Originally Posted by rzt:
“I think Thursday 8.30pm sitcoms will ultimately not work, it reminds me of when BBC One were trying sitcoms at 8.30pm on Wednesdays away from any junction on other channels. The problem is that although they will have an Emmerdale lead in of c6.5m, these sitcoms will be starting half way through programmes on every other channel. The casual audience willing to flip over to ITV1 at 8.30pm half-way through watching other programmes will be low so these new sitcoms will need to have a big appeal to those Emmerdale viewers watching before-hand, which is going to be difficult. Pre-watershed sitcoms is a welcome return (even if there's probably as little as 2 next year) but I'm just not convinced they'll work in that particular slot even if they're good. I think Monday 8pm, even against EastEnders, is a better slot to try out these sitcoms because they're scheduled in between Corrie. With the way PoG's show rated and how other 'filler' programmes manage to get 4m in that slot, there's clearly a big counter audience to EE available in that slot particularly among older viewers. Pretty sure that some of these shows which get 4m on Monday at 8pm against EE would be down to about 3m on Thursday at 8.30pm against weaker opposition. So why not try a sitcom, ideally an older skewing one, in that Monday slot and see how it goes? 4m would be decent and if a stable audience is established, look at ways in moving it to a better 9pm post-Corrie slot the next series to grow its audience. For the Thursday 8.30pm slot, factual shows and half-hour game shows would suffice.”
“I think Thursday 8.30pm sitcoms will ultimately not work, it reminds me of when BBC One were trying sitcoms at 8.30pm on Wednesdays away from any junction on other channels. The problem is that although they will have an Emmerdale lead in of c6.5m, these sitcoms will be starting half way through programmes on every other channel. The casual audience willing to flip over to ITV1 at 8.30pm half-way through watching other programmes will be low so these new sitcoms will need to have a big appeal to those Emmerdale viewers watching before-hand, which is going to be difficult. Pre-watershed sitcoms is a welcome return (even if there's probably as little as 2 next year) but I'm just not convinced they'll work in that particular slot even if they're good. I think Monday 8pm, even against EastEnders, is a better slot to try out these sitcoms because they're scheduled in between Corrie. With the way PoG's show rated and how other 'filler' programmes manage to get 4m in that slot, there's clearly a big counter audience to EE available in that slot particularly among older viewers. Pretty sure that some of these shows which get 4m on Monday at 8pm against EE would be down to about 3m on Thursday at 8.30pm against weaker opposition. So why not try a sitcom, ideally an older skewing one, in that Monday slot and see how it goes? 4m would be decent and if a stable audience is established, look at ways in moving it to a better 9pm post-Corrie slot the next series to grow its audience. For the Thursday 8.30pm slot, factual shows and half-hour game shows would suffice.”
I think Thursdays at 8.30pm is a potentially good time for a pre-watershed comedy.
Some of you might be too young to remember the 80s/90s where BBC1 had sitcoms on Mondays at 8.30pm against World In Action and Thursdays at 8.30pm against This Week. 2Point4 Children turned into a huge hit when it went out on Mondays at the time. Birds Of A Feather launched on Monday in that slot in 1989 and the following year Keeping Up Appearances did the same and Goodnight Sweetheart was a success there too. It was one of the main reasons ITV put a second Corrie on Monday nights. When World In Action ended ITV put stronger competition there too and BBC1 lost those safe slots to debut new sitcoms.
ITV can make Thursday comedy work if they find the right show as Emmerdale provides a solid lead-in. BBC1 shows starting at 8pm will struggle against Emmerdale.
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