I do wonder if interest for the Paralympics will be as strong this time around, considering it isn't in the UK. The winter Olympics itself is less popular than the Olympics proper so I guess C4 have a challenge on their hands to keep viewers interested.

That's not the reason, the BBC didn't think there was another broadcaster interested and were outbid for the rights.

The voice Running late. Local news started 6 mins late.

Channel 4 axed the franchise as ratings had fallen by two thirds, the format was eating up a fifth of their budget and for a broadcaster who like repeating shows on More 4, BB isn't the sort of show that could be repeated. Also, apart from the Daily Star, the other tabloids were ignoring the show, it was becoming fashionable not to watch it and the format seemed worn out.
On Channel 5 Davina has gone, the pointless through the night coverage and BBBM have been cancelled, and the show has been revamped. Yes both formats aren't the huge hits they were, but ratings seem healthy and the late noughties decline has been halted.

Certainly not on the same level but equally The Jump isn't rating on the same level as Splash did either. I just think you can't remove the Winter Olympics/Paralympics interest from how The Jump is performing now and that won't be a factor next year so then we come to the question of whether the format itself is strong enough (and the resounding answer to that seems to be no).


You'd certainly think so. The BBC seem remarkably reluctant (to say the least) to actually run it in shorter slots though.

No, I agree, in terms of actual coverage it wasn't perfect, but this is a ratings thread so I was looking at it purely from that perspective, sorry. Also, if the match had run to time (albeit that being something that never happens) it would have finished at half past six. It's hardly the BBC's fault the players decided to extend proceedings by over 20 minutes.
And have an extra hour of Casualty/Lottery quiz rubbish which rates 3-4m in it's place?

There's no question whatsoever that the London Olympics and Paralympics were inflated by the 'we've paid for this and heard about nothing else for seven years' crowd. As I said 20 minutes ago the Opening Ceremony on Friday will be lucky to get 5m viewers where 'Isles of Wonder' got 24m.
How very strange.

I believe that the BBC would not commit to the length and depth of coverage that was offered by C4 as well.

While the Winter Olympics may have driven some interest to the programme, I think the main driver was probably the prospect of watching some celebrities fall over and hurt themselves.

The Voice Starts 6mins late.

Or, you know, a new format or show to make the most of the 7+ million lead-in that The Voice can provide at the very least during the audition stage.

I think if there are Brits winning they will still do OK although definately lower as you say.

Worth noting it clashes with Cheltenham, which will take priority on C4 in the afternoons, although most events take place in the morning anyway.


There plans for coverage though were restricted to primetime coverage on BBC2 with the rest being on the red button - although I do suspect that by the time the games came around that would have been increased and the ceremonies would probably have got bumped up to BBC1, with more daytime coverage on BBC2 too.

As far as the Winter Paralympics is concerned the BBC have previously just shown an hour long round up at the end, with limited live coverage mainly of curling - so it's very much untested on "terrestrial" TV.

While I see no problem with The Voice being 80 minutes long - most of these shows are - I do agree with you about the lack of post match analysis. There were so many moments that could have been looked at again and they were simply ignored. Extremely disappointing.

A low night all round last night - how low will the soaps go when they're up against good weather and the football in the summer??? Silent Witness did well while Life Stories held up ok. The Jump has become something of a sleeper hit for Channel 4; it will surely return next year but could the lack of Winter Olympics effect it then?

I've got a very good feeling about tonight's rating for the Voice. Even Stan and Dorris next door - who dont watch these kinds of shows- are watching it, as they watched the rugby & news and have decided to stick with BBC One all the way through tonight. Could even end up being a series high, as the early evening inheritence for it will be much higher than usual and buzz has been good for it throughout the week.

I now can't get the image of Samuel as some kind of peeping tom creeping up to people's windows to see what they're watching every night. This is clearly the system BARB should adopt for ratings gathering.

Samuel, can you please stop looking through Stan and Dorris's window? It's a bit creepy.

Samuel you tease you...

Can't imagine the rugby will share much audience with The Voice UK. The news will probably throw a lot of it away as well.

I think it will rise on last week due to the slightly later time slot but it wont' be a series high.

Yes, I think you are right there.

I first recall seeing her in that odd late afternoon low budget talent show a bit like the Gong Show on (BBC 2 was it???). She talked to the acts back stage on that.

I assume that is how ITV thought she would fit on DOI.

No idea if they have plans to try to broaden her range (Rising Star maybe?) or just finding ways to earn her way to the end of her contract. Guess we will see.

I am really trying to say this politely given the comments above, but can you give it a rest. A lot of posters on here are biased, but why do keep on about things so much.

Surely less is more.

If the leader is losing more ground than the chaser, then the chaser is making up ground and closing the gap, like it or not. Although in this race both horses are currently running backwards, which makes the analogy somewhat tortured.


I wouldn't be surprised if The Voice actually ran five minutes short tonight, like it did two weeks ago. That would get everything more or less back on schedule when it finishes.

EDIT: BBC online schedule now says 19:15-20:35 for The Voice, with everything pushed back 5 minutes.


The legendary sources are revealed.

Come on! If Stan and Doris are watching it, I thought I'd check if my neighbours Frank and Gladys are watching it. They are!!

DOI got a bit of a lift from The FA Cup last Sunday. It started off about 300k-400k higher for the first 15 minutes compared to the week before (ITV News which went between football and DOI was also up sharply on the slot the previous week). This didn't show up so much in the overall average as by the middle/end it was down on the previous week.

I think BGT has been known to get a lift from FA Cup games in the past - and that's even with ad breaks. 6 Nations will rate better and BBC News usually holds better.

It's not one of Samuel's most outrageous claims. Although I'd dispute the idea that there has been much buzz about The Voice at all this week. CBB has dominated along with The Jump (for all the wrong reasons!).

PS: If anyone knows Stan and Doris, tell them to pull the curtains or, preferably, get a very large, angry guard dog.

Can I just say that I'm not sure Stan and Dorris are really representative of the audience the BBC want for The Voice...

On the plus side at least no one is mentioning Twitter trends tonight.

Sorry. Im just excited at the real possibility of the Voice going up in the ratings once again tonight, what with it being its latest start time this series so far. It's good to see a show which was criticised so much last year turning it around this time in terms of ratings and critical reaction which both have been positive. Bringing Kylie into the show was a masterstroke decision and the lightened tone is helping this series too.

By the way, I wasnt peering through my neighbours' windows, thats a bit creepy. I was actually watching the rugby at theirs as we usually do because theyre massive 6Nations fans and they were saying theyd be watching the Voice [after me persuading them!].