[tellyblues]

It does beg the question, how long does Strictly have to continue losing viewers before the BBC would consider axing it?

It's not losing viewers at a rate greater than other broadcast television and was the most watched programme in 6 of the 13 weeks it was on air and the most watched BBC One programme in 11 of its 13 weeks (a period which also and unusually included the World Cup). The idea that it is a poor performer is ludicrous.

Nobody's saying it's that, but by it's own standards it has regressed. The link to the general decline in viewing is a fair one to make but it's not wholly responsible for why shows have been failing to attract a certain amount of viewers recently. Long running shows will peak then lose viewers and new shows won't hit the mark especially if they're seen as a rehash of what has gone before, which is difficult to avoid nowadays.

Strictly is in the very fortunate position to be a show from a different era, is about dancing, has an audience that aren't swayed by Netflix etc, plus other channels don't really offer anything that will take casual viewers away from it.