Sky ratings boosted by return to Virgin

Sky 1's Noel's Are You Smarter than a Ten Year Old?

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The return of Sky 1 to the Virgin Media platform gave a sizeable boost the entertainment channel with the audience for Noel's Are You Smarter Than a Ten Year Old? rising by a massive 86%.

The Sky show averaged 331,000 (1.67%) of multichannel viewers last night at 8pm. In the previous week - when Sky 1 wasn't carried by the cable service provider - just 178,000 (0.88%) watched.

Cold Case at 10pm also had a significant boost for Sky 1. Last week 213,000 (1.41%) tuned in but last night, in the same slot, 379,000 (2.45%) watched the US drama.

In between the two shows, Bones at 9pm also had a significant boost, increasing its audience by 51.3%. The ninth episode in the current last night averaged 767,000 (3.91%). A week ago it attracted 507,000 (2.54%).

The 7pm edition of the ever-popular US cartoon series The Simpsons benefitted from a rise in its audience of 31%. The show last week took 405,000 (2.22%) while last night's episode had 532,000 (2.99%).

Overall Sky 1's all hours share was up 54.5% from last Thursday, rising from 1.1% to 1.7%. Similarly its peaktime (6pm to 10.30pm) share was up 45.1% from 1.66% to 2.41%.