All articles by Stephen Price – Page 99
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RatingsEastEnders cot death plot draws extra viewers
Consolidated figures have handed a major boost to the New Year’s Eve edition of EastEnders, which featured a controversial cot death storyline and generated thousands of complaints.
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RatingsTV returns to the real world
After the cocoon of Christmas, the new year restored some normality to the schedules.
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RatingsA break from the big brands
With no brand extension sitting at the top of the table, it’s an opportunity for the rest. Most importantly, it means I can write words such as ‘oche’, ‘Ashes’, ‘pixelated’ and ‘Midsomer’ in a purely professional capacity.
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RatingsNew year, new-look C4
Life after Big Brother was always going to be difficult; after this week Channel 4 might be thinking that life without it makes the 12 labours of Hercules look like boiling a kettle.
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RatingsChristmas catch-up figures revealed
Consolidated ratings have revealed that millions recorded heavyweight shows including EastEnders and Coronation Street – but also boosted figures for new comedy and drama. Stephen Price reports.
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RatingsHowzat for a late night hit?
It’s been so cold that a whole nation’s pipes burst, but across the seven seas in an Antipodean summer an urn was magnificently retained.
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RatingsA trip down memory lane
Apparently, the way to the nation’s hearts is to evoke memories of power cuts and only three TV channels - i.e. the 1970s.
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RatingsChristmas line-up deja vu
After a Christmas Day of programmes strikingly similar to last year’s, a battle for the family ensued
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RatingsOut of the Ashes
The Ashes appear to be an early Christmas present for ITV4, while Mad Men, Misfits and Miranda continue to generate generously-sized audiences in the consolidated highlights.
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RatingsSinging soap causes a stir
Even if you were visiting from a far-flung galaxy such as NGC 5194 and you looked at the digital top 10, you’d easily discern that something was afoot this week.
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RatingsC4’s giant elf nabs top spot
It is no surprise that in this huge week, the top-rating shows appear around the edges of peak; that half of them are brand extensions; and that one of the highest-rating 9pm shows combined food and soap.
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RatingsThe week to top all weeks
Corrie’s 50th-birthday bonanza goes down a storm, before The X Factor finale breaks records on Sunday.
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RatingsBig brands prove worth
The value of the Big Entertainment Beasts when they work, and heck are they working, is evident in the performance of BBC1 and ITV1.
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RatingsEarly Christmas for Channel 4
BBC2’s Operation Mincemeat, the increasingly popular Miranda and a seasonal visit from Fred Claus feature in this week’s channel overview.
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RatingsDemise of the scheduler has been exaggerated
The common consensus is that viewers are now their own schedulers and viewing live is a thing of the past. But while those further down the EPG are benefiting significantly, the terrestrials continue to draw big live crowds.
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RatingsA Widdy waltz for 2026 bid?
England lost out to Russia, the Saturday Monsters dominated and a bit of snow sent daytime viewing mad.
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RatingsTV keeps us out of the cold
Things perk up for Daybreak, while the reality megashows only continue to grow in popularity.
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RatingsFoil war vs Foyles War
It’s almost time to ponder the roast turkey and whether there’s enough foil to go round after last year’s supply debacle - there were ugly scenes in that foil war. ITV3’s Foyle’s War, however, was a thing of beauty in its counter jungle plan.
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RatingsChannels vie to find a voice
As the pillaging of the Event Season plunders audiences for the Big Two, other channels look to find a voice either by scheduling around them, where BBC2 has found some success on Mondays, or by playing the smart card
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RatingsMerlin magics up extra viewers
Time-shifting wizardry helped BBC1 claim the latest results for top recorded show while two US series and antics in the jungle also benefitted from the ‘R’ button.