[JMT1985]

Oh dear, the overnight ratings are in for the first show of 2024 and it looks dull - 3.6 million watched the launch show. Now, yes in a world of streaming TV, overnight figures are now a thing of the past, but boy this does look low compared to Strictly's launch show of 7.2 million overnight ratings back in September 2023.

Yes, Strictly and DOI are different entities and different channels, but considering January is a boring month, I would have expected DOI to try and top 4.5 to 5 million overnight.

The show for me was dull, same old same old, and it does seem Ashley Banjo is trying to position himself as the sort of evil judge, by giving low scores at times. Doesn't work for me.

[AaronTV]

Oh dear, the overnight ratings are in for the first show of 2024 and it looks dull - 3.6 million watched the launch show. Now, yes in a world of streaming TV, overnight figures are now a thing of the past, but boy this does look low compared to Strictly's launch show of 7.2 million overnight ratings back in September 2023.

Yes, Strictly and DOI are different entities and different channels, but considering January is a boring month, I would have expected DOI to try and top 4.5 to 5 million overnight.

The show for me was dull, same old same old, and it does seem Ashley Banjo is trying to position himself as the sort of evil judge, by giving low scores at times. Doesn't work for me.

This is around the same number of people who watched Mr Bates Vs The Post Office live. You can’t declare a show dead based on its overnight figure, whilst declaring overnight figures are a ‘thing of the past’.

Even at 4 million consolidated, it would still be performing well and above anything else in that slot.

I’ve also no idea why you are comparing it to Strictly when we know it’s the BBC’s biggest show, Dancing on Ice has certainly never been in that league for ITV.

[Andrew]

Yes, Strictly and DOI are different entities and different channels, but considering January is a boring month, I would have expected DOI to try and top 4.5 to 5 million overnight.

You might expect that but Dancing on Ice doesn’t rate as high as that

It was the 4th biggest show yesterday behind Midwife, Vera and the ever popular Antiques Roadshow

[James2001]

Stephen picked up presenting duties as if he’d always been doing it

He’s a pro when it comes to fast moving live TV

Takes them back to the Ministry of Mayhem...

...which I've just remembered began 20 years ago this week.... god, I hate how time's speeding on.

[Brekkie]

It doesn't feel like a flagship anymore so a second rate show isn't going to get more than second rate ratings. 3.6m feels decent enough in the grand scheme of where ratings are, but obviously 24 hours earlier we saw if you present the public with a better product they will watch.

The big issue is format wise the show starts with exactly the same problem viewers have moaned about every year since it was revived. I'm not saying a launch show with all 12 contestants would get more viewers but it would feel more of an event.

[JMT1985]

I agree about the format - I think Stephen as co-host can help the show - but Torvil and Dean should leave the judging panel and return to being coaches

Looking at the voting figures, what do people think about the consistency of the scoring? I keep seeing Ashley giving lower scores than the rest of the judges - is he trying to be the evil judge on this show, who will be keeping their high scores to near the end of the series, just like Craig does on Strictly.

[Brekkie]

I think overall the marking seems more appropriate for week 1 this year giving them somewhere to go with it as the series progresses.

[all new phil]

DOI has always been much more realistic with scoring in the earlier shows, but they then tend to dish out 4x10s a little too early as well. Ashley is probably the fairest judge across all these types of shows I’d say - he has the expectations of Craig R-H but without the pantomime villain act.

[RDJ]

ITV very easily get stuck in a rut with a show when they don’t have any other ideas. I think with the commissioners it’s a case of “unless you have a better idea then don’t say anything at all”.

In my opinion it’s quickly gone quite stale because they didn’t give it long enough a break after its initial run. It barely seemed any time since it was announced that it would be the “last series ever” before it came back again (it was 4 years). Though we are close to approaching the length of its initial run with the second incarnation. And in this resurrection, the charm has been lost that Strictly oozes and that DOI had at some level in its previous incarnation.

The problem for ITV is that many of its recent entertainment formats haven’t performed well.
The Voice is stringing along somehow but I’ve no idea how.
Love Island really is dying a death, but ITV refuse to let it go.
Saturday Night Takeaway did perform well, but the boys want to rest the series after the next one which I imagine ITV were pretty reluctant to.
Its recent additions like Wheel of Fortune are panned by critics and viewers alike.
I’m A Celeb is helped by its scheduling but viewers are waning for that also.
They tried and tried with X Factor also which really should have been axed about 5 years before it did.
And then you have Dancing on Ice…

Gladiators for the BBC show that the ratings are there if you do something right and produce something that viewers actually want to watch. With respect, ITV partially demonstrated this with Big Brother last year which proved so popular it very quickly got moved from ITV2 to ITV1.

The best thing ITV could do is give it up. But in the absence of something they know would rate higher, bar showing The Masked Singer ad nauseam and consequently it kills that off too, I don’t think ITV really know what to do for the best.

[XIII]

I do find it amusing that people think working in television is so easy and that commissioners are lazy when that is far from the truth. TV is not easy to make at all and you have to consider they reject a lot more pitches than commissions.