TV Overnights: BBC’s Live Golf coverage dominates the weekend ratings

BBC One and Two’s Live Golf coverage of The Open Championship at St Andrews in Fife dominated the ratings on Saturday and Sunday.

The first show started with more than 1.5 million viewers at 10am on Saturday morning, continuing BBC One’s peak run from the Breakfast show.  BBC One held the peak share all day with just two 15-minute breaks.

The channel’s afternoon Golf coverage pulled in 1.9 million average viewers and a 20.6% share between 12.15pm and 5.15pm, peaking with 2.6 million viewers in the final fifteen minutes.

From 5.15pm onwards, the live programme switched to BBC Two to make way for BBC One’s evening schedule.  101 Ways to Leave a Gameshow picked up a high of 4.7 million viewers and a 21.3% average share between 7pm and 8pm, before the channel’s new entertainment show Tonight’s the Night with John Barrowman pulled in 4.5 million peak viewers and a 21.1% average share.

Casualty, on at the later time of 9pm, attracted over 4.8 million peak viewers and a 22.9% average audience share during the majority of the all-important peak-hour.  Meanwhile, Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow secured the peak share during the post-10pm slot.

BBC Two’s Golf coverage, meanwhile, banked a decent 2.3 million average viewers and a 13.9% share between 5.15pm and 9.15pm.

Elsewhere, ITV1 launched a series of new Saturday-night programmes.  Odd One In, an eight-part gameshow with Bradley Walsh, started with 2.7 million average viewers and a 14.8% share between 7.15pm and 8pm.

Magic numbers, a live entertainment show hosted by Stephen Mulhern, filled the 8pm to 9pm slot with 2.5 million viewers and a 13% share, before the new 30 Years of An Audience With secured more than 3 million viewers and a 14.6% share.

On Sunday, BBC One’s Golf coverage banked the peak ratings all afternoon with a high of 4.2 million peak viewers.  The full programme, on between 12.45pm and 7pm, attracted over 2.8 million average viewers and a 21.7% share.

BBC Two’s morning coverage also secured the highest ratings between 11pm and 12.45pm, with over a million viewers and a 12.5% share.

However, in the evening, ITV1 dominated the line-up with Coronation Street, Heartbeat and Taggart.  Sunday’s trip to Coronation Street picked up more than 6 million viewers and a 26.7% share, before a new series of Heartbeat pulled in 5.9 million viewers and a 24.2% share.

More than 5.1 million peak viewers tuned in for all-new Taggart during the 9pm to 10pm peak-hour.  The crime drama attracted over 4.9 million average viewers and a 21% audience share during the full slot.

Overnight data is available each morning in mediatel.co.uk’s TV Database, with all BARB registered subscribers able to view reports for terrestrial networks and key multi-channel stations.