ITV2 Scores With I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here

ITV2 appears to be benefiting from the success of the second series of I’m A Celebrity – Get Me Out Of Here and its coverage of the reality TV show has helped the channel to achieve its highest ever weekly share of viewing.

According to figures from BARB, ITV2 achieved a 3.28% share of viewing in the week ending 4 May, beating off competition from Sky One, which achieved a 3.08% share of multi-channel audiences during the same week.

ITV2’s strategy of streaming live footage of I’m A Celebrity – Get Me Out Of Here throughout the night has proved a big success for the channel, which has seen audiences reach the levels achieved by last year’s Big Brother on E4.

The figures show that Monday 28 April’s episode of I’m A Celebrity – Get Me Out Of Here Now was ITV2’s top-rating programme, pulling in 1.04 million viewers. The spin-off show, which is hosted by Tara Palmer Tompkinson and Mark Durden Smith, was also the third most watched non-terrestrial programme of the week.

Reality TV spin-off shows have proved a successful formula for luring viewers to digital channels. E4 has announced it is to extend its coverage of Big Brother (see 02 To Sponsor Big Brother With Enhanced Interactivity), after last year’s show significantly enhanced its share of viewing (see Big Brother’s Cross-Media Platforms Deliver Audience). The channel also recently benefited from extended coverage of reality TV hairdressers at The Salon.

Analysis of ITV2’s performance in multi-channel homes shows that the channel’s share of viewing remained fairly stable between February 2002 and February 2003. Rival entertainment channel, E4, saw its share fluctuate dramatically due to the success of last summer’s Big Brother, while Sky One’s share of viewing has declined gradually.

Last month unofficial overnight figures from BARB revealed that almost 11 million people tuned in to ITV1 for the first episode of the new series of I’m A Celebrity – Get Me Out Of Here, suggesting that reality TV is still a sure-fire ratings winner for the UK’s largest commercial channel (see I’m A Celebrity Proves A Ratings Winner For ITV1).

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