TV Ratings 2026

[lolly]

April 27 - May 3 (7 day consolidation)

01 Race Across The World 5.467m
02 Have I Got News For You 5.339m
03 Beyond Paradise 4.797m
04 Coronation Street 3.930m
05 Britain's Got Talent 3.730m
06 Secret Garden 3.504m
07 Secret Service 3.301m
08 Emmerdale 3.268m
09 EastEnders 3.260m
10 BBC News at Six 3.098m
11 Gogglebox 3.053m
12 Making Life On Earth: Attenborough's Greatest Adventure 2.993m
13 The Cage 2.980m
14 A Taste For Murder 2.704m
15 Interior Design Masters with Alan Carr 2.541m
16 Casualty 2.508m
17 Match Of The Day 2.489m
18 BBC News at Ten 2.451m
19 Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? 2.302m
20 Countryfile 2.258m

April 27 - May 3 (28 day consolidation)

01 Race Across The World 6.670m
02 Have I Got News For You 5.701m
03 Beyond Paradise 5.695m
04 Secret Garden 4.446m
05 Secret Service 4.353m
06 Film: Swapped 4.211m
07 Coronation Street 4.034m
08 Britain's Got Talent 4.002m
09 The Cage 3.607m
10 A Taste For Murder 3.500m
11 EastEnders 3.413m
12 Emmerdale 3.405m
13 Gogglebox 3.380m
14 Interior Design Masters with Alan Carr 3.172m
15 Making Life On Earth: Attenborough's Greatest Adventure 3.162m
16 BBC News at Six 3.098m
17 Should I Marry A Murderer? 3.006m
18 Casualty 2.773m
19 Match Of The Day 2.502m
20 BBC News at Ten 2.451m

 

[lolly]

That's down nearly 950k year on year for the final of Britain's Got Talent. ITV have already contracted it for two more years.

 

[Finn]

I guess that makes sense, if the numbers still work (increasingly just about?) and ITV want to keep one last foot in the door of live shiny floor TV.

It's the last thing they have in that genre currently. This going to weekly for the semi-finals was in itself the replacement for Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway being rested.

 

[Rita]

That's down nearly 950k year on year for the final of Britain's Got Talent. ITV have already contracted it for two more years.

That is a BIG DROP from an already pretty paltry figure. Are we at Dancing on Ice depths of despair yet ratings wise?

 

[lolly]

That is a BIG DROP from an already pretty paltry figure. Are we at Dancing on Ice depths of despair yet ratings wise?

It's about 1.3m higher than the finale of the last series of DOI. But then I don't think DOI was ever as big as BGT, so the fact that you're even comparing it now probably speaks volumes.

I think what is more concerning for ITV is how dependent they remain on Cowell and Ant & Dec's, despite not managing to find a hit format for them for some time.

 

[Rita]

It's about 1.3m higher than the finale of the last series of DOI. But then I don't think DOI was ever as big as BGT, so the fact that you're even comparing it now probably speaks volumes.

I think what is more concerning for ITV is how dependent they remain on Cowell and Ant & Dec's, despite not managing to find a hit format for them for some time.

Dancing on Ice got between 8 and 10 million for much of its earlier run. I do agree that BGT at least felt like a bigger juggernaut though. BGT seems to have haemorrhaged viewers quite a lot all at once though or at least on a quicker trajectory as Dancing on Ice seemed like it had been flopping for quite some time before they put it out of its misery.

ITV need to cut all ties with Cowell now I would say. The X Factor era is gone and is unlikely to ever come back with successful viewing figures. I would say Ant and Dec still have a bit of life left in them with the correct format. IACGMOOH still puts bums on seats for them.

 

[Rita]

AGT seems to be on a very similar trajectory to the UK version just looking at the figures on Wikipedia. I think Got Talent and X Factor are still pretty much syndicated Worldwide though? Or maybe it’s The Voice I am thinking of.

 

[lolly]

June 1 - 7 (7 day consolidation)

01 Have I Got News For You 5.474m
02 Clarkson's Farm 4.008m
03 Coronation Street 3.849m
04 Amandaland 3.611m
05 EastEnders 3.378m
06 Emmerdale 3.260m
07 BBC News at Six 3.201m
08 International Football: ENG V NZL 3.028m
09 Celebrity Gogglebox 3.009m
10 Who Do You Think You Are? 3.001m
11 Countryfile 2.959m
12 Death Valley 2.910m
13 Tiger Island 2.880m
14 Interior Design Masters with Alan Carr 2.575m
15 Antiques Roadshow 2.566m
16 BBC News at Ten 2.416m
17 Casualty 2.411m
18 Reported Missing 2.354m
19 Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? 2.292m
20 Tip Toe 2.266m

 

[lolly]

May 4 - 10 (7 day consolidation)

01 Race Across The World 5.780m
02 Film: David Attenborough's 100 Years On Planet Earth 4.725m
03 Have I Got News For You 4.298m
04 Believe Me 4.087m
05 Coronation Street 3.933m
06 Britain's Got Talent 3.933m
07 Amandaland 3.618m
08 BBC News at Six 3.316m
09 Emmerdale 3.291m
10 EastEnders 3.177m
11 Gogglebox 3.079m
12 The Cage 3.041m
13 Secret Service 3.012m
14 Snooker: World Championship 2.831m
15 BBC News at Ten 2.686m
16 Countryfile 2.659m
17 A Taste For Murder 2.601m
18 Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? 2.581m
19 Interior Design Masters with Alan Carr 2.467m
20 Match Of The Day 2.435m

May 4 - 10 (28 day consolidation)

01 Race Across The World 6.807m
02 Believe Me 5.683m
03 Amandaland 5.193m
04 Film: David Attenborough's 100 Years On Planet Earth 5.005m
05 Have I Got News For You 4.745m
06 Legends 4.316m
07 Coronation Street 4.059m
08 Britain's Got Talent 3.944m
09 Secret Service 3.727m
10 The Cage 3.517m
11 Emmerdale 3.415m
12 EastEnders 3.371m
13 Gogglebox 3.358m
14 BBC News at Six 3.316m
15 A Taste For Murder 3.241m
16 Interior Design Masters with Alan Carr 3.041m
17 Countryfile 2.835m
18 Snooker: World Championship 2.834m
19 BBC News at Ten 2.686m
20 Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? 2.648m

 

[hyperwoof]

We need new formats! Or very very old formats that haven't been done for 30-40 years. Now, now is your time to shine again Tomorrow's World!

 

[lolly]

If Professor Hannah Fry goes down well in Celeb Traitors, I could totally see the BBC trying a Tomorrow's World reboot with her, and I'd totally be here for it.

 

[lolly]

Although more likely Stephen Mulhern's The Krypton Factor

 

[lolly]

The next few weeks are going to be rough - dominated by the World Cup, and unfortunately with the odd exception BARB doesn't show the individual match (or even the date, never mind time) in their chart. Most are listed as (for example) 'World Cup: Series 5 episode 2' or 'FIFA World Cup 2026: Series 2026'.

I'll try to post it tonight and list them exactly as reported by BARB.

 

[Rita]

The next few weeks are going to be rough - dominated by the World Cup, and unfortunately with the odd exception BARB doesn't show the individual match (or even the date, never mind time) in their chart. Most are listed as (for example) 'World Cup: Series 5 episode 2' or 'FIFA World Cup 2026: Series 2026'.

I'll try to post it tonight and list them exactly as reported by BARB.

I was just thinking World Cup will likely take over the majority of the chart? England games should give some tasty ratings so would assume they will have the highest ratings by some way.

 

[lolly]

June 8 - 14 (7 day consolidation)

01 World Cup: Series 5, episode 2 6.172m
02 World Cup: Series 5, episode 7 4.517m
03 World Cup: Series 5, episode 6 4.083m
04 FIFA World Cup 2026: Series 2026 3.952m
05 Coronation Street 3.823m
06 Amandaland 3.748m
07 World Cup: QAT vs SUI 3.422m
08 Clarkson's Farm 3.369m
09 BBC News at Six 3.285m
10 FIFA World Cup 2026: Series 2026 3.278m
11 Emmerdale 3.242m
12 EastEnders 3.229m
13 World Cup: Series 5, episode 1 3.156m
14 Who Do You Think You Are? 3.030m
15 Death Valley 2.905m
16 Interior Design Masters with Alan Carr 2.778m
17 International Football: ENG vs CRC 2.724m
18 BBC News at Ten 2.602m
19 Two Weeks In August 2.425m
20 Tiger Island 2.392m

 

[lolly]

May 11 - 17 (7 day consolidation)

01 Race Across The World 5.624m
02 Eurovision Song Contest 5.424m
03 Have I Got News For You 5.220m
04 Believe Me 4.498m
05 Coronation Street 3.891m
06 Amandaland 3.865m
07 Death Valley 3.523m
08 Britain's Got Talent 3.437m
09 BBC News at Six 3.400m
10 Emmerdale 3.306m
11 EastEnders 3.210m
12 The FA Cup 3.189m
13 Gogglebox 3.093m
14 The Cage 2.683m
15 Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? 2.506m
16 Bridge Of Lies 2.255m
17 A Taste For Murder 2.162m
18 Masterchef 2.088m
19 Interior Design Masters with Alan Carr 2.076m
20 The Martin Lewis Money Show Live 1.959m

May 11 - 17 (28 day consolidation)

01 Race Across The World 6.622m
02 Have I Got News For You 5.698m
03 Believe Me 5.538m
04 Eurovision Song Contest 5.436m
05 Amandaland 4.824m
06 Death Valley 4.492m
07 Coronation Street 4.026m
08 Britain's Got Talent 3.580m
09 The Crash 3.523m
10 Emmerdale 3.430m
11 BBC News at Six 3.400m
12 EastEnders 3.374m
13 Gogglebox 3.367m
14 The FA Cup 3.190m
15 The Cage 3.085m
16 A Taste For Murder 2.681m
17 Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? 2.637m
18 Interior Design Masters with Alan Carr 2.565m
19 Bridge Of Lies 2.280m
20 Taskmaster 2.264m

 

[Penelope]

England vs Croatia only got 2.7 million people watching?! Come off it.

Edit: oh that's clearly Costa Rica, isn't it Guessing that's maybe the first Scotland game #1 then?

What a stupid way of tabulating things!

 

[Rita]

Having not watched a single match I couldn’t fathom what game is what. Surely a Scotland game wouldn’t get that many viewers?

 

[dmlaw]

You can figure out which of the ITV broadcasts are which through the listings on ITVX. The top three in that chart are Mexico v South Africa, Netherlands v Japan and Germany v Curacao.

 

[Rita]

You can figure out which of the ITV broadcasts are which through the listings on ITVX. The top three in that chart are Mexico v South Africa, Netherlands v Japan and Germany v Curacao.

Why did Mexico v South Africa get so many more viewers than the rest? I’m assuming England games aren’t included in this chart?

 

[dmlaw]

Why did Mexico v South Africa get so many more viewers than the rest? I’m assuming England games aren’t included in this chart?

It was the opening game, which often gets higher viewing figures because people are excited about the competition starting. The first England game will be in next week’s chart.

 

[Rita]

Also WHAT A PILE OF SHITE in that list.

Fuck, fuck, FUCK FOOTBALL!!

 

[lolly]

It was the opening game, which often gets higher viewing figures because people are excited about the competition starting. The first England game will be in next week’s chart.

Was 'episode 1' an opening ceremony, assuming they have one of those for the world cup?

 

[dmlaw]

Was 'episode 1' an opening ceremony, assuming they have one of those for the world cup?

Yes, it was. I’ve been looking and I can’t see any way to work out which matches the BBC figures actually were based on the information provided.

 

[lolly]

Yes, it was. I’ve been looking and I can’t see any way to work out which matches the BBC figures actually were based on the information provided.

If you look at the thinkbox website, they don't list the teams but do list the broadcast times, as BARB used to.

Unfortunately they are a couple of weeks ahead of BARB, and you can't view previous weeks. They also don't include device viewing, or 28 day viewing, which are the reasons I don't use them. Plus how they display the charts is horrid. If you want to look at the week from 15 - 21 June though, you can make a note of them.

Top programmes report

The top 50 programmes on TV based on the size of their total viewing audience over the week (including live, VOSDAL, time-shifted and total audience viewing figures). Filter by channel or audience.

www.thinkbox.tv

 

[Finn]

In what fucking world is this SERIES FIVE of the World Cup?

 

[lolly]

Really hope Jinkx Monsoon wins it

 

[dmlaw]

I’m fairly sure that 4th in this week’s ratings is Bosnia v Canada on the basis that it’s the only match shown in prime time which isn’t accounted for. 10th on the list is probably Brazil v Morocco, as it has the next most civilised kick off time of the contenders. It certainly isn’t Scotland v Haiti, which would have been my other guess, as I’ve found a news story suggesting it had a peak of 2.8 million.

 

[Soldi]

 

[Rita]

ITV sells media and entertainment arm to Sky for £1.6bn

The two broadcasters say the deal will create a strong rival to global streaming giants.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[lolly]

 

[lolly]

June 15 - 21 (7 day consolidation)

01 World Cup: ENG vs CRO 11.196m
02 FIFA World Cup 2026: Series 2026 5.552m
03 FIFA World Cup 2026: Series 2026 4.776m
04 World Cup: Series 5, episode 16 4.435m
05 FIFA World Cup 2026: Series 2026 4.132m
06 World Cup: GER vs CIV 4.032m
07 World Cup 2026: Series 2026 4.001m
08 Clarkson's Farm 3.894m
09 World Cup: BEL vs IRN 3.699m
10 Coronation Street 3.639m
11 FIFA World Cup 2026: Series 2026 3.506m
12 FIFA World Cup 2026: Series 2026 3.447m
13 Countryfile 3.243m
14 World Cup: ESP vs CPV 3.233m
15 World Cup: Series 5, episode 14 3.161m
16 Emmerdale 3.119m
17 BBC News at Six 2.977m
18 Death Valley 2.924m
19 EastEnders 2.882m
20 BBC News at Ten 2.704m

 

[lolly]

No idea why some matches give the teams, although all that do were on ITV. But then so are the ones giving series and episodes instead.

 

[lolly]

The first episode of I Will Find You on Netflix got 2.769m, but then subsequently dropped and the last 5 episodes all got less than 2m viewers.

 

[dmlaw]

Based on the Thinkbox data from last week, the actual matches are as follows:-

01 England v Croatia
02 France v Senegal
03 Belgium v Egypt
04 Scotland v Morocco
05 USA v Australia
06 Germany v Ivory Coast
07 Portugal v DRC
09 Belgium v Iran
11 Netherlands v Sweden
12 Spain v Saudi Arabia
14 Spain v Cape Verde
15 Switzerland v Bosnia

 

[lolly]

May 18 - 24 (7 day consolidation)

01 Race Across The World 5.922m
02 Have I Got News For You 5.521m
03 Believe Me 4.723m
04 Coronation Street 3.746m
05 Amandaland 3.621m
06 Race Across The World: The Reunion 3.590m
07 Britain's Got Talent 3.201m
08 Emmerdale 3.200m
09 EastEnders 3.137m
10 BBC News at Six 3.084m
11 Death Valley 2.947m
12 Gogglebox 2.926m
13 Panorama 2.844m
14 The Cage 2.589m
15 The 1% Club 2.408m
16 BBC News at Ten 2.373m
17 Two Weeks In August 2.334m
18 The One Show 2.295m
19 Blankety Blank 2.294m
20 Casualty 2.290m

May 18 - 24 (28 day consolidation)

01 Race Across The World 6.495m
02 Have I Got News For You 5.907m
03 Believe Me 5.470m
04 Amandaland 4.370m
05 Race Across The World: The Reunion 4.197m
06 Coronation Street 3.896m
07 Two Weeks In August 3.795m
08 Death Valley 3.767m
09 Emmerdale 3.376m
10 EastEnders 3.369m
11 Britain's Got Talent 3.356m
12 Gogglebox 3.319m
13 BBC News at Six 3.084m
14 Panorama 3.048m
15 The Cage 3.015m
16 The 1% Club 2.832m
17 Interior Design Masters with Alan Carr 2.799m
18 Film: Ladies First 2.595m
19 Casualty 2.511m
20 A Taste For Murder 2.497m

 

[Rita]

Thank GOD for the World Cup (words I never thought I would say) or Clarksons Farm would be number 1 and all 3 soaps would be top 5.

 

[lolly]

Thank GOD for the World Cup (words I never thought I would say) or Clarksons Farm would be number 1 and all 3 soaps would be top 5.

I assume that either the BBC or ITV would be showing something more competitive if they weren't having to accommodate matches at various times.

 

[Rita]

I assume that either the BBC or ITV would be showing something more competitive if they weren't having to accommodate matches at various times.

They are always notoriously crap throughout the Summer but this is a new low. I must say I am looking forward to season 2 of This City Is Ours, but the BBC had an advert for it the other day and it isn’t until AUTUMN. That is quite early to be advertising it, no? I think the figures were OK for it but nothing spectacular.

 

[Rita]

Actually, having googled it was the overnights that were low but the first episode climbed to 7.8 million which is pretty damn good in this climate if not quite Traitors good.