Clocks going forward, warm Saturday evening, inability to maintain a 24/7 PR blitz to the exclusion of anything else forever; I know which show I'd expect to make headlines for a ratings drop next weekend.

1.3m for Alcatraz? My drink nearly ended up over my keyboard when I saw that one. Including repeats and +1, well over 2 million watched the pilot, which is amazing.

UKTV really did hit the jackpot with the Watch brand. It's a good one IMO, and the channel is clearly going from strength to strength. Having launched so many programmes successfully over the past 12 months, both UK and US made, there's no doubt it's a major player in the multichannel marketplace now and could overtake G.O.L.D. on a more permanent basis soon to become UKTV's best performing pay channel.

Elsewhere, the CSI series premiere maxed out at 3.72m including +1 and the 5USA repeat. Great start for Danson, the most watched episode of a US drama on UK TV for some time. Shame the story wasn't very good so perhaps not entirely deserving of that achievement, but last week's episode was a lot stronger I thought.

Before it started last night ITV tweeted that it was one of the TV events of the year No expectations there!
https://twitter.com/#!/itv

...That would be Titanic, not The Voice. I think it'll be down by at least 3 million next weekend, which would be almost half... it lost almost a quarter while the first episode was still on! I don't hate ITV but there's only one show that is 100% set to be next weekend's laughing stock!

The Beeb reports on the Titanic reviews and chortles
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-17509755

Guardian ratings report
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012...voyage-viewers

You don't need a 24/7 blitz. People know it's on at 7pm, British Summer Time and warm weather with an early start will be the problem. I do think a 24/7 PR blitz to the exclusion of anything else is a good way to describe what ITV did last week with BGT to the point Dancing On Ice and TV Burp didn't get the coverage they deserved for their finales.

While ITV won comfortably last night, I can't imagine that they are pleased with the final figure for Dancing on Ice last night. Titanic started off alright, the breakdown suggests the phrase 'dropped like a stone' may be used this time next week.

Sky Sports - Week Ending 18th March
01 - 1.43m - Live Ford Football Special (Tue, 19:30, SS1)
02 - 1.32m - Live Ford Monday Night Football (Mon, 19:00, SS1)
03 - 1.14m - Live Ford Super Sunday: Match (Sun, 13:30, SS1)
04 - 0.71m - Live Australian Grand Prix (Sun, 06:00, SSF1)
05 - 0.63m - Live Ford Super Sunday: Match (Sun, 15:30, SS1)
06 - 0.41m - Goals Express (Sat, 19:00, SSN)
07 - 0.36m - Gillette Soccer Saturday (Sat, 12:00, SSN)
08 - 0.35m - Fight Night Live (Sat, 21:00, SS1)
09 - 0.29m - Sport Tonight (Sat, 20:00, SSN)

NOTE: BARB does not have the Top 10 for Sky Sports F1 on their website, so other shows could have got in the top 10, but I don't know, yet.

Australian Grand Prix rating is for 06:00 to 09:00 only. The official there is 0.71m, the overnight for the same timeslot was ~0.66m, so a timeshift of about 50k which is not a large amount, as expected for live programming. I think Qualifying would be near to the bottom of that top 10, but obviously I don't know at the moment.

Also:

Sky Sports - Channel Share
1.2% - Sky Sports 1
0.6% - Sky Sports News
0.4% - Sky Sports F1
0.2% - Sky Sports 2
0.2% - Sky Sports 3
0.1% - Sky Sports 4

Sky Sports - Weekly Reach*
7.07m - Sky Sports News
7.02m - Sky Sports 1
3.40m - Sky Sports F1
3.25m - Sky Sports 2
2.18m - Sky Sports 3
1.98m - Sky Sports 4

* those who watch 3 consecutive minutes of a particular channel

For a channel that broadcasts not 24-7, those are brilliant reach and share figures and justifies them creating the channel. It suggests that Friday and Saturday's content did solidly for them as well. They will be pleased with that.

Rolling onto Malaysia....

Malaysian Grand Prix - Ratings Roundup
2008
Qualifying - 1.96 million (0.46m + 1.50m)
Race - 3.43 million (1.56m + 1.87m)

2009
Qualifying - 2.20 million
Race - 4.36 million

2010
Qualifying - 2.20 million
Race - 3.55 million (2.55m + 1.00m)

2011
Qualifying - 2.27 million
Race - 4.48 million (3.46m + 1.02m)

2012
Qualifying - ???

Race
Sky Live - 960k
* 15-minute peak: 1.50m at 11:15
BBC Highlights - 2.73m (27.8%)
* peak: 3.20m
Total = 3.69m
* combined peak: 4.70m

Interesting that the total race figure is up week-on-week. I would suggest that maybe people did not know it was still on BBC, but that was identical week-on-week, so not sure if that rings true.

Maybe a lot of people watched the 09:30 repeat last Sunday, but we do not know yet.

An all time low for BBC News there. Since when has that been a news story?

Would they have done the same if it was a BBC show?

BBC News is supposed to be an impartial news service not just a corporate mouthpiece.

Why is everyone so excited that Titanic doesn't seem to be very good, it seems to have made everyone's day?

Most Watched Shows of 2012 [Top 20 - Officials]
01 - 12.20m - CORONATION STREET (23/01/12) - ITV1/HD
02 - 11.41m - CALL THE MIDWIFE (19/02/12) - BBC1/HD
03 - 10.98m - EASTENDERS (02/01/12) - BBC1/HD
04 - 10.66m - SHERLOCK (01/01/12) - BBC1/HD
05 - 9.29m - DANCING ON ICE (08/01/12) - ITV1/HD

06 - 9.11m - EMMERDALE (05/01/12) - ITV1/HD
07 - 8.31m - MRS BROWN'S BOYS (04/02/12) - BBC1/HD
08 - 8.00m - WILD AT HEART (08/01/12) - ITV1/HD
09 - 7.97m - ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS (01/01/12) - BBC1/HD
10 - 7.87m - UPSTAIRS DOWNSTAIRS (19/02/12) - BBC1/HD

11 - 7.86m - ENDEAVOUR (02/01/12) - ITV1/HD
12 - 7.61m - SCOTT & BAILEY (12/03/12) - ITV1/HD
13 - 7.59m - COUNTRYFILE (05/02/12) - BBC1/HD
14 - 7.32m - ABOVE SUSPICION (09/01/12) - ITV1/HD
15 - 7.23m - BENIDORM (24/02/12) - ITV1/HD

16 - 7.12m - THE DIAMOND QUEEN (06/02/12) - BBC1/HD
17 - 7.01m - ANTIQUES ROADSHOW (19/01/12) - BBC1/HD
18 - 7.01m - BIRDSONG (22/01/12) - BBC1/HD
19 - 6.99m - CASUALTY (07/01/12) - BBC1/HD
20 - 6.93m - WHITECHAPEL (30/01/12) - ITV1/HD

Most Watched Multichannel Shows of 2011 [Top 20 - Officials]
01 - 2.85m - LIVE FORD SUPER SUNDAY (05/02/12) - Sky Sports 1
02 - 2.74m - CELEBRITY JUICE (09/02/12) - ITV2
03 - 2.16m - TREASURE ISLAND (01/01/12) - Sky1
04 - 1.96m - LIVE FORD FOOTBALL SPECIAL (11/02/12) - Sky Sports 1
05 - 1.68m - LIVE CARLING CUP FOOTBALL (25/01/12) - Sky Sports 1

06 - 1.68m - MAD DOGS (19/01/12) - Sky1
07 - 1.67m - LIVE FORD MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL (06/02/12) - Sky Sorts 1
08 - 1.53m - THE ONLY WAY IS ESSEX (29/02/12) - ITV2
09 - 1.47m - FOYLE'S WAR (21/01/12) - ITV3
10 - 1.42m - STELLA (06/01/12) - Sky1

11 - 1.42m - SUN, SEX AND SUSPICIOUS PARENTS (22/02/12) - BBC3
12 - 1.42m - EASTENDERS (16/02/12) - BBC3
13 - 1.34m - DOC MARTIN (21/01/12) - ITV3
14 - 1.30m - ALCATRAZ (13/03/12) - Watch
15 - 1.30m - HAWAII FIVE-0 (22/01/12) - Sky1

16 - 1.27m - JUNIOR DOCTORS: YOUR LIFE IN THEIR HANDS (07/02/12) - BBC3
17 - 1.26m - GOT TO DANCE (29/01/12) - Sky1
18 - 1.25m - THE BIG BANG THEORY (05/01/12) - E4
19 - 1.24m - DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (11/03/12) - E4
20 - 1.23m - BEING HUMAN (05/02/12) - BBC3/HD

Source: BARB. Excludes +1, Includes HD for Terrestrial Chart. Only 1 programme per 'show', i.e. only one Ford Super Sunday game.

BBC News frequently reports on showbiz stories - this is the web site not the BBC1 mainstream news. To be fair I don't detect much gloating in this piece and I think it's a legitimate subject for a short news piece.

Ian Hyland didn't like The Voice, I expect a few other TV critics didn't either. I don't see the BBC News website packaging those up as a story.

Its part of the 24/7 PR blitz. We've got to accept that BBC "News" is now just another arm of the BBC's self promotion and PR dept in this respect.

The tabloids making stuff up is really getting on my nerves recently.

An example this morning was when Chris Moyles was discussing the last ever TV Burp. Suddenly Aled chimes up saying that it isn't actually the last one and then quotes how Simon Cowell convinced him to stay (i.e the story from The Sun). The conversation then stops dead as Chris think's he's talking rubbish.

Therefore another 8m people assume Harry will be back with more TV Burp next autumn!

TV Burp was trending on Twitter last night and half the comments were people saying 'don't worry it isn't really the last one' on there as well!

Oh well!
Is this anything new though? BBC News cover many showbiz stories for BBC shows like when Tennant regenerated in Doctor Who and even a few ITV shows. Why does this surprise some on here?

I don't know where that story came from in the papers as the writers on the show were saying it wasn't true. It was almost as bad as the Atomic Kitten for Eurovision story that The Star ran the day before Englebert was announced. You couldn't make it up! Oh hang on. They did!

At least there'll be something to capture the public's imagination next Sunday night other than sinking ships and antiques, in the form of the UK premiere of Once Upon a Time. C5 are marketing this show extremely well, continuing today with the launch of special idents and countdown stings in breaks:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gD2CVpiVdp4

I'd be disappointed if this doesn't do at least 2.5m to be honest. Hopefully it'll do even better than that. It's well scheduled IMO, with only Best of Top Gear and Why Ships Sink to contend with on the channel's nearest rivals. Harry Potter should perform well for its repeat and may dent OUAT's potential a little bit, but at least it's not a premiere and there's always +1. And the BBC is going with its usual old skewing lineup so not really an issue.

This must be the first time C5 have made an effort in that Sunday 8pm timeslot since... Joey? Yeah, let's not go there!

This statement could apply to all three 'big' shows of next weekend.


Shame it won't get a second season. Plus given how poor it is I'm not convinced that 2 million will stick around for the rest of the run.


Built up Downton frustration? A fall from grace for Fellowes? General excitement that an expensive much hyped drama is set to fail? I'm sure I could go on if I thought about it for a while.


Your anger is aimed at the wrong people.

Please find me one bit of publicity from ITV where they announced it was the last ever TV Burp. These stories only got traction because ITV made absolutely no mention of the fact that it was the last one.

I think DOI final was definitely affected by the the daylight time change as were other shows on the BBC at this time-countryfile was well down. I didn't start watching until 7.30pm. The peak of 8.8 million still demonstrates that there is an interest in who wins the show and it should be back next year.

I think the Voice is going to feel the affect of this next weekend if it starts at 7pm. It is not unmissable TV so I would expect a drop off in ratings.

8pm is risky but I think they draw an audience that can lead into their films at 9pm. I'm guessing a family film will be at 6/7pm OUAT at 8 and premieres and classic films will be at 9pm. I've noticed they're showing Rush Hour 2 on OUAT's launch time.

Lots of talk about Titanic today, but I think DOI is the far bigger story from last night, really. The former may well "sink" from here, but aside from a couple of pun-filled headlines, it won't be that bad. With only 4 episodes, and a good first outing, the series average won't be so bad.

DOI on the other hand, I think is a real problem for ITV. Two or three years ago it was a legitimate part of the 'big 4' talent shows alongside BGT, XF and SCD - but when they took off, it never really followed. Now it's definitely looking like the first of the 4 to fade away. It doesn't surprise me that much - I never felt it had the qualities that made the other 3 such huge hits - but it's still going to be of big concern to ITV.

More broadly, Q1 Sundays could quickly become a real problem area for the channel. rzt said yesterday that the BBC have overturned that slot (which it has lost for years now) and with a longer run of Call the Midwife probably back straddling the centre of the evening again in January - it's difficult to see how ITV can re-establish a proper foothold if DOI doesn't stabilise, or even recover.

Not great for Drownton then, pretty good figure all in all - but Id imagine ITV are glad there are only 4 episodes.

Dire for DOI really, for a show that was once the lynchpin of Q1 weekends to be just scraping 7m is really not good at all.

This went under the radar - ITV have commissioned a new series of All Star Mr and Mrs: http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/news/c...039604.article

And from Broadcast:

- Consolidated Ratings: Ranked by Gain (week ending 11th March)
- Top 100 (week ending 11th March)
- Demographic Focus (week ending 11th March)
- Genre Overview (week ending 11th March)

Yep, and the thing about that Sunday 8pm slot is, it's not a bad slot. Lots of people watching TV, looking for something good to take their minds off work the next day. And as we've seen only recently, pre-watershed drama can be one of the most popular genres at that time, and there is nothing that meets that criteria airing on Sundays at the moment.

The reason C5 normally does badly there is because they mostly schedule random repeats of things that aired earlier in the week, which are never going to hold up against some of the biggest shows on TV. Last night they repeated a documentary from 2004 after a film on the same subject and it rated close to a million, so an instant improvement on the usual figures with a bit more thought gone into the night's schedule.

Tonight is going to be a dismal night for them by the way, all repeats. Not sure anyone who missed it on Thursday will have the stamina for another Titanic drama after last night's effort.

Don't forget Sherlock too. If they do three weeks of Sherlock followed by 8 weeks of CTM at the same time as DOI that's pretty much the whole series of DOI in very serious trouble... I think it needs to be moved to a very different slot if it's got any hope of going on beyond next year.