I think it just shows how ITV rely on the reality formats to have any sort of impact at all. An ITV world without Simon Cowell and Coronation Street binding things together would be a bleak one indeed.
The only difference with the BGT shows is that there is no results show so BBC1 should still pick up solid ratings for things like Casualty as long as they schedule them correctly.BGT looks like its going back to 1 hour from the following week. If the Beeb doesnt accommodate BGT correctly it could carry a large chunk of the evening for ITV.

I would have thought 5million is the magic number for Primeval and unless it recovers with a BGT boost, it's toast. After all, Primeval is an extremely expensive show to make. I don't suppose two relatively dull opening episodes have helped either. Ratings are down, but its share has dropped nearly 5% since last series.

Robin Hood is in a slightly better position being on the BBC as they don't need to concern themselves quite as much with the ratings.

Any peak for the Grand National? Harry Hill went out on a real whimper. Primeval looks to be dead losing out to a Total Wipeout repeat, essentially.

There seems to be a bit of an obsession with talking about shows getting another series recently. The current series of Primeval has only just started and still has a long way to go!

I honestly do not see Primeval recovering from this. There were, indeed, two dull openers and at this rate, ITV will just drop kick it from their schedules.

Next saturday, I expect Primeval to do very badly. Primeval clashes with Doctor Who, an extremely hyped show, from 6:45 to 7:15. I expect ratings to go way down during this period.

I agree, it's not looking good. I thought last week's opener wasn't the best, but last night's was excellent, so the ratings are a shame.

I'm not sure about next week, as part of me thinks that Doctor Who will thrash it, and Primeval will end up with about 3m, yet part of me thinks that it'll hold its own, and get 4.5-5.5m. Next week's episode looks epic, and having read the synopsis, I can't see people switching off halfway through, so it'll be most interesting to see what happens. I can't see BBC1 feeling good about Robin Hood clashing with BGT next week, either.

One thing that'll boost everything, though, is that rain is being forecast for next weekend.

Yup and there are some upcoming storylines in Primeval that may not go down too well with fans of the show - could also potentially hurt it.

People are saying Primeval will do better when BGT starts but I'm not seeing it at the mo. Looking at the current schedules for two weeks time, Primeval clashes with Robin Hood again although this time Primeval starts 5 mins earlier so it seems to have the heads up there. However, it has the failing COM as a lead in (i.e. no lead in at all) - don't know what RH gets before it yet. Also, RH importantly finishes before BGT starts so people can watch the BBC and turn over without missing anything...

I thought last night's was good in parts but really thinly plotted and too slow.


Primeval does get the bonus of starting earlier but I wonder if it's way too early. 18:15 is not a great start time. Combine that with the fact that recording allows people to zip through the ads, I wouldn't be surprised to if many decide to record Primeval and watch DW.


No I suspect Robin Hood will take a hit next week even with a good lead in from DW, although the week after it's scheduled before BGT, against Primeval again.

I think the upcoming storylines in Primeval will definately make or break the show, and I'm leaning towards the former at the moment, but reaction to the next few episodes will definately decide the show's fate.

The schedules for 18th April aren't confirmed and will almost definately change before they are confirmed on Wednesday afternoon. ITV's schedule looks pretty perfect though, and I can't see them changing it much (although maybe a You've Been Framed/Colour of Money swap would be better for Primeval).

I know that 'fandom' are not happy with the spoilers at all, basically saying that it's leaving behind what they actually liked about the show in the first place. How the general viewer feels about it remains to be seen.

TV.com seems to think Without a Trace and Cold Case are vulnerable and 'on the chopping block.'

Surely baloney?

http://www.tv.com/story/13568.html?page=1

The Dr Who shows this year are effectively all Christmas specials so I would expect the Easter Saturday show to do very well. However the return of BGT in the later slot has the potential to do epic business for ITV with an initial burst of enthusiasm especially with all the Kelly Brook business. Like I said earlier the BBC need to be clever with its scheduling. Robin Hood will be in the firing line but I cant see it doing worse than last night.

It's mostly a cost thing as both shows are aging and are expensive but I reckon they will be safe for at least one more season. CBS have shows which look more vunerable like The Unit which are more likely to be axed.

Yeah, I agree. I think they are just trying to be controversial there.

Without a Trace in particular seems to be a ratings powerhouse still and the quality sky high.

CBS would be daft to get rid, in my view.

This has been all over the internet for months.... They are CBS's worst performing drama's after the Unit, which will defo be axed. All 3 shows still do OK, and would be renewed if they were on a different network, plus WAT and Cold Case ae WB shows :/

I can see CBS axing one of the 2 (and the Unit)

Bad ratings for Saturday! Only good show was

Casualty: 6.54m (30.8%)

Without a Trace moved to Tuesdays and was able to fill a gap which had been causing problems for a few years with no new shows succeeding in the 10pm slot and WaT managed to fill that successfully but with NCIS and The Mentalist doing well, I do wonder whether CBS will look at whether a new show could retain more of The Mentalist' ratings.

As for Cold Case, it does fine in its slot but I reckon CBS will want to rebuild Sundays and so The Unit, Amazing Race and CC will either be moved to different days, axed or remain on Sundays.

I hope the viewers have deserted BBC One and ITV1 tonight and their unimaginative schedules. (well, except for Robots)

The alternatives are better; on BBC Two The Lost Art of Oratory and the premiere of Five Minutes of Heaven which should do well, on Channel 4 the usual excellent lineup of CDWM, Secret Millionaire and Quiz Night on which Alan Carr is a guest tonight, and Five have a triple bill of comedy films including Fun with Dick and Jane. (2006)

Something for everyone among that little lot, right?

Mind you, Madeley putting his foot in it on Life Stories could be a laugh.

The situation with Moving Wallpaper just shows the strange way ratings are dealt with from channel to channel. If it had been on BBC2 or Channel 4 then it would probably have got slightly less viewers but would be seen as a big cult hit and would definally be being recommissioned.

Also I'm surprised Al Murray did so poorly. I watched some episodes and the sketches were at least of the same quality as the recent Harry and Paul show on BBC1 but how many viewers did that get, double if not more? around 3-4m?

I can only suggest that it is because the two worst most over the top sketches were used to advertise the show rather than the more subtle sketches, but having said that, that works for Little Britain.

I just did a quick Google search about it, and it's official website says it'll be on air next year around April/March. Shooting starts this month if it all goes to plan.

It's set in Leeds and sounds similar to 'Cold Feet'. I think one of the producers worked on Cold Feet so if it has a similar quality about it, there's no reason why it shouldn't be a hit.


Just for reference, last year's Grand National coverage started at 14:30 and got 5.3m (40%). The coverage started late because of Match of the Day featuring an FA Cup match. The race peaked with 10.1m (63%) last year.

There's a thread out there asking why TV has got so bad. When an It's a Knout rip off, which was basically a repeat anyway, beats two well regarded family drama's in the ratings is it any wonder TV in general is becoming more and more dumbed down?

The warm weather this weekend would have affected the ratings across the board. Friday, saturday and sunday have been sunny so people are outdoors rather than in!

Except it's been done before. What ever happened to fresh ideas?

Duplication is taking over TV and film right now, and normally the remakes are just plain bad.

The Beeb might as well bring back Its a Knockout and have done with it. Actually it might do well-I used to love it when the women in the European teams used to berate their male colleagues for being next to useless in a ten foot high Gorilla costume.
Its a Knockout was arguably the first reality tv show.

To add to Primeval's woes, apparently it's ratings have dropped off in both Germany and Spain too.

In Spain it was expected since it was up against two popular shows, and it has now be moved to try and help it.

In Germany it apparently has no competition and still isn't doing that great.

This series doesn't seem to be capturing the viewers like the last two.

I just realised I'd typed 'It's a Knout' in my opening post. I meant It's a Knockout of course.

I think It's a Knockout has a stigma attached to it so it can't be bought back under that title. But just change the title, and it's fine, as Total Knockout...er Wipeout...has shown.


It's being aired later in the year this time round, so has the weather to contend with with the earlier time slots. Same with Harry Hill. They really need to be pushed back and Colour of Money sacrificed in an earlier slot - not like it's a great hit that'll suffer.

As for BBC1 - how about bringing back the National Lottery so Robin Hood can be in a later more supportive slot?

Disappointing ratings from last night all round, and I think a couple of good shows may be at risk now.