The above table shows the single top performing titles each week by selected genre, based on BARB overnight data. Figures are for channel totals where applicable.
Boardroom Battles
This week saw the return of BBC reality show The Apprentice, in which 16 hopeful candidates compete to become Lord Alan Sugar’s business partner and secure a £250,000 investment towards their business plan. Each year the show airs over 12 episodes, usually in a 9 – 10pm slot on Wednesdays. The competition comprises a series of business challenges designed to test the abilities of the candidates, who must form teams and work together to succeed, whilst also making sure they outshine their rivals.
The factual entertainment show is produced by Mark Burnett Productions and Fremantle Media-owned production company Boundless, and first launched back in February 2005 on BBC2. The first series opened to an audience of 1.9m (8.3%), but the show’s popularity seemed to soon pick up speed as its audience grew to a peak of 3.7m (16.4%) for the final episode.
Viewing figures continued to improve when the show returned for its second series the following year. An audience of 3.6m (15.8%) tuned in to the first episode, but again viewing steadily increased throughout the series. The series averaged 4.3m (18.8%) over its 12-part run, with the finale pulling in a series high of 5.8m (26.6%) and becoming BBC2′s top performing show of the year.
Series 3 (2007) of the competition was moved over to BBC1, and the channel change saw the series average boosted by over a million viewers to 5.4m (22.5%). Over the next couple of years the business battle drew in more and more viewers, with Series 5 (2009) obtaining the show’s best ever series average of 7.9m (32.2%). Series 6 (2010) saw the average dip a little to 7.1m (27.2%), but viewing was back up for Series 7 (2011), which pulled in an average audience of 7.8m (31.2%) and the most watched episode to date when the finale drew in 9.1m (36.5%). The final episode more than doubled the slot average of 4.3m (19%) and was BBC1′s 9th most watched show of the year.
However, Series 8, which ran from March – June last year, saw viewing figures decrease considerably. The average was down by over a million viewers to 6.3m (25.6%), and the series drew in the lowest final episode audience since Series 2, with 5.9m (25.1%) – also the lowest audience of the series – tuning in to see who would become Lord Sugar’s business partner.
This year’s competition kicked off at 9pm on Tuesday, and saw the contestants thrown in at the deep end as they had to get stuck into the first challenge straight after being introduced to Lord Sugar at midnight. The first episode was watched by 6m (26.2%) – the lowest opening audience since 2007 – but still beat the slot average for the previous 12 months of 5.2m (21.8%). The second instalment aired the following night, and saw viewing figures drop to 5.2m (21.8%), but again was still above the 12 month slot benchmark of 4.8m (20.3%).
New Titles
Hannibal, Sky Living’s take on the Hannibal Lecter horror franchise, began its 13-part run at 10pm on Tuesday night. The series is produced by Dino de Laurentiis Company, Living Dead Guy Productions, and Gaumont International Television, and focuses on the relationship between psychiatrist Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen) and his patient and FBI criminal profiler Will Graham (Hugh Dancy). The first episode of the crime thriller pulled in an audience of 277,600 (1.7%), more than tripling the slot average of 89,000 (0.5%) (including + 1).
Paul O’Grady: For the Love of Dogs returned to ITV for its second series at 8.30pm on Thursday evening. The factual entertainment show from Shiver follows the star as he lends a hand at Battersea Dogs & Cats Home and introduces us to some of its canine residents. The first episode attracted the show’s highest ever audience of 5m (22.8%), performing at around the slot average of 5m (21.6%), but achieving a Performance Index of 121.8, suggesting that it pulled in a higher audience than other shows sharing the same time slot, channel and genre over the past 12 months (including + 1).
Murder on the Home Front, ITV’s new 2-part crime drama, went out at 9pm on Thursday night. Set during the Blitz, the Carnival Films-produced show follows a pathologist and his secretary as they use ground-breaking forensic techniques to identify a killer after several women are murdered. The first instalment of the drama was watched by 4.8m (21.4%), performing above the slot average of 4m (17.4%) and achieving a Performance Index of 114.3 (including + 1).
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The above table shows the single top performing titles each week by selected genre, based on BARB overnight data. Figures are for channel totals where applicable.
Cooking Up A Storm
Thursday night saw another cook being crowned winner as the latest series of MasterChef came to an end. As the BBC cooking contest concluded its ninth series, we take a look back at the history of the show and the audience figures it has pulled in for The Beeb.
MasterChef began life as a Sunday afternoon BBC1 cookery show over 20 years ago, when Loyd Grossman hosted the original format of the show from 1990 to 2000. In 2001 it was revamped and moved to a week night slot on BBC2, along with new presenter Gary Rhodes, but this new version of the show only lasted for one series.
In 2005 the cooking contest underwent yet another makeover and was renamed MasterChef Goes Large. The revamped series was produced by Shine TV, and introduced us to the show’s current judges Gregg Wallace and John Torode. Series 1 of the new format aired for 30 episodes on BBC2 from February to April 2005 every weekday from 6.30 – 7pm, and pulled in an average viewing figure of 1.9m (9.8%), performing just above the 12 month benchmark of 1.7m (9.3%).
The series returned in the same slot from January to March the following year, for a longer 40-part run, and the series average jumped to 2.5m (12.4%), peaking at the series finale with 3.4m (16.8%) and a Performance Index of 155.1. A third series aired in 2007, again from 6.30 – 7pm, until the final week in which it was moved to a prime time slot of 8.30 – 9pm (8 – 9pm for the hour-long final). This time change saw audience figures surpass the 4m viewers mark for the first time ever, and the final episode even managed to pull in 4.9m (21.3%), resulting in an incredible Performance Index of 203.6.
Series 4 of the cooking competition saw it promoted to permanent prime time slot everyday from Monday – Thursday, running from either 8 – 8.30pm or 8.30 – 9pm. However, this did not seem to have a great impact on viewing of the show, as its series average actually dropped slightly to 3.1m (12.8%). From Series 5 onwards, the ‘Goes Large’ part of the show’s title was dropped, and returned to its former simpler title of MasterChef. This series was broadcast in 2009, again in a prime time slot from Monday – Thursday, and saw the series average increase by over 500,000 viewers to 3.7m (15.1%). The final episodes of both Series 4 and 5 pulled in audience of around 5.2m viewers (21%).
When the show returned for its sixth run in 2010, it made the move from BBC2 to BBC1 for the first time. Again it was shown in a prime time slot, but this time round it was usually limited to Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights. In addition, the majority of the shows lasted for around an hour, whereas in the past transmissions had usually been restricted to a 30 minute slot. The channel change seemed to have the desired effect, as the series average was boosted to 4.2m (17.2%), and the final pulled in 5.6m (21.7%).
Series 7 saw the show undergo a bit of a shake up. Firstly, the format was changed slightly to include a stage of X Factor-style auditions, where chefs were required to cook in front of the judges in the hope of securing a place in the competition. Secondly, the show was mainly limited to Wednesday nights, with 11 of the 15 episodes airing on a Wednesday. Finally, it was moved to a later time slot of 9 – 10pm, always running for an hour as opposed to previous series’ shorter 30 minute episodes. These changes seemed to have a positive effect, as the show secured its highest series average to date, pulling in 4.8m (19.7%) over its 15 episodes, and entertaining 5.9m (23.3%) with the series finale.
The eighth series returned the following year in a similar schedule, but the new audition rounds of Series 7 were ditched, and the show returned to its previous format. Again, the show ran for 15 episodes, but this time the series average was down to 4.5m (18.4%), and the final episode pulled in a lower audience of 5.6m, but a slightly higher share of (23.8%).
The latest series of the cooking show began on 12th March and ran for 23 episodes, ending on Thursday 2nd May. Overall, Series 9 performed slightly better than its predecessor, concluding with a series average of 4.6m (20.5%). The final episode, which went out from 9-10pm on Thursday, pulled in a series high of 5.6m (24.1%) and a Performance Index of 137.3.
New Titles
Vicious, ITV’s new sitcom starring Sir Ian McKellen and Sir Derek Jacobi, began a six-part run on Monday night. The first episode of the comedy from Brown Eyed Boy and Kudos went out at 9pm and attracted 5.9m (24.4%), resulting in a Performance Index of 180.4 (including + 1).
The Job Lot completed ITV’s new Monday night comedy hour, following on from Vicious at 9.30pm. Produced by Big Talk, the new six-part series kicked off with 4.7m (20.1%), scoring a Performance Index of 151.9 (including + 1).
Sweat the Small Stuff, BBC3′s new panel show hosted by Radio 1′s Nick Grimshaw, launched an eight-part run on Tuesday evening. An audience of 426,800 (2.3%) tuned into the first episode of the Talkback-produced series, giving the show an opening Performance Index of 97.6.
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The above table shows the single top performing title in each genre selected, based on BARB overnight data. Figures are for channel totals where applicable.
