UK TV Discussion (ratings, news, TV shows)

[Artoo]

It was 20 years ago and there was less choice back then. Whilst this is true, one thing that is often overlooked is that only the best TV writers would be hired - I genuinely feel that there is an overall decline in script quality (particularly for the soaps).

We still have the occcasional tv show that captures the nations attention - Poldark, Downton, Dr Foster, The Fall, Happy Valley, Liar, Broadchurch etc - and are beautifully crafted (more or less) but it’s this type of show TV writers want to write... and the quality makes the soaps pail in comparison.

I still hold out for a soap resurgence - ITV have a standing order for a huge 12 episodes of Emmerdale/Coronation Street a week, and they wouldn’t do this if they weren’t still bringing in big money from advertising.

[Spartan]

Re: UK TV Ratings Topic

Ratings will never be what they used to be at all. With all the modern day streaming techniques, it’s just not a true representation. But soaps have suffered quite a lot. Even 5 years ago, they were raking in nearly 10 million an episode.

[Wayne]

Found this, the X Factor 2010 finale - the most watched X Factor episode ever, broken down by demographic:

C4-15: 2.22m (74.4%)... 12.9% skew
16-34: 4.81m (73.3%)... 28.1%
* 16-24: 2.22m (76.6%)
35-44: 3.18m (63.5%)... 18.5%
45-54: 2.90m (56.1%)... 16.9%
55-64: 1.96m (42.3%)... 11.5%
65+: 2.09m (30.6%)... 12.2%

That's 17.16m viewers.

What a striking contrast that is - I get formats lose popularity (and of course Strictly has only grown in popularity with each passing year), but will be interesting to see what the finale does this year - 6m?

[Spartan]

Re: UK TV Ratings Topic

So potential losing 10 million viewers in 7 years.

It’s bizarre how Strictly had never changed it’s format yet has utterly dominated The X Factor for the last 5 years or more. Just shows that sometimes if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

[Wayne]

Re: UK TV Ratings Topic

It's not like you can even credit the talent as responsible for the views (Matt Cardle won) - people genuinely just loved the show.

The decline is most obvious here at UKMIX - the 2010 show had 176 pages - the 2017 show has 6 pages.

[Artoo]

Re: UK TV Ratings Topic

X Factor declined when Cheryl and Simon jumped ship. They had another year or two with Dannii, Louis, Cheryl and Simon imo as it just completely worked.

[Spartan]

That was definitely their best judging line up. It is the only thing Dannii has really been good at.

[BehindBreakaway]

As long as x factor keeps creating 'stars' it won't be cancelled. Ok so last series was a bust. But before that Louisa is doing OK for herself. I see Rak-Su having an amazing career. To be honest. The UK x factor is the only show to still produce actual talent and still have hit records. The Voice in the UK or US has failed to produce a worldwide talent. Even American Idol. The only really successful singer overseas is Kelly. X factor may be failing in the ratings but it still produces great singers.

Also. Simon, Cheryl, Dannii and Louis. Best lineup.

[Wayne]

That was definitely their best judging line up. It is the only thing Dannii has really been good at.

Disremembrance says hi.

But yes, the best lineup.

[Spartan]

I personally wouldn’t say that The X Factor produces stars any more. I mean, it’s not as bad as The Voice for that but still pretty awful.

[BehindBreakaway]

I personally wouldn’t say that The X Factor produces stars any more. I mean, it’s not as bad as The Voice for that but still pretty awful.

Louisa sales are strong through. She may not have had humber 1 after number 1 but she's been fairly consistent. At least she has some chart success. The Voice has failed to produce any lasting singer.

[Spartan]

I personally wouldn’t say that The X Factor produces stars any more. I mean, it’s not as bad as The Voice for that but still pretty awful.

Louisa sales are strong through. She may not have had humber 1 after number 1 but she's been fairly consistent. At least she has some chart success. The Voice has failed to produce any lasting singer.

They missed their opportunity on The Voice with Kevin, he had so much star potential.

[BehindBreakaway]

I personally wouldn’t say that The X Factor produces stars any more. I mean, it’s not as bad as The Voice for that but still pretty awful.

Louisa sales are strong through. She may not have had humber 1 after number 1 but she's been fairly consistent. At least she has some chart success. The Voice has failed to produce any lasting singer.

They missed their opportunity on The Voice with Kevin, he had so much star potential.

Agreed!! However the one who slipped through the net is leah mcfall!!!

[Thriller]

Re: UK TV Ratings Topic

Louisa hasn't even had an album so I wouldn't really call her a success. I think it's possible the show could still produce a star, it all depends on their material after the show as that will sell itself if it's good enough. Matt will be dropped by Easter, going the same way as most male winners. I definitely see Rak-Su achieving a couple of hits as they're very streaming friendly.

The Voice has had too many boring contestants over the years and the format doesn't allow you to get to know the contestants as well as the X Factor's does. Kevin Simm definitely should've had a career, can't see why he wasn't given a big push.

[Thriller]

Ratings will never be what they used to be at all. With all the modern day streaming techniques, it’s just not a true representation. But soaps have suffered quite a lot. Even 5 years ago, they were raking in nearly 10 million an episode.

I think the thing with the soaps is people feel they can dip in and out a lot more now, generally you can see when a soap has a bit of an event week on because the ratings spike but the loyal fanbases seem to be getting smaller. It could be the quality, the lack of iconic characters, or just that the stories are tired and repetitive. I would hazard a guess though that soaps are amongst the most watched shows on catch up. I predominantly watch them in that way!

[Wayne]

Top Twenty Most Watched Programmes w/e 19 November incl +1

01. Blue Planet II - 13.11m
02. I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! - 12.69m
03. Strictly Come Dancing (Sat) - 12.05m
04. Coronation Street (Wed 1930) - 8.24m
05. The Apprentice - 7.19m
06. Children in Need - 7.12m
07. Countryfile - 6.84m
08. EastEnders (Tue) - 6.83m
09. Emmerdale (Wed) - 6.77m
10. Michael McIntyre’s Big Show - 6.59m
11. Casualty - 5.46m
12. The X Factor (Sat) - 5.41m
13. Love, Lies and Records - 5.14m
14. BBC News at Six (Tue 1800) - 5.14m
15. Pointless Celebrities - 5.11m
16. Howards End - 4.97m
17. International Football: England v Brazil - 4.87m
18. The A Word - 4.35m
19. Paul O’Grady: For the Love of Dogs - 4.24m
20. The One Show (Fri) - 4.23m

Soap Averages:

Coronation Street - 7.49m
Emmerdale - 6.71m
EastEnders - 6.59m

Courtesy of BARB.

[Artoo]

Re: UK TV Ratings Topic

Good to see the main 3 soaps are still top 10, even if their rating pale in comparison to yesteryear. I hope The A Word pulls around a bit, I want a 3rd series. Reality TV is still ruling supreme but Blue Planet II completely deserves the top spot. If only they could find a way to stretch the licence fee for more David Attenborough shows.

[Wayne]

Re: UK TV Ratings Topic

For comparison to Blue Planet...

Planet Earth II

Ep #1 - 12.26m
Ep #2 - 13.14m
Ep #3 - 11.60m
Ep #4 - 11.88m
Ep #5 - 11.54m
Ep #6 - 11.10m
Ep #7 - 12.02m (compilation episode, broadcast a month after the series ended)

[Artoo]

For comparison to Blue Planet...

Planet Earth II

Ep #1 - 12.26m
Ep #2 - 13.14m
Ep #3 - 11.60m
Ep #4 - 11.88m
Ep #5 - 11.54m
Ep #6 - 11.10m
Ep #7 - 12.02m (compilation episode, broadcast a month after the series ended)

Planet Earth II was amazeballs, but my favourite was Frozen Planet.

[Spartan]

Not Casualty beating The X Factor!

[Thriller]

Re: UK TV Ratings Topic

I can't believe Countryfile does so well, it must be the Strictly lead-in... it's the most boring show I've ever seen.

[Spartan]

I can't believe Countryfile does so well, it must be the Strictly lead-in... it's the most boring show I've ever seen.

The demographics for Countryfile will probably be 95% of viewers in the 60+ age bracket.

[Wayne]

Re: UK TV Ratings Topic

Monday 27 November 2017

BBC 1

06:00: Breakfast - 1.53m (39.5%)
09:15: Claimed and Shamed - 1.47m (30.6%)
10:00: Homes Under the Hammer - 1.19m (24.7%)
11:00: BBC News Special - 877k (19.1%)
11:45: The Sheriffs are Coming - 1.19m (23.9%)
12:15: Bargain Hunt - 2.08m (34.7%)
13:00: BBC News at One - 2.73m (41.7%)
13:30: BBC Regional News - 2.42m (35.3%)
13:45: Doctors - 1.27m (19.8%)
14:15: Armchair Detectives - 791k (12.7%)
15:00: Escape to the Country - 1.13m (17.2%)
15:45: Royal Recipes - 1.29m (14.9%)
16:30: Flog It! - 2.00m (17.8%)
17:15: Pointless - 3.05m (20.7%)
18:00: BBC News at Six - 5.59m (32.0%)
18:30: BBC Regional News - 5.55m (30.1%)
19:00: The One Show - 3.86m (20.3%)
19:30: Harry and Meghan: A Royal Engagement - 3.41m (16.9%)
20:00: EastEnders - 6.06m (28.4%)
20:30: Would I Lie to You? - 3.07m (14.2%)
21:00: New Tricks - 2.00m (9.2%)
22:00: BBC News at Ten - 3.33m (21.0%)
22:30: BBC Regional News - 2.61m (19.8%)

ITV (inc. +1)

06:00: Good Morning Britain - 741k (20.2%)
08:30: Lorraine - 1.02m (21.5%)
09:25: The Jeremy Kyle Show - 1.22m (25.3%)
10:30: This Morning - 1.03m (21.2%)
12:30: Loose Women - 922k (14.5%)
13:30: ITV Lunchtime News - 1.08m (16.6%)
14:30: Countrywise - 646k (10.5%)
15:00: Dickinson's Real Deal - 1.12m (16.1%)
16:00: Tipping Point - 2.54m (26.0%)
17:00: The Chase - 3.64m (25.9%)
18:00: ITV Regional News - 3.75m (21.4%)
18:30: ITV Evening News - 3.82m (20.7%)
19:00: Emmerdale - 6.02m (31.5%)
19:30: Coronation Street - 6.85m (34.1%)
20:00: The Martin Lewis Money Show - 3.89m (18.3%)
20:30: Coronation Street - 6.82m (31.7%) [7.2m tapechecked?]
21:00: I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! - 8.61m (39.5%)
22:00: ITV News at Ten - 3.10m (19.5%)

Eastenders above 6m again, huge ratings for ITV News at Ten/

Courtesy of Markynotts

[Spartan]

Re: UK TV Ratings Topic

I think the I’m A Celeb lead-in does wonders for it, especially when compared to New Tricks’ dismal ratings.

[Wayne]

Re: UK TV Ratings Topic

Amazing to think that New Tricks was pulling in 10m at its peak - why the BBC doesn't schedule a better show than a re-run of New Tricks is beyond me.