And sadly ITV will stick to the already tired formula of Em/Corrie/Downton. They will all poll record lows. Corrie is appalling at the moment, something really wrong with the way it's being produced. It can't be the cast, who are only as good as the writers; can't be the writers, as it's the same team who have written during good periods; therefore the blame falls squarely on the production team namely Mr Blackburn. I'm convinced he's f**ked up the production-side of the new set move, changing how the episodes are blocked and shot and leaving it all feeling incredibly wrong, characters appearing and disappearing half way or even three quarters of a way through an episode, no rhyme or reason; and adding a weird realist agenda to distort the classic 'warm bath' feel of Corrie (restorative justice, right-to-die, ADHD, obscure medical conditions, drug abuse, heaps of misery all around, wrecking characters and popular couples, killing Tina McIntyre after telling Keegan/fans she would be able to return, etc). I used to look forward to escaping with a half hour of Corrie, he's shat all over that vibe and I dread episodes now. He's a stubborn narrow-minded producer with an agenda that is repulsive let alone worth caring about. I get the impression he is blinkered and won't listen to anyone and thinks he is something special. I bet many of his associates secretly hate him, but know they can't do anything about it until he's fired/steps down. Not to mention cast morale is also probably low at such disjointed crap being handed to them (I can imagine cast members in the green room saying "it's a shame our characters don't speak anymore"). Nothing makes sense: there is no continuity, pathetic filler all over the place and big storylines being protracted for what seems like forever, having no proper arc then falling short of even satisfying conclusions.

Christmas Day on ITV will tank big time this year, probably maxing out at 7m, or maybe even less exc +1, for Coronation Street. The BBC will provide relief from what has been a terrible year for TV on the whole. Miranda will smash it out of the park as will Mrs Brown's Boys, and EastEnders could also bring in the bacon; they should definitely split it again around Doctor Who. Bring me back to 2010 or 2012. Since the Olympics viewers haven't given a shit about TV apart from Broadchurch and Bake Off (can't think of much more.) And ITV deserve a slaughtering - if you mess with Coronation Street you mess with me, and bosses at ITV allowing Stuart Blackburn to continue to piss all over a national institution and bastardise it is unforgivable.

Perhaps it was the Olympics in London that wrecked the TV audiences. The fact we were hosting it meant we all flocked to the TV more than usual, and as soon as it ended people watched even less TV than before, using the end of the Olympics as a reason to end their traditional TV habits. Or maybe as Andy said it's like everyone with a BARB box has been given a lifetime's free Netflix subscription or something.

It makes me sad to think TV is dying out. I mean I guess it was always inevitable in the digital era. I'd like to think it goes in waves and we're just on a dip, that by the end of 2015 there will be a resurgence across the board, I just can't see it right now. Most networks have run out of money and/or ideas, formats are ageing and stale (with the exception of a small few) and shows like Doctor Who are proving overnights mean diddly squat. I literally searched the RadioTimes for anything decent to watch tonight and nothing was there on the main 5 or multichannel. TV is a barren landscape.

And on that depressing note, I'm going to bed.

I don't want this line of conversation to go off again, but I have to agree, tonight's Corrie's were again a bit odd, they didn't feel right. It isn't anything to do with storylines or characters in particular, it's just the way the filler/comedy scenes are done. They used to be really good, you could watch a scene where some characters just chunter on about nothing in the Kabin or something, and it'd still be entertaining whereas now they are falling flat.

Are the episodes done by the same writers or have they got new ones in, how much control does blackburn actually have, he doesn't write, direct and produce every episode single handedly.

Maybe the set move really has effected them, maybe the ghosts of characters past really did exist at Granada Studios and made all the difference!

I genuinely think Blackburn's "vision" of the show (issue-led, more "realistic and gritty", etc) combined with production changes due to the new set (which an intuitive producer would have pulled off or tweaked quickly) causing disjointed episode blocking (i.e. weird filler, characters appearing and disappearing, etc), has caused low morale amongst the cast and writers. They are all just biding their time, thinking the show has gone to the dogs and doing average work until he is ousted.

It's lost its warmth; and if you look in interviews with him he has said before he thought the show he inherited from Phil Collinson wasn't realistic enough and about working class people in Manchester. He's trying to make it something it's not, he doesn't get the show and I bet you anything 99% of the team there don't like him.

It'll bounce back under a new boss, cast and crew morale will go up, fresh eyes will notice the problems and correct them, it just needs to happen right now.

I'm just hoping he won't kill off a major veteran character before he leaves. I'm surprised he hasn't killed off Emily or someone just for a quick badly made episode.

Tonight's scenes with Maria are a case in point, perfectly valid filler/comedy story to be used in between the main stuff, but it just didn't work.

I think they will give him until February and then he'll be gone, they won't want to rock the boat during the all important Christmas run in, avoiding negative press articles etc, then there is the cold winter/high rating January period combined with the annual big January storyline and the NTAs. If the rating don't pick up in January, the big storyline isn't well received and they don't win the NTA, that's why I think he'll be sacked in February.

I don't watch Corrie so can't comment on that part but overall what an excellent post, James

There are still a few TV events a year which get people talking - Sherlock and Bake Off this year, the Doctor Who 50th and the Wimbledon final last year - but yes it's definetely very sad that 'event TV' is pretty much the only thing that people care about now. And even the 'event TV' ratings are fairly meh these days, I loved all four of those viewing moments I just mentioned but not even a third of the population watched any of them. Even on New Years Day less than 10m people sat around the telly with their families to watch one of the most popular TV dramas in years. But I can't see there being any way back, we'll just have to live with it.

I see Still Open All Hours is in the schedule for Friday 21 November at 7.30pm. Presumably a repeat of the Christmas Special before the series starts the following week?

If so where do we think it will go? Sunday nights at 8, paired up with Count Arthur Strong perhaps? DS say CAS starts in November, most other sources say early next year though. I can't see many other slots for OAH though.

I am in total agreement with you on both posts. ITV frankly deserve to get hammered on Xmas Day.

Until Corrie drops below EastEnders, ITV will do diddle-squat. I bet Corrie's Xmas Day figures will be their worst ever. But of course the stunt in January will fix everything.

I think I'm A Celebrity will do well and BBC1 will do better against the launch compared to last year with War Horse. The last few years have just had dull, factual opposite IAC. War Horse is far more appealing, but possibly not hugely appealing.

It's also a bit annoying how the blander and wallpapery the TV, the higher the ratings (with the usual exceptions)

Major new drama, high profile cast, major nature series, nah I won't bother watching that, but they will tune in for Pointless and Countryfile in massive numbers every week!

Not that there is anything wrong with those programmes I must stress, but it's strange how this seems to be the extent of what viewers want in the schedules at the moment.

But ITV/Corrie do audience research, how can they not see how unhappy the audience are with it? Facebook is full of negative comments and rightly so.

Frankly he doesn't deserve to be in that job, let alone manage both ITV soaps

Depends who they are asking though and what the questions are.

If they listened to people on social media and forums like this, there would be nothing on air on any channel.

What do ITV have for Christmas?

Downton
Corrie
Emmerdale
POG dogs
Birds of a Feather?

100% agree, dare I say it this might be a long-lasting side-effect of the 5-6 years of domination by reality TV shows which don't require much effort to understand or enjoy. Viewers now automatically flock to 'easy TV' by default, they watch TV to pass time not to be challenged or even in some cases entertained.

Either that or they want to have something to self-righteously shake a metaphorical fist at, for example #MakeLeicesterBritish which has exploded on social media this evening.

**estimated timeshift of 520k.

Coronation Street:

Mon: 9.1m [+1.06m] / 9.19m [+770k]
Wed: 8.24m [+1.08m]
Fri: 8.26m [+1.18m] / 7.88m [+1.02m]

Avg.: 8.53m [+1.02m]

EastEnders:

Mon: 7.98m [+840k]
Tue: 7.83m [+850k]
Thu: 7.33m [+880k]
Fri: 6.82m [+420k]

Avg.: 7.49m [+748k]

Emmerdale:

Thu 8pm: 6.83m [+670k]
Fri: 6.76m [+670k]

Source: Barb

Figures include HD and exclude +1.

The Fall commences Sunday on RTE One after the Love/Hate finale.

I was more curious as to where he was drawing the idea that Moffat treats Doctor Who as his own.


Although from memory Lab Rats aired at 9:30 which last I checked wasn't pre-watershed.

My point however wasn't that Iannucci shouldn't trumpet pre-watershed comedy but rather that I'm not surprised that it didn't have any effect because the guys famous and lauded for created (very) post-watershed comedy.


You've argued that panel shows fill the same role as Saturday Night Live in the US in developing comedy talent which simply isn't true. Saturday Night Live has a long and very successful history in not only finding but developing comedy talent in the US both in front and behind the camera. Perhaps more important than that though is that gives these writers and performers experience in a relevant way which isn't something being a guest on a panel show is going to do. A panel show visit might help improve your name value but not much beyond that.


That Downton Abbey has been an unprecedented success for PBS does not mean that any purchase they make or show they air is the same. Its entirely common place for PBS Masterpiece to either be co-producing or to air a fair bit of the period drama that comes out of the UK. As a quick example they also aired Breathless and The Paradise (among many others) neither of which were being singled out as international juggernauts.


Its always looked like Merlin to me (which is not a good thing).


Well The One Show does tick a lot of PSB boxes...


Surely the more telling thing here is that someone felt that tickets to The X Factor final were of the same value as £2500 or that amount of food from the Co-Op?

I'm pretty sure it was 1 .000k and not 2.500

So the thrilling edge of your seat endgame decision was between £1,000 food coupons or karaoke tickets ?

Never a dull moment on ITV primetime. I just wish they'd think more about the bottom line.

No, this was the first game. The end game included popcorn.

Don't forget the DSRPG, by the way.

On it ! Not going to do what I did last Monday and enter the land of nod prematurely.

A pretty interesting week ahead.

But TV has been like this since the damn thing was invented!

We act like people in the 70s and 80s would only tune in for Civilisation or The Ascent of Man. Actually, they were mostly tuning in to brain-dead entertainment, cheap-as-chips quiz shows and ridiculously naff American imports. There was a constant deluge of dreadful TV which was just as popular as today's 'reality' juggernauts. If people in the 80s didn't like 'Easy TV', how the hell did Wogan last for ten bloody years?! And because people had nowhere else to go, the TV channels mostly got away with it!

In the last week I've joined millions in watching a stunningly powerful new thriller in The Missing, enjoyed the latest instalment of a legendary period drama in Downton and witnessed Brain Cox philosophising about the meaning of life in Human Universe. And yes, sorry, I enjoyed some Pointless with my tea as well.

That telly is no less demanding than it was 30 years ago, and the audience is no more predisposed to filler than it was 30 years ago, either.

On another note I've just noticed that the BBC are running an ad for The Missing with press quotes in. Not something you see any of the channels doing a lot of these days.

"The Apprentice" snapping at the heels of "The X Factor results" and "EastEnders" on the consolidated figures.

Remarkable considering its now ten years old and the tasks are so similar from year to year.

I think its benefitted from a short siesta from BBC one.

Perhaps "EastEnders" will gain some viewers from Nick Cotton returning in last night episode, I see its still around a million and a half behind "Coronation Street" which is going strong despite the criticism of it, so unclear if or when "Coronation Street" figures will be impacted by the bad period it seems to be having.

I saw BBC1 and BBC2 do that for Happy Valley and Line Of Duty this year too.

They did it for "Tumble" as well.

ITV did audience research about GMB but clearly didn't take a blind bit of notice of what people said. Now they have a slogan suggesting viewers look for a different breakfast programme