Diving is currently on BBC1, BBC3 and the News Channel!

...we're watching on BBC Olympic 2 HD.

Hmm, not sure why BBC1/3 showing different aftermath of diving. I was watching on BBC3 but switched to 1 to see if they were covering it, and they were...

Aah, now BBC1 covering Mo, so back to 3 for meee

I wonder if a new record for BBC3 tonight?

Thinking about the Paralympics, if the public does take to them, and I think they will, I wonder if Channel 4 will quickly find themselves under pressure to run limited ad-breaks or no ad-breaks at all during Paralympic coverage?

Given the BBC's superb coverage all the way through, any coverage with breaks will not be taken kindly.

C4 is a commercial station - they will run ad breaks. How they place them is crucial, and mainly how they fade in and out of them. ITV showed with the French Open you can slot them in rather subtley, and C4 have previously done that with the cricket, but they were a bit too frequent and a bit too jarring with the athletics. One good thing though about them opting out of the games for 3 hours a day is it's likely these shows will use a good chunk of the ads.

I think too from BBC coverage of the games with some sports, athletics especially, you can see where ads can be slotted in with ease. Indeed with their trailers, intro VTs, over analysis, double analysis in the case of Lineker and that bloody 24 streams promo - plus 60 seconds on BBC3, they've shown there are plenty of opportunities to break away from the coverage.

I think I will be suffering severe withdrawal symptoms from the Olympics come Monday morning... and I normally hate sport! It has attracted some criticism - and arguably I think there was a little too much sofa chat on BBC One - but overall the Olympics have been a real triumph for the BBC in terms of quality and ratings. Great television moments.

I'm sure the Paralympics will be a success for C4 but to what extent? As others have said, the other channels begin their Autumn launches and kids start returning to school soon... time is flying by!

Fantastic night again, and I can see us needing more s in the morning.

Hope we're stocked up....

Worked out well for BBC1, even if it did mean live diving for a time simulcast on BBC1/3/HD/BBCOx.


Doubt it will be an issue. I don't want to sound unfeeling, but the vast majority of folk couldn't give a stuff about the paralympics. It's never been extensively covered, and I think there is a reason for that. C4 will get some decent ratings and kudos, but I would expect the usual daytime favourites on 1 and 3 to outrate the paralympics, and it won't even be a contest in the evenings as the usual big hitters put bums on seats. Will The Sun be leading on paralympics stories every day, and The Times doing souvenir covers, whilst the nation talks of little else for a fortnight? Hm, can't see it.

This time round I think the Paralympics are going to be quite big in the UK and should rate very well indeed for C4. The opening ceremony will probably do record peak numbers for Channel 4. Very hard to make even a rough prediction on numbers this far out though without knowing what the media publicity will be like. Depending on how much the newspapers and BBC/ITV news are reporting on it in the run-up. There will be a Paralympics torch relay around the country (I think there are 4 torches on separate routes) and they will have the Paralympics logo hanging from Tower Bridge in London so that should provide some opportunities for advertisement/news in the run-up.

As for tonight, well it was another great night with a nice variety of sports on BBC1 and some big names in action. Should hopefully see a peak somewhere around 15m +

My first Olympics memory was from he 84 Olympics, was there coverage on 1 channel or both for those. I also recall the original V mini series was shown on ITV around this time, but was it actually during the Olympics or shortly after.

Looking at tomorrow's papers, I see one of the key Olympic headlines bullet-pointed on the front of the Sunday Express (yes, I know...) is "Exclusive: Victoria Pendleton "desperate" to do Strictly"

Would be a coup if there is time to sign her up.

Keep wishing Robbie and it may just happen.

Strictly would be well up there in second place in the list of things I'd like Vicky P to "do"...



Anyway, turning to the Closing Ceremony, I see it is generally being billed as a 2hr 45min or 3 hour show in the preview pieces on the web, culminating in fireworks before midnight as the flame is extinguished. Yet BBC1 is airing it in a 9-11.30pm slot. Will they update their schedule tomorrow, or just air the billed "11.30 news" at whatever time the thing finishes, even if after midnight?

I guess they might find it unacceptable to bill the main evening news at midnight (and on a school night too), but if the main event "overruns", then that would be ok?

It really is an unknown quantity - it's difficult to know at what point it would be considered a success too - could be 8m, could be 4m, could be 2m. Could also as most worthy things for C4 seem to do completely fail to register, especially as unlike the Olympics BBC1 and ITV1 won't shut up shop.

Also by the end of August will viewers be desperate to relive that Olympic spirit through the paralympics - or will Olympic fatigue be well and truly set in.

I bet Sports Personality Of The Year will see much higher figures than the past few years with so many competitors vying for the main award. The Olympics has produced a number of UK stars.

It worries me that people tonight are suggesting there's even a contest. It would be such a travesty if Wiggins doesn't win it by a country mile that I would seriously consider emigrating in protest.

Sure, Mo's a top bloke and has a sensational story. But he can win running races over longish distances. We've done that before, but nobody from these isles has won the Tour de France - and then got a gold medal at the Olympics a week later.

Ennis is lovely too, and the face of the Games. But she got one gold, and decided not to bother entering the 110m hurdles as she was happy with her one medal. Hardly SPOTY-winning form this year.

I know what you mean. The Tour de France win should push Wiggins over the top but it depends who gets the headlines and recognition between now and December.

I have a horrible feeling, if the BBC put his name forward as a contender, that Tom Daley will win it.

Err.... what an odd comment. 28 gold medals & you think Tom Daley with a bronze will make a short-list. Why??

The teenage girls love him, if he gets anywhere near a public selection then he will do very well.

Celebrity. Goodness knows this thread talks enough about it.

Tom Daley has The X Factor in terms of press acknowledgement and newspaper front pages. I read that the BBC News lead with his bronze medal tonight even though three gold medals had been won by Team GB. It wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if the BBC put him forward.

just teenage girls? I know quite a few "older ladies" who were very excited about his diving, they should quite frankly all be ashamed of themselves.

now wheres my Shona McGarty album?

Nah - you are being ridiculous. Sports Personality shortlist is about achievement always has been. Why is it such an issue that Tom has a high profile? He has been known to the nation for 4 years & folks have seen him grow up & cope with family issues/fame. There is a emotional element to his medal that the media will follow. It simply humanising the games which I think has been done extremely well by the media over the last couple of weeks.

I think the emotional element may carry over to the Sports Personality nominations but we'll see.

I guess things will settle down into a normal pattern relatively quickly. The soaps are used to recovering several million viewers in the autumn anyway, so by September I don't think there'll be any lingering effects at ITV. I suppose the new season on BBC Three might get a boost from the omnipresence of the promotion (Zai Bennett certainly seems to be hoping so), and the same thing might go for the BBC One dramas they've been trailing - but then viewers would also quickly desert those programmes if they turn out to be no good.

Otherwise, HD migration has probably been spiked, as it has been by major football tournaments in the past. And I'd like to think the success of the games will make major channels a bit more receptive to screwing up their usual schedules every now and again to get behind a big event - but alas I don't think we'll see that tested again anytime soon. Plus, of course, the BBC have been able to really puff up their 'national broadcaster' credentials quite effectively - that effect isn't immediately tangible, but you certainly see the cumulative effect of it whenever BBC and ITV go head-to-head.

I also mentioned a few days ago that we'll have to remember to factor in the Olympics to discussions of overall BBC shares for the next year. The impact has been so large I suspect it'll be a noticeable bump even for the annual 2012 figures - so we'll have to factor in a larger than usual decline for them in 2013.


I think the Eddie Butler-narrated review is the same thing as 'A Golden Games', which is why its only 10:35. To be honest, the general review is a much better fit for the pre-Closing Ceremony slot, so can see why they've put it there. They'd also have a lot of dead time to fill otherwise after the conclusion of the sport.

An hour-long One Show (or One Show type BBC Sport production) might have worked at 7pm - from the Olympic Park, or Team GB House, or wherever - collecting as many medallists together as they could muster with a bit of an 'after-show party' feel. Mind you, that could easily wind up falling pretty flat and feeling a bit aimless.

On the whole, though, I agree. I really don't want to go back to that normal schedule.

It would depend really on how oftenn promos for new shows were shown during the Olympics. Probably not often?

The point you make can easily be applied to Australian TV, if not more so. It is the start of the new season, and still winter. The past 2 weeks Seven has been largely airing filler and burning off Once Uppon a Time, so viewing figures have been lower, whereas Channel Nine have had excellent exposure for their new shows.

Tomorrow the return after 3/4 years of Big Brother, followed by Underbelly. Anger Management follows Big Brother on Tuesday and on Sunday Kerry Packer's War starts, all 4 of which I would expect to start off at least initially high.

Channel Seven is stripping the end of the Amazing Race this week, finishing Once Upon a Time and airing filler on Thursday, presumably waiting for The X Factor to return next week (probably stripped Monday- Wednesday for auditions). The rest of the slate appears to be week, GCB which was axed in the US, and Smash which has already been on digital. Brynn Ecclestyne or whatever shes called is unlikely to do any better than Binge did for TEN, and Beauty and the Geek is hardly a ratings smash.. Add to this the Prime Time repeats of Kath and Kim, the only positive thing I can see for Seven is the possible second season of Revenge which is being advertised. I can see X Factor going the way of AGT, I am already sick to death of the adverts, and if this happens NINE should have a very positive few months.

Ten on the other hand is less hard to predict, Everybody Dance Now and I will survive are the two big new reality shows along with Don't Tell the Bride. None of them interest me, but all have the potential to rate around 1m. The Shire may get a boost post Olympics but a second series is probably unlikely, but the new 70s set drama (must be the in thing at the moment) Puberty Blues is likely to do at least Offspring numbers, maybe more.

But all in all the main battle will be Big Brother vs The X Factor, whereas in the UK the difference last year on a Saturday night was 10:1 in favour of the X Factor this is likely to be the case in Australia. Big Brother is supposed to be family friendly, and no bogans allowed and no late show either. There is certainly a buzz about it, and it does have a weeks head start on the X Factor, if the casting is right and the secrets concept works then it is likely to win, if the first week is poor however, the X Factor is likely to do well. Nine have a chance to beat Seven here (next week is a dead cert) but long term only tme will tell