ITV Loses Saturday Night Reality Showdown With BBC
The reality showdown between ITV and the BBC on Saturday night ended in the Corporation’s Strictly Come Dancing final romping home with victory, attracting nearly one million more viewers than the final show of ITV1’s X Factor.
Direct comparisons between the two shows are difficult as they were both split into two halves, and screened at different times. However, at 7:45pm, with both shows on screen, the BBC was a clear winner with 9.7 million viewers compared to ITV’s 7.7 million.
ITV’s results programme was watched by a peak of 10.5 million audience, compared with a peak of 11.2 million during the final of Strictly Come Dancing. The BBC’s reality show also proves an overwhelming success when compared to its previous series, the final of which averaged 8.14 million.
The success of both programmes looks set to guarantee a returning series next year, with adverts for contestants for the next series of X Factor already running on ITV.
Saturday night’s reality marathon followed the climax of I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here last week, during which 12 million viewers tuned in to see comedian Joe Pasquale crowned ‘King of The Jungle’ and romp home to victory over former royal butler Paul Burrell and night-club owner Fran Cosgrave.
Although official figures have yet to be compiled by TV ratings body BARB, the jungle-based series looks set to continue the programme’s trend of success, although it is unlikely to surpass ratings for the previous series, renowned as one of the highest rating reality shows in history. ITV has already reported a strong start for the antipodean series, claiming an averaged audience of 9 million and a peak of 10 million on the show’s opening night (see I’m A Celebrity Off To Good Start For ITV).
Although the success of this year’s reality offerings will please advertisers and broadcast bosses alike, media regulator Ofcom is less taken with the genre, issuing a stinging appraisal of the UK’s broadcast content earlier this year and calling for less dependence on reality programmes in favour of more public service broadcasting material (see Ofcom Paints Bleak Picture Of Public Service Broadcasting).
The criticism may not be too much of a worry for ITV, however, as it recently welcomed proposals to reduce its PSB commitments, allowing it to concentrate instead on more revenue-generating content (see ITV Welcomes Ofcom’s Public Service Proposals).
A perfect example of ITV’s revenue-driving series is X Factor, which has already formed the basis of several spin off programmes covering the backstage antics of contestants, as well as merchandising opportunities, including the creation of a branded mobile phone by Nokia (see ITV Secures Nokia To Sponsor X Factor Reality Show).
BBC: 020 8743 8000 www.bbc.co.uk ITV: 020 7843 8000 www.itv.com
Recent Television Stories from NewsLine Advertisers Alienated Over Plans For Junk Food Ban Freeview Penetration Set To Equal Sky Next Year First Results From BARB’s Lifestyle Survey Published
Subscribers can access ten years of media news and analysis in the Archive