GMB had reasonably good reviews, it seemed to be a good concept( copying Good Morning America), but it seems cursed, which is a shame.
Andy, I think, is a decent chap who has his preferences, I agree with him more often than not( my views about ITV have mellowed in the last few years), and will defend his corner. I have no great biases, to me if ITV achieved 20 million viewers for the BGT final, all well and good, same as if BBC One found a mega hit.

Hate how certain people in this thread are trying to paint the troll as the victim. Open your eyes.

On Digital really hurt ITV's finances but the quality of the programming was really bad in places and helped BBC1. I still wince at the thought of Celebrity Love Island and Celebrity Wrestling!

Even ITV executives drew the line at Celebrity Wrestling - how many episodes did it last in Saturday primetime before it was moved to Sunday morning?

If I recall correctly, Love Island actually performed decently for it's first series but collapsed in the second.

Why is someone who speaks up for the BBC a "troll"? There are numerous posters on here who speak up only for itv but they don't get any flak or accusations of bias. I don't know enough about the politics of this thread but I've never seen the person in question being personal or rude about anyone; he just offers a viewpoint on the figures.

So my eyes are open, thank you very much.

Just......wow.

Can only agree with you.

Celebrity Wrestling was just one series, Love Island was so tacky I have nothing good to say about it. BBC1 wasn't much better either. Strictly Dance Fever with Graham Norton!

It does lend itself to a show though, there is a lot in Gymnastics to be judged and it could make for a very interesting show as there is a level of danger to it- I just worry how much they'll be able to do but done right its spectacular and it does have two famous Olympians (admittedly probably famous for participating in Celeb Reality shows themselves) attached and is launching of the back of some Commonwealth hype- Trail it right and get some decent celebrities on board and it could do really rather well and be a returnable summer hit that they desperately need. I'll be interested to see what strategy they take, too serious and they fall into Splash territory (Gabby Logan was so wrong for that show) take it too much of a joke and it might fall flat on its face (Literally) Its a real unknown and I'd like it to do well

Celebrity Wrestling was a dire flop, ITV's equivalent of Don't Scare The Hare and died against Doctor Who, I think it was moved to Sunday mornings. Also the infamous Love Island./ Celebrity Love Island would have been better off on ITV2, as it was clearly aimed at their demos. However, shows like this really hurt the main channel's image for years and should anyone suggest this to Peter Fincham now, I think they would be shown the door immediately.
Actually a hefty profit, good export sales and a bigger range of programmes suggest ITV plc is in good health. What I would now like to see them do is beef up ITV 2 as an entertainment and films channel, so when the main channel makes a mistake, there's a good alternative.
I did incidentally meet Abi Titmuss in a hotel about two months before she set off for her appearance on CLI and she mentioned that the two men she was with were producers for a new show she was appearing in. This very engaging and pleasant young lady now has a career in theatre.

Agree with this.

I think there is a real problem with this thread atm, the divisive nature is getting worse.

People should stop treating their favoured channel so personally.

Most people in real life don't have one. You never hear people go on about how much they love BBC One, or watching ITV is the highlight of their day, more the shows they enjoy wherever they come from. Me I've been watching British Eurosport in the pub, a channel which rarely graces these pages but is actually quite good for those of us who like smaller sports events.

When does Tumble start on BBC1? It sounds like a cheesy light entertainment show that will get 3/4m. I'm interested in how they pitch it. A potential unexpected hit seems unlikely but I would laugh if it took off.

Wolf Hall has the potential to be a huge hit for BBC Two, the stage adaptations of both Wolf Hall and Bring up the Bodies has been well received by both audiences and critics and the cast of the television adaptation is incredible with Mark Rylance, Damian Lewis, Mark Gatiss to name but a few, I'm surprised it wasn't commissioned for BBC One but it'll give BBC Two another drama hit.

If people quoted less of those on ignore, it would be less likely to inflame others!! I think some here just can't handle a different view and take it way too personal.

I only ever come in to speak up for Samuel when post after post are pulling him to pieces. The other day for instance, there was no discussion about ratings, only Samuel. I would do the same about anyone, and did do the same for GeorgeS when he frequented this thread.

My highlighting of Andy's posts was to merely demonstrate that his posts are no different to Samuels in manner, only he can't see it. No, you won't have to read posts after post of wizzywick being obssessed with Andy being obssessed with Samuel. I don't have obssess about anyone - just observe.

It's been revealed by the BBC Media Centre and then repeated on the World Cup thread on the Broadcasting forum. Samuel, can you please cite your sources? It's bad manners not to. Anyway, this isn't much of a surprise given there's a match on at 8pm that day, any earlier would have been a waste of time because people would still be watching the live game on ITV. If nothing else, the news bulletin before it will be talking about it.


Why would they want to do that? They're already saving money with the current deal and saving even more hardly seems a top priority, they were able to afford the FA Cup since they renewed it.


They were indeed Tyne Tees productions and started, I think, just before the merger (although by the time they finished Tyne Tees was more or less entirely subsumed by Yorkshire). Of course, when ITV axed it the producers invited viewers to donate money to make another one for video release, but they didn't raise enough.

Weren't the later Catherine Cookson dramas on Fridays at 9pm? I think they were very successful there. I think Wexford in later years became a Friday 9pm show too. ITV used to do well in that slot and I don't think BBC1 did well there on the nineties apart from two series of Casualty.

Could ITV go back and revisit the Catherine Cookson dramas? Remake a couple of them and see how they rate. With the success of Downton, period drama has a place in the ITV schedules. They would probably sell well overseas. I think ITV need to try and break away from the crime dramas that they always seem to churn out.

I would like ITV to try this genre out again. Although in fairness they have attempted drama serials set in the past recently so things are looking encouraging. I strongly believe that in a couple of years from now, ITV, although soap reliant, will be a much more credible broadcaster than it is now, and even now with its mix of drama, documentaries, new comedies and LE formats, is far far more worthy than it was 5 years ago. I for one look forward to the days where choice is yet again dictated by quality on the big 2 channels. We're already getting there.

UK TV Ratings ‏@TVRatingsUK 22s
The first #BritainsGotTalent semi-final averaged 9.58m/41.0%, 700k down on last year's equivalent episode. The results drew 8.15m/35.2%.

Okay - Samuel and everyone else can you please not turn the thread into a warzone? PLEASE?!?!?!?!?! I beg of you.

About where I expected BGT to be. There was no EE on the Monday last year so that will have knocked about 0.5m off the performances show. Be interesting to see what it peaked at.

The results show again about where I expected. If anything I thought it might have been a little worse given how weak Corrie has been recently.

The performance show is fine a 41% share is superb.

The results a little low, suggesting Corrie was around 8.2m. If so, its all well and good having a big week, but the episodes leading up to it need to be strong, not weak. That was EE problem in the last few years.

Excellent for BGT. 700K is nothing in the scale of things. A good result for ITV and a wise decision by BBC1 to just stick a film on to counter it.

I hope Happy Valley does well tonight as it is genuinely good stuff, but the force of BGT is still good news for ITV. Incidentally, with BGT round about what it generally gets give or take a few 100K, does it suggest that Cowell's prescence in TXF will enhance its ratings or make no difference?