this series is proving very popular though.

i dont think there is anything to worry about - overnights are low, but there will be a big timeshift.

I don't think many people here are worried, it's pretty clear that we are seeing the show leading the way in terms of watching what you want when you want to. It's quite exciting to see our show setting a trend like this actually.

I think what the figures show is that there is a solid core of approx 6.5 million viewers, give or take, who will deliberately take the time to track down the show each week via whatever means are available to them.

What has perhaps given the show its added cache over the last few years has been its 'cultural phenomenon' attraction to the casual viewer resulting in the ratings upswing at the end of the season as the less dedicated viewer tunes in just to see what bad wolf was about, or whether that regeneration scene which has been all over the news actually happens.

So on that basis the next few weeks should be interesting....just based on the readings from my own wonky cultural antennae I don't think we will get that added interest, leaving the show with ratings which are merely excellent rather than outstanding. Happy to be proved wrong.

at this point there is little chance of this series having a lower series average than any series bar series 4 though, as i stated up thread, as series 4 is the only series to date that has really seen an increase in ratings average in the last quarter.

as i stated, average ratings episodes 1 - 8, final series average in brackets:


I think people have a tenancy to forget that series 4 was the exception not the norm ratings wise.

True enough.....if the remaining episodes carry with say 6.75 reach, what would the average be for the season?

I think your proposed average is a little on the low side. The lowest final figures for last weeks episode will be 7.2- 7.7, this weeks will be between 6.5 -7. I'd also say that though we might see lower ratings for next weeks due to the world cup, I think the last two episodes will have final ratings over 7 million.

so assuming 7.3 and 6.8 final ratings for these and then 7.0 average for the rest for I come up with a guesstimate of 7.71 million.

It's this series I was referring to with viewing on iplayer. One of the things I love about Steven Moffat's writing is that there's plenty there for repeated viewing.

Thanks for the number crunching, and I hope your more optimistic figure prove correct.

As others have stated upthread, it still has a core audience however, it is significant for the BBC to note that it might have lost its 'must-see it live' status. With the popularity of the I-player and other devices it certainly has a bigger reach than some other shows.

Resting on laurels is not always good.

i disagree with this assessment, it's more part of a bigger move towards people watching what they want when they want to. Doctor Who has an audience that is very savvy in terms of knowing there are many different ways to watch a programme than as live. I don't think one should dismiss people that don't watch it live as being less part of the core audience or not considering the programme must see tbh.

People just need to adjust the way they look at ratings rather than making the mistake of thinking that overnights are the be all and end of things. In a few years, probably sooner, overnight ratings won't even exist i suspect, because the number of people watching programmes on there own terms will grow and grow until one day there are more people doing this than watching many programmes live.

The thing you have to realise is that only a fraction of the audience actually watch every single episode of a series anyway. I don't remember the exact details but i think it was actually less than 10%.

does anyone know the history of the doctor who ratings since 2005? the past two weeks overnights have been less or around 5 million. im sure it used to be much higher? is this right. i know it got axed back in the 80s because it was only getting around 4 million. im just slightly worried

please dont everyone jump on me either, for questioning the whether the ratings are poor or not!

Doesn't really matter about the overnight ratings. More people timeshift than they did even back in 2005. The final ratings are much the same now as they have been in every other year since the series came back.

The ratings are far from bad. I think TEH is the highest rated series opener after Rose. It's doing fine

I have only a very basic knowledge of how the ratings work, but looking at the ratings thread in this forum it is performing very well so far when taking into account Sky+, iPlayer etc.

In fact so far is second best behind only season one if I read things right.

The Ratings Thread will probably shed a lot more light and depth on this!

The BBC doesn't take much notice of the overnight's anymore. Not much point when the time shift regularly adds over a million viewers.

There is something of a shift to more people timeshifting but ratings are fine.


Latest info on final ratings:


Ratings thread is here for in depth discussion on ratings the last few series:
http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/s...d.php?t=774652

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Last edited by 11's Bow Tie : 06-06-2010 at 22:55

Edit - beaten too it because of my little search...

Anyway orig post:


Try the ratings thread...

Been trying to find the link to it but it's apparently not wanting to come up on search...

To answer your immediate question. The overnights have been low (probably due to hot summer weather) but put on a similar level once time shift has been added in.

Luckily its confirmed for Series 6/32/1/Knirg

i don't think luck plays any part in the BBC recommissioning it's most popular drama series, tbh.

Don't forget there was a lot less choice or competition in the 80's compared to now. So I don't think they would worry too much. It is one of the most succesful shows they have and the international sales are there too.

Jay, just to say: when you ask people a question and several people go to the trouble of very nicely answering your question it's usually good form so say thanks.

In the words of another cult classic: Don't Panic!

4million viewers in 1987 was extremely poor. There was a much less fragmented viewership, due to there only being 4 terrestrial channels, and far fewer people having access to cable/satelite services.

With the changes in broadcasting in the last 20 or so years, 4-5million as an overnight for pretty much anything barring a 'soap/continuing drama serial' is a damned good rating. $-5 million will get you nicely into the top 30 weekly shows in 2010, whereas in 1987 it would have placed you well outside the Top 50 (IIRC).

More importantly the final ratings are on a par with prior series in any case, and that's without factoring in the many people that watch the show on iplayer. People back then could either watch it or never see it back in the day, now they can watch it whenever they want to, and quite sensibly people are watching the show on their own terms, which is the way all tv is heading.

Plus it's really no good at looking at one episode in isolation without looking at the wider picture. As I said up thread people need to get their head around the changing landscape of television. I hope BARB soon give serious consideration to dumping the overnight ratings as they become less and less meaningful.

AI of.....you guessed it.......86 for Vincent and the Doctor!