BBC1's Saturday line-up develops a ratings hole
- Published: 24 September 2008 16:53
- Author: Jon Rogers
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- Last Updated: 24 September 2008 16:53
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Merlin and Strictly Come Dancing may have pulled in suitably large audiences for BBC1, but Hole in the Wall made a slightly wobbly debut in the channel's new Saturday line- up.
The Japanese gameshow adaptation kicked off a lengthy 10-part run on 20 September with 3.3 million viewers/24.9% share over half an hour at 5.40pm.
Despite getting a promotional push from the BBC, it couldn't match the channel's slot average for the year of 3.8 million. Its share, however, was slightly above the average of 24.6%.
The "human Tetris" format increased its audience while on air from an initial 2.7 million/21% to 4 million/28.6%, promising slightly better things for the future.
While it failed to make a totally convincing debut, it was head and shoulders above its nearest rival, ITV1, which averaged 1.8 million/13.3% between 5.40pm and 6.10pm.
Hole in the Wall's audience was helped by its airing before ratings smash hit Strictly Come Dancing at 6.10pm.
After last week's preview show, it got fully underway with a sizeable 8 million/42.7%, making it BBC1's third most watched Saturday night show of the year.
Even so, Strictly was no match for ITV1's The X Factor, which overshadowed everything with 9.3 million/41.8% from 7.30pm.
