The cracking first series (or third, I suppose) attracted a whopping 12.41m for the first BBC1 episode in 2002 and held on to a solid 10.5-10.8m, climbing back to 11.5m for the penultimate episode then dropping to 9.7m for the final episode which fell on the Jubilee Bank Holiday weekend - the BSI at work again.

The second started with 9m but then dropped to 8m+ when ITV put the 2 hour Midsomer Murders against it, which in 2004 was still very popular with 10m+. They then finished it off with IACGMOOH which got 12m whilst AWP ended with 6.7m. Still, that wasn't too bad for a drama series set in Cuba.

The final two parter at Christmas 2004 recovered slightly to 7.8m and 7.4m.

Hardly "quite poor figures" anyway...

Everything seems to be crime procedurals. Either stand alone episodes or 3 parters. I think these are the kind of shows you can dip in and out of, but isn't "must see tv" or water cooler programming. These shows are probably all appealing to a similar audience. Kudos make shows which feel slightly similar but do at least avoid police like Spooks, Hustle and The Fixer.

ITV did try to do more last year, but every single one of them flopped. The Palace, Honest, Rock Rivals, Moving Wallpaper and so on. The BBC are now struggling with Mistresses.

The only place that ventures out is weekends which is all family aimed and is improving. But what ITV could do with is an ABC style revival, when shows like Desperate Housewives, Lost, Greys Anatomy and Brothers and Sisters appeared. There is also a painful lack of comedy on British TV. I know I'm not alone on this thread in liking The Big Bang Theory. It really can't be that expensive to make, the use very few sets and nearly all the stories revolve around the core 5 characters with one major guest at most. Yet it doesn't come over as cheap, like so much British TV.

What's also interesting is that while procedurals are still on form in the US, the new hits are all slightly less "gritty crime drama" and more science/technology based like Eleventh Hour, Lie To Me and Fringe. The Mentalist also seems to be slightly different.


They have the FA Cup Final on the Saturday as well, so it could be a massive week for ITV. Imagine an FA Cup Final and the BGT final on Saturday? What would their all day share be like?!

Given that FA Cup Finals on ITV1 tend not to get more than 3.5-4m, I wouldn't get carried away. If BBC1 has any snooker or bowls to show, it might outrate the footy...

I agree about The Big Bang Theory, it's old fashioned in a sense but its characters are likeable (and yes, that includes Sheldon) and the situations are surprisenly relatable. The fact that the comedy pilots this year have been more multicamera than single camera suggests a shift in attitute by TV execs.

The Mentalist and Lie to Me are very character based and Fringe is very much trying to be the new X-Files. The Mentalist has an arc along with the single cases and Lie to Me is very much a FOX show in the vein of Bones and House with its mix of humour and drama.

I think ITV should be looking for the next Lewis/Poirot/Marple and also replacements for aging shows like Taggart and T&R. I recently read an interview with Laura Mackie where she mentioned that she was looking for the next Fat Friends or Cold Feet which would be good since they did well for them.

ITV1
21:00 -Law & Order: UK: 6.1m (26%)

It's like a yoyo, this show lol...
It just shows that this is a show that you can dip in and out of.

So the series average is: 6m

If ITV got 13 weeks per year of 6m in that slot they would be happy enough.

It should also be repeatable at somewhere close to 3.5m per show over the summer.

They should be pleased.

Speaking of repeats, does anyone know what the Wednesday repeats get??

Very good ratings. It seems to have established a core audience now at least - no major declines which I was concerned might happen at the start of the series.


IMO ITV has enough detective-led dramas for now, and shouldn't be setting out to look for anymore just yet. I agree with C14E - they need an ABC-style revival and commission some new, fresh, bold drama series that are a definite change from what we expect of ITV.

It is hard though. I suppose they did try that last year but the stuff they were commissioning was awful. There is a market for non-police procedural dramas - just look at how successful Cold Feet was. They just need to find the right ones. I fear though that the success of the recent crime dramas mean they won't branch out and instead play it safe.

Great for Law & Order:UK, its now an established hit with a consistant audience, it should get a second series. But the break splitting the series up may affect the ratings either way

Monday 23rd March 2009 -Roundup

BBC One
13:45 -Doctors: 1.8m (24.2%)
20:00 -EastEnders: 9.48m (38.6%)
*Highest rating since mid-February*
20:30 -Panorama: 3.55m (14.4%)
21:00 -Cleopatra: Portrait of a Killer: 3.39m (14.1%)

BBC Two
20:00 -Railway Walks: 2.98m (12.1%)
20:30 -James Wong's Grow Your Own Drugs: 2.1m (8.5%)
21:00 -Heroes: 1.65m (7%)

ITV1
19:00 -Emmerdale: 7.34m (33.6%)
19:30 -Coronation Street: 9.64m (40.6%)
20:00 -Kevin Whateley on Dementia: Tonight: 3.7m (15.1%)
20:30 -Coronation Street: 9.83m (39.5%)
21:00 -Law & Order: UK: 6.1m (26%)
*Up 300,000 from last week
Series average: 6m*

Channel 4 [inc. +1]:
18:00 -The Simpsons: 2.3m
18:30 -Hollyoaks: 1.9m
20:00 -Dispatches: Confessions of a Nurse: 1.1m
21:00 -The Great Sperm Race: 1.5m (5.9%)
22:15 -The Secret Millionaire: 980,000
*Consolidated rating of 3.7m*

FIVE
17:30 -Neighbours: 1.61m (10.6%)
18:00 -Home & Away: 1.13m (6.1%)
20:00 -The Gadget Show: 1.33m (5.4%)
21:00 -Extreme Fishing with Robson Green: 1.56m (6.7%)

E4 [inc. +1]
19:00 -Hollyoaks: 622,000 (3.2%)
21:00 -90210: 340,000
22:00 -Samantha Who?: 170,000

Film4 [inc. +1]
18:30 -Fried Green Tomatoes...: 150,000
21:00 -Adrift: 260,000

More4 [inc. +1]
21:00 -Relocation, Relocation: 150,000
22:00 -Country House Rescue: 160,000

BBC Three
21:00 -Gavin & Stacey: 673,000 (3.2%)
22:00 -Eastenders: 701, 000 (4.1%)

BBC Four
21:00 -Fish: A Japanese Obsession: 455,000 (2.3%)

Sky1
21:00 -24: 542,000 (2.5%)

ITV2
23:30 -Coronation Street: 164k (2.5%)
00:30 -Coronation Street: 159k (3.5%)

FIVER
18:30 -Home & Away: 606,000 (3.4%)
19:00 -Neighbours: 238,000 (1.2%)

All-Hours Shares
ITV1: 21.9%
BBC One: 20.4%
BBC Two: 7.5%
Channel [inc. +1]: 7.2%
FIVE: 4.9%

Prime-time Shares
ITV1: 26.9%
BBC One: 20.4%
BBC Two: 8%
Channel 4 [inc. +1]: 5.4%
FIVE: 4.7%
***********************************************
Sources:
Digital Spy Soaps
Digital Spy
Channel 4 Sales
Broadcast

L&O definitely rises and falls depending on what it's up against.

Corrie's second episode up on it's first. Not often that happens. EastEnders practically snapping at it's heels last night though.

Does anyone know where I can find the ratings for Fiver USA?

Law and Order: UK is holding up very well, around that 6m mark. The signs didn't look too promising when the second episode fell 0.6m, but fortunately it hasn't dipped any further.

It's pretty much been an ITV clean sweep so far this year in that Monday 9pm slot. I wonder what they'll put there after Law and Order: UK ends. I think the BBC might start to claw back ahead of ITV from then on, especially if shows like Waking the Dead and New Tricks are shown on Monday nights. But the momentum will probably shift back to ITV when Law and Order: UK returns after its break.


The overnights for Five USA are rarely reported, but you can see the Top 10 Official ratings for Five USA per week over here: http://www.barb.co.uk/report/weeklyTopProgrammes?_s=4

10pm News War!

ITV1 News at Ten 2.9m 16%
BBC1 News 4.4m 23%

Solid rating for NaT. Also good for EastEnders... I suspect that it would have a total audience of 11m+ if you combine repeat figures etc.

Law & Order has been doing pretty solid ratings and I imagine ITV1 and NBC Universal will be pleased. A second series seems likely at this early stage. BBC One did well with Eastenders and poorly with Cleopatra.

Railway Walks continues to do well as is GYOD and Heroes is doing okay for BBC Two, Channel 4 did okay with Dispatches and The Great Sperm and SM did well for a repeat and The Gadget Show and Extreme Fishing did well for Five.

An excellent night for Five. That Robson Green show has really established itself now.

Channel 4 meanwhile are becoming extraordinarily lazy. Their Monday lineup after 10pm is like C4+25 if you see what I mean.

Bradley Walsh on This Morning yesterday reported that Law and Order:UK had just been sold to France and Sweden and the other 6 episodes would probably not be shown until the autumn. They wrapped filming on episode 13 last Thursday!

Another good Monday for ITV1 with L&O established now-not many new ITV dramas maintain their debut figure so well!

Poor night for BBC1, but as expected with some filler doc in the 9pm slot. They seem to have totally given up on Mondays for some reason.

FIVE benefited from poor competition and Extreme FIshing is performing fantastically now.

Law and Order was always guna do good. Pretty much impossible for a show like that on BBC1 OR ITV1 to get less than 5 million. CSI gets 4 million on channel 5 for goodness sake.

I reckon Law and Order UK will run for a good 8-10 years and always remain above 5 million for its lifespan.

Coronation Street is doing well to maintain its Monday night 8:30pm audience, and I hope it continues. It will not only help the soap to keep its good figure, it will aid the 9pm drama recovery, which is going very well. I still think ITV's Friday 8:30 episode should really be on a Sunday at 7:30. It would be nice to have a music show in the Friday 8:30 slot - brings some variety for us viewers - and it makes it worth staying in.

In any case, ITV still need to find some kind of structure like they have on Monday nights.

Viewers are becoming loyal to ITV on Monday nights, because BBC1 are showing any old crap, and ITV are pouncing on this.

ITV need to jump on the opportunity to oust BBC1 off Tuesday nights. A mix of factual & entertainment should do it, saving money:-

8:00pm Who Wants to be a Millionaire? [Repeats]
9:00pm The Best of Whicker's World [Archive]
10:00pm News at Ten

And maybe ITV could start commissioning factual series especially for Tuesday nights in the future. It could keep Tuesday nights steady.

Brilliant ratings for EastEnders!!! It gets a much bigger reach than Coronation Street, and ITV will have to admit that the soap does not really appeal to the younger generation that much.

It really must depend on where you live though, i'm under 20 and know many people who regularly watch Coronation Street yet hardly anyone who watches Eastenders.

Splitting the series up..?

The 2nd Friday bulletin of News At Ten got 1.5m, versus 4.5m for the BBC last week. This must be the first time News At Ten did better than its lead in!

Monday 23rd March
USA Overnight Ratings

8.00pm:
ABC - Dancing With The Stars.......19.38m.....4.7/13.....3.5/10
FOX - House....................................7.67m.....2.7/7.......2.6/7
CBS - How I Met Your Mother..........6.95m.....2.6/7.......2.2/6
NBC - Chuck....................................6.05m.....2.1/6.......1.6/5
CW - Gossip Girl..............................2.20m.....1.0/3.......1.4/4
8.30pm:
CBS - How I Met Your Mother..........6.95m.....2.6/7.......2.2/6

9.00pm:
ABC - Dancing With The Stars.......20.94m.....5.2/13.....3.9/10
CBS - Two and a Half Men.............11.06m.....3.5/9.......2.4/6
FOX - 24........................................10.30m.....3.4/8.......2.9/8
NBC - Heroes...................................6.48m.....2.9/7.......2.7/7
CW - One Tree Hill...........................2.26m.....1.1/3.......1.5/4
9.30pm:
CBS - Rules of Engagement.............9.43m.....3.4/8.......2.2/6

10.00pm:
CBS - CSI: Miami............................13.46m.....4.0/11.....3.0/9
ABC - Castle.....................................9.81m.....2.7/7.......2.1/6
NBC - Medium...................................6.56m.....2.2/6.......1.5/4

NETWORKS:
ABC - 16.71m & 4.2/11 & 3.1/9
CBS - 10.29m & 3.4/9 & 2.5/7
FOX - 8.99m & 3.0/8 & 2.7/8
NBC - 6.36m & 2.4/6 & 1.9/5
CW - 2.23m & 1.1/3 & 1.4/4

Tvbythenumbers

NOTES:

CBS - How I Met Your Mother moved to 8pm with no new episodes of The Big Bang Theory this week. Last week TBBT had 9.76m at 8pm, well ahead of How I Met Your Mother this week. The 8.30pm episode was a repeat as was Two and a Half Men at 9pm. Rules of Engagement was new at 9.30pm but shed 2 million viewers from last week.

ABC - DWTS was down slightly, but didn't run into the 10pm hour like the last 2 weeks which is making Castle's numbers look a bit lower.

FOX - House was a repeat at 8pm which hit 24 a bit as well.

NBC - With weaker opposition, Chuck was up a bit. Heroes continues to fall but it retains a sizeable demographic lead over Chuck and Medium.

CW - Gossip Girl equals its series low as both it and OTH decline on last week. Both still doing OK, though.

Tonight - No new American Idol, Obama's on from 8pm till 9pm. On CBS, NCIS goes out at 9pm and The Mentalist will run at 10pm. Without a Trace has been bumped. NBC air the entire two hours of The Biggest Loser from 8pm, bumping Law and Order: SVU from 10pm.

USA regained the cable crown from Disney, WWE Raw was top show again with 5.3m. Hannah Montana was second with 4.5m.