Ah yes - true.

No, I can see your point about the 7pm hour being a potential breeding ground for shows like Family Fortunes and stuff and it being less of a risk with the soaps picking things up later.

If that were the idea I'd be inclined to strip ED/CS from 8-9pm on Sunday to Friday, and open up 7pm hour all week long, leaving The Chase/News from 5-7pm as now. At least that way the slots are perfectly consistent all week.

Either way something needs to happen.

Possibly, but unlikely. I think the BBC would inevitably retool around this, and it would be to the benefit of both channels and viewers in general. While the soaps aren't the force they once were, they still are a force and pre-9pm they're the biggest force on the box (GBBO excluded).

I'm glad to see this thread has moved away from TXF v SCD...because its boring, and something so much more constructive. I say well done James. Y

Thanks very much.

I see your point regarding The Chase. It's perfect pre-dinner fodder for audiences, so perhaps it wouldn't do better at 6pm? However I'm still inclined to think it would, but it would be up to ITV to ensure decent new gameshows were premiered at 6pm when it was off-air.


Cheers! It's fun to bounce ideas around, I enjoy hearing everyone's ideas. I know it's easy to focus on what 'is' or 'has been', but what 'could be' is also a fun way to chat on the thread.

I firmly believe the schedules are due an upgrade due to various changes in the past 5-10 years and one of the channels needs to lead the way. Since its schedule is messiest (and updating with an extra CS and potentially new nightly 10pm chat show) I suggested what ITV could do.

Fudd's ideas are also very interesting (like 7pm hour as a safe breeding ground) and I think between all of us we could come up with more good ideas taking lots of different perspectives into account.

No, it's not "boring" as you put it, it holds the same weight as any other topic on here & is in my opinion way more constructive than much of the dirge that gets left on this thread..

The new Jonathan Ross format has breathed a whole new life into the programme.

Currently a member of Little Mix is showing a very uncomfortable looking Jeremy Clarkson how to twerk. Clarkson is actually going along with it and trying to do it!

Ratings are up quite substantially since they switched to the 'all guests on sofa at once' format aren't they? If so, not surprised as it's infinitely more watchable than one at a time.

I'd agree to you with having it across 8pm across the board from say Sunday to Friday except EastEnders' 8pm episodes on Monday and Friday potentially block that and I don't think BBC One would be that willing to move it. I suppose ITV could try and force their hand but I'm sure the BBC would fight back - such as starting the likes of Planet Earth and the new baking show at 7.30pm on a Wednesday to run over Coronation Street's slot.

Much better. If it's good enough for Graham Norton then it's good enough for Jonathan Ross.

True, but I think it'd be ITV's win if they didn't move it. Emmerdale is strong right now and it would be foolish for the BBC to not comply in this scenario and move their Monday and Friday episodes to 7.30pm.

It's time the soap start times were consistent. Times have changed. I don't care which order, but one 30 minute episode in an evening at the same time is the right way to do it - the different start times for EE were born of a time when there were 2-3 soap episodes a week. We're in a different world now.

I agree with you H.

As much as I hate too many soap episodes how they're scheduled now doesn't madden me as there are spaces for other programmes. The other programmes just need to be better. I think they can be and will be.

But cylonnnnn, it's sooo messsssyyyyyyy! Why have 2 different start times for the three shows instead of one?

Ditch the doubles and have all the soaps have a fixed time slot - either 7, 7.30, 8 or 8.30! *waves banner*

Wonder how many additional people will watch tomorrow afternoons repeat

Haven't you hit the nail on the head. There is a significant potential audience available to ITV but they aren't interested in chasing it because the current business model works perfectly for them and they don't need to take risks.

They are in a unique position in terms of dominating in the delivery to advertisers of mass audiences on commercial television - I believe their 2015 annual reports says that over 98% of commercial programmes achieving a 5 million + audience were on ITV.

Whilst they have this dominance of the market they have no need to improve their overall schedule as they have no real competition.

Given Channel 4's current PSB remit and the budget limitations at Channel 5, this situation isn't likely to change any time soon.

Brilliant idea!

I don't think BBC1 would move the soaps. They'd just work around it. They haven't moved it before. I think they should sometimes and put EastEnders against Coronation Street and come up with some waffle about no other slots being available.

Oh, so is scheduling discussion permitted now? What are your 3 favourite aspects of Fudd's idea, and why?

Don't make me wag my finger at you!!!!

Calm your tits. I thought the idea of putting scheduling discussions in a ratings thread, in spoiler tags, was a brilliant idea.

Controversial.

I don't think that's true. To be honest I would be happy with 19:00 Emmerdale, 19:30 Coronation Street, 20:00 EastEnders all week long.

This would at least open up the battleground for other non-soap shows from 20:30 all week. But the BBC would be reticent due to ITV potentially airing hour-long formats at 8 that could dent EE.

Which is why I think my idea is best in balance, of forcing the networks to play fair and air "fluffy"/complementary 30 minute stuff - ITV at 8pm against EE and the BBC at 8.30pm against Corrie - before the 9pm battleground opens up.

I know people are so resistant to change but the schedules are just stuck in an outmoded format from a long-gone era. New things have been tacked on top but it's time for a re-think and I don't think the re-think needs to unduly favour or benefit one channel over another, but it would be best for linear viewers in general.

Still trying to police the thread I see. Bless.

"You are permitted to talk about something I'm not interested in if you put it in spoiler tags" haha

Yep, nice to know that others think similar to moi.


Precisely. These shows didn't rate as well as Corrie (if not similar to Em and Crossroads) but they drew different eyeballs to the channel. You may only 3m viewers but if 2m are different then maybe you'll start to expand your universe which should help promote major new programmes.

FWIW, if the soaps must be on so often, I'd put Em and Corrie on between 7-8 Monday to Friday and 6:30-7:30 on Sundays. The BBC can respond any way it chooses.

I'm inclined to agree with you (though I'd keep 7-8 on Sunday too for consistency).

However Fudd's point is very strong about having 7-8pm open for new formats and 8-9pm for 'trusted' soap leading in to 9pm.

It could be riskier to open 8pm all through the week on ITV to flops.

However either option is better than the current mess.

I'm actually normally a very positive person on this thread, just certain members get on my wick (you are one of them). The only contribution I remember from you is you slating me for daring to criticise a member who called all Big Brother viewers chavs.

I actually don't mind your schedule ideas James, it'd be nice to have each soap in a fixed slot all week.

It was very good. I wonder how many iguanas were involved in *that* chase. I don't care if it's slightly fake, it was great tv.

I like this schedule, far more welcoming to viewers than seeing soaps in primetime after 8pm.

ITV moving away from a varied schedule got them into trouble. Soaps get a solid rating and a spike when they blow something up, then ITV rely on a handful of other shows to bring in money. When ITV was flying it's because they had a variety of shows that were matching or exceeding soaps that sat alongside them. Thinking "well this is as good as it gets" means you won't grow your audience and you go after an ever dwindling set of viewers.