Joey Breaks Five’s Viewing Records With 4.1 Million

Five grabbed its largest audience to date last night, with a double bill of Friends spin-off, Joey, drawing over 4 million viewers as the show made its debut on British TV.

Both 30-minute episodes of the show, following popular Friends character Joey Tribbiani as he moves to Hollywood, secured audiences of 4.1 million and a 16% share, despite mixed reviews from TV critics.

Five won the rights to screen the high-profile sitcom last August after Channel 4 withdrew from an intense bidding war for the programme, claiming that the price for the programme had risen too high given the quality of a pilot episode (see Five Wins Friends Spin-Off After Fierce Bidding War).

However, the investment appears to have paid off for Five, which has built a new comedy strand around the show, reported to have cost the broadcaster around £250,000 per episode. Five’s new comedy zone programming, which includes what Five claims is “America’s highest-rated series of the last few years”, Two And A Half Men, starring Charlie Sheen and Jon Cryer.

Joey‘s performance last night was one of Five’s largest to date, with the show grabbing the largest share of 16-34 for all channels, with 34%, and claiming the top spot as the highest-rating non-film, non-sport programme ever to air on the channel.

The programme’s audience of 4.1 million also puts it on a par with the last, and final, series of Friends, which secured an average audience of 4.4 million for Channel 4 last summer.

The impressive performance will also please food manufacturer, Ginsters, which secured sponsorship of Joey last month. The company’s sponsorship package includes sponsorship credits, on-air promotional trailers and additional exposure on all press and off-air marketing (see Ginsters Signs As Five’s Sponsor For Joey).

Five: 020 7550 5555 www.five.tv

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