The Doctor, X Factor and Downton battle for weekend glory
Friday night saw ITV launch the 2015 Rugby World Cup in the usual ceremonious fashion, with the ambitious Opening Ceremony at 6:45pm helping the nation come to terms with the upcoming six solid weeks of patriotic, bloody and beer-sponsored combat.
The 40 minute serving of music, lights and scenes of lots of energetic volunteers pirouetting around a gigantic rugby ball was watched by a live audience of 4.4 million viewers and a 26% share, ensuring that ITV’s free run of exclusive rugby action got off to a strong start.
Afterwards, the weekend’s biggest game kicked off at 7:30pm as England v Fiji brought in an excitable and solid audience. In total, an average of 7.6 million viewers tuned in for the entire coverage, with England’s victory resulting in a 35% share.
The game actually peaked around half time, reaching 9.3 million viewers for a 15 minute time slot at 8:30pm.
After Friday’s mega success, Saturday brought on a further slew of games, with Tonga v Georgia (ITV, 11:30am) netting a slightly less-impressive 1 million viewers (a 15% share), followed by Ireland v Canada and 2 pm, which secured 1.7 million and a 20% share.
Before the evening’s light entertainment was unleashed there was one more game to fit in at 4:30pm as South Africa v Japan bagged an audience of 2.6 million and a 20% share.
[advert position=”left”]Despite all the mucking about, Saturday’s biggest battle had yet to play out as the evening saw a returning Time Lord hoping to quip his way to victory against a merciless, unthinking and unstoppable musical advertising machine.
7:40pm saw BBC One launch the ninth series of new Doctor Who (35th overall, but who’s counting?) as Peter Capaldi’s second run as the 12th Doctor (13th really, but whatever) saw the time traveller face a fresh set of losses.
A surprisingly low audience of 4.6 million viewers tuned in to see the Doctor and Clara join up with The Master to defeat archaic arch enemy Davros, but it seems the concern should have been focused on Simon Cowell and his panel of mindless judges.
As a result of a clash with The X Factor, the Doctor’s latest tangle with the Daleks only secured a 22% share for BBC One.
Despite the death knell being heralded after a lacking series début, Saturday night’s 1.5 hour helping of The X Factor (ITV, 8pm) still managed to bring in 7 million viewers and a 32% share.
Sunday dumped another torrent of rugby games on the nation’s TVs, with Samoa v USA bringing in 1.4 million viewers and a 16% share at 11:30am on ITV.
2pm brought Wales v Uruguay and 2.8 million viewers (a 24% share) while New Zealand v Argentina at 4:30pm upped the audience to 3.9 million viewers and a 24% share.
BBC One’s Sunday double barrage of idyllic nationalism that was Countryfile (7pm) and Antiques Roadshow (8pm) brought some normalcy to proceedings, netting 5.4 million (a 26% share) and 5.7 million viewers (a 25% share), respectively.
There was a further TWO HOURS of The X Factor over on ITV at 7pm, with the soaps dramatics leaving the auditions behind for pressurised antics of boot-camp, resulting in 6.8 million viewers and a 31% share.
At 9pm it was time for the return of Downton Abbey, as ITV’s international success story faced the beginning of the end with the sixth and final series.
Last night’s series found Hugh Bonneville’s Earl of Crawley in an ominously pensive and nostalgic mood as he worried over the future of his estate. Episode one offered up a frightful nightmare scenario in which the poors – whom the upper classes were simply surrounded by – slowly grew more aspirational with dreams beyond scrubbing the Earl of Grantham’s toilet seat.
7.4 million viewers watched the hour and a half episode as the family broke ranks and joined the staff downstairs for some drinks and music, resulting in a 35% share. This is lower than last year’s series premier of 8.1 million viewers and the lowest series opener to date, proving that perhaps the time was right for creator Julian Fellowes to call it a day.
Meanwhile there was another feature length period thing on BBC One at the same time but it wasn’t Downton, it was called The Go-Between (9pm) and it was watched by 2.6 million viewers and a 12% share.
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. Overnight data supplied by TRP are based on 15 minute slot averages. This may differ from tape checked figures, which are based on a programme’s actual start and end time.
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