It looks like the correct ratings are a mixture of the two, with Broadcast, Brand Republic and ITV Media reporting 9.1m for DOI, 7.6m for WAI and 8.1m for The Skate Off.

would of liked more for Damages, but its still better then what it gets in the US... i really hope that FX still make a 3rd season, but they might try and get out of the contract with the ratings being so bad!

On a slightly different note, Law and Order: UK seems to be having its run split, as the ITV Press Centre bills episode 2 as being episode 2 of 7.

Has DOI broken 10m in the officials yet?

And to add to that seemingly, ITV are being advised to sell Friends Re-united website for between 20 and 40 million pounds having paid 175 million for it.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009...ited-worth-20m

It got 10.01m for the 1st Feb episode.

wow, what a loss

It's on par with what it got last year and I think its benefits BBC One to have a US import that critics love. I imagine that FX will probably let Damages have its third season due to the critical acclaim but I think anymore after is unlikely.

Was a stupid purchase back then IMO. They bought the site just as social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook were starting to take off - both of which render Friends Reunited completely pointless and outdated!

Channel 4 had a good night with CCDYM and Mission:Impossible III doing well, the stragedy of putting terrestrial premieres on Sundays is working and probably helps that Channel 4 has output deals with 20th Century Fox and Paramount, ITV1 had a good night with DoI, WaH and The Skate Off.

BBC One did well with Lark Rise and The Victorians, BBC Two did well with Engineering Connections considering it has already aired on Nat Geo and Five did okay with The Dirty Dozen although they should consider airing terrestrial premieres rather than old films although the lack of sponsorship ATM is probably the reason they're holding back not showing newer films plus they now have a library deal with Warner Bros and they're making good use of it.

Five US (Freeview channel 35) has been rebranded today as Five USA with immediate effect.

Main changes include new logo, DOG, break fillers, idents, all American continuity announcers, and programming & scheduling related improvements.

New programmes
The Shield Season 7
30 Rock Season 2
The Beast Season 1
Patrick Swayze: The Truth

Also they are kicking off a Will Smith season with 3 of his best loved films in a row; Bad Boys II, Men in Black and Men in Black II.

Along with the usual scattering of CSI and the various spinoffs, Numb3rs, and a good mix of movies old and new, Five USA is becoming a mean multi-channel machine and I hope to see this reflected in the ratings. In all honesty for all the money pumped into it ITV2 still isn't up to all that much IMO, E4 on the other hand remains strong but it's schedule has become rather stagnant just lately and it could do with another refresh soon.

Also E4 cannot be trusted when it comes to imports. By taking Smallville off mid season at Christmas, and holding the remainder of the episodes until March, they have angered viewers unnecessarily. I was honestly hoping ITV would snatch the first run rights from them when they started airing the earlier seasons because I do think they would probably treat it better.

Five USA is definetly the flagship multichannel for Five and the look is an improvement on the old one especially the logo. The new programmes are a plus but they need to exploit the shows they have already and have L&O reruns in primetime to go with the CSI ones and maybe have first look House or Mentalist after the main airing.

Not sure what other new programmes would fit on Five USA, maybe Five should try and get second run rights to Burn Notice from FX or acquire Leverage which looks pretty decent.

The Films will probably stay the same but I think the horror films should move to Fiver as they don't fit the USA brand.

I wonder why that is It's a bit frustrating. Why don't they just show the whole series in one go?!

Good ratings for DOI once again. I imagine the Skate Off may have been slightly higher this week because kids/families staying up later, due to half term.

Why ITV why? Mind you, I guess if the first 7 flop, then there's no point in showing the last 7.

That means there will be something new on April 13th which will presumably last until the end of May (BGT time).

I'd imagine it's so that if it flops, they can wait for a few months and relaunch it, to try and give it a second chance.

If it's a hit I can see them changing their minds and airing it all in one go tbh. That is unless they're doing it to enable other shows to run in the Monday 9pm slot like The Fixer, perhaps?


I think they'll all get shown, it's just a matter of when, really. As I said above, maybe The Fixer is airing on April 13th?

I don't think they have ever aired Law & Order reruns on Five US have they? Not sure they have the rights to do so, Hallmark certainly do.

Agree about first look showings - bit lazy and unimaginative but an easy way to boost ratings.

I have high hopes for The Mentalist.

Friday: Most BBC One and ITV1 ratings a bit lower than expected.

Saturday: Good day for BBC One until 9.15pm! The dire second episode of The Old Guys (Feb 7th) has probably killed this sitcom's chances. Saturday's third ep was a big improvement, but if the second episode of a new sitcom is dreadful, that's usually enough to finish it off. Only limp ITV1 films in opposition can give the Old Guys any chance of survival now. But even that probably won't be enough.

MotD presumably much missed by BBC One too, underlining the importance of the new contract.

Three 7m ratings for ITV1. With one of those being a one-off, I question the wisdom of shunting one of the other two shows to a much earlier slot next Saturday. Bit disappointing for the lunchtime football, although a big improvement on what usually goes in that slot.

Sunday: Higher than expected for The Victorians. Not convinced it can stay above 4m next week. Better ratings for the Sunday FA Cup game.

They've never shown L&O reruns on Five US but they do have the rights to them as they got them when they renewed their rights to House:

http://www.rtlgroup.com/www/htm/home_news.aspx?AID=4040

The Mentalist looks good and Five must be pleased that it has become a mega hit in the US trailing only American Idol and occassionaly NCIS, I can see getting 2-2.5m if promoted heavily and they should consider giving it a 9pm slot rather than a 10pm one.

Im not convinced about The Victorians. Alot of people would find it reminding them of school homework. This is the Beeb trying to earn PSB kudos by scheduling a BBC2 show on BBC1 Sunday night primetime. Also, apart from a few rare examples, mass audience comedy half hours in the 21st century are practically dead. Tv has fogotten the art of making them and there are few actors/actresses who can carry them off.

Does anyone have the rating for Gladiators last night? Ta.

They did not have much choice or they would have ended up over taking production! The CW only are only showing something like four new episodes in as many months from mid-November through mid-March right now. E4 could have shown more than they did, but would still have had to stop.

That is the risk a channel takes with showing programmes closer to their American broadcasts. And viewers complain just as much by having to wait so long after the US airing as they do about runs being broken up. There is no situation that will make everyone happy. But with more people unwilling to wait turning to the internet it makes sense that British channels are beginning to favour the other group and instead seek to close the gap.

And E4 are no different to Sky one who do the same with popular like Bones and Prison Break, or the BBC with Heroes.

Michael.

Bad idea I think. I think the term "USA" is more suited to an American network. Anyone rememnber the USA network on US cable? It was a red state favourite with plenty of Dukes Of Hazzard re-runs & country music. I presume this isn't the image RTL are going after>?

Yes because most arent much good. Benidorm and My Family seem to be the main exceptions. Perhaps it because they are/ were funny?

Given the USA Network is heavily centred around showing NCIS, House, and Law & Order reruns, if that is not the image RTL want then the channel name should be the least of their concerns.

Michael.

Dunno about that - they show films in primetime, don't they? More like, they don't show them because they don't rate very well.