Television Highlights w/c 15th October 2007
Sunday 21st October 2007
ITV1’s sporting fortune continued on Sunday as exclusive live coverage of the Brazilian Grand Prix put the channel in pole position once more. Interest in Formula 1 was at a high as rookie British driver Lewis Hamilton went into the race in a good position to win the Driver’s Championship in his first season. This was evident in the viewing figures, as ITV1’s coverage averaged 7.3m (41.4%) between 4 – 7pm, hitting a high of 49.8% at 6:15pm as the race came to an end. Compare and contrast to last year’s event, which averaged 5.1m (24.7%). Technical problems robbed Hamilton of his championship title (although being a British sportsman probably didn’t help), but at least ITV1 is virtually guaranteed an army of Hamilton fans tuning in for next year’s coverage. BBC1 also got in on the act with Lewis Hamilton: Billion Dollar Man, and the hour-long documentary attracted 904,130 (10.8%) between 11pm and midnight to give an above-average TI™ score of 122.
Thursday 18th October 2007
Channel 4’s Dispatches strand turned its attention to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann in an hour-long documentary reviewing the facts of the case. Searching for Madeleine sent a team of five top criminal investigators to Portugal to review the evidence and separate it from the media speculation. The case has received less media attention since Madeleine’s parents were named as official suspects, but an audience of 3.1m (14.2%) and a TI™ score of 180 proved that UK viewers are still intrigued by the events surrounding Madeleine’s tragic disappearance.
Monday 15th October 2007
Channel 4 aired a one-off medical drama in the 9pm slot last night, but The Relief of Belsen is a million miles away from the usual hospital ward politics and emergency tracheotomies. This two-hour production from Hardy & Sons (the young indie whose previous credits include Trafalgar Battle Surgeon and the BAFTA-nominated A Harlot’s Progress) tells the story of the humanitarian catastrophe that was revealed when Allied troops captured the Belsen concentration camp in 1945. They found 40,000 inmates living in appalling conditions and deprived of medical care. The Relief of Belsen depicts the small band of doctors and nurses who struggled against the odds to save lives and build the largest hospital in Europe. It features a very respectable cast list, including Iain Glen, Juliet Aubrey and Nigel Harman. The Relief of Belsen drew an audience of 1.9m (9.4%) between 9 – 11:05pm, despite tough competition from the ever-popular Doc Martin over on ITV1 in the 9 – 10pm slot (8.2m, 33.7%).
For a more detailed summary of the week’s television, please visit http://www.attentional.com/bristolmediablog.php
