Those are some incredibly depressing figures either side of The X Factor especially when compared to the 4-5 million figures the BBC is posting either side of Strictly. ITV really should be doing better in these slots.

And let's not forget, save for a few notable exceptions, audiences are down YoY across many programmes.

Hehe

No problem, I'll be glad when The X Factor is finished (not Strictly as its my favourite show) so we won't have five trillion pages to read every weekend.

I think these shows always start off low and then build sharply in the first 30 minutes. XF has the same pattern this week but as has been noted, it started slowly last week at 8pm as well.


They tested SS on Wednesdays last year didn't they? I think it might be fine there with the Corrie lead-in. We've seen Big Star's Little Star perform well in that slot and it's hardly a recognisable brand like SS. Although I might have tried SS on Saturdays before XF.

A Celebrity Chase repeat at 6pm on Sundays would make a lot of sense leading into a new BW show but it'll probably be ITV News! His new show is down as ITV Studios/Over The Top Productions. Palladium has done OK there, it took a big hit last Sunday with the arrival of Strictly but might benefit from football this week and an 8pm surge of XF viewers. Although that's a strong brand so maybe more would have been expected?

Just caught up with last nights DW and you guys were right, it was bloody fantastic.

The +1 is only up from 0.38m last week though despite the scheduling being near-perfect for use of +1. Perhaps it needed more promotion, as Fudd said.


Quite possibly but there's no way of testing that. What we can say with a high degree of confidence though is that ITV would have expected more at this stage from the return of two prominent members of the 'dream panel' than limiting year-on-year losses to -5% in comparison to Barlow & co. Why else would they have manufactured a full clash against Strictly's Friday launch show?

Year-on-year comparisons (inc +1)
SCD: -1.17m (-11.9%), -3.9 share points (-9.0%)
TXF: -0.44m (-5.4%), -1.3 share points (-3.8%)

Week-on-week comparisons (inc +1)
SCD: -0.41m (-4.5%), -4.1 share points (-9.5%)
TXF: +0.34m (+4.6%), +1.1 share points (+3.4%)

Likewise, it's definitely in decline now, it seems to be down 10 per cent on last year. It's just a worn out pantomime and a money making exercise for Simon Cowell. Roll on 2016 when hopefully we can be liberated from it.

The point is starting SCD early is hurting it more than the clash.

You say the clash stumped SCD's growth by 0.5 million.

I say starting SCD at 6:30 pm stumped it by 2 million.

I expect SCD to be swapped with Dr Who in the very near future.

So what did you think to SCD yesterday as we have had a number of complaining posts?

Donny Osmond aside and a few music choices I thought it was good. I do agree the running order needs to be tweaked to include one or two good dancers at the beginning rather than putting all the mediocre ones at the beginning.

But Donny Osmond, just no.

It was said that DW had to start later because of last weeks and this weeks eps being too scary but I did not think they were any more scary than previous so maybe it was just an excuse.

Ah but your not a woman of a certain age are you? Lets just say he went down very well with said ladies in this house.

Thank gawd I'm not a woman of a certain age then

I don't know what the hell he was on last night, it was mainly the scoring I didn't like.

You're making what I think is a faulty assumption that if the show starts at 7PM it starts with 8.5 million viewers rather than the 7 million it started with at 6:30. It'll start lower regardless of what time it starts. The danger of starting it at 7PM is that it has less time to build and lock in its audience before The X Factor starts and has a longer clash period with The X Factor as well.

Lets for the sake of argument just shift Strictly half an hour later with last nights breakdown so we get:

7PM: 7.0
7.15PM: 8.0
7.30PM: 8.6

So now rather than having 9 million when The X Factor starts on ITV it has 8.5 million. Now lets be generous and say that it can hold that kind of audience for the entire duration of the extended clash (generous because it assumes viewers don't switch over to The X Factor and that they don't switch off due to the late finish) which gives us:

7:45PM: 8.5
8PM: 8.6
8:15PM: 8.3
8:30PM: 8.6
8:45PM: 8.5

That gives us a rough average of 8.2 million. Even if we bump the first 15 minutes up by a million that only goes up to 8.4 million (or 8.3 depending on how you decide to round it). And again this is being generous that it holds its audience for the hour against The X Factor and audiences don't switch off because of the later finish.

Strictly is scheduled 1830-2025 next Saturday according to the BBC web site with DW at 2025.

I agree to an extent with what you're saying about the early start and the breakdown clearly shows the impact it had on Strictly's average but there really is no need to make schedule alterations. This will gradually become less of an issue as the nights draw in further and the weather begins to deteriorate.

What age is this certain age? Not trying to be impertinent but I would like to know who his demographic is. Is it the same as Cliff's?

Peter Andre seems to be another one that appeals to women of a certain age.

Donny Osmond and his brothers and sisters were a hugely popular act from 1972 to 1975 over here and reunion concerts always attract big audiences. Their covers of MOR hits from the fifties and pop fluff went down very well.

It would be impolite to state what the age is - more importantly it would probably get me a slap round the head.

Good rating for Doctor Who, it was a very good episode last night. Strictly down over a massive 1m+, but still 8.6m is still a good rating.

The X Factor rating is fine, nothing to shout about but a solid figure. The rpt's on the following day have to be taken into consideration. I hope it grows from there though, it was a good show last night.

ITV performs worse than the BBC opposite sides of TXF because The Chase is against SCD, Pointless has a free run only against YBF. And Doctor Who is the BBC most expensive and one of their biggest dramas longest running dramas, of course its going to hold up better than a cheap quiz.

Ps.The suggestion that somehow Samuel is a victim is laughable.

I understand

I should have said that the -5% decline was with a longer clash. Could have been worse certainly. We need some nights where the timings are roughly the same as last year to make meaningful comparisons.

Whether its clashes or the general decline we have been witnessing recently I think its certain both are likely to be down yoy.

I'd point out that the lottery draw out rated The Chase last night and had practically the same figure as Through the Keyhole. I'd also point out that a repeat of Mrs Brown's Boys was only a couple of hundred thousand behind both. ITV should absolutely be doing better in both slots.

Oh absolutely they should be doing better. However the BBC has a line-up of old skewing shows; Pointless, Strictly, Lottery, Casualty etc, only DW bucks the trend. This in turn does support the schedule as the older generation watch more TV.

I imagine if ITV put something old skewing on before and after TXF they would be over 4m.

MBB always rpt's well, only a few months ago it was the BBC's top Saturday program.