Yes, there's simply more viewers around than even two weeks ago. Everything should look for over 5% more now which means 300-500k for the soaps, 9pm dramas and XF. We saw yesterday the spike in numbers now that Halloween, Diwalli and GFN are over.

For sure SCD would beat the soaps in a clash because it gets 50% more viewers. The thought process for itv would be that the soaps should deliver 5m instead of the normal 3m.
But really, surely itv should be more pleased to see a new LE format like Magician getting 3.3m in a toxic slot? The objective should be to be finding new programmes that can deliver for 5+ years.

This is why I worry a bit for BBC's 2016. What new hit as it had this year that is likely to return? Drama or otherwise. And by hit, I mean modest hit.

???

Ratings for IAC are up.

Agree that it's not a particularly brilliant cast, but it really doesn't matter where IAC is concerned.

I don't think it's a brilliant cast in terms of the names they've got, but it was a really enjoyable watch last night. It's a nicer show so far and I wouldn't be surprised if that's deliberate after how nasty last year got. They haven't pitted them against each other from the off this time unlike in some previous years. Although I'm sure they'll want a bit of conflict at some point along the way so will engineer some if it doesn't happen organically. So far so good though, particularly as whilst the concert clearly didn't get a huge audience, it probably skewed quite young for BBC1.

Regardless of the show, 9.4m is fantastic. Well done. For some reason many of these stripped shows see a big drop on their second night.

I think the cast is alright. No sign of a Lady C-level masterstroke yet but plenty of fun, jokey personalities.
It's no wonder IAC and BGT do so well every year. They're must-see shows but are still very easy and light to watch.

And it is crazy for us to judge things based on small percentages. I'm wary of making much of 300,000 change in viewership for soaps or XF never mind the percentage retention of 89-88%. These ratings are broad-brush paintings.

It's wise to look for trends which the soaps give us so well because they're always blinking on.

Children in Need Rocks for Terry: 3.2m (13.7%)
NW: 1.2m (5.4%)

Something you cannot "unknow":

Finally worked out who one of the ones I hadn't heard of before, Jordan Banjo, sounds exactly like:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvOpOoQ8ggE

Would have been a better signing IMO.

Including +1:

Traffic Cops: 1.4m (6.2%)
Chris Tarrant's Extreme Railway Journeys: 1m (4.3%)
SAS: Who Dares Wins: 1m (4.2%)

Disagree both GBBO and Strictly show that you don't need Big Brother / the Apprentice style bitching to draw an audience. Think the producers have shown good judgement with the casting. Both Bango and Bridge have been fun/ interesting to watch and both looked like dull signings on paper originally

On the same night last year (inc. +1):

Police Interceptors (in place of Traffic Cops): 850,000
Autopsy (in place of Chris Tarrant's Railway Journeys): 840,000
SAS: Who Dares Wins: 1.42m

ITV gave Lady C her own one-off show recently IIRC. Can't have been that much of a misstep.

*shrugs* I still think they kept it fun last year. The drama added to it if anything.

I think its difficult with I'm A Celeb. If you get people in who cause drama, and arguments, although it keeps things interesting, its alsp puts people off, where most TV viewers want something fun to watch not nasty.

Then if they get a cast that are nice and they get on, you get people calling out that its boring.

I think further down the series we'll see some arguments arise, but I think bringing in an American would have been a good move.

I think last nights rating is fine. Its up YOY.

As long as they keep the trials as good as last year, the show will do well. Wednesday's eating trial should be fun.

It got 10.3m in 2014, so about 0.4m off this year's launch.

I was going to say the lead in shouldn't really affect I'm A Celebrity but the lack of natural break on BBC One may have made it slightly more dependent I guess. On it's return it's going to have a tough run opposite The Missing and The Apprentice. I just think it's retention could have been slightly better than it was but, as I said, it's still an excellent figure.

Family Guy was also on ITV2 which it wasn't last year which might have taken a few viewers, add to the fact BBC1 didn't bomb, and Ch5 is up YOY.

A reminder of the key scheduling dates for the next month:

Wednesday, November 16: Week 50 Programme Info & Provisional Schedules
Monday, November 21: Week 50 Final Schedules
Wednesday, November 23: Christmas Programme Info & Provisional Schedules (2 weeks)
Tuesday, November 29: Christmas Final Schedules (2 weeks)
Monday, December 5: Week 1 Programme Info & Provisional Schedules
Thursday, December 8: Week 1 Final Schedules

Source: http://www.bds.tv/broadcasters/bbcTvInternal.shtml

Is it wrong that I'm already excited by the thought of the 2 in red.....

So Simon Cowell is all over the Metro paper this morning and he had this to say about The Voice and Strictly:

"The viewers will decide if X Factor need to be axed once The Voice move to ITV next year. Its difficult to compete when you're on a commercial station because half [of Strictly's] audience is over 65. What you don't want is to turn this show into something that appeals to just an older audience because you kill it"

The article then continues:

Si says his current ratings of 9.5 million should save X Factor. "You wouldn't even think about taking off a show if it does those kind of numbers," he said.

Where do they get that 9.5 million number from?

It's interesting because his comment is "You wouldn't even think about taking off a show if it does those kind of numbers", the 'if' seemingly implying that the show isn't managing it?

Perhaps the ITV and ITV2 repeats between them are managing 1m-1.5m which would take the show up to around 8.5m in the officials. But any higher than that?

And that's why you can add SCD and GBBO to make TV's four big hitters.
No dramas, no fakes, just entertainment.
Shame there will only be 3 next year.....

But it wasn't so difficult, when it was thrashing Strictly back in 2010... So what's his argument?

9.5m wasn't a figure mentioned by him though, that's a figure they've given. I don't think he gave a specific number himself did he?

The official series average is slightly over 8 million right now. Throw in the repeats and you probably are looking at 10 million or so, plus online. Don't particularly agree with doing that to compare ratings but they probably do internally.

Not at all! I can imagine us being very very busy in here on those two days, especially two weeks today. Hopefully we're not going to be disappointed this year.

Do the tabloids still bother to do those free advanced guides full of TBA's?

Brilliant rating for IAC. Dismal for EE, it shouldn't be 500k behind ED and 1m behind Corrie in November.

Of course there is still the potential for them to drop an idiot into the camp to mix things up a bit. Less chance of that happening though if the ratings stay the same.

Oh I think they kept it fun and last year was a great series. Probably more confrontational than most previous series though so not a bad thing it has got off to a calmer start this year, particularly as they've got some fun and interesting people there. There's plenty of time for tension to build yet. There are normally a couple of late arrivals who may well shake things up.

The arguments definitely worked last year, mind, as the numbers held up much better across the series than normal. By week 3 it normally loses a bit of steam, but didn't last year. I think it probably helped that Lady C was very funny when she kicked off and that Hadley and especially Bannatyne were so unlikeable, so you didn't feel particularly sorry for them when they were on the receiving end of one of her rants.