Quiet start for Loudest Voice

Sky Atlantic’s new series about the rise and fall of the late, right-wing news media executive Roger Ailes this week got in ahead of a December movie about Rupert Murdoch’s former lieutenant. Meanwhile, Sky 1’s unenthusiastic publican opened the saloon doors for a second series.

Dave’s Taskmaster was also back. Series nine opened on Wednesday at 9pm with 578,000/3% – 92,000 and half a share point more than series eight’s opener (486,000/ 3%) in May. Both trailed the seventh series launch in September last year (619,000/4%).

On Thursday at 9pm, Sky 1’s A League Of Their Own, with Clare Balding in the presenter’s chair, drew 247,000/2% – the lowest of the series so far in overnights but the channel’s best rating of the week. It was 94,000 and nearly one share point fewer than last week (341,000/2%).

The second series of Sky 1 comedy The Reluctant Landlord – entirely available on-demand – opened at 2am on Wednesday with 103,000/7% and 33,000/0.2% at 10pm, totalling 136,000.

The second episode of Yesterday’s Train Truckers drew 308,000/2% on Thursday at 9pm, effectively on par with the previous week’s opener (284,000/2%). Friday’s repeat added another 161,000/1%, totalling 469,000.

Meanwhile, Sky Atlantic’s The Loudest Voice, which is entirely available on-demand, launched on Thursday at 2am (17,000/2%) and was repeated at 9pm (28,000/ 0.2%) to make 45,000 in all. At 10.05pm, episode two drew 22,000/0.2%.