Football on Sky averaged 866k (4.3%) from 19:00 to 23:00, as per ITV Media.

Any chance you have:

- Breakdown of the CBB launch to see if it declined or increased
- Rating for Live Feed between 12:20am-1:15am

Looking at those figures NT timeshifted around 1.3m per episode last year for reference.

I do find that Doc Martin and New Tricks are quite similar in some regards. We're very used to see them pick up some impressive ratings, but they always seem to do so with the absolute mimimum of fuss. There's no endless trails, no Guardian episode live-blogs, no sneak peaks during major events and no glamorous press launches. Nothing like the hoopla surrounding Downton, Sherlock, Who and (to a lesser extent) Midwifes - and in fact, barely as much publicity as any decent new drama.

I've no idea what the magic is that has had it bucking the ratings for so many years - but suddenly it seems to have deflated to the level you might have expected to begin with!

I'm not sure why people are still surprised with low ratings. It's still Summer and we won't see a significant increase overall until we hit September. Some people are out of their daily routine and staying out later as they don't have work/school the next day. When we hit September, things will be back to normal.

I don't have any special access, but Broadcast reports a peak of 2.7m for the main show, not far above the 2.4m average, suggesting it built steadily and had a strong audience throughout.

The last series of Doc Martin was a bit lower than the previous one but it still launched with 8m and every episode rated 7m+ (most around 7.5m). So way above what New Tricks got last night.

Ah ok thank you

As for Judge Rinder, great rating! Isn't that the highest?

Lower than expected ratings for New Tricks but I imagine it's in no danger of cancellation

Solid start for CBB ...let's hope it can maintain those figures. It looks set to be an interesting series.

Doc Martin was something like 1.5m on average lower than the previous series which is why Ken was mentioning it.

But New Tricks has always been a high rater. Even in the Summer its got figures of over 8m. I remember a couple of years a go RobbieSykes said if New Tricks can get 8m in Summer what kind of figure can it get in Winter.

New Tricks since changing cast has obviously started its descent in decline.

If Cilla is finding its way to Monday night, it should be able to at least hold 4m against NT. Bearing in mind its unlikely to be a big drama away from NT

I've just watched the trailer for Gotham and it looks decent, it has the crime elements that would appeal to 5's target but it'll interesting how they'll incorporate the Batman mythology aside from the villains.

It was about 1.3m down across the run (although the launch was only 700k down), but at no point did it go anywhere near as low as NT did last night, so it isn't "exactly the same" as NT's percentage fall is quite a bit larger.

Well in my opinion it is, it's a big drama that's lost about 1.5m on it's previous series in overnights. I suspect it will timeshift bigger than it did last series.

I think it's the same phenomenon.Doc Martin was the bigger show anyway. New Tricks is a level below it. I think the reason New Tricks lost more than Doc Martin is the tough competition and low soaps so a lower captive audience.

Really.

I would agree that Doc Martin is the bigger drama, but that is quite a drop for NT in a year. However if you look at its ratings previously you can see a definite decline.

In 2012 it was averaging around 8.5m/8.7m
In 2013 it dropped over 1 million and was averaging 7m/7.4m
And now in 2014 its dropped again and below 6m.

I think the cast change and competition has caused it to loose loyal viewers and become just another 'New' drama. I'm expecting a small drop next week, unless the Weather declines dramatically.

I expect another longer series will arrive in Autumn where ratings will be higher.

I thought it had already been re-commissioned

C5 must be gutted by all these negative headlines today. Enormous drops everywhere you look but let's pick on CBB. Unbelievable Jeff !

Pity tonight's first highlights show goes out at 10PM though. When you're trying to keep hold of more viewers than usual I would describe that as not ideal. CSI hasn't done its usual thing this season so I'd be switching the two. Indeed CSI may even benefit from a CBB lead-in.

Anyway, two years ago the first highlights show was at 10PM and this is what happened:

Wed 15th August- Live Launch: 2.7M
Thu 16th August- Highlights: 1.62M / ~1.71M [inc. +1]

I think CBB will beat 1.7M tonight, even with the lower rated launch show.

You are correct Ken in that Doc Martin lost a big chunk in its last series and maybe NT is going to do the same although its a little early to say at present.

It's probably the most mixed reaction for a launch, I have seen people who loved it and called it the best ever and those who disliked it a lot.

Bad idea to put it on at 10pm tonight, maybe they did this to try and thrive on shares rather than ratings so they can beat Ch4 more consistently? I predict 1.8m for tonight.

I know you're winking so perhaps you know this but CBB has a very attractive audience profile. It does exceptionally well in 16-34.

If CBB skewed as old as the Doc with two fifths of its audience over 65, Five would never have revived it.

New Tricks is starting to feel tired - I didn't really enjoy last nights episode, and it is showing signs of wear after losing virtually all of its original cast. Plus I have to say the trailer that BBC put out to promote the new series was awful.

I agree. The BBC should learn from ITV. The trailers on ITV always look highly polished. The BBC ones look like they've been found in a Woolworths dump bin found in a cellar of Wilkinsons covered in cobwebs by comparison. I really don't know why the BBC struggle to make decent trailers. Having said that, "Our Zoo" is represented well by its trailer, which is a rarity.