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Television Highlights w/c 24th December 2007
Posted by Attentional | 31.12.07
Sunday 30th December 2007
Billie Piper returned to BBC1 in a more genteel role than her recent outing as Belle in Secret Diary of a Call Girl on ITV2, reprising her role as Philip Pullman’s Victorian heroine Sally Lockhart in The Shadow in the North at 8.55pm. Last year’s drama featuring Piper as Sally, The Ruby in the Smoke, attracted an audience of 7.7m (28.5%), but this was shortly after she ended her run as Rose Tyler in the revamped Doctor Who, and her star was very high. It may have waned a little in the intervening 12 months, as The Shadow in the North, a ripping adventure yarn, gained a relatively modest 5m viewers (21.3%), and a TI™ of 91.3.
Wednesday 26th December 2007
Boxing Day was clearly seen as the night for period dramas, with BBC1 slugging it out with ITV1. The first to enter the ring was BBC1 with an adaptation of Noel Streatfield’s classic children’s novel, Ballet Shoes, at 8.30pm. This co-production between the BBC and Granada had (as does the book) an unusually large number of female leads, with some extremely well-known faces filling the roles – Victoria Wood, Emilia Fox, and Emma Watson being chief among these. The story follows three orphans in 1930s London who are adopted by an eccentric explorer who then goes missing, leaving them in the care of his niece. The story follows the three girls in their quest to fulfill their dreams – making it more likely to attract a female, rather than male audience. The drama averaged 5.2m (21.9%) in the 8.30-9.55pm slot, giving a TI™ of 90.
Tuesday 25th December 2007
The Christmas Day special of Doctor Who was arguably the most eagerly awaited programme of the festive period, with writer Russell T Davies pulling out all the stops to ensure that the episode (Voyage of the Damned) didn’t run aground. The action centred around the fateful voyage of the Titanic as the Tardis crash-lands on the stricken ship. We all know the version about the iceberg, but the history books never mentioned aliens and robotic Angels. A guest appearance from pop princess Kylie Minogue added to the appeal, helping Doctor Who to an average of 12.2m (50%) between 6:50 – 8pm (giving a TI™ score of 197.5). This stuffed the show’s previous high of 9.9m (for the very first episode of the revived Doctor Who back in March 2005), and made mincemeat of the 8m that tuned in for last year’s Christmas special.
For a more detailed summary of the week’s television, please visit http://www.attentional.com/blog.php
Television Highlights w/c 17th December 2007
Posted by Attentional | 24.12.07
Sunday 23rd December 2007
In a public-service bid to keep petrolheads off the roads, BBC2 ran an evening of Top Gear related programming. The themed night started at 7pm with James May: My Sisters’ Top Toys, in which the erstwhile Top Gear presenter examined the appeal of certain toys, and their relationship to society. This was watched by a respectable 3.5m (15.2%) in a slot that put it in direct competition with ITV1’s Emmerdale and Coronation Street. This was followed by an edition of Top Gear at 20:00, which had an audience of 6.8m and a TI™ of 234.3 but, unusually, did not win its slot. This was the last episode of 10, in a series that has averaged just under 7m.
Thursday 20th December 2007
Christmas is not a time enjoyed by everyone as BBC1’s Skint (22:45) helped us remember. Part of the BBC’s Hard Christmas campaign, the programme revisited Vernon Burgess, a Big Issue seller who spent last Christmas in a psychiatric ward, but was determined to play his way out of trouble by busking with his guitar. Appealing to an audience of 2.12m (16.4%), the programme received a TI™ of 114.7.
Tuesday 18th December 2007
BBC1 launched a brand new Dickensian dramatisation last night as Oliver Twist began a five-part run, with episodes shown on consecutive evenings. The cast includes such luminaries as Timothy Spall and Sarah Lancashire, although William Miller steals the show as the young Oliver. This adaptation is penned by EastEnders writer Sarah Phelps, here swapping Phil Mitchell for The Artful Dodger. It continues a BBC1 experiment of putting period drama around a contemporary soap – a strategy that bought the channel some success in 2005 when another Dickens adaptation (Bleak House) averaged 5.8m (25.5%) in Thursday and Friday evening slots around EastEnders. Bleak House ran to 15 episodes, but Phelps has just five episodes to play out the story of Oliver Twist. The opening instalment certainly made the most of a lead-in audience of 9.7m (courtesy of EastEnders), averaging 8m (35%) across the 8-9pm slot to give an above-average TI™ score of 123.
For a more detailed summary of the week’s television, please visit http://www.attentional.com/blog.php
Television Highlights w/c 10th December 2007
Posted by Attentional | 17.12.07
Saturday 15th December 2007
The X Factor reached a crescendo on Saturday evening as an English brother and sister fought against a Scotsman and a Welshman to win the 2007 title. Scotland won, although the real winner was arguably Simon Cowell since his production company Syco (producing the show alongside Fremantle) has one of the hottest formats on TV. The final was split into two parts, with the first half attracting 11.4m (46.9%) between 7:15 – 8:50pm (giving an excellent TI™ score of 161). The second half also attracted 11.4m in the 9:35 – 10:35pm slot, but as Total TV was lower this equated to a 49.1% share and an outstanding TI™ score of 219. ITV2 also did well from the final, with its linking coverage from 8:50 – 9:35pm (bridging the gap between ITV1 shows) averaging 717,860 (3.6%). And in an age of declining audiences for the terrestrial channels, the 2007 final outperformed last year’s event. The 2006 final (won by Leona Lewis) attracted 10.4m (45.6%) and 10.5m (44.8%) for its two shows.
Friday 14th December 2007
The 34th series of Hat Trick’s panel show Have I Got News for You? came to an end on Friday evening with a typically strong audience of 5.9m (26.4%) between 9 – 9:30pm – a timeslot winning performance for BBC1. This episode – hosted by Richard Madeley – couldn’t quite top the ratings for the current series. That honour went to guest host Jo Brand, with her episode attracting 6.3m on the 2nd November. Series 34 finished with an average of 5.5m, on a par with an average of 5.7m for Series 33 earlier this year.
Monday 10th December 2007
What’s the ultimate Christmas song? ITV1 has been polling the UK population to find out, and the results form the cornerstone of Britain Sings Christmas, the channel’s new seasonal celebration hosted by Kate Thornton. Except when they say ‘Britain’ sings Christmas, it’s actually British celebrities singing Christmas. The songs are performed by a 20-strong choir made up of actors, TV presenters, comedians, pop stars and opera stars. In last night’s show the choir performed all ten songs, before viewers voted for a favourite. A second show will be broadcast in the coming weeks, following the celebrity choir (led by Fame Academy coaches David and Carrie Grant) as they record an album with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The event is raising money for The Princes Trust, and in a novel twist viewers will be able to buy downloads of the tracks from the ITV website. Britain Sings Christmas averaged 4.2m (17.4%) in the 8 – 8:30pm slot, giving a TI™ score of 98 despite strong opposition from EastEnders on BBC1.
For a more detailed summary of the week’s television, please visit http://www.attentional.com/blog.php
Slapstick festival needs your help
Posted by Clarered | 14.12.07
Slapstick is now in its fourth fabulous year (17th – 20th January ‘08) with a fantastic line-up of live music & film events running across Watershed, Colston Hall, St Georges and Arnolfini featuring some very special guests (incl. the inimitable Paul Merton, Lord Attenborough, Aardman’s Peter Lord, The Goodies Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graeme Garden, Neil Innes, Paul McGann and many others.)
Last year’s event was a great success, drawing large and enthusiastic audiences with many of the events selling out and extensive press coverage in local / national media (Times, Independent, Guardian, Sky, Easyjet guide, BBC3, etc…). In all, over 3,000 people visited the festival, an increase of almost 50% on the previous year. See www.slapstick.org.uk
In order to continue delivering such a great annual festival, Slapstick is looking for volunteers to help with the info desk, the green room and to work on the Slapstick Gala rehearsal / evening event on the Thursday and Friday.
If you want to help, please email Maddy Probst (maddy@watershed.co.uk) with an idea of what you might be able to commit to and whether you are interested and/or experienced in a particular area (looking after guests, working in a face to face customer service role, marketing, admin, etc…).
Perks of being a Slapstick volunteer will of course include a lovely festival t-shirt, an allocation of drinks and a meal per day, and eternal gratitude:).
Tickets for this fantastic event are now on sale. Find out more www.slapstick.org.uk
Television Highlights w/c 3rd Dec 2007
Posted by Attentional | 10.12.07
Sunday 09th December 2007
Christmas is coming, and just as inevitable as the goose getting fat is the round of special events that will fill the schedules in the build-up to the big day. BBC1 and ITV1 had one a piece on Sunday evening with Sports Personality of the Year and The Royal Variety Performance. BBC1’s Sports Personality of the Year started first at 7pm (compared to 8pm for The Royal Variety Performance), but this was hardly an advantage as the first half of Sports Personality of the Year had to battle against Emmerdale and Coronation Street. It did better in the second half, although it only managed to win its slot in the last quarter-hour with a 31% share as viewers switched over to see who would win the main title. Overall, Sports Personality of the Year averaged 6.8m (25.8%) between 7-9pm – a significant improvement on last year’s 5.9m (22.5%).
Saturday 08th December 2007
Boxing fever swept the nation at the weekend in the build-up to Ricky Hatton’s big fight against Floyd Mayweather, but before that ITV1 had live coverage of another great British boxer as Amir Khan took on Graham Earl in Big Fight Live at 9:55pm. ITV1 must have been cursing its luck as Khan took just 72 seconds to demolish his opponent, ending the fight in the first round almost before it had begun. The viewer interest was definitely there as ITV1 averaged a slot-winning 6.5m (30.3%) between 10 – 10:15pm, but with the fight over in a flash it couldn’t hold on to this audience. However, the programme still averaged a respectable 4m (20.5%) between 10-11pm.
Tuesday 04th December 2007
ITV1 made one last attempt to cash in on the success of I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! last night with a special episode catching up with the show’s participants as they leave the jungle and unwind in the luxurious Versace Hotel. Christopher Biggins won this year’s challenge last Friday, but I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! Coming Out (something Biggins did a while ago) gave addicts a chance to hear more about the partnerships and spats that developed during 19 days of jungle life. I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! attracted 6.6m (29%) last Tuesday, but this ‘catch-up’ episode couldn’t quite match the ratings for the live shows. However, its audience of 5.2m (22%) was still a useful return for ITV1.
For a more detailed summary of the week’s television, please visit http://www.attentional.com/blog.php
Online media's success is a question of trust
Posted by Montage comms | 06.12.07
There are a lot of journalists at the moment who are probing local and national government dealing, on the back of the CDs scandal at the HMCR. As there is so much talk about trust by our journalist contacts, the Montage Team has explored recent scoops from far and wide, including the one by BBC Points West about the recent security breaches at Bath and Bristol hospitals by staff who were caught “surfing” confidential patient records. See Hannah’s blog for more info.
Meanwhile, I have been discussing the implications of trust, especially in the realm of Facebook and MySpace, and considering the views of the ‘founders of the web 2.0 revolution’ and their blue sky approach to social networking. See my blog for more info.
For example, Chris De Wolfe, co-founder of MySpace, said recently in Monday’s media Guardian that “Online social networking sites are laying the groundwork for the new social web, which we believe is becoming infinitely more personal, more portable and more collaborative.” Surely for us all to air our ‘dirty washing’ and personal life on these sites, we need to be sure that A: they are not using these details to sell them onto advertisers (as in the case of Facebook where 50,000 users are petitioning the site to remove a service which automatically records online spending habits) and B: Can we be sure that your potential boss, following this week’s interview, will not be looking at those embarrassing photos of last week’s stag night?
Don’t get me wrong, I am an avid cheerleader of the power of online communications, but we need to be realistic about the limitations of the social networking realm. Yes, they are fantastic tools in promoting your band or brand on the likes of BEBO or a great way to lobby support for your cause on Facebook, for example.
But, as a basic rule of thumb if you are going to use the online media to divulge personal secrets, this needs to be done in a secure group or web forum and not on a MySpace site! After all, would you let everyone know the details your personal life on the front page of a tabloid (MySpace is owned by Rupert Murdoch!) with 54million readers?
Food for thought, I think! Let me know which media you trust the most and I’ll let you know the answers in my next blog, following my research. ;-)
Matt – Montage Communications
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