Originally Posted by rzt:
“Friday 13th June Overnights
BBC1
19.00- The One Show: 3.9m (21.7%)
19.30- Netherlands v France: 5.6m (26.2%) *peak: 7.5m (21.30)
22.00- BBC News: 4.3m (20.3%)
22.35- Friday Night with Jonathan Ross: 3.2m (20.8%)
ITV1
19.00- Emmerdale: 6.4m (35.6%)
19.30- Coronation Street: 7.6m (39.1%)
20.00- Tonight: 5.4m (26.1%)
20.30- Coronation Street: 7.0m (31.6%)
21.00- A Touch of Frost: 3.9m (18.6%)
Channel 4 (exc. +1)
21.00- Big Brother: 3.5m (15.8%)
22.00- 8 Out of 10 Cats: 2.8m (13.6%)
22.35- Big Brother: 2.6m (14.9%)”
What an unbelievable performance from 'Tonight', a current affairs show that some of you last week said should be axed, while I waited quietly for it to lap up some ratings praise a few weeks later. You might say, 'Well, it's only done well because EastEnders wasn't on', but the production team were very clever, and the report was in many ways aimed at women homeowners and housewives and it was quite an interesting show.
And that goes for the whole night on ITV, it held up well against a strong BBC line-up - the BBC was not able to hold up on Monday, and I think ITV need to consider airing more drama repeats against Big Brother because that seems to be what's beating it, while airing its documentaries under the 'Tonight' name, because the 'Tonight' brand is very strong and has a good reputation, far greater than Panorama as it relates with the viewer much more IMO.
And also, you can see how much a 2 hour drama can knock the BBC News as well as the Big Brother eviction - it's down almost a million on its usual Friday figure, although still winning its slot and that's because its been in that slot for ages, and therefore viewers are familiar with it, that's why it's important News at Ten goes out Monday to Friday, and ITV forgets all these bad ratings, because lead-in or no lead-in, they will pick up eventually. It takes time - the great thing about ITV of the past was that it judged programmes on quality - and that would always pull through - which is logical. News at Ten is a quality news bulletin and the great thing is - it's always being improved - presentation or content wise improving the viewer appreciation.
For example, look at the second series of Benidorm, it appeals to a younger audience and for some it is very very funny. I find it funny, whereas some people on here find it cheesy and awful. But the first series was slotted in a 10pm slot where it outshone other programmes that year on ITV, but could still only get around 3 million viewers. However, the second series reached heights of 6.5 million viewers, and the finale got 5.7 million viewers - it showed its popularity and the new time slot was really worth it. The new mob at ITV are looking at the long term future by re-commissioning The Fixer and Moving Wallpaper. I just wish that News Knight was re-commissioned, which was good comedy. Because at the moment, I prefer ITV comedy to BBC comedy, despite the lack of quantity.
Sorry for long post.