Terrestrial TV 'Ratings Falling'

Ratings for the main terrestrial broadcasters have continued to decline, according to recently released statistics.
Ratings figures for 2011 to the end of November show that BBC and ITV have lost peak time viewers year-on-year.
BBC1 ratings during the 6pm to 10.30pm peak-time hours have fallen from 22.9% in 2010 to 22.5% in 2011, while ITV1 has dropped from 22.1% to 21.2%.
This said BBC1 audience share for all hours ratings have remained steady at just over 20%.
They are however the only main terrestrial broadcaster to achieve this. ITV1 all hours rating is down from 16.8% to 16%.
Meanwhile channel 4 is on course to miss its 7% share target and Channel 5’s purchase gamble of Big Brother does not appear to have paid off.
It is not however all bad news with the digital switch over complete the major ratings decline that terrestrial broadcasters faced during the initial expansion of digital channels appears to have levelled.
In addition the ratings must be considered alongside the new ‘time shift’ channels available through paid for TV such as ITV+1 and Channel 4 +1.
(LB)