The Ratings Thread (Part 3 (3))

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Fudd

23-01-2009

Originally Posted by C14E:
“Fingers crossed for Skins to get good ratings tomorrow. It's a huge change for a show to do what they have and I hope it pays off for them. I thought it worked quite well.

Given up any hope for BB ratings. The final ratings are going to be really really bad.”

The 10pm slot did ok with 3m viewers - well, ok considering what ratings have been like in the 9pm slot over the last week.

Originally Posted by RobbieSykes123:
“I said last week that Stockwell sounded like the usual boring leftie tripe aimed at Guardian readers and best played out in a ghetto slot on pinko Channel 4.

It was clearly never going to appeal to a mainstream audience, but I thought with all the press previews and the fact that it was on ITV1 at 9pm would gain it some default viewers anyway, it would get something beginning with a 2.

To pull only 1.4m is disastrous - surely ITV's worst peak time audience since the 1950s when a much smaller proportion of the country actually had tellies.”

I agree. When you consider Rock Rivals in 2008 had higher ratings than that on Wednesday at 9 it's a sad indictment. Shame really - it'd probably have gained more viewers if it'd been aired tonight against Hustle, as it offered something different. As it was, the two 'main' channels were both airing documentaries at 9 - and we always know who people flock to when there's a clash.

Originally Posted by RobbieSykes123:
“Financial reasons probably - ITV is on its arse and on the verge of going bust?

Cutbacks to Corrie or Emmerdale next?”

Doubt it. If anything they'll extend the number of episodes. Which is why I'm glad they're starting to move their schedule now and cutting back on The Bill. Hopefully they'll start cutting back on the soaps as well, though I doubt it. Cost/Advertising Revenue Ratio Corrie and Emmerdale must be the biggest (regular) hitters (ignoring X Factor/Britain's Got Talent that only run a for a certain period in a year).

Jonwo

23-01-2009

Originally Posted by C14E:
“I don't know exactly, but I think it was in that range as it fell a bit from its first year. Hopefully it will get that for tonights show, it might lose some next week (as it is, in some ways, a new show) but I think E4 would give it another year if it sticks above 550,000.

The other thing that I got from tonights Skins... E4 would really really really really like people to watch 90210 on Monday!”

I don't blame them as 90210 is a show that is compatible with the E4 audience plus people who watched the original so using Skins to promote it which will rate highly so that hopefully a chunk of that audience will watch 90210.

mlt11

23-01-2009

The Media Guardian article about The Bill says (see link below):

"It is understood that the budget for each episode will be increased but that ITV will save money on its deal with The Bill's producer, Talkback Thames, after cutting the number of episodes each year by 50%.

ITV has been seeking to make cost savings in recent months as the economic downturn bites and advertising revenues tumble."

Michael Grade has said many times that ITV's total programme budget is frozen. This suggests that if more is going to be spent on each episode of The Bill in future, then the cost of the programming which replaces the 2nd episode of The Bill would need to be less than is currrently being spent (assuming everything else remains constant).

So the question arises - just what will be the replacement programming for the 2nd episode - will it have to be cheap filler material? And if it is, that suggests more ratings declines.

ITV is in real danger now of a downward spiral. So much money has been spent on the FA contract (which is not drawing great ratings anyway) that savings are having to be made elsewhere. This means cheap fillers which means ratings falls which means more revenue is lost and the spiral continues.

And this is all before the effects of the Regional News cuts starting next month. ITV is of course right to do this as Regional News is losing them a huge amount of money. But has anyone yet considered the knock-on effect on ratings of later programmes - ie if people switch to BBC Regional News they will be watching BBC1 at 6.57pm and not ITV1 which could impact ratings from 7pm onwards.

I think these are worrying times for ITV.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009...to-once-a-week

craig-maclellan

23-01-2009

I think moving the Bill is madness!!!

I know they've probably thought of this, but what are they going to put on a 8pm? More Trinny and Susanah? Mor WWTBAM? I just don't think quizzes work mid-week anymore - people are after drama instead, as can be seen by people currently tuning into The Bill, Holby City and Waterloo Road at this time.

People keep taking about a 'Soap Block' in the 8pm hour, but there's two problems with this. First of all, it cuts ITV primetime down to two hours (8pm-10pm), rather than the three hours which they have just now.

Also, I can't see BBC One 'agreeing' to move Eastender to 7:30 Monday and Friday to accomodate this. Fine, they'd be strong 7pm-8pm. But then everyone is going to flock to ITV at 8pm for the soaps. What are BBC One supposed to put up against them in that slot for five nights a week? It'll also affect the lead-ins for the 9pm shows.

People say that it's going to solve the footie problem. But all they had to do was switch the Wednesday episode to Tuesday - simple.

Unless they've got some strong, original formats ready for the 8pm hour (or 7pm hour if the 'Soap Block' prediction comes true) I think it's a decision they'll come to regret.

Fudd

23-01-2009

Originally Posted by craig-maclellan:
“I think moving the Bill is madness!!!

I know they've probably thought of this, but what are they going to put on a 8pm? More Trinny and Susanah? Mor WWTBAM? I just don't think quizzes work mid-week anymore - people are after drama instead, as can be seen by people currently tuning into The Bill, Holby City and Waterloo Road at this time.”

Maybe ITV will try out another drama now they've cut back on The Bill? Can't see it myself - hope they do though.

Originally Posted by craig-maclellan:
“People keep taking about a 'Soap Block' in the 8pm hour, but there's two problems with this. First of all, it cuts ITV primetime down to two hours (8pm-10pm), rather than the three hours which they have just now.”

Don't get this.

The soaps bring in ITV1's biggest ratings, so I don't think they'll care if it 'cuts down' prime time. probably the more 'cut down' prime time is with the use of the soaps the better: easy money.

Originally Posted by craig-maclellan:
“Also, I can't see BBC One 'agreeing' to move Eastender to 7:30 Monday and Friday to accomodate this. Fine, they'd be strong 7pm-8pm. But then everyone is going to flock to ITV at 8pm for the soaps. What are BBC One supposed to put up against them in that slot for five nights a week? It'll also affect the lead-ins for the 9pm shows.”

Good point. I have heard previously that BBC1 wanted to introduce more 8pm drama, but were hindered by EastEnders being there on Monday's and Friday's. This could've been under a different Director General, though, so times may have changed.

One option is to go ahead and schedule Coronation Street at 8pm and try and force BBC1's hand over the matter. But this would be going against the 'gentleman's agreement' and would probably get short shrift from BBC1, the fans of both shows and OFCOM'd probably get involved knowing the current climate. ITV1 may baulk at the idea anyway, considering the last time the shows clashed EastEnders won.

Originally Posted by craig-maclellan:
“People say that it's going to solve the footie problem. But all they had to do was switch the Wednesday episode to Tuesday - simple.”

And what should've been done with Coronation Street? A Sunday move maybe, but that would've crammed five episodes over four days, which seems a bit cramped.

ITV1'll always put Emmerdale and Coronation Street first because they bring in ratings more reguarly than The Bill

Originally Posted by craig-maclellan:
“Unless they've got some strong, original formats ready for the 8pm hour (or 7pm hour if the 'Soap Block' prediction comes true) I think it's a decision they'll come to regret.”

If the 'Soap Block' prediction comes true, then 7pm could be filled up with light entertainment (Krypton Factor, Millionnaire, maybe a chat show, Golden Balls, a few documentaries) and do ok. ITV won't mind as long as they secure around 4m for the hour, and then the important part of the night begins.

Agree regarding the 8pm hour though. The light stuff won't do the trick then, as Trinny and Susannah v Holby consistently shows on Tuesday.

On the upside ITV1 have sorted out another 9pm slot on weekday's. Monday's and Friday's have already been sorted with the 'Thriller' theme and murder mysteries (which'll probably change to comedies when Benidorm returns

). The Bill has sorted out another, Wednesday'll be sacrificed as a filler day because of the chop and change football (will BBC1 take advantage and place EastEnders there I wonder?) which'll leave just one shaky day remaining - maybe that's where Law and Order/Taggart and the ilk could go?

sn_22

23-01-2009

I actually think ITV have made a very good move with The Bill. It frees up the pre-watershed slots for soap movements and also adds a consistent 4-5 million viewer 9pm offering every week of the year - not something to be sniffed at, as testified by the dire 9pm ratings this week.

I do agree with the reservations about whether the 8pm soap block will ever come about. I think BBC One would be utterly mad to agree to it. They'd lose viewers between 8 and 9 every day, have no good slot left for Holby, have a disadvantage in terms of lead-in for the all important 9pm slot, and have no space left to air pre-watershed programmes against anything other than soap.

Neither is there a way in which ITV could really force them into the move. BBC One would have all the trump cards if things got nasty - EastEnders on Monday and Friday (and potentially a couple of hour long "specials" on Tuesdays and Thursdays) would make toast of an 8pm Emmerdale. I don't think it would make sense for ITV to pick a fight with BBC One in such a manner.

I think the most likely scenario is Corrie moving to 8pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with Holby most probably shifting to Wednesdays, maybe along with Tuesdays EastEnders should ITV persevere with the hour long Emmerdale.

Steve Williams

23-01-2009

Originally Posted by Agent F:
“It's not the type of programme that ITV should be seeking to exploit to gain an extra few million viewers. It was tackling adifficult subject, and had far more merit than the Little Chef show or a documentary about some elephants.”

Yes, none of these ITV docu-dramas have ever done very well - things like Hillsborough and the Stephen Lawrence drama both rated quite poorly, and those two were both two hours long. But by doing them they give ITV credibility and stature. It's not the ratings ITV will be so bothered about here, it'll be the newspaper reviews and the awards.

They only do them once a year in any case. But it's wrong to say it was badly scheduled, in many ways it was a statement that ITV still do serious drama. And it was advertised - it was all over the Radio Times, and the broadsheets.

Also, the other shows had nothing to do with it. How can you compare a docu-drama about a man being shot in the head thanks to police ineptitide with a programme about elephants? It's like comparing Crimewatch with Trinny and Susannah.

Steve Williams

23-01-2009

Originally Posted by Agent F:
“I don't think anybody here is a big fan of the current schedule. In fact most people believe ITV should be cutting back on the soaps that dominate ITV1 pre-watershed.”

Of course, as it stands with all the Corrie, Emmerdale, Bill and Tonight, the only pre-watershed slot available in midweek for anything else is Tuesdays at 8pm, and not only is that a pretty crap slot, opposite Holby, but it also gets replaced by football every other week.

When The Bill moved from half-hour to hour-long episodes in 1998, for the first few months it was only on once a week, Tuesdays at 8pm. It wasn't for a while that it went back up to two a week. And, of course, this is exactly how it was for the entire eighties, when the show was in its pomp.

jonnyblack

23-01-2009

0.83 million for skins
2.95 for CBB (I think they're correct)

cylon6

23-01-2009

Ratings from Broadcast a good night for BBC2 & Channel 4, food is doing well for them:

Quote:
“
http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/news/2...th_665000.html

MasterChef mops up viewers
Over on the terrestrial channels BBC2's cookery show MasterChef went from strength to strength at 8pm last night, picking up the show's highest audience of the current run with 3.7m (15.4%) tuning in for an hour.

Channel 4 gave the show some food for thought as the Dispatches programme, The True Cost of Cheap Food, part of The Great British Food Fight season, appealed to 3.1m (12.8%) and picked up 303,000 on C4+1. Five's Cowboy Builders had 1.5m (6.3%).

MasterChef wasn't too far behind BBC1 at 8.30pm as The Green Green Grass managed just 3.9m (15.8%) for half an hour. Earlier at 8pm Life of Riley had 4.1m (17.6%).

ITV1's The Bill was once again top of the pile at 8pm with 4.9m (20.7%).”

Only_You

23-01-2009

Green Green Grass only 100,00 down from last week, and 200,00 down from the first episode of the series! I still think GGG should be on at 8:00 and LOR at 8:30

Cent

23-01-2009

SKINS

E4 - 665,000 (4.1%)

Peaked - 731,000 (4.23%) at 10.15pm

Slot Average (2008) - 182,000 (1.12%)

+1 - 169,000

Total Audience - 833,000 (5.1%)

53.2% of audience were in 16-34 demographic

38.8% of the audience were in the upmakret ABC1 demographic

Second multi-channel show in its slot behind EastEnders - 768,000 (4.3%)

Last year E4 - 884,000 (5.87%)

Last year +1 - 160,000

Last year Total Audience - 1m (6.9%)

C14E

23-01-2009

Broadcast described the Skins ratings as underwhelming, but I'd have to disagree. The last series had lost viewers between launch and the final as well. So taking that into account and the fact that the cast has been entirely revamped, a 17% decline isn't too bad. So long as it stays above 600,000 I think it'll be fine.

square_eyes

23-01-2009

9pm - Total Emergency 3.4m (14%)

jojo2008

23-01-2009

I can't see ITV moving Corrie and Emmerdale. I was under the impression ITV wanted the 7-8pm block for the soaps.
I always thought they'd put Emmerdale's hour long ep against EastEnders on a Tuesday hoping that BBC would move EastEnders to 8pm, then once they'd done that, move Emmerdales hour long eps to Thursdays until BBC gave in again. That would then give ITV the 7.30 slot on Tuesdays and Thursdays for Corries second eps on Monday and Friday.

GeorgeS

23-01-2009

Originally Posted by RobbieSykes123:
“I said last week that Stockwell sounded like the usual boring leftie tripe aimed at Guardian readers and best played out in a ghetto slot on pinko Channel 4.”

Its not only Guardian readers that have a problem with the police shooting people by mistake. Actually the programme didnt lay the blame anywhere, but let the viewer decide by showing the sequence of events clearly.

Criticise its ratings by all means, but get your facts straight about the content.

cylon6

23-01-2009

The fact that the police shot an innocent man and yet nobody involved has been convicted is a terrible moment for British justice.

Originally Posted by GeorgeS:
“Its not only Guardian readers that have a problem with the police shooting people by mistake. Actually the programme didnt lay the blame anywhere, but let the viewer decide by showing the sequence of events clearly.

Criticise its ratings by all means, but get your facts straight about the content.”

I applaud ITV for showing it, it harked back to the days of This Week and World In Action.

yorkie100

23-01-2009

Originally Posted by cylon6:
“The fact that the police shot an innocent man and yet nobody involved has been convicted is a terrible moment for British justice.”

I dont agree at all. There seems to be a simplistic attitude in this country that whenever anything goes wrong there is always some individual to blame - in this case there were a series of tragic cockups - but I would be far more uncomfortable scapegoating some individual in the name of justice.

Kudos to ITV for producing this programme and showing it at primetime - shame about the ratings.

Dancc

23-01-2009

Matthew Wright claimed this morning that Friday Night With Jonathan Ross' replacement Live at the Apollo has been getting higher ratings than its predecessor during a debate about JR's return. Not sure where he got that from as the only ratings I could find were 3.5m for November 28 and 3.3m for January 16, both down on the average of 3.7m that series 15 of FNWJR had achieved before it was rudely interrupted.

Perhaps he should be more concerned with his own show's performance; his arch rival Kyle's show is outrating it by roughly 1:8 viewers according to figures posted here earlier in the week.

Anyway, tonight's the big night. But the question is, how well will it rate? At this stage I wouldn't be surprised if it got 6m+ but a safer bet would probably be around the 5m mark.

Jonwo

23-01-2009

Originally Posted by Dancc:
“Matthew Wright claimed this morning that Friday Night With Jonathan Ross' replacement Live at the Apollo has been getting higher ratings than its predecessor during a debate about JR's return. Not sure where he got that from as the only ratings I could find were 3.5m for November 28 and 3.3m for January 16, both down on the average of 3.7m that series 15 of FNWJR had achieved before it was rudely interrupted.

Perhaps he should be more concerned with his own show's performance. He's being outrated by his arch rival Kyle by roughly 1:8 viewers according to figures posted here earlier in the week.

Anyway, tonight's the big night. But the question is, how well will it rate? At this stage I wouldn't be surprised if it got 6m+ but a safer bet would probably be around the 5m mark.”

I would think 5m is more likely but then go back to its normal 3-4m next week. Live at the Apollo is great and I think they use it during the breaks when Jonathan Ross isn't on.

Wouldn't be surprised if the tabloids are watching this like a hawk especially The Daily Mail and The Sun who think it's funny to take the mick out of his speech impediment.

D.M.N.

23-01-2009

Thursday 22nd January Ratings
BBC One
06:00… Breakfast…1.21m (31.4%)
09:15… Wanted Down Under…1.40m (29.9%)
10:00… Homes Under Hammer…1.45m (29.3%)
11:00… To Buy Or Not To Buy…1.23m (23.8%)
11:45… Cash In The Attic…1.45m (25.7%)
12:15… Bargain Hunt…2.05m (30.9%)
13:00… BBC News; Weather…2.92m (37.7%)
13:30… Regional News Weather…2.93m (38.3%)
13:45… Doctors…1.87m (25.0%)
14:15… Diagnosis Murder…1.41m (19.7%)
15:00… BBC News; Weather; Regional News…810,000 (12%)
15:05… LazyTown… 431,000 (6.2%)
15:30… Bear Behaving Badly…510,000 (6.5%)
15:50… Eliot Kid…550,000 (6.1%)
16:05… Pank Patrol…480,000 (4.7%)
16:35… Little Howard’s Big Question…400,000 (3.3%)
17:05… Newsround…660,000 (5.1%)
17:15… The Weakest Link…2.21m (14.4%)
18:00… BBC News…4.92m (25.5%)
18:30… BBC London News…6.10m (29.8%)
19:00… The One Show…5.34m (25.1%)
19:30… EastEnders…8.82m (39.6%)
20:00… Life of Riley…4.11m (17.6%)
20:30… The Green Green Grass…3.86m (15.8%)
21:00… Hustle…5.62m (23.4%)
22:00… BBC News…5.06m (24.9%)

BBC Two
09:45…Live Australian Open Tennis…360,000 (7.1%)
15:45…Flog it!…1.32m (13.9%)
16:35…Ready Steady Cook…1.32m (11.1%)
17:15…Cash Celebrity Attick…1.66m (10.8%)
18:00…Eggheads…1.98m (10.3%)
18:30…Extreme Dreams: Ultimate Challenge…1.32m (6.5%)
19:00…Oz James Drinks Britain…1.03m (4.8%)
19:30…Fast Bucks: How Porsche Made Billions…1.67m (7.1%)
20:00…MasterChef…3.68m (15.4%)
21:00…Victorian Farm…3.48m (14.5%)
22:00…What Victorians Did for Us…1.70m (8.5%)
22:30…Newsnight…840,000 (5.9%)

ITV1
06:00… GMTV…1.02m (26.3%)
09:25… The Jeremy Kyle Show…1.25m (26.1%)
10:30… This Morning…1.03m (19.1%)
12:30… Loose Women…1.31m (17.8%)
13:30… ITV Lunchtime News…1.17m (15.4%)
14:00… Dickinson's Real Deal…1.44m (19.9%)
15:00… Alan Titchmarsh…1.40m (18.6%)
16:00… Midsomer Murders…1.74m (16.2%)
17:00… Golden Balls…1.82m (12.5%)
18:00… Regional News…3.72m (19.3%)
18:30… ITV Evening News…3.68m (18.0%)
19:00… Emmerdale…6.97m (32.7%)
19:30… The Krypton Factor…3.25m (14.6%)
20:00… The Bill…4.948m (20.7%)
21:00… Total Emergency…3.37m (14.0%)
22:00… News at Ten…2.18m (10.9%)

Channel 4
09:00…Will & Grace…215,000 (4.7%)
09:30…Tricky Business…118,000 (2.5%)
10:00…Vocation, Vocation, Vocation…55,000 (1.1%)
10:30…My Crazy Life…66,000 (1.3%)
11:05…Crip on a Trip…120,000 (2.3%)
12:00…News at Noon…190,000 (3.2%)
12:30…Kitchen Pharmacy: Arthritis…130,000 (2.0%)
12:45…Frasier…140,000 (1.9%)
13:20…Leave Her to Heaven…410,000 (5.6%)
15:25…Countdown…870,000 (10.2%)
16:15…Deal or No Deal…2.41m (21.6%)
17:00…Wogan's Perfect Recall…1.82m (13.8%)
17:30…Come Dine with Me…2.35m (14.6%)
18:00…The Simpsons…2.39m (12.4%)
18:30…Hollyoaks…1.93m (9.4%)
19:00…Channel 4 News…1.0m (4.6%)
20:00…Dispatches: True Cost Cheap Food…3.10m (12.9%)
21:00…Celebrity Big Brother…2.69m (11.2%)
22:00…Dodi Al-Fayed: What Really Happened…1.47m (8.4%)

five
09:00…The Wright Stuff…194,000 (4.1%)
10:30…Trisha Goddard…220,000 (4.3%)
13:45...Neighbours... 830,000 (11.1%)
14:15...Home and Away... 440,000 (6.1%)
17:00...Five News Update... 260,000 (3.8%)
17:30...Neighbours... 1.63m (10.1%)
18:00...Home and Away... 1.11m (5.8%)
18:30...Zoo Days... 640,000 (3.1%)
19:00...Five News at 7... 270,000 (1.3%)
19:30... Animal Rescue Squad…780,000 (3.5%)
20:00... Cowboy Builders…1.50m (6.3%)
21:00... Wyatt Earp…950,000 (6.4%)

The Tennis rated worse than what I expected for BBC Two.

PJMillar

23-01-2009

BBC1's Hustle was up 200,000 viewers with 5.6m. It shows that if there's no other drama in the schedules at 9pm, viewers will flock. Look at Monday on ITV, with the success of Above Suspicion.

And look how, when Unforgiven went up against Hunter in its second week, it lost A LOT of its audience.

And I've noticed BBC1 have been very careful to schedule their dramas away from other dramas, bar Hunter, which started on Sunday which got a good amount of viewers (against no drama) to return on Monday.

Now, that is clever scheduling from BBC1, because last year it was all about putting dramas against each other and all that happened was each drama got lower than expected.

Obviously, there's a massive exception here, and it's Waterloo Road, and something tells me it needs to move to another slot. But after looking at BBC1's schedule, it's very hard to schedule it anywhere, because of Corrie.

BUT with The Bill moving, Waterloo Road will be able to control Thursday's again no doubt. What a bad move from ITV.

rzt

23-01-2009

Hmmm... Matthew Wright must be getting his figures mixed up. Here are the overnight ratings for Live at the Apollo:

28/11/08- 3.53m (23.1%)
05/12/08- 2.77m (18.0%)
12/12/08- 2.77m (18.0%)
19/12/08- 3.24m (20.3%)
09/01/09- 3.41m (21.2%)
16/01/09- 3.34m (20.2%)
Average -- 3.18m (20.2%)

And as you say, Jonathan Ross averaged 3.7m (25%) for all his episodes last year. So, it's down 0.5m.

Talking about Matthew Wright, 194,000 for yesterday from what D.M.N. posted

! I never realised his show rated so low.

Simon-Smith

23-01-2009

Quote:
“1:45pm...Neighbours... 830,000 (11.1%)”

clearly Five haven't been noticing.

PJMillar

23-01-2009

15:25…Countdown…870,000 (10.2%)
16:15…Deal or No Deal…2.41m (21.6%)
17:00…Wogan's Perfect Recall…1.82m (13.8%)
17:30…Come Dine with Me…2.35m (14.6%)
18:00…The Simpsons…2.39m (12.4%)
18:30…Hollyoaks…1.93m (9.4%)

Noone does daytime better than 4.

A great mix of young/old; male/female; upmarket/downmarket TV.

Hence the viewership, with an average of over 2m between 4pm-7pm and around a 13% share. Good business.

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