Television Viewing Round-Up – July 2005
Britain’s terrestrial broadcasters saw a disappointing July overall, with all but BBC2 and Five seeing their viewing share decline. Channel 4 was the worst hit in both the All Homes and Digital Homes universes, with percentage point declines of 1.88 and 1.18 respectively.
All Viewing
Channel 4 saw the largest downturn in viewing share during July, with a year on year dip of 1.88% points. The broadcaster’s total now stands at 10.6%. However, the channel’s outlook looks set to improve, with the beginning of big-budget American drama Lost in August and the acquisition of broadcast rights to a number of hit shows from Warner Bros (see Channel 4 Bolsters Schedule With New US Shows)
The BBC’s flagship channel, BBC One, was also hit by viewing share decline during July, with a 1.71% point slip pushing the broadcaster’s overall share to 22.73%, although this remains the largest of any terrestrial broadcaster.
BBC Two fared better in All Homes, with a 0.48% point uplift year on year propelling the channel’s total share to 9.88%. July saw the broadcaster air the first two episodes of Ricky Gervais’ new sitcom, Extras. The new show has been much anticipated by fans of Gervais’ previous creation, The Office, and lauded by BBC management as having “all the hallmarks of a great BBC Two comedy series,” underlining the station’s commitment to “pedigree comedy” (see BBC Pins Hopes On Extras For Audience Growth).
Five was similarly fortunate in July, with an increase of 0.5% points giving the broadcaster a total viewing share of 6.8% in All Homes. The increased share will please shareholders RTL, who secured complete control of Five in June, after agreeing with United Business Media to acquire the outstanding 35.4% shareholding for £247.6 million (see RTL Seizes Full Control Of Five).
ITV put in a less impressive performance during July, however, as the nation’s largest commercial broadcaster saw its share dip by 0.79% points. ITV’s total viewing share in All Homes now stands at 20.18%, while Other broadcasters saw an increase of 3.38% points in the same period to total 29.78%.
Digital Viewing
The picture was similar for Britain’s terrestrial broadcasters in Digital Homes during July, with Channel 4 again seeing the largest slide in viewing share, as a dip of 1.18% points left the broadcaster with a total share of 9.13%.
BBC One again saw the second largest dip in viewing share, as a year on year decline of 0.86% points pushed the station’s total to 18.2%.
ITV was also in decline, although its performance in Digital Homes looked more hopeful, with a relatively small dip of 0.04% points. The broadcaster’s total share now rests at 16.6%, although this remains second to BBC One.
BBC Two and Five saw increases in share in Digital Homes, adding 1.1% points and 0.75% points respectively to total 7.33% and 5.35%, while Other broadcasters continued to benefit from the proliferation of digital TV, adding 0.21% points to total 43.45%.
Freeview Vs Sky
BBC One retained its position as top dog amongst the nation’s terrestrial channels during July, regardless of platform, with shares of 15.38% and 23.7% in Sky and Freeview Homes respectively.
Other broadcasters continued to outweigh the competition in both Sky and Freeview, however, with viewers relishing the increased choice afforded by digital television.
All of the UK’s terrestrial stations saw a better performance on the Freeview platform than on Sky, due mainly to the reduced competition from digital-only broadcasters.
BARB: www.barb.co.uk