I think 3.5m or above would be good because of the weather.

For BBC's sake I hope title isn't wrapped up before mid-season.

Yeah, not ideal really. A long way to go yet but it's starting to feel that way already.

I think the BBC will be very lucky now to produce a moment as exciting as Hamilton overtaking Glock on the final lap of the conclusive Brazilian Grand Prix and subsequently securing the title last year.

Huh? You said there's nowhere to put it on the ITV1 schedule so move it to ITV4 - but there is a place to put it on the ITV1 schedule.

I meant no 9pm or 10pm slot where it would be capable of getting OK ratings.

Well, no. But there's a slot for it, even if it's not 9pm. It doesn't need to be shunted off to ITV4.

How do you mean shunted?!

It could claim 500K+ in a 9pm slot on ITV4, and I think that's where it should premiere. It will reek benefits for the channel. Better than having it hidden away in a 10:35pm slot on ITV1, with only a few hundred thousand more

Woop, woop. 11.3m is great for BGT.

Good grief - is there really any need for you to use that smiley? All I'm saying is it already has a decent slot on ITV1. How is putting it on after the news on ITV1 'hiding it away' in comparison to premiering it on the little watched ITV4?

haha . Well, so many people use it...so I thought I would. The most insulting smiley in the world!

Premiering it on ITV4 gives ITV4 a good name & probably guarantees around 400-600K. It's a very good show. It gives a lot of viewers a really good alternative at 9pm. I'd prefer it to be there.

That is a huge rise in todays subdued ratings world. ITV are very lucky to have Simon Cowell who appears very partisan to them, to the extent its hard to see him ever wanting to work with the BBC.
As for the format and X Factor too-ITV owe so much of their still faltering shares to these two juggernauts. No other show does what these two do, they cant be parodied and any attempt at copying is doomed to failure.Game Set and Match really.
Its hard to see where the BBC can go with their own LE. I mean Nick Knowles is about to return with the primetime Lottery which says everything about the lack of mainstream LE star names. As does the fact that Norton and Barrowman have had so much mainstream exposure.Apart from SCD and a few of the Lloyd Webber shows, the BBC have not had a real returnable LE hit this decade.

Agreed, but that was extreme fate and the Gods smiled on ITV that day along with the rise of Lewis Hamilton in their last few years.Add to that the fact that English football clubs are so dominant in Europe these days and its a good time to have had the contracts. However there were quite a few dull years in both Champions League and Formula 1 in the past with Schumacher dominating so i guess things have evened out.
The Button Lewis (and others) story will no doubt produce many fireworks over the next 5 years.

Something to compare to this week, here's how last years live shows for Britain's Got Talent performed:

Last Audition Show - 7.72m (37%)
26/05/2008 [21:00] - 10.86m (42%)
27/05/2008 [20:30] - 08.83m (35%)
28/05/2008 [20:30] - 09.29m (36%)
29/05/2008 [20:30] - 09.70m (42%)
30/05/2008 [21:00] - 11.44m (53%)
31/05/2008 [18:50 - Final] - 10.99m (51%)
31/05/2008 [21:30 - Result] - 13.07m (55%)

Here is how ITV's schedule looked for the finale last year:


On BBC1, there was the I'd Do Anything final, which provided good opposition while BGT wasn't on - and it had over 6m viewers; they'll be lucky if anything on BGT Final day is over 6m.

Thanks for that D.M.N...I think that just shows Mumbai Calling could still easily be a flop...but hopefully it will have the curiosity factor which Pushing Daisies didn't have last year, because it wasn't new.

Also it's interesting how a Sunday show will perform as there wasn't one last year but IIRC the final was on a Sunday in the first year.

I reckon Mr & Mrs will easily be the second most watched show of the day and Casualty should do alright with the majority not up against BGT-quite clever starting it at 8.20-1o mins before BGT ends but that's normally when the filler arrives with the numbers being read out and when many switch.

Daylight shows' ratings will probably take a big knock today, because of the weather.

And it looks as though we're in for a hot spell from Friday onwards, so we might see some grim ratings for some shows next weekend.

Wow these are much lower than most of the 2009 audition shows particularily audience shares. It has really come into its own this year and apart from the Monday Night Thrillers has been the only good point for ITV1 this year. ITV desperately need a Summer reality series to fill the BGT and X factor gap.

I can easily see BGT topping the ratings they had last year for its live shows.

I think Britain's Got Talent will record its best ever overnight ratings tonight.

Expecting over 13 million.

I have a feeling tonight's BGT live show may top 12-13m, but the insanely hot weather may be more influential than in previous weeks.

And its a bank holiday tomorrow.

Myleene Klass is in Costa Rica now, so she is definately hosting I'm a Celebrity for NBC.

Apparently she is going to be joined by a male host - anyone we know?

I dont think there is any indication ITV2 are going to screen this alongside NBC, which is a mistake I think.

They could easily show the 4 episodes a week Thursday - Sunday, benefitting from any internet or press the show gets while its on.

I think saving it for later is probably a mistake. What do you think?

A relative newbie to this thread so not my place to say, but it strikes me as a bit odd that fantasy schedules are posted in this thread anyway.


Talking of New Zealand and they did "Outrageous Fortune", which looks to be a fantastic series about crooks going straight.

Turns out ITV did remake it as the Amanda Redman vehicle "Honest" a couple of years back - but as the US do with our shows, they completely missed the point and it all got lost in translation.


If I were a TV exec though, especially in digital land, and under pressure to cut costs I'd be looking quite favourably at series from down under now. Get the marketing right and no reason why they couldn't be as big as some of the US imports - I can just imagine E4 doing Aussie themed ads taking the piss out of Neighbours and Home and Away.

Saving it for later's definately the right option. It was axed first time round in America and there hasn't been any indication that it'll be any more successful this time round. That could leave ITV2 with only half a series if they were to show it days after it being on in the US.

What I dont get is why when you have a great, original title like Outrageous Fortune, that makes people think "Oh, whats that?" would you go and replace it with "Honest" - which sounds like a bland, typical ITV1 drama.

Simple things like that can make and break programmes.

I thought Honest was alright. Probably one of ITV1's better attempts in the past year or so.

I think its a mistake for ITV2 not to show it!! It would probs be cheap for them to buy and all there American shows will be ending soon!

Just wondering - as its Bank Holiday tomorrow, I'm guessing the chances of C4 Sales, MG, Broadcast and DS updating are bleak?