Actually ITV Media is the last place to go, they're dreadful at up-dating

I assume so as it's from Overnightstv's Twitter page.

It seems a sensible approach with one person's salary paid out instead of the individual controllers.

Uhm......interesting. A logical idea but will it be successful? Could BBCtv be about to undergo a huge facelift including new idents and new schedules?

That's good, hope it holds up now they've put it up against Gotham on the main channel.

When shows like Jekyll and Hyde and Beowulf struggle to get 2m viewers I don't think ITV would complain where they get the viewers from as long as they get them.

I think one of the problems TV channels have is of their own making, when they think they have the ability to target viewer demographics with scientific precision.
Of course you can do that if your show is definitely going to be a guaranteed hit. But they seem to make so many shows targeted at such a narrow demographic that when they fail they fail hard, because they don't have the backup of viewers who would be outside the demographic they targeted.
When you try to capture a specific niche audience within an already niche audience I think you can try too hard and end up with no one.

A few more ratings for Monday night...

University Challenge: 3.03m (13.4%)
Only Connect: 2.53m (11.0%)
How to Lose Weight Well: 1.87m (8.2%)
The Undateables: 1.67m (7.3%)
Celebrity Big Brother: 2.04m (8.9%)
Gotham: 0.73m (4.7%)

I think you make some very good points, and yes it is something worth thinking about more. I do believe that you may be right in some cases when TV execs don't quite manage to interpret online social media stats and online buzz correctly.
Possibly similarly to how political pollsters can sometimes be so wide of the mark when it comes to carrying out public opinion polls and getting it catastrophically wrong.

Really shocked the BBC has effectively let Shillinglaw go. What she has done for BBC Two should not be underestimated.

I guess she will get another top job very quickly, though. I could see Sky being very interested indeed.

I agree. It's as though it's an instinctive compulsion that they must target that demographic no matter what with an almost psychopathic zeal.

But it doesn't necessarily produce good television so they often don't get the viewers they want anyway.

Well I hope she will not turn all of the channels into BBC One

Would anyone else have given the top job to Shillinglaw over Moore or is it just me that thinks that?

I think Shillinglaw has done a better job for Two in the last couple of years than Moore has for One, taking everything into account.

But I guess it's a pointless debate at this point. The decision has been made and that's that.

I agree with you Dancc. Channel 5 occasionally do make decent acquisitions, but to maximise viewers they really do need to go HD on terrestrial.
It's ridiculous that in 2016 all the other 4 main channels are available in HD, and have been for a long time, but Channel 5 still aren't.

I did read recently on the Broadcasting forum some posters saying that there is an empty space available on Freeview which isn't broadcasting at the moment which they suspect will be where Channel 5 will launch in HD.

Cassian Harrison gone from BBC Four, too. One of the few channel controllers to answer Tweets.

I'm in the same boat as you, I watch bb/cbb, gotham, Wentworth prison and lip sync battle. Would never of thought I'd watch as much as that, on channel 5 a few years ago.

Well exactly. It's amazing that they are able to compete so closely with Channel 4 in a lot of key slots when they are so far behind in this area. It must be a big handicap already, and the effects of that are only going to increase. It's especially irritating that as well as the main channel, C4 also has +1 and 4Seven on Freeview HD as well, so effectively three chances to catch C4's output in HD. But not one HD option for C5. For me, that's not good enough in 2016 from a PSB.

For as long as Viacom are happy to keep it behind the paywall they are basically saying they are content for C5 to be considered more like a big digital channel, rather than a true competitor to ITV and C4. Except we can see from the output that that is not the case, with hardly any repeats across the day and an ever improving and varied programming proposition. Not to mention the fact they have a very privileged slot on the EPG and the responsibilities that come attached to that.

Anyway, I've written to them about this countless times and would urge others to do the same to keep the pressure on them. The media are doing their bit as well, although it would help if Broadcast could run a similar article to the one that I linked to on seenit.

Let's see what happens in the coming weeks and months, because there's been whispers but nothing more than that at this stage.

It's a sad day all round. I know the BBC has to save money but this was one area which should have been left alone.

BBC Two is the 3rd biggest channel in the country - clearly it needs its own dedicated controller, someone very experienced and committed to maintaining its very high standards.

Would you have a link?

Managed to get a few soap ratings for you.

EastEnders - 7.08m (31.2%)/ 339k on BBC3
Emmerdale - 6.70m (33.2%), 100k (0.4%) on +1
Coronation Street - 7.67m (35.8%), 130k (0.6%) on +1 and 7.53m (32.5%), 110k (0.5%) on +1
Doctors - 1.71m (21.9%)
Hollyoaks - 860k (4.4%), 30,000k (0.1%) on +1

Yeah, it seems that Benidorm is in decline. It was always to be expected with the Garvey family leaving, they were such a central part of the show.

I thought Silent Witness would have rated a little higher, but it's been consolidating really well (people waiting to watch both episodes at the same time?), so hopefully the same will happen again this week.

CBB is having a strong series, pretty consistently over the 2m mark which is really good for Channel 5.

No, because I'm wrong!! I assumed Harrison was controller, but he's editor, so he's staying.

I admire your tenacity to actually write to them about this issue.
If the public don't demand something strongly enough then there's less chance of a change being made if a channel doesn't feel it has to
I think you're right though that one way or another they'll probably have to go HD at some point according to what broadcasting standards may expect of them with them holding a privileged slot on Freeview.
If they are to be seen as one of the big 5 terrestrial channels then they have to demonstrate that they are fit for purpose.

BBC 6.30 regional news 5.943 million
BBC Six 5.396 m
BBC Ten 4.414 m

Question. We don't get a Freeview signal here in Devon so can't check, but are the HD versions of PSB channels in different positions on the EPG like as on Sky? So the privileged positions are for SD (BBC Two and C5 excepted).

I wish BARB would ask their panellists who don't watch HD versions, why not and report their findings.