Returner Unforgotten remains on top, with Playing Nice and Protection the best of this year’s new titles As autumn rolls in with the promise of yet more drama, how have BBC1 and ITV1 faired so far this year with their 9pm offerings? The latter will probably be the happier of the two.
Before the autumn schedule got going at the end of August, BBC1 had launched 12 drama series at 9pm this year, compared with ITV1’s eight. ITV1 was having the best of it, averaging 5.7 million after 28 days for its eight titles, including 4.5 million/24% on TV, 1.1 million pre-TX and 123,000 on devices. Over the same period, BBC1’s 12 titles averaged 3.6 million, including 3 million/17% on TV, 581,000 pre-TX and 120,000 on devices. BBC1’s 9pm dramas were averaging 1.7 million/20% for ABC1 adults on TV, while ITV1 was slightly ahead with 2.2 million/25%
ITV1’s biggest returning drama – the biggest of all 9pm dramas on either channel in fact – was cold case thriller Unforgotten. Mainstreet Pictures’ sixth series averaged 7.4 million from Sunday 9 February, including 5.6 million/29% on TV, 1.7 million pre-TX and 136,000 on devices. A seventh series is on its way.