Sure, but who knows when that will be. No idea where it will eventually settle down at and whether that number will be high enough for itv for such an expensive programme.

At the very least it could get to a point whereby itv's most important talent Ant and Dec are not being utilised effectively by continuing to do a declining show as time consuming as BGT. Finding the next big hit for them is critical, really.

I'm sure the itv executives and its poster boys and girls will appreciate your concern and pity as they drown themselves in their mountains of cash now that itv is profitable again.

I'm talking about it being on at 9pm tonight not the fact it's on a Sunday. Any sensible person would know that. It's completely redundant at 9pm without the BGT sandwich and just sticks out like a sore thumb.

Personally I would have done the BGT/Corrie scheduling Sunday to Thursday with the final last night. Not sure BGT has had the momentum this series to deal with a week long break before the final next Saturday.

Artem is one of the most popular dancing stars on "Strictly Come Dancing" but the new dancing stars always manage to refresh the show. Kevin Clifton settled in well to the show after just one series. The ratings will be interesting to watch as "The X Factor" looks to be a stronger challenge to "Strictly Come Dancing". Nothing seems to shake it from the ratings though. The format is the star of the show not the participants. The slightly lacklustre line up last year of celebrity dancers affected nothing in ratings terms to my surprise!

It's only about 5% down on last year as it is, it hasn't suddenly collapsed despite the mood on this thread.

They've had the same panel for 3 years now and whilst it works well maybe they could do with a little freshen up. Amanda Holden is the obvious candidate to go, but there's no point in doing that unless they can find a better replacement.

I think the show is fine and still pretty healthy. No way are we seeing an X Factor 2011 situation here. The scheduling isn't helping matters though as the results shows just aren't a draw. The biggest draw are clearly the auditions, so they should probably seek to maximise those. Some kind of expansion on the middle stage could work too and mean they could maybe drop a semi final and therefore have fewer acts on the live shows.

The ratings haven't dropped much on the whole this year. But they have dropped a little more than in the past couple of years and that might encourage ITV to give it a little bit of TLC which I think it could do with. They could treat it a bit better than they have done this year. Things like flinging an audition show to a Sunday at 7pm, interruptions in the live week and last night's woeful schedule have all acted against it and just a bit more care could help them out.

It'll be interesting to see how the final does next week. I can see it being a bit disappointing to be honest as it feels a bit tacked on a week after the event. It works for the acts as it gives them more time to prepare but it doesn't help with momentum, which is something this series has struggled with anyway.

And so it should be.

To their credit they've been investing more shrewdly of late in production companies and so on.

It's almost as if they have a strategy.

Especially when their screen time during the audition stage is being cut further every year.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/d...cowell-3625506

Yes, I agree with your post. TXF will likely be a bit more revigorated this year so Saturdays are likely to be more interesting! The reason SCD is consistent in its run though is because viewers are generally in control from the off. It genuinely feels like it's the people's show. With The Voice, XF and BGT, there are several weeks of judges choices before viewers get their say. Viewers like to be involved. SCD proves that.

I mentioned on GB that maybe each of the big tslents shows like xf snd bgt etc should take a year off...let the talent pool refill. So bgt 1 year and xf the next. With TV and Rising star and bgt and xf in 2015...its going to get tough

It's still a huge show, I think it's fair to say it is more than a big enough show for them. I agree that they need to find the next big hit for them, but I don't think taking them off BGT is the way to do that. Especially as I don't think BGT is all that time consuming for them anyway. Certainly less so than Takeaway.

I do think they could be used more on BGT though. Not so much on the live shows where there's only so much they can do and they do well there anyway, but I do think they could feature more on the auditions, as they were a bit absent this year.

Based on this week I'd say David's time is probably up (as long as they don't bring back Piers "out of work" Morgan). His failure to give criticism where there is criticism to give has been incredibly annoying and he's one of those personalities where the things that made him great and refreshing a couple of years ago now make him annoying and tired.

I do think though the stability of the panel has helped it over the years - chopping and changing for the sake of it doesn't seem to do any of these shows any favours.

A great IPL final ends with a last over thrilling finish on ITV4, must do well.
The tournament now goes to Sky Sports from next year.

Yes, BGT is in healthy shape for at least three years yet. It's true ratings are lower than there were at its peak back in 2009, but in this age of choice and multi-channel, to get 7+m each night is commendable. There may well be elements of viewers tiring of it slightly, but at least for now, ITV aren't going to go into meltdown and hysteria and quickly sign up The Krankies to host a Krankie Kranks Up Talent alternative!

I'd keep David. He could maybe do with being a bit more critical at times although that isn't really what he's there for and I still think he's great on the show and adds a lot of value. Alesha still works as well. Amanda is fine but were they to freshen it up she should be the one to go.

No BT Sport ratings for yesterday yet then ? I'd love to know how the thrilling rugby final performed.

Also I notice there's been no updates to channel4sales.com since 16 May. Disaster ! They better fix that by Friday or I'll be spitting feathers, it's a key resource for me.

They could take a year off and leave massive holes in the schedule to fill. Also out of sight, possibly out of mind. Something could come along that's more popular and take their respective thunder.

You haven't thought this through showing the Soap Awards 2 weeks after the results in that ideal schedule world be madness the rest is pure guesswork. itv know their programmes and their audience better than anybody else.


I'm not being or going on the defensive am not like you. I was pointing out the facts.


Any sensible person would actually know. The fact its on tonight is because of the football on Friday. itv always have Corrie at 9pm on BGT semi final week Monday-Friday since 2010. You can't put Corrie on Saturday its never been on Saturdays before to what I gather.

I sincerely doubt that even you know what you're talking about.

It does seem to go through periods of no updates - it's as if when the person who usually does it is off nobody covers that role.

I thought Rising Star was going to fill the DOI void. That's two hours on Sunday to fill

Is 6m good for Rising Star? That was what Dancing On Ice was getting in its last few series.

There's something about Sundays on here... one rating can be over-analysed to the point that there's a small crisis! Yes, the results show rating being down 22% is dire. But it's one data point - there were 9 more from this week, none of which were down more than 10%.

If this series ends up down 6% or 7% (in overnights, less in consolidated) then it will be less than the soap declines and those are meant to go on forever. It's slightly more than recent years where declines were kept to a minimum (I think the highest recently was the 5% drop in 2012). In a repeat of 2010, 2011 and 2012, it's the live shows where the declines are really hitting. So it could certainly be a time to consider changes, but hardly the bleak picture being painted.

Ant & Dec have a large chunk of time in autumn before I'm A Celebrity to find a new vehicle.

sorry to ask again, but does anybody have any ratings for the tennis on itv4, especially murray match yesterday?

My opinions don't change like the weather.

Nope. Not defensive at all.

*Steve Williams klaxon!*

One issue I have with either Saturday or Sunday is the change of week from a TV guide point of view. Is the Sunday episode as 'special' as it technically falls under a new week of content?