Tuesday, 30 October 2018

An unwanted front cover

Normally the front page of The Radio Time is devoted to a puff piece article on an upcoming programme but this week is entirely different. The cover features current Radio 2 Drivetime hosts Simon Mayo and Jo Whiley though the article about them is not a happy one. Instead the article focuses on the current troubles that are plaguing Radio 2. Since the late 1990s Radio 2 has become the UK's most listened to radio station. However the ratings to the station have been on the slide for the past year. Breakfast host Chris Evans has seen his show sink to it's lowest ratings, Evans is now moving to commercial broadcaster Virgin with Zoe Ball taking over the show at the end of year. The Drivetime show has been the centre of much debate ever since Whiley joined Mayo as co-host. However this move proved unpopular with listener with some voicing hostile reactions with Mayo having to defend Whiley. It has since been announced that Mayo will be leaving Radio 2 (he will still his Radio 5 Live Film Show with Mark Kermode) with Whiley leaving the show to be replaced by Sara Cox. Another changes that have raised the ire of include the dropping of long time Blues music programme Paul Jones in favour of Cerys Matthews. One could compare the current situation at Radio 2 to that of Radio ! in the early 1990s that some would say led to Radio 2 gaining the most listened title in the first place.

Monday, 29 October 2018

TV ratings 28-10-2018

The fourth episode of the current run of Doctor Who attracted nearly 6 and a half million viewers while the first part of The Little Drummer Girl was seen by almost 5 million viewers. Meanwhile The X-Factor continued it's downward slide with barely 4 million.  The big winner of the night was Strictly Come Dancing (which it has to said has been going just as long as The X-Factor) was watched by just over 9 million.

Sunday, 28 October 2018

Drummer Girls

Starting tonight on BBC1 is the adaptation of the John le Care novel The Little Drummer Girl. The tale of an English actress who finds herself caught up in a Mossad operation to catch the bombers targeting Jewish targets in Europe. This is not the first time the novel has been brought to the screen, in 1984 Dianne Keaton starred in a Hollywood film version. The main character is inspired by le Care's own half sister the actress Charlotte Cromwell, she had a bit part in another film adaptation in one of his novels The Russia House. Charlotte Cromwell's other TV/Film credits include New Tricks, The Mentalist, Toast of London and The Saint.


Wednesday, 24 October 2018

Not enough tweeting

A report has emerged that suggests what are the standards that shows have to meet if they are to survive on Netflix. It appears that the number of tweets about a programme following it;s release. The report points the number of tweets about the second series of Luke Cage after a week were sharply lower that the first series at the same point. If true it seems to be rather trivial.

Monday, 22 October 2018

TV ratings 21-10-2016

The latest episode of Doctor Who was watched by over 6 million viewers. This was down on the previous week but this could be explained by the fact there was live coverage of the US F1 Grand Prix on Channel 4. X-Factor continued it's slump with just 4 million viewers.

Sunday, 21 October 2018

No more Cage

Streaming giants Netflix has announced that Luke Cage has been axed. This follows hot on the heels of another Marvel based series Iron Fist being axed. No official reason was given and given Netflix's sercery over ratings we don't know if it was down to low viewership. Others have suggested that with Marvel's oweners Disney about to launch it's own streaming service some would say Netflix are being underhanded. No word as yet on the 3 remaining Netflix Marvel shows Daredevil, Jessica Jones and The Punisher.

Friday, 19 October 2018

Gamesmaster is over

After 25 years Gamesmaster magazine is closing down. Taking it's name from the TV show of the same name. And like it was a mix of reviews and features about video games. However the TV show ran for only 6 years compared to the magazine. Gamesmaster  At the same time another video games magazine is being axed with Games TV.