It really isn't that bad. Its an error in the way that less than a quarter of a percent of viewing minutes are allocated. That's incredibly unlikely to result in some kind of seismic shift in the numbers. Indeed that the error went unnoticed from March should be a pretty good indicator that its not quite as big an issue as some might hope.

I keep thinking back to that Saturday two years ago when ITV looked low and Channel 4 had massive ratings due to a BARB screw up.

That was noticeable though, this has been going on since March so as Alex says is likely to be miniscule. I can't see drastic changes, apart from ABC adjusting up every night nothing has seemed that odd and that's only really happened since fall began.

I don't think there's any great need for that, to be honest. They're probably better off doing what they do now with comedy at 10pm most nights. With news on BBC1 and ITV there's a big floating audience around and it's an obvious alternative, people get used to thinking of BBC2 at 10pm because they know there's usually comedy there (obviously it might be better if BBC3 and BBC4 didn't also show comedy there).

If you stick it all in one go it doesn't neccessarily mean it pulls everything up, it can just as well drag everything down. There's ninety minutes of comedy on BBC1 on Fridays at the moment but it's hardly helping Big School, is it?


BBC2 have got plenty of comedy hits, they have QI, Mock The Week, Buzzcocks and Sarah Millican to name but a few, with Russell Howard still to come. Those are all successful shows which provide the flexibility to allow them to also do things like Grandma's House. We know nobody much watched it, you keep on telling us. but those who did watch it thought it was brilliant. Peep Show and The IT Crowd both regularly went under a million for first run episodes on C4 in recent years. Does it matter? Saying those aren't successful shows is to just take one look at the ratings and ignore all other artistic and commercial criteria.

It's not like this is a new thing either. Stewart Lee was getting under three million with Fist of Fun on BBC2 in 1995, at 9pm in a four-channel environment. To be getting a million at 10pm now, in a thousand-channel environment, is I think amazing. BBC2 have always had low-rating shows, that's the point of the channel. They had a load of flops in the Friday comedy slot in the nineties that nobody remembers (The Creatives? Sunnyside Farm? The Fall Guy? Pulp Video?). Certainly as many as they had now, and they relied on a small number of hits like Shooting Stars, Red Dwarf and HIGNFY. Exactly like now, and the channel's still going.


In 2006 they used to do a semi-repeat of Strictly on a Sunday night on BBC2, with the main show and the results re-edited into an hour. Couldn't do that when Sunday Strictly began of course, and there is a hell of a lot of it now. ITV can repeat The X Factor as they have nothing else on Sunday afternoons and ITV2 is 24 hours a day and can show what it wants, unlike BBC3 which has stringent criteria over how much BBC1 content it can repeat.


Despite the fact 24 hours earlier they were getting over twelve million for a PSB-friendly factual programme.

No, Your Home In Their Hands hasn't been very good. But a three-part bit of light factual fluff is the most ridiculous thing to get worked up over. On the face if it Your Home In Their Hands looked like it could be the next DIY SOS, the problem was they executed it incredibly badly. But it wouldn't even appear in a list of the thousand worst things in the history of BBC1.

As for "more and more like a commercial broadcaster", i could mention Eldorado and Cauught In The Act here again. Oh, I just have.

I really hope they don't do that - the show keeps on getting bumped around the schedules enough as it is.

The 10pm comedy on BBC2 can be isolated as they programme beforehand isn't always compatible. This is why some new sitcoms have trouble there.



Established panel shows. Where are the successful new sitcoms? With DQF there are only so many low rating programmes that last past a series. It's Kevin is a perfect example. But that wasn't helped by zero promotion. Have you noticed Sky moving away from low rating vanity project comedies and going more mainstream? Big School is flopping partly because it isn't very good and partly because it should be paired with a successful show at 9pm to lead into it.

Grandma's House had a chance to establish itself. Couldn't find an audience. Gone. That's television.

Thats why you don't jump of tall buildings!

Unless you mean Autumn of course, Wink, wink, nudge, nudge.

No "Masterclass" on BBC one either, for risk of over exposure of baking. Would have sat well with "Strictly Come Dancing" on Sundays.

Wonder if it will return on a different broadcast day next year.

Delete.

No, but you did say this a lot last year. The first time Strictly started later than 18:30, apart from the first week when only 9 performed on Saturday, was the 30th November (19:00, 75 minutes.)

I do think part of this was because of Doctor Who's 50th, and they didn't want to move it later just to move it back again. Although the first time it started later than 18:30 in 2012 was 24th November (18:40, 80 minutes.)

Confirmation in here that Top Gear's Christmas Special is two hours long: http://transmission.blogs.topgear.co...ally-happened/ (I suspect its actually 2 x 60 minutes)

Also, I'm going to be the first to say that Lewis will come in at under 5 million tonight...

And, Channel 4 have recommissioned the Educating strand for potentially two more series', otherwise known as overexposure: http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-ra...hers-channel-4

Yes Autumn and don't worry the americanisms aren't creeping in its just thats what they call it when their TV season starts.

Top Gear Christmas specials do well as we are starved of an Autumn series nowadays. I can see Lewis getting 6m and Channel 4 could drive the Educating strand into the ground.

BARB's audience-measurement contracts are with RSMB, Ipsos MORI and Kantar Media.

http://www.barb.co.uk/resources/barb-facts/faq


Maybe they don't want too much of Lee Mack on one night?

I did? I really need a life. Slightly odd considering the earlier it airs the more the show appears to be hit, even with The X Factor clash. You'd think they'd look to move it later where possible.


DSRPG Prediction (exc. +1): 4.9m

They could have done some planning though and not had a big week of eps interupted by football - does nobody at ED/ITV have a calendar?

I am a DW fan but dont agree with that. Matt Smith era was great culminating in some really great episodes. This series has been a change of tone and I am loving it too but I liked the first episode - Robots of Sherwood has been the low point so far for me.

I agree, but they seem happy to leave it at 18:30, I remember wanting them to move it later last year but they kept it there for most of its run, not sure what they'll do this year. Maybe they'll start moving it later when Doctor Who finishes and Atlantis starts, or they'll just wait until near the end of November again.

It does go against the idea some have that BBC want to make these clashes, and try to make them longer, having it start later each week would help its ratings but they choose not to move it. (Watch them move it to 18:45 on the 25th now.)

Lewis got 8m in its last outing opposite Miranda and Mrs Brown's Boys. Jonathan Creek got 6m on Friday earlier this year. Based on that I think Lewis will be around 6m tonight.

What's the general ratings game prediction for The Apprentice?

Next week is anniversary week (it will have been on air for 42 years next Thursday) so they're lining up a big story for it - they've done the same for the past two years with Carl's death and the pub siege.


True - it could be they're waiting to see how the two shows perform tomorrow and then make a decision from there.

Only had three predictions so far:
6.5m
6.0m
6.6m

Submission deadline is Tuesday morning so we'll have an overall average then.

I love that Gogglebox has had an "epic fail by X Factor" item two weeks running with universal agreement from the Gogglebox panel both weeks running that the wrong person was sent home.

This feature could run and run.

They didn't have a problem with it for series 6 or 7, both of which had WILTY and NGO on the same night for the most of, if not all, of their runs, or indeed for 24 October of this year.

I'm surprised they brought back Lewis since Kevin Whately and Laurence Fox were both ready to move on but it does well for ITV. I think Kevin has hinted if there is another series, it'll be his last. ITV has gotten mileage out of Inspector Morse through Lewis and Endeavour. A Hathaway spin-off after Lewis is done could work as well as perhaps a crossover between Lewis and Endeavour would be fun to watch although it would have to be a case that is unsolved in Endeavour in the 1960s but revisited and solve in Lewis in the present with characters appearing in both episodes.

Finding a school that captures the public's imagination as much as the one that featured in the previous series won't be easy.

I see the current run dipped to just 1.1M exc. +1 last night. A rotten rating if ever I saw one for what was supposed to be one of their biggest shows this autumn.