Old favourites keep pulling in viewers
http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/news/2...n_viewers.html
Quote:
“Established dramas on BBC1 and ITV1 again proved they can bring in large audiences this week, but both channels struggled to hold on to viewers for new shows.
The latest run of ITV1's Foyle's War proved it has lost none of its charm as the fifth series launched on Sunday 13 April with a sizeable 7.1 million/27.9% share. The two-hour drama at 8pm held a largely steady audience throughout, hitting a high of 7.4 million/28.8% at 8.30pm. The last time Foyle's War was aired, 7.5 million/34.8% tuned in on 15 April in a 9pm slot.
The Michael Kitchen-fronted Second World War show found favour with upmarket viewers, with 44.5% of its audience coming from the ABC1 demographic. But it was a turn-off for younger viewers, with just 3.6% of the audience aged between 16 and 34.
Also warmly welcomed back by viewers was BBC1's Waking the Dead on Monday 14 April. The crime drama pulled in a respectable 6.8 million/27.3% over an hour at 9pm, well over the channel's slot average of 5.5 million/23.5% share.
While the figures were strong, moving the two-part show from Sunday and Monday nights to Monday and Tuesday didn't impress some viewers. The first outing of the last series on 7 January - a Sunday - pulled in a heavyweight 9.2 million/35.4%. The entire series averaged an impressive 7 million/27.1%.
New drama shows may initially bring in sizeable audiences, but numbers can quickly drop off as viewers lose interest. ITV1's The Fixer, part of its plan to air more cutting-edge drama, initially grabbed 6.2 million/26.6% on 10 March but audiences quickly dropped and the six-part run ended last Monday on 3.3 million/13.4% in a 9pm slot. It was well below the slot average of 5.7 million/24.4%, and the entire run averaged 4.5 million/19.2%.
A similar fate befell BBC1's recent drama three-parter Casualty 1907. It kicked off on 30 March with a strong 6.6 million/26.9% in a Sunday night slot at 9pm but concluded last week (13 April) with just 3.5 million/13.7%.
Holby Blue, the corporation's rival to ITV1's The Bill, has suffered since returning for a second run, The Holby City spin-off started off with 5.2 million/23.4% on 20 March in an 8pm slot, bettering The Bill, which managed 4 million/17.8% at the same time. But since then Holby Blue has seen its audience fade away, while The Bill has held steady, and the BBC show only drew 3.4 million/15.4% on 10 April.
The second run of E4's high-profile teen drama Skins couldn't match the first series last year. The conclusion on 14 April picked up 770,000/4.65% at 10pm giving the second series an average of 663,000/4.3% on E4. Even with the viewers watching on E4+1, the series averaged 805,000/5.22% compared with the first series, which launched in January last year and averaged 822,000/5.70%.
Top 10 dramas so far this year
Title TX Start Viewers Channel Share 2008 (millions) (%)
1 Doctor Who 05/04 6.20pm 8.4 BBC1 39.4
2 Wild at Heart 02/03 7.30pm 8.2 ITV1 32.8
3 Heartbeat 06/01 8pm 8.2 ITV1 30.3
4 Lewis 24/02 9pm 8.0 ITV1 35.4
4 Casualty 02/02 8.20pm 8.0 ITV1 33.0
6 Heartbeat 13/01 7.50pm 7.7 ITV1 27.9
7 Foyle's War 13/04 8pm 7.1 ITV1 27.9
8 Holby City 18/03 8pm 7.0 BBC1 29.5
8 Ashes To Ashes 07/02 9pm 7.0 BBC1 29.2
10 Waking The Dead 14/04 9pm 6.8 BBC1 27.3
Source: TNS Infosys. Figures are for overnights. Period covered 1 Jan to 14 April. Excludes soaps”
Another series high. 
