Can't deny there's some truth in that - the later scheduling has helped X Factor considerably this year. This makes me wonder whether the BBC will be more aggressive next year, but it won't help either show if they are.

Nevertheless that 13.5m didn't come from nowhere, and you can hardly suggest that it was simply because it was on later.

Anyway, isn't SCD well up on last year? So I don't see the problem.

Ooh, get Brucie! He has a point though because Strictly has beaten TXF every single time there's been a head-to-head this series IIRC. (During the time the two shows were both on air I mean)

That said, I think last night TXF was always going to have the edge what with it being the final. Strictly's time to shine will come next weekend.

Whilst SCD's ratings are still very good it isn't simply scheduling that has but it behind X - Factor. This run of Strictly has been farcical. Whether that is due to complacency, sloppy production, or both, who knows.

Bruce has a point, but SCD has been on at about 6pm for the last 3 years, it's just that this year XF has had a huge boost in popularity.

We'll see which show is more popular next week when Strictly airs at 6.40pm and 9pm (the slot for the results is better than XF's 9.45pm).

Come to think of it, that's another thing that Bruce has seen fit to ignore, SCD has a nice Sunday 8.15pm slot for its results, whereas XF has been on mostly after 10pm on Saturday for theirs, as regularly ended more than 5 minutes early (which SCD got a taste of last night ).

SCD deserved to do badly last night as others have said because of the blatant fixing that went on, and allowing viewers to sit through over half an hour of filler without telling them that nobody was leaving. It just wreaks of poor planning and the producers desperately trying to whip up some controversy.

Of course it has, but Emmerdale used to beat EastEnders whenever it had a head start - means nothing. (Granted, it happens less these days but just look at the state of Emmerdale).

And there have only been a few clashes this year (makes a pleasant change) and on one occasion XF was sneaking ahead before Strictly had even finished - but really it's quite difficult to judge based on a couple of atypical clashes.

Didn't Strictly used to start before 6pm in previous series? And Brucie didn't seem bothered then, when it was *shock, horror* beating The X Factor.

This series seems to have left a bad taste in everyone's mouth. I can't count the number of "outraged" and "furious" threads I've seen on the Strictly forum. Last night's farce seems to be the most pathetic of all though.

Australian Weekend Ratings Update

Friday

ABC
20:00 Kylie Kwong 548,000

Seven
18:00 Seven News 1,260,000
18:30 Today Tonight 1,130,000
19:30 Better Homes and Gardens Summer 1,130,000

Ten
18:30 Neighbours (Season Finale) 695,000

Saturday

ABC
19:00 ABC News 938,000
19:30 Mountains with Griff Rhys Jones 905,000

Seven
18:00 Seven News 1,190,000
20:30 Movie: The Santa Clause 921,000

Nine
18:00 Nine News Saturday 994,000
18:30 Australia's Funniest Home Video Show Summer Series 878,000
20:30 McLeod's Daughters 585,000

Oztam

The x factor results have been up against, Outnumbered/the news.Strictlys results are up against top gear and sometimes heartbeat.Strictly last night started 4 mins late and finished 10 mins early.

What fixAccording to the scd forum last night the producers only realised what had happened after the judges votes were combined.The phone lines were opened after the first dance and it only became an tie after both dances were completed.

I agree, SCD doesn't seem to be going well this year, compared to XF, which has had (imo) its best ever series.

It's beginning to show in the ratings, too as Strictly hasn't hit 10m since John Sargeant left, and has also fallen behind the equivalent point last year in the last few weeks, as didn't it get nigh-on 11m for its semi final last year, at 6.10pm?

7.3m is dreadful for its filler show, though, as even if only 4m watched the last 10 mins, it would still have barely broked 8m for the actual show, which, for a semi-final, at 8.55pm, in a prime slot in-between XF final shows, is poor.

Good showing for the IT Crowd, in comparison with the rest of this series. And a good episode to get good ratings because it must have been one of the funniest yet, it will hopefully keep people watching!

Shouldn't the producers have had the foresight to recognise that with a dance-off with only 3 couples that there was the potential for this disastrous outcome.

You leave it to the viewing public at this late stage, as they do in the X Factor.

Or was it just a way of ending up with 3 couples in the final anyway after the Sergeant debacle ? Regardless last nights show was one big irrelevance.

Yes, and XF's results have started late and ended very early for most of the series. Also, in Strictly's slot, there is a far higher potential audience than in XF's much later slot (often post-10pm), explaining XF's higher audience share.


They should have closed the lines there and then, rather than allowing viewers to vote during Merlin and Casualty, and they should have told viewers that nobody was leaving at the start of the results show.

And, tbh, do you really think it wasn't planned to have a tie at the top of the leaderboard?

EDIT: I agree with the above poster about leaving it to the public, too.

I know the conspiracy theorists will probably take the day, but from watching it back on iPlayer, it honestly looks like they were just scrambling for something to do. I don't think they exactly wanted this "farce" - they know exactly what the papers would do to them - but as chance would have it, they got speared by a bit of a ticking mathematical timebomb last night.

I suggest, that although they pulled the phone vote at the beginning, they decided in an attempt to avoid total chaos, to run the show as normal until they had made the best (or the least bad) decision on how to proceed. Probably better than someone making a rash decision as soon as the programme came back on air and pulling it altogether before the options had been thought through.

The "filler" dosen't hurt anyone - just a mixture of singing and dancing - light entertainment performances - just (shock! horror!) without anyone being voted out at the end.

----


Anyway, on last nights ratings:

The X Factor did absolutely superbly, as we all predicted. Its been looking on course for those types of figures all series, and yesterdays hype - with rumours of secret performances and everything - became a dizzying ratings winner. The Girls Aloud party naturally flourished between the two shows and from the Strictly leakage.

ITV have definately learnt something about how to schedule shows around TXF this series, though I'm not sure we'll be seeing lots more "Girls Aloud Party" type events, given that they seem a tad unreliable. They've done brilliant business in the sandwich, and quite poorly outside (on Sundays).

I'm really glad that Merlin has managed to hold its own on BBC One and looks like it'll be back for another series - hopefully without the competition of the strongest rated show on telly, next time! I don't think its going to depend on NBC's ratings because its not a co-production or anything. NBC were a bit desperate and I think the fact they snapped it up will just be a bonus for BBC. They'll have budgeted for it to carry on in itself, especially since Robin Hood seems to be drawing to a close with Series 3.

I feel sorry for Outnumbered being so buried on Saturday evening. It will have rated poorly but hardly deserves people's derision (George!) - on that basis we'd utterly dismiss Harry Hill on the basis he only got 3m up against EastEnders last Christmas Day.

It had 10m the week after John left.

I dont think I've said a word about Outnumbered. TBH I havent watched any of it so I dont know if its any good. Its going to get slaughtered in that slot, but I did see that the BBC2 repeat at 10pm was only getting 700k - not good.

[quote=sn_22;29464706]I know the conspiracy theorists will probably take the day, but from watching it back on iPlayer, it honestly looks like they were just scrambling for something to do. I don't think they exactly wanted this "farce" - they know exactly what the papers would do to them - but as chance would have it, they got speared by a bit of a ticking mathematical timebomb last night.

I suggest, that although they pulled the phone vote at the beginning, they decided in an attempt to avoid total chaos, to run the show as normal until they had made the best (or the least bad) decision on how to proceed. Probably better than someone making a rash decision as soon as the programme came back on air and pulling it altogether before the options had been thought through.

The "filler" dosen't hurt anyone - just a mixture of singing and dancing - light entertainment performances - just (shock! horror!) without anyone being voted out at the end.

----

I agree 100 percent.But there will always be conspiracy loons

A fix on a reality tv show - Never!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

9.8m (against XF's 11.9m).

Check the final figures.Or clarify your original statement.

Then everyone would have switched over.

I hope you never run a TV show.

It was an complete and utter balls up but it could happen just as easily with four or ten couples as it would with 3.If everyone scored the same scores except for one, then the bottom couple would never be able to be saved by the public.I cant believe it took until last night for the producers to finally realise this.

We'll see really how popular Strictly is next week, as they've got a near perfect schedule.

First show is up against You've Been Framed for the most part- far easier opposition than BBC1's hit 'Merlin'.

Results show is on at 9pm, perfect timeslot, against ITV1's flop 'For One Night Only'.

All advantages over the schedule for The X Factor last night, but I don't think it's got a chance of beating last night's X Factor figures. A 20% yearly rise in ratings for TXF isn't just a case of better scheduling by avoiding Strictly.

I think you might have inferred that it was headed towards "Parents of the Band" territory. And yes, I do get a little defensive of Outnumbered - I love it to bits.


Well, Strictly have clearly been learning from the masters.

Not neccesarily.

Anyway, the BBC are a PSB, and what they did was mislead viewers into thinking that one couple would be voted off. They wasted people's time, basically.

Agreed.