Isnt BBC1s schedule more set in stone? These are the shows BBC1 has in peak time basically every week of the year:

The One Show: 3 hours per week
EastEnders: 2 hours per week:
Holby/Casualty: 2 hours per week
Antiques/Countryfile: 2 hours per week
Panorama: 0.5 hours per week

equals 9.5 hours per week of shows set in stone

ITV1 has:

Coronation Street: 2.5 hours per week
Emerdale: 3 hours per week
Tonight: 0.5 hours per week

equals 6 hours per week of shows set in stone

BBC1 has 3.5 less hours to play with every week in peak time than ITV1.

The point I'm making, though, is that the article is basically a moan that BBC1 is aiming at an older audience on a Sunday, making no mention of the fact that they do way more contemporary drama than anyone else. It's not on Sunday but it wouldn't work on a Sunday.

Besides, the old argument used to be that the Beeb spent too much time making grim, unpleasant dramas and not enough time making popular stuff, and if they did stop Call The Midwife to stick something like The Street on Sunday, everyone would moan they were only interested in gritty stuff that got acclaim but no viewers. And why simply slag off the Beeb when just the other day we pointed out how ITV's main brands were all old shows.

And Countryfile and Antiques Roadshow are hardly an issue, they're over by 8pm most weeks.

Jonahan Ross was very heavily trailed this week (including in the middle of both of Friday's Corrie episodes), so that maybe helped its cause.

And yet it's ITV who don't have any pre-watershed drama outside the soaps and no pre-watershed comedy. And BBC1 also have the post-10.30 slot which ITV have completely stopped bothering with.

Does anyone know how the two Arena films on Sonny Rollins on BBC4 did on Friday?

FA Cup Quarter-Final Draw...
Liverpool/Brighton v Stoke City
Chelsea/Birmingham v Leicester City
Stevenage/Tottenham v Bolton Wanderers
Everton v Sunderland
Ties to be played on March 17th and 18th.

Strange year this year, as I type, the highest placed Premier League team definitely through are Sunderland.

Rather lacklustre draw for the quarter finals of the cup although ITV do have a good looking replay coming up.

7 shows over 9.5 hours is a lower number than 3 shows over 6 hours.

There's a perfectly reasonable case for having The One Show in that slot most of the year as its cheap and holds up well against Emmerdale. If the Beeb axed The One Show (GeorgeS' ears may have just pricked up) then the Beeb would have to pay a lot more money for spearate shows, which probabaly wouldnt rate as well and reduce the budget for other pre-watershed slots.

Antiques Roadshow, Countryfile, Holby and Casualty are all spearate shows that amount to 4 hours a week. And not every week, Casualty isnt on for 12 weeks of the year and AR has only been on in primetime once so far this year, not sure about the other two. Where as, Emmerdale and Corrie amount for 5.5 hours.

BBC1 Sunday primetime shows (approx 7:00pm-10:00pm) taken from (BARB Top 30 - last 52 weeks data)

LARK RISE TO CANDLEFORD
COUNTRYFILE
ANTIQUES ROADSHOW
BAFTA FILM AWARDS
SOUTH RIDING
WAKING THE DEAD
EXILE
ATLANTIS
FILM: PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL
THE BRITISH ACADEMY TELEVISION AWARDS
FILM: PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST
CASE HISTORIES
FORMULA ONE: THE CANADIAN GRAND PRIX
FAKE OR FORTUNE?
STOLEN
THE WORLD'S MOST EXPENSIVE PAINTINGS
THE APPRENTICE: THE FINAL
INSPECTOR GEORGE GENTLY
THE INSPECTOR LYNLEY MYSTERIES
OCEAN GIANTS
BRITAIN'S HIDDEN HERITAGE
NATURE'S MIRACLE BABIES
SPOOKS
STRICTLY COME DANCING / RESULTS
GARROW'S LAW
YOUNG JAMES HERRIOT
EASTENDERS
DOCTOR WHO
SHERLOCK
ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS
CALL THE MIDWIFE
BIRDSONG
BOMBER BOYS

Quite an eclectic mix for BBC1, I know we think it is all grey haired dramas 52 weeks of the year on Sundays.

I would say, though, the BBC One schedule is far more varied between 7 and 9 on Mondays, you have TOS, a regional programme, Eastenders and Panaroma, a talk show, a regional feature show, a soap and current affairs, all valid alternatives exceptions for non soap fans. I think ITV very much goes for its core Northern female audience on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and it works for them, in the same way BBC One gets 4 million non soap fans.

I think Lets Dance got pretty much what I predicted, I guessed around 6.7m, so I was close.

Take Me Out never disappoints IMO, to get 5m including +1 weekly is impressive for a show which was written off before it even started two years ago.

Harry Hill looks very low.

Channel 5 beats Channel 4 again in the weekend.

This is turning into a cracker of a match on ESPN if anyone's interested. Very lively stuff.

Definitely, as a lifelong Reds fan (well since 1979 - age 9), I am waiting for LFC to turn up the heat in the second half. The match may not rate so well on ESPN, but I bet thousands of pubs are busy. Come on Carroll

Full average: 4.57m (23.3%)
6.45-7pm: 6.33m (27.7%)

Yes imagine what they could be showing if there wasn't so many soaps. 3 hours of a daily magazine and daytime style rubbish like Rip Off Britain and That's Britain maybe?

I can remember when 7pm on BBC1 featured programmes like Holiday and Telly Addicts!

Not sure to be honest, Sherlock had a year and a half break yet the second series did much better than the first series.


Did okay, all considering. Wasn't exactly a fantastic game.

Are you old enough to remember Ask the Family then, Andy? The BBC isn't perfect, but at least they have some variety in their pre watershed schedules. However, to be fair to ITV1, the fitba is a godsend for them at times.
Also, nice rating for Sunderland Arsenal last night, it was a good game.

TV Burp has lost all steam and is now clapped out. If Harry wasn't leaving I would have killed it off.

I stopped watching it years ago.

It's ending this season, but it has been a success for ITV and its heyday was hilarious.

Carroll got his goal.

Shame we don't get ESPN overnights very often.

The reaction in the programme thread was that last night's show was the best for a while

(ironically the episode that has ended up rating the lowest and with no Sunday repeat)

Not quite sure how you work that out.

Basically though on weekdays BBC1 only really has Wed & Thu 8pm to play with - though 30 of those go to Waterloo Road, while ITV1 only have Tue & Wed 8pm - with about the same number going to football. Both have the half hour filler slots against the soaps where it's more about damage limitation than being competitive.

Countryfile and Antiques Roadshow both do a steady job on Sundays - but Call the Midwife shows that when you remove the safety net you can get the rewards - but you need the money to back it up.

ive always said The One Show could benefit from having a "Tomorrows World correspondent" , not a reporter from the future, but a reporter who does tech stories with Tomorrows World branding.

Instead of Foody Friday they could have Techy Tuesday, steal one of the Gadget Show's Presenters

Talking of TGS, when is it due to return?? And what did it get at its peak, it seems it was getting sub 1m in its most recent run...

to be fair the BBC do owe Jason, after "Dont Scare The Hair" I mean I know he isnt a regular BBC presenter, but he didn't deserve that.