Originally Posted by Jaycee Dove:
“I think the lack of success of Keep it in the Family is the reason BBC are not bringing back The Generation Game.
The shows are fairly similar in format (though family has mated Gen Game with 321 and Crackerjack).
They have a genial host (Bradley Walsh does this show about as well as it could be done).
Theoretically Saturday night is ideal for it as it is in the Gen Game slot.
If it cannot get viewers there then the BBC will have figured that even with Miranda Hart presenting a Gen Game revival would likely fare only a bit better.”
I don't think that has much to do with it at all, Keep It In The Family has had two series, one of which was shown opposite Strictly and now one that's on in the middle of August, two of the worst slots for light entertainment imaginable. You could have put The X Factor in those slots and it would have struggled. And in addition, of course, it might be like the Generation Game, but it isn't the Generation Game. Stepping Out was a bit like Strictly, but one is a huge hit and one died on its arse.
Originally Posted by Cestrian18:
“Wasn't Mrs Brown meant to be getting the format that Rob Brydon ended up with as a later Saturday Show, I feel that would have worked a lot better imo”
Yes, The Guess List, which seemingly isn't coming back which is a bit of a shame because I enjoyed it and thought it could have been a long runner for them. But I don't think if they decided if it was a pre- or post-watershed show - it was simple and silly enough for 7pm, but it had swearing in it - so it seemed to fall in between two stools a bit. And presumably Rob's too busy to do it.
Originally Posted by Markynotts:
“The 83 and 84 figures would be fantastic ratings for today, with shows getting over 5 million and Dynasty getting 8 million. But it does show how things have changed, not with regard to multi channel tv but with just what rubbish is churned out now.”
Not especially, because it was mostly imports and repeats in the eighties, whereas last night BBC1 and ITV both had two hours of new programming in primetime. Also, a lot of those programmes in the eighties were really, really bad, 5 Star Family Reunion isn't particularly inspiring but Ultra Quiz was no better.
Originally Posted by cylon6:
“Saturday Night Football comes from the same studio as last season. The only difference is they don't have an audience in it anymore. Much better.”
Well, the audience was a waste of time but I wouldn't argue it was any better because now there's just no point them being in the studio at all, it is absolutely pointless. You don't save any money either because you have to light and power the studio, especially one as big as that. You've got to be at the ground anyway so sending the presenter and pundits and pointing a camera at them is a trivial expense. It's also unbelievably boring, there are no interesting film pieces or interviews, just loads of dull chat from Dave Jones, who is adequate but not a very interesting presenter, and Jamie Redknapp who is a dreadful pundit.
Originally Posted by grahamzxy:
“Not terrible for the FLS on 5, once Autumn kicks in it could get 1m+, they just need to show the right highlights and give on screen plugs from 5pm onwards.
Just 3 more August weekends to go then ratings will surely start to climb again....”
I would disagree, as mentioned last night was probably the easiest competition it could have (I know it was opposite MOTD for the last five minutes but they knew there was the chance of that happening). There's certainly no value in plugging it earlier in the evening, not least because, cricket aside (who I noticed did plug it) it's non-stop repeats and football fans aren't watching that, they're watching Final Score or the live game on Sky.
Lest we forget that when it moved to the Beeb - and it hasn't been there for very long, only six years, ITV before that had the rights for over twenty years - there were plenty of moans about the show because they had lots of tweets and e-mails in it and pointless wandering around, and people saying they preferred it on ITV. So being on commercial TV is not in itself a downside.
Originally Posted by D.M.N.:
“I think the Football League Tonight rating on Channel 5 only serves to highlight how vital the Match of the Day lead-in has been for them on BBC One in recent years.”
Yes, and I don't want it to sound like everyone should be grateful to be on the Beeb and should jump at it even if they only offer 50p for the rights, but you do benefit on that channel from the promotion across all its football programming which has a loyal audience. It's the same with the Football League on Sky, they benefit hugely from the goals and plugs on Soccer AM, Soccer Saturday and so on.
They get top billing on C5 but if casual football fans aren't going to look out for it, is there any value in that? Yeah, League Two clubs may now get their goals at 10pm rather than 1am, but they lose them being on Football Focus and Final Score, plus the simple announcement that that's where they are on Match on the Day. Better sometimes to be the supporting feature to something bigger than trying to go out on your own.
Originally Posted by mrstreetcred:
“Is the new lottery show any good, I've heard nothing about whether it's terrible.”
Well, it's not terrible, but it is the most bog-standard quiz you'll ever see.
What's that got to do with the discussion at hand?
