A run-down of all the consolidated final peaks for both BGT and XF:

BGT:

2007: 12.81m (47.7%) and 12.37m (52.8%)
2008: 14.44m (59.2%) and 14.83m (59.2%)
2009: 18.76m (72.8%) and 19.97m (71.6%)
2010: 15.87m (59.8%) (inc HD)
2011: 14.08m (50.6%) and 14.79m (55%) (inc HD)
2012: 14.91m (52.1%) (inc HD)

X Factor:

2004 & 2005: N/A
2006: 11.17m (48.2%) and 12.82m (56.5%)
2007: 12.79m (51.9%) and 13.15m (55.3%)
2008: 15.02m (53.4%) and 15.00m (60.6%)
2009: 15.14m (53.9%) and 19.28m (60.5%)
2010: 16.27m (53.9%) and 19.77m (59.1%)
2011: 12.84m (42.4%) and 15.71m (48.1%)

XF is down on the last five years but up on the previous four years am I right?

I love IAC - always have. I've not watched the X Factor since Joe McElderry won the show! (I voted for him too, bless him!)

I think the winning factor with IAC is that it's on daily for two solid weeks (or is it three?), and then it's over and done with. It's very addictive....I always swear that I'll just watch the odd episode.....but I end up watching them ALL (live or recorded)!

With the X - Factor....it's so long and drawn out for weeks on end, with the same old same old comments! How many more 'journeys' do we have to hear about??

Simon Cowell must be a bit worried by now! Being beaten by Brucie and Ant & Dec!

I think he has been since May 2010.


Well ITV have it for as long as they want it as it's their show. I suspect in reality they have it as long as they have Ant and Dec, and then probably one failed relaunch with new hosts afterwards. However I don't think anybody sees Ant and Dec leaving ITV any time soon.

Ant & Dec are on BGT which he judges so I don't think he'd be that worried about IAC. He would be worried about Brucie though.

Been done before.

Christmas Day at 9pm, perchance?




I think you may have put your finger on it in your response...

You reckon it will get 6.8m tonight too?

Massive timeshift for last Sunday's Homeland on C4, 1.8m > 2.93m.

Not ideal for a channel relying on ad revenue.

Both of Sky Living's new US dramas, Elementary and Chicago Fire up on their premiere episodes.

If, though, EE is truly in crisis - and I concede that the BSI might be nervously monitoring the numbers in the next 3 weeks till Xmas scheduling D-Day - I wonder if the best option may be to ensure it moves away from DA and leave The Royles and Mrs Brown as the main DA competition, bringing a bit of fun and joy to compete with Downton's unremittingly cold misery?

If BBC1 go with:

8.00 EE
9.00 Royles
10.00 Mrs Brown's Boys

...with possibly the two MBBs merged into a one hour special, then are ITV going to run their soaps at 6pm and 7pm with either a one hour gap to DA (a Family Fortunes lead-in - not blooming likely!) or DA having to start at 8pm with the network basically shutting up shop at 10pm and ensuring Brown's goes to unprecedented heights and possibly even wins the day in the overnights as the one show without any meaningful competition?

I suspect ITV will try to use the same tactic as last year with Em at 6 and CS at 8, trying to force EE into that one hour slot. But what if the BBC, like last year, tell them to get stuffed and run with EE at 8pm come what may?

Or might we get a two part CS at 7.30 and 10pm?

The scheduling build up, and idents anticipation, is always more fascinating than the programmes themselves!

It should still be more than 6.8m.

I'm going to get slated for saying this but EE is looking very much like the weakest link in the BBC Christmas Day schedule, DA will air against EE I believe as ITV schedulers see it as a soap on the proverbial rope.

MBB will be massive, i predict at least ten million.

Thanks a lot for this - where did you find the info?

The Chase had some really rotten ratings in its first year and has definitely been a slow burner for them, as all the biggest hits tend to be. Pointless had time to build up on BBC2 and by the time it transferred to BBC1 it was already a strong hit.

Easy to forget just ho high some of those peaks have been - BGT 2009 was so close to 20 million! I don't think I've seen the consolidated peaks before and they make interesting reading. I gather the 2011 and 2012 ones don't include +1 - for BGT 2012 that would add another 0.7-0.8m looking at the overnights, so putting it in line with 2010.

Looking ahead I suspect this year's X Factor Final will peak at around 12m and average about 10m - there's a chance the average might miss 10m in the overnights which would be a terrible result, but I wouldn't be all that surprised if it happened.

BGT on the other hand had a good year and I think positive momentum from that should get them a good launch number next year. After that it'll depend on the quality of the series but after this year I see no reason why it can't do very well. It has an advantage over the other shows in that it is unique as there are no other variety shows, and it has a pretty short run, so has some of the benefits that I'm A Celebrity also enjoys.

Speaking of which, that's a pretty encouraging start for IAC. ITV have been wise in not overexposing it and it is reaping the rewards now. I guess it'll be around 9-9.5m tonight and I think it'll have another good year. Like Strictly it has experienced a new lease of life in the last couple of years after a bit of a slowdown, and it is a huge deal for ITV.

the xfactor getting 8 million against strong shows on bbc1 must be an achivement.
itv should show live who wants to be a millionare or the chase on sat night before xfactor

I think should Corrie go head to head with EE it would have a decent chance if it's in a three-hour block with Downton Abbey, rather than the only thing that night people would watch on ITV.

Splitting Corrie in two is possible (I'd go 8/10.30, with Downton at 8.30), but unlikely IMO as they do seem to go for a one-hour special - two 30 minute episodes is just the norm for Corrie.

EE can do what it likes quite frankly - IMO at the very least it should be cut back to 30 minutes and it is always far too dominant on the BBC over Christmas with a ridiculous number of extra episodes. BBC1 would still almost certainly win Christmas night without it, so why bother with the misery.

David Cameron most likely knows certain names are on the internet. Schofield saying I found these names on the internet is no great journalistic moment. DC didn't even look at the list. So if Schofield found these names on the interner the list could have included Lord McAlpine who has proved to be innocent. Schofield: Google Private Eye did nothing except have a cheap tacky stunt on the programme. This Morning made the news but instead of being what they thought would be a great moment, it was widely slammed in the press by pretty much every single journalist.

Schofield isn't going to resign nor should he but he and the programme should apologise for that stunt.


I agree with Robbie. If it happened on The One Show (highly unlikely as the presenters together don't equal one Philip Schofield), the BBC wouldn't hear the end of it. Clarkson's comments were stupid, but the problem I had was that they went unchallenged by two useless presenters who just pulled funny faces at the cameras and got lost in the moment.

EastEnders is doing very poorly at the moment and I can't see it suddenly pulling a big rating out of the bag on Christmas Day based on current form. MBB could get 10m but I see it as a show that'll face the second hour of Downton at 10pm so that would keep its ratings down.

The X Factor seems to have stabilised around the 8m figure. I don't think it's going to fall any lower this series; the question is if everyone will return for the tenth series - if so, in the great scheme of things, it's still in decent shape despite the massive fall from 2010. However, if they don't return...

Dancing On Ice didn't have a bad series this year; it's competition just increased beyond recognition. I think they should do a Strictly with it and take advantage of the weaker Saturday nights post Christmas by splitting it across the schedule. They could easily throw it out in the 7pm hour then throw a two hour drama or even some film premieres/repeats at 8pm opposite Call The Midwife. Mr. Selfridge could take the Monday night slot.

It depends what approach they want to take - protect the show or protect the night. IMO both Dancing On Ice and The X Factor have reached the stage where they need to be protected more than the night itself.

Could the unthinkable happen and Eastenders get cancelled some time in the future? I don't think it will as it has been such a feature on BBC One for so long, but alarm bells must be ringing.

whilst I agree its a little concerning that EE is failing to climb in viewers as it should be doing, I think talk of the axe is going a little far.

Much like X-Factor its ratings are not yet in the toilet, whilst unlike X-Factor is has less egos to feed, no one will quit EastEnders because the ratings have dipped.

What is more likely if the slump persists through the winter is there could be a heap of sackings of unpopular characters and maybe the BBC could cut EE to three episodes a week to improve the scripts.

whilst I understand calls for a cast over haul, the episode cutting is a false economy, if its cut to 3 episode it will get less budget, which would not be helpful to the show.

Meanwhile cutting it back to 3 episodes a week, does not mean that a poor producer and poor writers, will keep the right characters, or write better episodes.

If anything cutting budget will mean more cheaper younger actors, which is something EastEnders currently suffers from, those breaks that the longer running characters are taking are most likely down to budget cuts.

Any new producer is a gamble, and I suspect any new producer will be given less to work with.

'Unremittingly cold misery'?! I'm guessing you've never watched a second of Downton then...

No, because it has constantly been in BBC One's top 10 for the past twenty years.

I have said this for years. Why should EastEnders be on Christmas Day. The BBC now have a huge selection of decent, returning comedies and dramas that have been big during the last 12 months.

- Miranda
- Mrs Browns Boys
- Call the Midwife
-Outnumbered
-Not Going Out

-Whilst plenty of films, etc.

I am not against EastEnders being on during the christmas period. The ratings will probably be satisfactory and people still enjoy it. But why not have their big episode on Boxing Day, Christmas Eve or New years day.

Likewise with Corrie. There is no real reason for that to be on Xmas Day. Usually there is a slightly more merrier feel to the episodes than EastEnders. ITV now have Downtown Abbey as their headline programme.

Not axed but a daytime slot would be on the cards if its ratings continue the slide, whoever is the new head of drama/continuing serials (if one has been appointed) must be concerned, the show needs a radical rethink asap.

When Kirkwood was appointed there were a few unhappy voices worried about the direction he would take the show in, looking at the old archive threads 2 1/2 years on it seems they were right.

Ratings do concern the BBC but for non commercial reasons.

that 2 hour Downton Abbey, could blow EastEnders out of the water this Christmas. The BBC will struggle to put together a competitive schedule.