them run an article on C5's more worthwhile output. Would be ideal for 5* though. Though worth remembering C4 did air one series (series 2?) of The Simple Life in primetime. And at least The Simpleton Life might make Amy Childs have to do a hard day's work ... it might be PSB after all

As for last night surprised The Tube did well for BBC2 at 9pm considering the factual overload. My prediction yesterday was clearly wrong. Good to see the Diamond Queen finish with a high rating, and ITV1 still doing well with British drama. Royal Marines Afghanistan not delivering it's full potential again for C5, but at least it's keeping above a million just. Seems to have found a loyal audience at around 1.1 million (myself included on +1). Might be worth C5 trying a 7pm or even 8pm repeat run though to try and get their money's worth from the series

Police Interceptors continuing to do a solid job at 8pm for C5, being their highest rated primetime show. Panorama also did well at 4 million, though the populist subject matter (drinking problems) is probably responsible

Isn't that how John Barrowman opens Tonight's the Night?

Great post. As for Being Human if it comes down to a show strengthening a channel then Lip Service is no competition (I've never even heard of it!). And actually Being Human highlights kind of what you're saying earlier in bold - with the exception of BBC1 and ITV1 most channels only need one breakout drama hit and it really strengthens the image of the channel - even if it only airs for eight weeks or so a year.



I guess it comes down to cost - surely much cheaper for STV to air shows already axed by ITV than their current hits.


LOL - quote of the day, though ITV2 still has a long way to go. I guess C5 has signed Amy Childs on an exclusive deal so have to find something for her to do.


That's the point though - C5's schedule is playing to it's strengths at the moment and looking the best it has since last summer before a certain show came along - along with other unwise commissions - which like it or not have changed the image of the channel - and remember that's an image change Desmond at least was hoping for.

Must say made me laugh today when he was quoted as saying he'd be plugging his Sunday papers as much as possible on C5 to take on The Sun on Sunday. Yep, like that'll make a difference.


Surprise but actually obvious choice - I'd imagine she'd be rather good in the role.


Actually glad they're not biting - they've relied far too much in recent years on bringing back old comedies. I did think though they'd already done a comeback series - but seems it hasn't aired since 1998.

It was a Joke. Sorry!

BBC TWO DRAMA WHITE HEAT BEGINS THURSDAY 8TH MARCH AT 9PM

Saturday 3rd March
9pm I'm in a Girl Group (BBC Two)
10pm TOTP2: Girl Groups (BBC Two)

Sunday 4th March
8pm The Real Story: Warhorse (Channel 4)
9pm New Series: Orbit: Earth's Extraordinary Journey (BBC Two)
10pm Movie Premiere: Inglorious Basterds (Channel 4)
10pm Movie Premiere: Untraceable (Channel 5)

Monday 5th March
9pm New Series: Embarrassing Bodies (Channel 4)
10pm Full Stretch (Channel 4)

Tuesday 6th March
8pm New Series: Revealed (Channel 5)

Wednesday 7th March
8pm New Series: Beauty and the Beast (Channel 4)

Thursday 8th March
8pm Natural World (BBC Two)
9pm New: David Walliams' Big Swim (BBC One)
9pm New Series: White Heat (BBC Two)
10pm New Series: The Sarah Millican Show (BBC Two)

I liked Birds of a Feather, but I'm not sure how strong a position it would be in for a TV revival. The last series aired in 1998, and the final BBC One primetime repeats were in 1999. Although, some episodes got 2.55pm daytime repeats several years ago, it's had very little exposure since 1999, with even the pay TV repeats generally appearing on even smaller channels than GOLD. Add in the fact the final three series saw so many changes to the familiar situation the show's fans recall from its heyday, and fact it was very reliant on the characters being the ages they were, I don't see how it can successfully be brought back to TV.

Do they contrive a situation where the men go back to prison... again? Do they contrive a situation where Sharon and Tracey are single, back in a big house, and back living next door to Dorien? Do they overlook the fact one of the sisters had a baby in the final episode? (I watched every episode, and I can't even remember which sister had the baby!) Do they pretend a seventysomething Dorien is going to be pulling toyboys?

Also, the 1999 repeats got really poor ratings. The public had really fallen out of love with the show when it ended. The DVDs haven't sold well, suggesting little interest.

It's difficult to revive a sitcom if it's ended on a high. It's even harder if the sitcom has become a mess and gone out with a whimper.

Eternal Law got axed. What was it's average ratings?

People like to forget or turn a blind eye when it comes to Channel 4.

According to Channel 4 Sales, their highlights for March include: High Class Hookers, which "follows a group of high-class escorts, examining the glamorous and secretive world that these beautiful, business savvy women frequent"; Phone Sex, described as a "positive and light-hearted documentary" which promises an "exclusive insight into a world that is normally hidden well away from the public eye" and Rinsers, a "one-off doc about a group of women who seek out their very own sugar daddies."

In a lineup of shows dominated by factual and lifestyle programmes like the uninspired sounding Bulk Buy Britain, and a whole series about hoarders which has already been well covered by one-off docs recently, the only one which sounds like it could be any good is Geordie Lifebuoys and even that sounds more like a C5 show:


So to all these people criticising C5 for this one trashy sounding show reportedly commissioned by the channel although not officially confirmed anywhere, I ask, what do you think of this lot?

http://www.channel4sales.com/content...+Month/All/All