This month saw the return of Simon Cowell to Britain’s Got Talent, along with new judges David Walliams and Alesha Dixon. The talent show easily topped the programmes rankings in March, with 11.5 million viewers.
However, BBC One’s new rival talent show The Voice secured the second spot with almost 10 million viewers. BBC One snapped up the Saturday night show following a successful debut in America.
ITV’s new Sunday night drama Titanic, one of the higher profile programmes to run about the doomed ocean liner in the last month, got off to strong start for the commercial broadcaster. The drama banked 8.5 million viewers with its debut episode.
ITV1’s final Dancing with Ice also featured in the top five. The popular Sunday night ice-skating show bowed out with almost 7.8 million viewers, while the second series of ITV1’s Scott & Bailey won 7.6 million viewers to claim fifth place.
ITV1 had an excellent month, appearing in the top 10 programme listings seven times. Wild at Heart, Benidorm and Whitechapel also featured.
The return of The Apprentice to BBC One’s Wednesday night schedule proved popular among audiences, peaking with 7.6 million viewers to take sixth position in the table. BBC News and Regional News also came in at number nine with 6.8 million viewers.
BBC One featured more heavily in the 11-20 positions with The Syndicate, Upstairs Downstairs, Masterchef, Antiques Roadshow, Countryfile and Sport Relief.
Channel 4 also made it into the Top 20 with Big Fat Gypsy Weddings.
Top Programmes (excluding soaps)
| Position | Programme | On Air Date | Genre | Station | Viewers (m) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BRITAIN’S GOT TALENT | Saturday 31 March 2012 | Light Entertainment | ITV1 | 11.54 |
| 2 | THE VOICE UK | Saturday 31 March 2012 | Light Entertainment | BBC1 | 9.93 |
| 3 | TITANIC | Sunday 25 March 2012 | Drama | ITV1 | 8.48 |
| 4 | DANCING ON ICE | Sunday 11 March 2012 | Light Entertainment | ITV1 | 7.78 |
| 5 | SCOTT & BAILEY | Monday 12 March 2012 | Drama | ITV1 | 7.62 |
| 6 | THE APPRENTICE | Wednesday 21 March 2012 | Factual | BBC1 | 7.61 |
| 7 | WILD AT HEART | Sunday 11 March 2012 | Drama | ITV1 | 7.21 |
| 8 | BENIDORM | Friday 9 March 2012 | Comedy | ITV1 | 7.01 |
| 9 | BBC NEWS AND REGIONAL NEWS | Tuesday 20 March 2012 | News | BBC1 | 6.81 |
| 10 | WHITECHAPEL | Monday 5 March 2012 | Drama | ITV1 | 6.76 |
| 11 | DANCING ON ICE – THE SKATE OFF | Sunday 11 March 2012 | Light Entertainment | ITV1 | 6.61 |
| 12 | COUNTRYFILE | Sunday 11 March 2012 | Factual | BBC1 | 6.53 |
| 13 | ANTIQUES ROADSHOW | Sunday 11 March 2012 | Factual | BBC1 | 6.50 |
| 14 | MASTERCHEF | Thursday 15 March 2012 | Factual | BBC1 | 6.27 |
| 15 | CASUALTY | Saturday 10 March 2012 | Drama | BBC1 | 6.08 |
| 16 | BIG FAT GYPSY WEDDINGS | Tuesday 6 March 2012 | Factual | Channel 4 | 6.04 |
| 17 | SPORT RELIEF 2012 | Friday 23 March 2012 | Light Entertainment | BBC1 | 5.92 |
| 18 | LET’S DANCE FOR SPORT RELIEF | Saturday 17 March 2012 | Light Entertainment | BBC1 | 5.89 |
| 19 | THE SYNDICATE | Tuesday 27 March 2012 | Drama | BBC1 | 5.87 |
| 20 | UPSTAIRS DOWNSTAIRS | Sunday 4 March 2012 | Drama | BBC1 | 5.86 |
All Homes:
| 2011 | 2012 | % Point Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| BBC1 | 23.4 | 20.4 | -3.0 |
| BBC2 | 8.3 | 6.2 | -2.1 |
| ITV 1 | 17.8 | 16.2 | -1.6 |
| C4 | 7.2 | 6.2 | -1.0 |
| C5 | 6.0 | 4.6 | -1.5 |
| Others | 37.3 | 46.5 | 9.2 |
Digital Homes:
| 2011 | 2012 | % Point Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| BBC1 | 20.7 | 20.3 | -0.4 |
| BBC2 | 6.4 | 6.2 | -0.2 |
| ITV 1 | 16.3 | 16.1 | -0.3 |
| C4 | 5.8 | 6.2 | 0.4 |
| C5 | 4.5 | 4.6 | 0.0 |
| Others | 44.8 | 46.6 | 1.9 |
Sky vs Freeview (share):
| Sky | Freeview | Difference in share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| BBC1 | 18.1 | 23.4 | 5.3 |
| BBC2 | 4.9 | 8.3 | 3.4 |
| ITV 1 | 14.9 | 17.8 | 2.9 |
| C4 | 5.4 | 7.2 | 1.8 |
| C5 | 3.5 | 6.0 | 2.6 |
| Others | 53.2 | 37.3 | -15.9 |
