there's a delay with the officials going up this week, as I'm sorting out a probably with re-released viewing summary data

I'll be back

Reading this thread the day after the Openning Ceremony was hilarous.

The comparison between the ratings of over 20m for the Ceremony and the 500k for a phoney reality show had to be the highlight.

Ooh Red or Black back as well - remember having great fun watching those numbers tumble night after night last year Why ruin my fun and run it weekly in an X Factor sandwich? It's almost like the show is a bit crap, or something?

There's something ironic about a programme involving little to no skill returning less than a week after the...you know...that little Stratford adventure.

And Pizzatheaction will pen a song to mark the occasion!

I might not hand it over. I still think Boris should have held on to the flag last night, thus ensuring the 2020 Games are held here too.

Assuming you're referring to Big Brother, it didn't fall that low on the opening night.

I don't really know why it's so difficult for people to get their heads around that when you have a once-in-a-lifetime event averaging 80%+ of the available TV audience, everything else is hit. (including phoney and not-so phoney reality shows)

It's an entirely predictable outcome, and not that interesting. BB was cut a bit of slack that day because it held up better than its commercial competition.

I think George is sitting at home weeping into his cocoa over the ITV ratings (or rather lack of them).Cheer up George, it won't happen again until 2016.

It was always going to be more divisive to an audience than the opening ceremony because the opening ceremony was a timeless spectacle whereas if you didn't like George Michael then that bit was never going to entertain you, though it would have helped if he'd done Club Tropicana. A bit like Adam Ant on Live Aid, that. I liked the combination of Fatboy Slim, The Spice Girls and Wonderwall, it was like being back in 1998.


Well, I agree with that although of course it was on HD last year. I'm guessing they decided that they'd have to not show it on HD so many times in this run - the last three weeks for a start - that they needn't bother at all. And as you say, it adds nothing. Bennett didn't say he probably wouldn't renew it, he said he wouldn't renew it at any price, although I dunno who'd want it, The Cleveland Show hasn't done much for E4 and it's past its best now anyway.

And there was no real need to promote Gervais being in it because in The Simpsons he wrote it and was virtually playing himself, and he was at the peak of his career, whereas here he was just doing a guest voice. I would be interested in seeing ratings for the new Simpsons episodes on Sky One, by the way, I don't think they're doing much not helped by the nine month break or the fact they're on at 6pm in the middle of summer and the Olympics (Everyone in the Internet: "and they're crap").


I like the idea that, however amazing the Closing Ceremony was, thirteen milion people would decide to stay up at 11.50 on a worknight to watch the ten millionth repeat of Live at the Apalling, with a really crappy line-up too. 12,999,999 of whom would presumably have been asleep.


That's because both of them were on a weekend, whereas the opening ceremonies were during the day during the week.


Not sure the Community Shield would have got ratings that much lower on Sky, even though it was the first time on free TV since 1987. I hope nobody takes that as a sign people have gone off football because they won't - someone in the paper was despairing today at how the fans were all booing, Ashley Cole was swearing at the ref, John Terry was being John Terry, but that's what you want. They'd have been better off showing the highlights tonight rather than at eleven, because if you were too interested in the Olympics to watch the match live, you'd be even more interested in the Olympics then.

Amusing reading the respective BBC and ITV press releases this morning.

BBC gloating about securing another mammoth record-busting ratings performance. ITV heralding the X Factor Final in Manchester.

Who cares... :yawn:

Actually, I'm a bit naffed off they are hosting it on my home patch this year. I reckon GeorgeS is involved and he is doing this deliberately to wind me up...

Talking of press releases, I see Channel 4's PR people have just confirmed that Claire Balding joins them from 1st January, as expected of course.

Presumably it was either embargoed at the request of the BBC until after the Games (we'll show your paralympics promo if you keep schtum about Balding for a week), or they have just picked their moment well for the end of the games.

Either way, it does rather rain on the BBC's parade, Balding being one of the undoubted stars of the past fortnight, even if it was patently coming.

I heard he's trying to set it up for a distant family member of yours to go and win the thing...

So there will be something to actually watch on Channel 4 in the next couple of weeks......

BIB - not sure if this is relevant but Xmas Week 1996 got a 40% weekly share if that helps but not sure if that week was the best week since Xmas 1996.

Well done to Channel 4.

Balding is a top top broadcaster, quite possibly the best live sports broadcaster the UK has.

She outshone everyone else on the BBC coverage by miles and miles.

Stunning for the Closing Ceremony, just stunning. I never thought it would match the opening but it did! A fitting ending to what has been a total triumph throughout.


Agreed, although Media Guardian says her deal isn't exclusive so she'll still do BBC stuff as well, which is good news.

Closing ceremony and the men's 100m will be the first ever programmes in the month of August to make a BARB annual top 10.

A good broadcaster, though I haven't understood the "Clare love" on Twitter in the past fortnight. She is certainly competent, unruffled and does her homework, but she could do with lightening up a bit - always looks a bit stern.

But I am being picky. Remember that had Bleakley not flounced off to high profile failure hosting SCD rip offs and Boyzone tribute shows at ITV, she was promised to be "the face" of the BBC's 2012 coverage.

Thank goodness she did...

Assuming BARB remembers to include them...

Its possible,the concert element and the idea that some who were cynical at the start might have been won over by the end might have induced a significant few to record the last rights so to speak.
Fantastic figures whatever the outcome.

Ah, yes, just seen that. To be the face of their horse racing coverage, which makes sense given she does such a good job of it and given her family is very closely associated with the sport.

I wonder what this means for C4's current racing presenters Emma Spencer and Mike Cattermole, who spend most of their excruciatingly cringey links flirting outrageously !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7kNlL4IMaU

That's probably it then, unless there was anything good on in Xmas 1997!

I know it's difficult to look ahead, but I do think the Paralympics is going to do better than a lot of people anticipate.

Today I don't see the "YES, IT'S ALL OVER!" feeling, I get the "We want it to continue" feeling from a lot of people, which I think will hang over until the Paralympics.

I know some will disagree, but we're still two and a bit weeks away. Did we think the Jubilee and Olympics would do as well as this two and a bit weeks before they started? Nope.

I do hope we see 3/4m a night for the Paralympics, with the Opening Ceremony drawing big for Channel 4. I hope it does.

well that's what you'd think, but looking at the figures in front of me.......

Mike, while you're here, can we have the figures for BBC Olympics 1 through to 24 put up?

Pretty please....

Well EE, One Foot in the Grave, Men Behaving Badly, Casualty, They Think It's All Over on BBC1 over Xmas Week 1997. Unfortunately, that got a 36.5% share.

right it looks like either BBC haven't hived off the 100m final for a separate programme in the officials

or.........

something is missing from programme logs and will be rectified with the 6 week amendment cycle

anyhoo data is now live on BARB website

enjoy!

edit: hang on a sec

Mike,

looks like we need a "Others without BBC3" section!!!

K