Why can't I? 2014 is the only recent year it has launched significantly higher than the previous year's lives and that year was the return of Cowell/Cole. I don't think this year's returns have quite the same level of interest and it isn't the first time they've played the comeback card now. In 2013 it wasn't that much higher (9.2m v 8.6m) and it didn't launch on a Bank Holiday weekend that year. Last year it was about the same and in 2012 it returned significantly lower than the previous year's lives.

I'd love to be proven wrong but I don't see a reason for any big boost to occur.

I see some excuses for the returning XF are getting in very early, here. Lack of trailers, Etc. On the XF forum, they feel that the Sunday XF requires Corrie in front of it, to get good ratings. Funny this show, needs propping up, that's according to its supporters.

I think they all know as we all know it's on its last legs. After terrible ratings and sacking Dermot, then all judges from mast year quit, then the presenters Olly and Caroline quit before being sacked, then desperate Simon begs Dermot back, then we have a panel, made up of over 60's pensioners, bar Nicole, who can't sing, - bar Nicole, this show has so much negativity, coming back.

Ratings wise it was slaughtered last year, it's out of touch with the youth market it's aimed at.
Well good weather is coming, and BBQs maybe out so XF may have low ratings next weekend. Nothing to do with its fundamental weakness, poor talent and focus on the judges not the talent.

Back in 2011 XF was the talk of the workplace, and event TV, it fell from grace after that big time, and the changes this year are out if panic, weakness, and shifting blame for last years lane performance on Olly and Nick.

To change and get more viewers, it requires to focus 99% of the time on the contestants, not judges bickering or judges introductions, it needs to be far less bloated, like an old over rehearsed pantomime, and go on resuscitation to bring life back, after mast years death, by going back to basics.

The panic changes this year to an OAP judging panel, bring back Louis and Sharon, is exactly the wrong move, Louis, hasn't a clue and is away with the varies, it was correct to sack him before, Sharon is out of touch, nearly as much as Simon is now.

The question is, if you went into hospital would you want to see a doctor with lots on
of expierances who is 60, and close to retirement, or a 25 year old surgeon, who has been trained recently, up to date and in touch with modern methods?

I prefer the younger in touch person.

This judging panel will not relate to the target youth pop market, and will speed up this aging shows demise.

I predict live XF will be circa 5 million,

And do not forget BBC1 has a Film length Casualty on which picks up on a real cliffhanger from three weeks ago, that will give the aging XF a run fir its money.

Oh great the X Factor arguments have started again, and will now play out, with increasing ridiculousness every day until Christmas.

The moment I read this, I just knew it was going to be a paragraph of X Factor bashing. Everybody here knows you hate X Factor/Simon Cowell/Syco/ITV, so why even bother? It's not like you were going to say something positive is it?

That whole paragraph boils down to "X Factor is crap". It's getting so tedious.

Do you think we could ban X Factor discussion until the rating actually comes in next week?

X Factor will do okay as usual.

Quite a few but probably not as many times as the james bond or harry potter ones

What do you think it will launch with?

Next weekend as a whole is really interesting across the big 2, with X Factor (x2), Victoria (x2), Are You Being Served, Porridge, Go For It and Thor 2 all airing. Sadly everything will be depressed because of the holiday weekend, but we could still see some good numbers.

But there's no way it will loose another million as you predicted (for the launch at least).

I know it's probably not accessible, but are there any ratings in Brazil for the average/peak of Brazils football match win against Germany? I imagine it would have been huge over there!

ADP I don't think you can really call TXF ageing, yet suggest Casualty is not. Both are past their best, with their ratings dwindeling.

The Olympics coverage has been great hasn't it. The time zone pushing athletics into the night and the fact that I didn't go to any events in person means I've probably watched a more coverage and a wider range of sports this time than in 2012. People thought it would be a let down compared to London, but people have got behind it more than I expect the BBC ever thought, the medal haul helped somewhat.

Only negatives from a coverage point of view, being dodgy channel changes leaving gaps in live action and a slight inflexibility of scheduling of the fixed points such as the news, which the BBC obviously knew and sorted out in the second week. Other than that you can't fault the coverage really and they did right in clearing the decks on BBC1.

A shame the next one is in a worse time zone meaning there will be no live coverage after about 4pm In the afternoon, and the fact that the BBC coverage might be compromised by the new rights deal. How this will work in practice nobody seems to quite know.

[
But if it went on Christmas Day it would probably be against Strictly anyway. And Strictly's audience has increased just as much as Takeaway's. It wouldn't be live either, which would lose a lot of the excitement. It would probably do just as well as Dancing On Ice did on Christmas Day, not very.


They've not axed it, it was in the Radio Times Olympic Special three weeks ago, but presumably towards the end of it, it was mostly guesswork. The fact is, the boxing finishes about 7.30 tonight and then the only other thing still going on is the basketball, which is on BBC4, so as it says on the EPG, they'll have at least an hour of highlights. You can say, oh, they could have had two but after fifteen days of live sport taking up primetime, it seems a bit off to fill another one up with recorded sport. Hardly anyone is still using the RT guide from three weeks ago, so very few people will notice.


Well, this was very odd, BBC1 and BBC2 simulcasting hockey for 25 minutes. But it reminds me of when they were doing Fantasy World Cup in 1998 and they said if England got to the final they'd go, regardless of the fact they were supposed to be doing a show less than 24 hours earlier, and David Baddiel said "If England are in the World Cup Final, I doubt anyone would mind if half an hour of telly is a bit rubbish."


Sorry to sound like a stuck record, but I will say again, I am 99.9% certain the BBC have never signed a contract that has demanded coverage can only be shown on BBC2. Match of the Day was on BBC2 last week! And as you say, with hindsight you can argue they could have shown more, but that would have involved putting faith in the success of taekwondo and hockey holding a primetime audience, and even the most optimistic Team GB supporter would have struggled to predict how exceptional the performances were going to be.


But they did do that, they didn't show it on Tuesday and instead put it on Wednesday which was the weakest evening of the Games. And any other moves are based on that hindsight again, at the start of the Games it seemed fair enough in being cautious.

Anyway, can you spot something strange with the headline to The Observer's article on Victoria?
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CqYcD3hWYAAFrS3.jpg

So typical of The Guardian. Like all those Americans who assume Masterpiece Theater is BBC stuff.

It wouldn't have to face Strictly at all. Strictly tends to be an hour and a quarter on Christmas Day so it's easily avoidable. It's the only one of BBC1's Christmas Day shows I'd avoid with it as well, I think it'd have a really good shot against Call The Midwife, Doctor Who or even EastEnders. Emmerdale has done alright against Strictly on Christmas Day in the past few years anyway so they could just shove that there again.

It won't happen, of course, for a few reasons. But I think it could do well as it'd be a good Christmas variety show. Dancing on Ice didn't work as it was completely detached from the main competition, but Takeaway isn't a competition in the first place. I think it'd get a lot of the casual audience, appealing nicely to the family audience. Stuff like All Star Family Fortunes has done weirdly well on Christmas Day before, that sort of fluffy LE works on the day.

Everybody knows how bad my ratings predictions are but I think X Factor will be high 6m to low 7m with +1. Even though Casualty is 30 is there much buzz for it? Not sure it will be much past 5m, if that.

Victoria has had more promotion than the comedies. Can't call that battle. Are the ratings prediction game predictions up yet? Will be fun reading.

This week's Radio Times has an article on the scriptwriting Williams brothers and refers to "their spellbinding ITV thriller The Missing". Tut tut tut.

I don't think I would want those Geordie (insert expletives here) on Christmas Day. TV for idiots they are.

I think X-Factor could win on Sunday, the BBC has a tired show against it "Antiques Roadshow" - can't it be axed and Fiona Bruce and co banned from TV for inflicting this crap on us? We're not all Tory-loving pensioners who have Margaret Thatcher shrines in our houses ffs.

Fiona Bruce is a Tory?

Probably not but the show aims towards that demographic. Needs putting out of it's misery.

On both counts, try NOT watching programmes you don't like. That's what I do.

Hear hear.

Also why is it seemingly impossible on this thread for certain posters to openly dislike a programme without being offensive about its viewers?

A line is crossed too many times I feel.

An absolutely fantastic closing compilation with credits just now on BBC One.

Well done to all of Team GB for our medal success and the BBC for producing such excellent coverage. 👏👏👏🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧

I'm going to assume though,that they ballsed up the Poldark trailer afterwards.it said it was starting next week.

They must have ballsed it up that they didn't go into a trailer for either that dire looking BBC Three sitcom, or that Salford class of 92 thing as that's what all the other Olympics shows seemed to go into.

Of course, the next big rating will be three nights from now.

(hopefully)