The Deceitful World of TV Ratings Reporting

These days, it’s becoming increasingly common for respected news groups to feature stories on how ratings are slipping on what are seen as perennially popular TV programmes. Take Doctor Who, for example. Every time it’s on, the seemingly low viewing figures make headlines everywhere, swiftly followed by a mass breakout of ‘ooh, it’s too complicated’ stories. Even the seemingly indestructible X Factor has come under fire, and is now less popular than Strictly Come Dancing. Or so they would have you believe…

The big X Factor news this week is not controversy surrounding the latest departing act, New… Old… whoever they were, but about how many viewers are tuning in. And gosh, it’s lost 2 million viewers since last year! Oh no! It’s gonna be cancelled! ITV’s world might end! But what these increasingly manic reports don’t say is that it’s still got 2 million more viewers than any other TV programme, and, in this day and age, its 11-12 million strong audience is by no means cause for concern.

But that doesn’t stop speculation about why there’s a drop at all. Is it because of the new, Cowell-free judging panel? Or the lack of a stand-out contestant? Quite possibly. However, there’s also the strong possibility that it hasn’t lost as many viewers as it might appear. After all, there’s a simultaneous broadcast on ITV HD (for people who like spotting Louis’ botox lines) seen by 400k, and a delayed showing on ITV1+1 (which wasn’t around last year), seen by 300k. Then of course there’s ITV Player, and 476,000 repeats on ITV2… And when you add those on to the ITV1 ratings, you can appreciate that the situation isn’t as apocalyptic as it’s represented.

As mentioned earlier, there have also been reports that Strictly emerged victorious in Saturday night’s ratings battle. Which is true… but only when they went head-to-head, i.e. when the end of Strictly clashed with the start of XF. Now, call me a philistine, but if I’d been watching a programme for an hour and a half, I wouldn’t switch over just before the end. And everybody knows that XF never puts the best act on first. (There’s also the fact that XF’s average audience was higher than Strictly’s, as was its 15-minute peak, but I won’t bore you with that…)

Perhaps the biggest problem with ratings reporting is that only overnight figures are widely discussed, a fact which has plagued Doctor Who more than any falling Silence ever could. Overnight figures include those people that watched the programme on the night. The trouble with DW is that only about 75% of its audience do this. Visit the official ratings website BARB, and you’ll find that the consolidated figures, which add on people who watched recordings later in the week, are significantly higher and healthier. Of course, they’re not as high as they were (you only need to compare the series 6 finale’s 7.67m to series 4’s 10.57m to know that), but there’s the increasing popularity of iPlayer to consider. It’s common knowledge that DW is an iPlayer fave, but these numbers aren’t included at present. Fortunately, they are set to be included from 2012, which will certainly help to give a more accurate representation, and prevent too many rants about TV ratings…

So, as we’ve seen, articles regarding TV ratings can be deceptive, and the situation is almost never as severe as it’s made out. (There are also articles that are quite blatantly nonsense, such as a recent report which stated that Downton Abbey’s figures had “plunged” by 400k. Need I say more?) And remember, the next time the Daily Mail reports that Coronation Street’s viewing figures have plummeted, naturally caused by a slightly effeminate male being seen in the background of a shot, ensure you have several pinches of salt at the ready.

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