The Ratings Thread

[Larry]

Well last night for instance, according to early figures, nearly 3 million more people were watching television at 7pm compared to 6.15pm. And a million of those would probably have been watching Who if it had started at 7pm...

well RTD, is being proved right although the 6.4m viewer figure is dissapointing but it is pretty much in keeping with the viewing figures for all the other episodes that started early.

[Milky Tears]

I believe this dude from the Doctor Who Forum:

Originally Posted by blakesavon
If anyone thinks it's the time slot that is causing the ratings drop this year, then I'm not the one who is deluded. You can call yourself a ratings expert or whatever, but it doesn't change the fact that there is a CONSIDERABLE drop in ratings. Doctor Who used to go out at 5:15... and had much higher ratings! Yes, it was back when the dinosaurs roamed the earth, but it's still the bloody truth! You can't deny it. It is written in black ink for all to see for all time. The show is poor. People are figuring that out. It's not predicting doom and gloom. Doom and gloom has been around for about four seasons now. Last year things were improving, and I was starting to be one of the converts. But this year the quality has dropped and it shows on screen, and it shows in the ratings. Like it or not, fan boys and girls, the ratings have indeed dropped, and it ain't because of a time slot! WAKE UP!

Has Nathan got a new username over there?

[Rob McCow]

Like it or not, fan boys and girls, the ratings have indeed dropped, and it ain't because of a time slot! WAKE UP!

Blim! I'm glad he put 'WAKE UP!' at the end of that f***ing tedious rant.

The show is poor. People are figuring that out.

What? That's complete gibberish! Do people sit at home and think 'This show I'm enjoying, it's not very good!'

I mean, apart from Doctor Who fans.

[Larry]

"and I was starting to be one of the converts"


well I think that sentence aloan say this guy has hated the new series right from day 1..

[Milky Tears]

Final Ooooooooooooooddddddddyyyyyyy ratings from BARB:

W/E 13/04/08
01 - BRITAIN'S GOT TALENT (SAT 2005) 10.96
02 - CORONATION STREET (MON 2029) 10.75
03 - CORONATION STREET (MON 1933) 10.44
04 - EASTENDERS (MON 2000) 10.09
05 - CORONATION STREET (WED 1930) 10.18
06 - CORONATION STREET (FRI 1933) 9.93
07 - CORONATION STREET (FRI 2029) 9.59
08 - EASTENDERS (FRI 2000) 8.69
09 - EASTENDERS (THU 1929) 8.32
10 - FOYLE'S WAR (SUN 2003) 7.92
11 - EMMERDALE (MON 1901) 7.63
12 - DOCTOR WHO (SAT 1819) 7.50
13 - THE APPRENTICE (WED 2100) 7.43
14 - EMMERDALE (FRI 1902) 7.27
15 - EMMERDALE (WED 1859) 7.26
16 - EMMERDALE (THU 1903) 7.23
17 - WAKING THE DEAD (MON 2100) 7.19
18 - WAKING THE DEAD (TUE 2059) 7.12
19 - EASTENDERS (TUE 1929) 6.92
20 - EMMERDALE (TUE 1859) 6.92
21 - ALL STAR MR AND MRS (SAT 1903) 6.90
22 - BBC NEWS (SUN 2201) 6.74
23 - CASUALTY (SAT 2056) 6.42
24 - I'D DO ANYTHING (SAT 1904) 6.34
25 - BENIDORM (FRI 2100) 6.29
26 - HOLBY CITY (TUE 2001) 5.94
27 - THE BRITISH ACADEMY TELEVISION AWARDS (SUN 2000) 5.67
28 - HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU (FRI 2100) 5.64
29 - THE BILL (WED 2002) 5.64
30 - MY FAMILY (FRI 2130) 5.43

[Larry]

12th most watched programm of that week

[Jim]

5.9m for last nights ep apparently. oops!

[Andrew Curnow]

But still, according to OG anyway, "the programme was still the second most watched of the day, being beaten by ITV1's Britain's Got Talent, which got 8.5 million viewers. It was the highest rated programme on BBC1 for the day."

Incidentally, has anybody seen this Britain's Got Talent show - it's clearly hugely popular, yet I've never heard anybody mention it at all!

[Pip Madeley]

That's spooky, last night I was thinking exactly 5.9m! I swear, that figure just came into my head. Thank goodness the timeslot is heading towards seven next week. If Britain's Got Talent is getting 8.5m at 8pm, it's proof that more people watch TV later in the evening.

Top Ten Programmes (millions of viewers)

1 …. 8.5 (39.1%) …. Britain's Got Talent (20:00) ITV
2 …. 5.9 (32.5%) …. Doctor Who (18:15) BBC1
3 …. 5.7 (26.3%) …. Casualty (20:45) BBC1
4 …. 5.3 (27.6%) …. I'd Do Anything (19:00) BBC1
5 …. 5.1 (26.2%) …. All Star Mr and Mrs (19:00) ITV
6 …. 4.6 (21.5%) …. The National Lottery: 1 vs 100 (20:00) BBC1
7 …. 4.4 (22.9%) …. BBC News (22:15) BBC1
8 …. 3.9 (22.7%) …. Kids Do the Funniest Things (18:00) ITV
9 …. 3.5 (17.0%) …. Love Soup (21:45) BBC1
10 … 3.3 (24.1%) …. Match of the Day (22:30) BBC1

Top Ten Programmes (audience share)

1 …. 8.5 (39.1%) …. Britain's Got Talent (20:00) ITV
2 …. 5.9 (32.5%) …. Doctor Who (18:15) BBC1
3 …. 1.3 (32.0%) …. Breakfast (06:00) BBC1
4 …. 5.3 (27.6%) …. I'd Do Anything (19:00) BBC1
5 …. 5.7 (26.3%) …. Casualty (20:45) BBC1
6 …. 5.1 (26.2%) …. All Star Mr and Mrs (19:00) ITV
7 …. 1.5 (24.9%) …. Saturday Kitchen (10:00) BBC1
8 …. 3.1 (24.4%) …. BBC News (17:15) BBC1
9 …. 3.3 (24.1%) …. Match of the Day (22:30) BBC1
10 … 1.5 (24.0%) …. BBC News; Weather (12:00) BBC1
11 …. 4.4 (22.9%) …. BBC News (22:15) BBC1
12 …. 3.9 (22.7%) …. Kids Do the Funniest Things (18:00) ITV
13 …. 3.0 (22.7%) …. All New You've Been Framed! (17:30) ITV
14 …. 1.3 (21.7%) …. Great British Menu (11:30) BBC1
15 …. 4.6 (21.5%) …. The National Lottery: 1 vs 100 (20:00) BBC1
16 …. 2.2 (20.8%) …. Final Score (16:15) BBC1
17 …. 2.8 (20.0%) …. The Kids Are All Right (17:30) BBC1
18 …. 1.2 (18.3%) …. Football Focus (12:00) BBC1
19 …. 1.4 (17.6%) …. World Championship Snooker (13:00) BBC1
20 … 3.5 (17.0%) …. Love Soup (21:45) BBC1

Time ………. BBC1 ……………… ITV ……………… BBC2 ……………… CH4 ……………… CH5
18:00 …. 3.1 (21.3%) …. 3.5 (24.7%) …. 1.5 (10.4%) …. 0.8 ( 5.4%) …. 0.8 ( 5.3%)
18:15 …. 4.7 (28.4%) …. 3.8 (22.6%) …. 1.6 ( 9.7%) …. 0.9 ( 5.7%) …. 0.8 ( 4.6%)
18:30 …. 5.7 (31.8%) …. 4.1 (22.9%) …. 1.7 ( 9.3%) …. 0.8 ( 4.7%) …. 0.8 ( 4.5%)
18:45 …. 6.2 (33.6%) …. 4.2 (22.8%) …. 1.9 (10.1%) …. 0.7 ( 4.0%) …. 0.8 ( 4.5%)
19:00 …. 5.5 (29.8%) …. 4.3 (23.2%) …. 1.6 ( 8.7%) …. 0.9 ( 4.7%) …. 0.9 ( 5.0%)
19:15 …. 5.2 (27.5%) …. 4.8 (25.4%) …. 1.7 ( 9.2%) …. 0.7 ( 3.7%) …. 0.9 ( 4.9%)
19:30 …. 5.4 (27.9%) …. 5.1 (26.1%) …. 1.8 ( 9.2%) …. 0.8 ( 4.4%) …. 0.7 ( 3.9%)
19:45 …. 5.6 (28.1%) …. 5.5 (27.2%) …. 2.0 (10.0%) …. 1.0 ( 4.8%) …. 0.8 ( 3.8%)
20:00 …. 4.5 (21.7%) …. 7.3 (35.2%) …. 2.0 ( 9.5%) …. 1.1 ( 5.1%) …. 1.0 ( 5.0%)
20:15 …. 4.5 (21.1%) …. 8.6 (40.5%) …. 1.6 ( 7.6%) …. 0.6 ( 2.6%) …. 1.2 ( 5.6%)
20:30 …. 4.7 (21.8%) …. 8.8 (40.4%) …. 1.6 ( 7.6%) …. 0.6 ( 2.8%) …. 1.2 ( 5.7%)
20:45 …. 5.0 (22.7%) …. 8.8 (39.8%) …. 1.7 ( 7.9%) …. 0.6 ( 2.9%) …. 1.1 ( 5.0%)

It looks really bad on paper though - from 9.1m to 5.9m in five weeks

[Andrew Curnow]

I think the AI, and the fact that it's doing better than most other shows are reassuring. But I think it does clearly show that the show doesn't have a core audience of much more than 5-6 million (arguably not much different to the late 80s) and that the rest of it is mainly down to a combination of time slot, competition, other things to do, weather, etc, etc.

[Milky Tears]

It's all Raynor's fault!

[Captain Tancredi]

There were a number of factors against it- the very fact of it being Part 2 of 2 means that some potential viewers won't have bothered if they missed the first part, then it being a Bank Holiday weekend (people away/doing other things) and again unexpectedly fine weather with all the forecasts saying the rest of the weekend would be wet. But again, it seems to have won its slot quite comfortably.

[Larry]

looking at this weeks figures and last weeks even "Britains got Talent" was down by a million but dipping below the 6m mark is cause for some concern and you hope the figures don't fall even futher.

[Rob McCow]

The weather has been improving on the Saturdays, so less people are indoors watching TV. That's my theory.

It hardly matters, does it? If we're down to 2.1mill by the series end, then we'll have something to worry about I suppose.

[Larry]

well if the figures drop down to below 5.5m next week then I think we should start to get a little worried.

[SiHart]

But, as they keep on saying it's the AI figures they really pay attention. Since they've been consistently high, I shouldn't think we need to panic yet. Though, of course, I can't stop you all worrying about it.

Si xx

[Carol Baynes]

You lot do get in a fluster over these figures don't you? When there was only one other TV show that got more viewers on that particular day I'd say it's very good. 5.9 million is still a decent rating in the context of what every other show got. After final ratings come in for other channel repeats it could touch 7 million, and DVD sales are an interesting addition- I bet more people will have seen the Sontaran two parter by the end of 2008 than the total number who watched "Meglos" by the end of 1980 (for example)! There were only 3 channels then, but still only 4 million could be arsed watching cactus Tom! TV has changed and "Doctor Who " is doing very well in that new world.

[Si Hunt]

You lot do get in a fluster over these figures don't you?

I think that's excusable, given that TV shows are regularly cancelled because of poor ratings. It's not unreasonable to get a bit panicky when your show loses 1m viewers a week for a month is it? And I doubt the powers that be are going to consider the ratings for "Meglos" when reviewing the show's performance.

Anyway. We just have to hope the Beeb are sensible and take into account other ratings and the reckless scheduling. So back to 7pm next week? The way they yo-yo it around the schedules you'd think they were TRYING to derail it. Still, if it gets us out of this god-awful early-evenings slot, it'll be for the best... as long as it doesn't pop back there when something they care about more elbows it back out of the evening line-up again. What show can be a consistent ratings winner if it hasn't even got a regular slot? Really I am so annoyed with the way Doctor Who has been shuffled about the schedule this year. It's a wonder even the loyal fans remember what time it's on every Saturday.

Si.

[Captain Tancredi]

The other thing to bear in mind is that the ratings for the tail end of the season will also be knocked by the Euro 2008 football, which pretty much runs through June with a match at 7.45 on Saturday nights. A lot of households are going to schedule their evenings around that, and they may well do so in the knowledge that Who gets repeated on Sunday and will do the rounds on BBC3 for months afterwards.

[Si Hunt]

Here's an idea... why didn't they hold back this season until the Autumn? Then Doctor Who could have gone out at a sensible time, not be affected by sunny evenings, and the year-out gap would have been divided up and therefore less noticable.

Si.

[Larry]

The other thing to bear in mind is that the ratings for the tail end of the season will also be knocked by the Euro 2008 football, which pretty much runs through June with a match at 7.45 on Saturday nights. A lot of households are going to schedule their evenings around that, and they may well do so in the knowledge that Who gets repeated on Sunday and will do the rounds on BBC3 for months afterwards.

well Doctor Who, has managed pretty decent ratings when it has followed a game of football but i'm not so sure it will be effected to badly simply because England did not quallify.- but as the evening games k/o at 7.45pm it will probably meen Doctor Who starting around 6.45pm.

[Si Hunt]

I think the European Championships will still be hugely popular, even if England arn't involved.

Si.

[Larry]

I think that's excusable, given that TV shows are regularly cancelled because of poor ratings. It's not unreasonable to get a bit panicky when your show loses 1m viewers a week for a month is it?
Si.

also you have to remember that series 5 may of been commisioned but that in no way guarantees it will be made and with no series next year again we are bound to get a bit jittery.

There is still over a year before series 5 gose into production and with the gap year in 2009 you can be forgiven for thinking back to the cancalation of 1985 and thinking it could happen again.

[Carol Baynes]

I think that's excusable, given that TV shows are regularly cancelled because of poor ratings. It's not unreasonable to get a bit panicky when your show loses 1m viewers a week for a month is it? And I doubt the powers that be are going to consider the ratings for "Meglos" when reviewing the show's performance.

No, I think you misunderstand me, Si. I was trying to say that "Doctor Who" has had worse viewing figures before (and using "Meglos" as an example), but the TV landscape has changed enormously since then and the programme is holding its own very well in that new landscape of numerous channels. If it's the second most watched programme of the day then then presumably means everything else is in the same boat- only one programme has more viewers, which can't be a bad thing.
True, we're a few million down, but it appears everything else is too, and we'll be judged on that basis- so that loss would not seem to be a fault of the programme itself, but other factors (which as you say, could be the timeslot).

[Andrew Curnow]

I agree, and I'm not worried about it while it's still so high up in the table of shows. Having said that, I suspect that the powers that be at Cardiff are a bit cheesed off at it hopping around in the schedules and I suspect there will be a strong lobby for it to have a fixed time when it comes back in 2010.

Although Si's suggestion for it to have aired in the Autumn would have been lovely, as for me Autumn is the time of year for new Who, as the nights get darker not lighter. Mind you, then there would be hardly any gap between season finale and Christmas special.