Channel 5 Reports Best Week Ever

Channel 5 viewing figures for this week have so far broken all previous records for the channel. Overnight figures released today saw ratings soar as its new autumn schedule began (see Channel 5 Stays With Controversial Programming For New Schedule).

The decision to stick to its trusted formula of films, sport and sex has paid off with programmes in these categories pulling in the largest shares. Just days after announcing its highest rating show with the movie premiere of Independence Day, which saw 4.98 million tuning in, this figure was eclipsed the following day by the live Poland-England match which saw the record soar to 5.5 million. Both amounted to a 24% share of viewers. New documentary Female Orgasm (1.8 million) and action thriller Raw Deal (2.9 million) also boosted ratings this week.

Overall daily shares will make this week the best-performing for the channel so far. The total viewing share for the whole of Wednesday reached 14.4%; a peak of 9.2 million viewers was recorded during the second half of the Poland-England football match. The channel’s previous weekly record is 6.5 per cent of total terrestrial viewing. With provisional figures for Monday (7.1%) and Tuesday (10.4%) also above average, the channel has made an excellent start to the season.

Men in the 16-34 age category have been instrumental in pushing ratings this week. During the broadcast of the Poland-England match, 46% of viewers came under this description; during Independence Day they accounted for 41%.

The Poland-England match, which saw England’s chances of Euro-2000 qualification plummet, saw C5 rise to the top. In four television regions it took the lead with shares in Central regions reaching 42.8% and in Granada areas 40%. The channel’s total network share (30.3%) was beaten only by that of ITV (33.6%); it was almost double that of BBC1 (15.5) and bigger than BBC1, BBC2 and C4 combined (30.1%)

Channel 5: 0171 550 5555