The Stage

ITV1 ratings slump due to deserting under-35s

Published Tuesday 8 March 2005 at 13:55 by Liz Thomas

ITV1 is facing its heaviest decline in audiences year on year, with the number of under-35s watching the channel falling by almost a quarter compared to 2004, according to new figures.

The Network’s viewers slumped by a record 10% in the first two months of 2005 and the number of 16-34-year-olds watching is now around 17.4%, down 23% on the same period in 2004, while total share now stands at around 22.3% compared to 24.6% at the end of February last year.

A spokeswoman for ITV1 said the absence at the beginning of this year of ratings-winner I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, which was screened twice last year, for the first time in the early months of 2004, had an impact on comparisons and explained some of the drop.

She added: “ITV1 continues to be the most popular channel across peak hours with ITV2 and ITV3 achieving record-breaking months. Unlike Channel Four and Five - who have already transmitted some of their most popular shows this year - the ITV channels have their strongest programme line-ups still to come in 2005 and autumn is our strongest season. In January and February last year we transmitted the most successful entertainment programme ever - I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! - and we didn’t have a new series in the schedules this year.”

It is not only younger viewers deserting the Network, figures also show the more affluent ABC1 audiences are also tuning off - dropping by 12% over the past year to an average of 20%. These two demographics are the most lucrative for advertisers so ITV will face pressure to ensure it develops programmes with a similar impact of the celebrity reality TV show, while not becoming over-reliant on the format as audiences for the last series - broadcast in the autumn - were declining.

The spokeswoman continued: “BARB methods of measuring audiences have changed over the last 12 months affecting all terrestrial broadcasters and as a result they are all down year on year across peak-time.”

BBC2 fared the worst of all terrestrial channels losing 12% of its audience in January and February. Despite the success of Desperate Housewives, Channel 4 also suffered a decline in viewers.