Is TV making a comeback?
Posted: Sat Mar 30, 2024 11:01 pm
30 years ago, when most households could only get 4 channels (BBC One, BBC Two, ITV and Channel 4), between 15 million and 20 million people on the UK would gather round to watch feel-good Saturday night telly: from Blind Date to Gladiators, Noel’s House Party to Generation Game.
Nowadays, anything over 3 million is considered a hit, as many of us (particularly younger than 35 years old) are distracted by thumb twiddling – from texting to TikTok, Facebook to YouTube – even when people aren’t at work.
So is TV a dying medium?
January 2024 may suggest otherwise. The writers of Mr. Bates VS The Post Office were told by the producer that “people probably won’t watch it.” The claim was wrong: 4 million people tuned in each show in time slot alone; days later, the combined figure (that is, catch-up added on) surpassed 10 million. The Post Office scandal has resurfaced the news several times since.
And it’s not just dramas. The first episode of the rebooted Gladiators – now on BBC instead of ITV – has now been watched by 10 million people. Reality game show The Traitors has also grown in popularity and proven popular among the 16-34-year-old demographic in the streaming age, with overnight figures skyrocketing to 7 million by the final of Series 2 and over 300,000 people applying for Series 3. Clearly some of these formats on linear TV also have appeal on BBC iPlyaer and ITV X.
I must say, I do find there is more feel-good telly over the past 6 months, after years of the same old formats over and over and a poor run of shows that just go to pot after one series. I’ve personally enjoyed the return of Big Brother, Gladiators and The Traitors, and still a massive fan of The 1% Club, which is a neat format.
Has your interest in TV increased/decreased or remained the same over the past few years, or have you given up and are completely distracted by streaming? Or, to quote one half of Ant and Dec, “Going out!”
Nowadays, anything over 3 million is considered a hit, as many of us (particularly younger than 35 years old) are distracted by thumb twiddling – from texting to TikTok, Facebook to YouTube – even when people aren’t at work.
So is TV a dying medium?
January 2024 may suggest otherwise. The writers of Mr. Bates VS The Post Office were told by the producer that “people probably won’t watch it.” The claim was wrong: 4 million people tuned in each show in time slot alone; days later, the combined figure (that is, catch-up added on) surpassed 10 million. The Post Office scandal has resurfaced the news several times since.
And it’s not just dramas. The first episode of the rebooted Gladiators – now on BBC instead of ITV – has now been watched by 10 million people. Reality game show The Traitors has also grown in popularity and proven popular among the 16-34-year-old demographic in the streaming age, with overnight figures skyrocketing to 7 million by the final of Series 2 and over 300,000 people applying for Series 3. Clearly some of these formats on linear TV also have appeal on BBC iPlyaer and ITV X.
I must say, I do find there is more feel-good telly over the past 6 months, after years of the same old formats over and over and a poor run of shows that just go to pot after one series. I’ve personally enjoyed the return of Big Brother, Gladiators and The Traitors, and still a massive fan of The 1% Club, which is a neat format.
Has your interest in TV increased/decreased or remained the same over the past few years, or have you given up and are completely distracted by streaming? Or, to quote one half of Ant and Dec, “Going out!”