Royle flush of victory for BBC in news war

MediaGuardian.co.uk
Special report: the future of the BBC

Matt Wells, media correspondent
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday October 18 2000 02.22 BST

The BBC won the news ratings grudge match in the first day of the corporation's relaunched peak-time schedule, according to figures released yesterday.

The results meant a huge fillip for the new controller of BBC1. Jim Royle might well have broken wind and declared, "Ratings, my arse", but Lorraine Heggessey was more measured in her reaction to the news that this hit comedy had helped deliver more than 6m viewers to the start of the first-ever Ten O'Clock News. "I couldn't have had a better first night," she said.

But public relations machines went into overdrive, ITV and the BBC each accusing the other of foul play.

ITV claimed a narrow victory for Monday night as a whole, helped by massive ratings for Coronation Street and the underhand tactic of slipping an extra commercial break into Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. The hit quiz show ran over by four minutes, meaning viewers who then turned to BBC1 missed the start of the 10pm news.

But the BBC showed it could play dirty too. It transmitted One Foot in the Grave two minutes early, hooking in viewers just before 9pm who might otherwise have turned over to Chris Tarrant on ITV. The BBC explained the anomaly by claiming the Royle Family - which followed the antics of Victor Meldrew - was slightly longer than expected.

Unofficial ratings showed that One Foot in the Grave drew 10.2m viewers at 9pm, double the audience for the old Nine O'Clock News and pulling off a rare feat for a BBC1 show by beating Millionaire on ITV.

A record 8.4m sat through the Royle Family, and more than 6m watched the start of the Ten O'Clock News. The bulletin averaged 5.9m, which was higher than this year's 5.1m average for the 9pm incarnation. BBC1's main news bulletins at 6pm and 10pm drew a combined audience of 12.1m, easily beating ITV's 9m for the 6.30pm and 11pm news programmes.

The BBC achieved its two main aims for the new schedule, rushed through by the director general Greg Dyke - increasing the audience for the late evening news and boosting ratings for the 9pm to 10pm slot. But ITV managed to maintain its traditional lead across the evening, with a peak time share of 36.3%, against BBC1's 32.8%.

Mark Thompson, the BBC's director of television, said: "Although it's very early days in a very long game, it is very encouraging to see that a significant number of viewers will turn to a Ten O'Clock News." An ITV spokesman commented: "ITV remained Britain's most popular channel despite the BBC throwing their strongest programmes at us. It was the one night they thought they would win. They must be disappointed."

The BBC will increase the stakes in two weeks' time with an hour-long EastEnders special in peak time. It is also screening several editions of its hit daytime quiz, The Weakest Link, in the evening.

ITV claimed the ratings battle was a betrayal of corporation's public service values, while the BBC said its rival was just running scared. Yet some at the BBC question whether it can keep its strong position. There are only a limited number of hit comedy episodes, and few blockbuster films. Its main drama series are 50 minutes long, causing headaches for schedulers trying to fill the key 9pm to 10pm slot.

Head to head

BBC1

7pm Question of Sport 6.4m (29%)

7.30pm Crime Squad 3.4m (14%)

8pm EastEnders 12m (49%)

8.30pm Changing Rooms 8.8m (35%)

9pm One Foot in the Grave 10.2m (39%)

9.30pm The Royle Family 8.4m (32%)

10pm Ten O'Clock News 5.9m (29%)

ITV

7pm Emmerdale 10.3m (47%)

7.30pm Coronation Street 15.1m (63%)