Good rating for Peter Kay Live and Derek did okay after that. I think Channel4 will give it a whole series.

I think GeorgeS was calling the other poster he originally quoted a 'BBC fanboy', not you.

I suspect BBC2 were hoping for more than this. Maybe she will end up being one of those comedians who is hyped a lot but never really clicks with the public.

Yeah, very good, Peter Kay isn't on the telly because it's PC gone mad, despite the fact C4 shows clip shows and repeats of his stuff virtually every week of the year. Why not try watching television before making up theories about it?


They're not showing the FA Cup semi-final on Saturday. They're showing the Sunday one. In primetime.


I dunno, though, because when the original Saturday Kitchen team defected to do Saturday Cooks, not only was it thrashed by Saturday Kitchen, but also the kids shows on BBC2. Even when they decided to cynically start Saturday Cooks at 9.55. And why they're deciding to spend money at 8.30am rather than 4.30pm is beyond me, especially as CITV presumably costs next to nothing as it's a simulcast.

Just a heads up here for this tomorrow, it wasn't on the RPG so it passed me by until someone mentioned it was on. Should be good for 1m viewers for 5, it is up against Match of the Day and Fast & Furious.

The past few Tyson Fury fights have been closer to 2m, except the one affected by a regional technical problem that cut video for a time. I think though 1.5m would be a good result considering we're getting towards crunch time now in the Premier League, tempting viewers away to MOTD.

I see they are showing mixed martial arts after the boxing, which is a good use of the lead-in if nothing else.

Provisional schedule for Saturday 28th April indicates that there could be an overlap between BGT and TVUK but the other way round:

BBC One
18:00 - TBA
19:00 - The Voice
20:30 - Lottery
20:45 - Casualty
21:35 - TBA <-- could be The Voice results
22:05 - BBC News
22:25 - MOTD

ITV1
18:15 - Lemonaid
19:00 - YBF!
19:30 - The Cube
20:30 - BGT
21:50 - TBA

(Thanks to Doc12 for above info)

The final 15 minutes of Britain's Got Talent could crossover with the first 15 minutes of The Voice Uk's results. If I was BBC One, I would switch BBC News and TVUK around so BBC News airs from 9.35-9.50pm with TVUK Results at 9.50-10.20pm to ensure TVUK starts as soon as BGT finishes.

Some bad news for Fox in the US their Seth MacFarlane helmed Flintstones reboot has been (somewhat predictably) sidelined because of MacFarlane's schedule. The project is still moving ahead but won't make the previously announced 2013 debut date. This might very well force Fox to bite the bullet and pay up for another season of The Simpsons.

Although you have to wonder why nobody saw this coming. Not only is MarFarlane an executive producer for Family Guy, American Dad and The Cleveland Show he also provides voices for two of them and has just written and directed a live action film (Ted) where he also provides a voice for one of the lead characters and is servicing as an executive producer (and narrator) for the new series of Cosmos which is slated for 2013 and is launching a music career. How, exactly, anyone thought he was going to fit The Flintstones into all of that I don't know. At this stage Fox could probably do themselves and him a favour by cancelling one of American Dad or Cleveland.

You seem unfamiliar with ITV's schedules - perhaps if you knew what they actually show you wouldn't defend them so much .

Every programme tomorrow from 9.30 to 5.05 is american, bar 10 minutes of news. On Sunday from 9.30 to 5 every programme is a repeat bar 10 minutes of news.

How is this making an effort in any way? It's very sad to see what has become of ITV weekend daytimes. It's poorer than many digital channels. For what is one of the two biggest British channels, ITV's flagship, its more than a little embarrassing.

They don't have to invest huge sums of money - but they can and should be doing so much better.

Also of interest the following night, BBC One have a 'TBA' at 8.30 on Sunday for 30 minutes following on from Antiques Roadshow. Trying to keep ITV guessing as to whether the results will be on Saturday or Sunday?

There is also an extra Monday night Match of the Day to cover Manchester City v Manchester United at 10.35.

I didn't think the BBC could air Match of the Day for one match away from Match Of The Day 2 on Sunday's? Wasn't that the reason used when they only aired one highlights show across Christmas week (the first match night) even though there were games over three days? I may be remembering it wrongly.

I thought that too. But it's in the schedule. It could be a massive game so very pleased they do have highlights.

They would definitely get a higher rating for TVUK on Sunday at 8.30pm compared to Saturday after 9.30pm (plus it would provide a high lead-in for the 9pm drama). The only problem with that though is that the results this series would be pre-recorded the previous evening and the results would leak online - which would be more of an issue here with TVUK being a younger-skewing show than something like SCD which has pre-recorded results. Do they go for the ratings [Sunday] or go for the atmosphere, buzz and unpredictability that a live show creates [Saturday]?

Could they not just do a live show on Sunday? Although a live 30 minute show on Sunday seems a little pointless admittedly.

I know they don't for Strictly but I assumed that was (in part) because of how the celebrities are contracted for the series and because Len and Bruno had to be a on a plane so they could do the US version on Monday. Those issues won't be in place for The Voice.

The audience ticket dates suggests there won't be any live shows being filmed on Sundays this series: http://www.sroaudiences.com/application.asp?show_id=806

But after how well the show's done this series, I guess they could eventually introduce live Sunday episodes next year.

30 minutes would be a waste of money. 60 minutes would be better...but would it be a drag? The commercial result shows have ad breaks to split the programme up.

Then again, 9.50pm seems too late a time to start and they really shouldn't start it while Britain's Got Talent is on air - they need to learn the lesson from ITV's aborted attempt.

ITV are at a bit of a disadvantage again though because they will have to take a commercial break around the time The Voice's results show is currently scheduled to start.

Then they need to schedule the breaks differently. It's not rocket science - the last two Britain's Got Talent episodes have had different ad patterns. They should pile the first hour with ad breaks so the final twenty minutes can be ad free.

I suspect if The Voice stays where it is then BGT's final break would be just before The Voice starts, with the show coming back on air around 9:31/9:32 ish. They'd probably run right until 9:49/9:50 too rather than ending 5 minutes early. I doubt BBC1 will keep The Voice there though - I think they'll do as rzt suggested and swap it with the news.

Did Sam Hodges tweet then pointing out his show got half the viewing figure of ITV.

A brilliant figure for Long Lost Family - it'll be interesting to see if the revived Surprise Surprise can match it.


Ridiculous figure for a Peter Kay repeat. A decent debut for Derek too - but C4 now need to make the moves and lock in a series of Derek (or at least a few specials) and get Peter Kay doing some work again too.


Max and Paddy should definately have got a second series, though in fairness I think C4 probably wanted one. Geraldine wasn't a great character but considering Peter Kay wanted to run with it he could have done a spoof Jordon/Kerry Katona style series based around her.


Exactly. This is what removing their basic commitments has done - it's stripped the schedule of any kind of structure. OK, it may have cost more but kids shows on Saturday mornings and a mixture of kids, religious, political and regional shows on Sundays meant people knew what they were getting from ITV at the weekend. The current line up may be cheap as chips but surely it isn't what advertisers are looking for. I believe that Saturday morning kids/family market which was there for so long is still there now - and if ITV gave advertisers the chance to tap into it they could reap the rewards.

It has got to be hitting their daily shares too - even when they have big shows in the night offering such crap through to around 6pm must be hitting them hard.

BBC1 is going to have a similar problem now on Sunday afternoons with the EastEnders omnibus axed from the slot and end up being filmed with more comedy repeats and lifestyle repeats.

I wonder whether ITV's best tactic would be to let BGT finish at 9.45pm and hope viewers stick with BGT knowing that the result on The Voice probably won't be revealed until the last 15 minutes anyway - or whether they'll extend BGT to the 90 minutes and try to hit the result show hard.

Do advertisers target Saturday afternoon? Who watches TV on Saturday afternoons?

If you aren't watching Soccer Saturday or live sport, surely the only audience is the type who would find a repeat of Murder She Wrote perfectly acceptable.

If the Saturday morning kids audience is still there, it'd be best to let someone else try it to have lower expectations of success or don't have to rely on advertising (i.e any of the other 4 terrestrials), none of them are doing anything special.

This year The Apprentice has faced a new Midsomer Murders, a repeat of Foyles War and 2 Champions League games, one of which was an all-foreign tie.

Last year the first four episodes faced 'Home is where the heart is', the National Movie Awards, the Soap Awards and a new Midsomer Murders

Both line ups seem to be equally tough and weak so your excuse doesn't really hold up.

Imagine if The Apprentice was an ITV show that had seen year on year decline?

Confirmed - Britain's Got Talent live shows begin on Sunday 6th May:

Britain's Got Talent
RT @davidwalliams: I miss my Simon. I am counting the days until Sunday 6th of May which is the first BGT live semi-final.
10:00 PM - 13 Apr 12

Don't forget that in the seventies and eighties the US of A was ITV's biggest schedule filler. American shows went out of fashion in the late nineties and the noughties on ITV1, but seem to have made a comeback. It's cheap, dependable and someone will always be watching. Mind you please don't give me nightmares by showing repeats of Highway to Heaven.

So four more audition episodes. At least that means the first live show should retain some momentum by being on the next night.

That might result in BBC One fully deciding against a Sunday night result show for The Voice though; espesically if it's recorded.