Today's discovery+ launch spotlights David Attenborough's 10 years of ratings dominance

David Attenborough is a promotional hook for Monday’s long-awaited launch of discovery+.

The 94-year old legend narrates A Perfect Planet, a blue chip series that stands out among the new streamer’s higher quality programs.

I am in awe of Attenborough’s lifetime contribution to documentary filmmaking. I earned a credit on one of his hit series. (See 2016 below.)

The discovery+ press campaign inspired me to take a right turn away from writing abput the streamer’s prospects and instead to focus on Attenborough’s dominating audience appeal.

BBC1 has been his UK broadcasting home.

In this post:

I list the top BBC1 wildlife programs from 2020 back to 2011.
Attenborough’s programs are highlighted with links.
The data is explained in notes below the 2020 list.

Here is my ratings data tribute to David Attenborough, with brief Takeaways.

BBC1 Nature & Wildlife Programs
2020

	Programme Title	‘000 P4+	Share
1	Extinction: The Facts	4,374	22.4
2	Primates	4,211	16.8
3	Planet Earth: A Celebration	4,109	21.7
4	Blue Planet Revisited	3,942	23.2
5	Spy in the Wild	2,862	11.3
6	Blue Planet II	2,814	18.2
7	Planet Earth II	2,284	13.2
8	Attenborough and the Sea Dragon	2,269	16.6
9	Penguins – Spy in the Huddle	1,910	14.1
10	Animal Park	1,618	25.9
11	Seven Worlds, One Planet	1,449	11.9
12	Snow Animals	369	7.6
13	Iolo: The Last Wilderness of Wales	207	1.4
14	Stormborn (See my Case Study)	173	0.8
15	Grand Tours of the Scottish Islands	138	1.7

Notes on the Data

The ‘000 P4+’ column refers to viewers 4 years and older in thousands.
Share refers to the program’s share of television sets in use at that time.
The data refers to highest single episode in a series.
The categories come from BARB, and titles are sometimes incomplete.
Excuse any oversight if I incorrectly labeled a series.

Still from Sea Dragon

2019

	Programme Title	‘000 P4+	Share
1	Seven Worlds, One Planet	8,704	39.8
2	Blue Planet Live	5,745	24.3
3	Earth from Space	4,494	17.8
4	Snow Animals	3,455	17.6
5	Blue Planet II	3,392	17
6	Serengeti	2,951	16.8
7	Animal Park Summer Special	2,040	36.8
8	River Walks	1,901	10.6
9	The Farmers Country Showdown	1,628	16.4
10	Spy in the Snow	1,437	13.3
11	Life in the Snow	1,119	16.3
12	Dynasties	1,087	10.3

Hit Drama vs Hit Wildlife

The highest-rated BBC1 dramas in 2019 were Line of Duty (10.7 million) and Call the Midwife (8.7 mill).
ITV’s #1 drama was Manhunt (8.7 mill).
Seven Worlds‘ 8.7 million viewers is a measure of Attenborough’s untiring appeal, and of the UK broadcast audience’s intense interest in the quality documentary format.

2018

	Programme Title	‘000 P4+	Share
1	Dynasties	8,060	31.3
2	Spy in the Snow	5,085	25.2
3	Big Cats	5,026	22
4	David Attenborough & the Giant Sea Dragon	4,860	18.9
5	Animals with Cameras	4,021	18.7
6	Earth’s Natural Wonders	3,676	14.7
7	Elephants on the Move	2,743	14.8
8	River Walks	2,690	13.7
9	Blue Planet II	2,681	16.7
10	Animals Behaving Badly	2,259	13
11	The Deer Stalker: Our Lives	1,865	12
12	Animal Park Summer Special	1,599	30.6
13	The Farmers Country Showdown	1,548	16.7
14	Attenborough and the Giant Elephant	1,157	11.4

2017

	Programme Title	‘000 P4+	Share
1	Blue Planet II	14,011	45.8
2	Spy in the Wild	6,218	25.7
3	Wild Alaska Live	5,998	31.9
4	Attenborough and the Giant Elephant	5,378	20.3
5	Snow Bears	4,969	23.6
6	Galapagos	4,173	16.9
7	Judi Dench My Passion for Trees	3,075	13
8	The Farmers Country Showdown	2,757	15.6
9	Super Small Animals	1,825	9.2
10	Animal Park Easter Special	1,729	28

Still from Blue Planet

2016

	Programme Title	‘000 P4+	Share
1	Blue Planet II	13,143	43.3
2	Life in the Snow	4,163	18.4
3	Forces of Nature with Brian Cox	3,944	16.3
4	Koko: The Gorilla Who Talks to People	3,701	15.7
5	Nature’s Miracle Orphans	3,658	18.7
6	Great Barrier Reef with David Attenborough	3,653	13.8
7	Ingenious Animals	3,257	15.7
8	Nature’s Epic Journeys	2,749	11.6
9	Autumn: Earth’s Seasonal Secrets	2,441	16.3
10	Animal Babies	2,213	15.8

Attenborough goes under in the Alucia research vessel’s Triton submersible in “Great Barrier Reef”. I am credited as Development Executive for bringing together Attenborough and Bridgewater hedge fund giant Ray Dalio, then owner of the Alucia.

2015

	Programme Title	‘000 P4+	Share
1	The Hunt	5,801	21
2	Big Blue Live	5,329	27.8
3	Earth’s Natural Wonders	4,882	22.1
4	Great Barrier Reef with David Attenborough	4,510	18.2
5	Pets: Wild at Heart	4,423	18
6	Animals in Love	4,245	20.6
7	Super Cute Animals	4,230	21.7
8	Snow Chick: A Penguin’s Tale	4,215	17.5
9	Shark	3,994	17.1
10	Nature’s Boldest Thieves	3,014	16.1

2014

	Programme Title	‘000 P4+	Share
1	Dolphins: Spy in the Pod	5,292	20.3
2	Life Story	5,119	20.6
3	The 7 Wonders of the Commonwealth	4,376	19.1
4	Operation Wild	4,159	19.3
5	Hidden Kingdoms	3,801	15.3
6	Nature’s Miracle Orphans	3,789	21.2
7	Monkey Planet	3,635	14.9
8	24 Hours on Earth	3,358	14.8
9	Frozen Planet	2,479	12.4
10	Talk to the Animals	2,428	12.5

2013

	Programme Title	‘000 P4+	Share
1	Africa	8,519	28.1
2	Penguins – Spy in the Huddle	5,835	20.7
3	Animal Odd Couples	5,588	21.5
4	Great Bear Stakeout	3,988	15.5
5	The Great British Year	3,935	16.8
6	Ultimate Swarms	3,123	13.4
7	Britain and the Sea	2,994	10.3
8	Britain’s Big Wildlife Revival	2,957	15.8
9	Super Giants Animals	2,620	10.9

2012

	Programme Title	‘000 P4+	Share
1	Planet Earth Live	6,061	22.9
2	Earthflight	5,075	18.1
3	Snow Babies	4,752	20.1
4	The Great British Countryside	4,372	17.8
5	Supersized Earth	4,258	16.1
6	Richard Hammond’s Miracles of Nature	4,022	16.4
7	Land of the Lost Wolves	3,859	14.8
8	Polar Bear: Spy on the Ice	2,750	14.8
9	Miniature Britain	2,550	10.8
10	Frozen Planet	2,044	14.8

Still from First Life

2011

	Programme Title	‘000 P4+	Share
1	Frozen Planet	9,727	34.1
2	Ocean Giants	5,941	22.7
3	Earthflight	5,771	20.7
4	Planet Dinosaur	4,741	18.5
5	Nature’s Miracle Babies	4,043	19.8
6	Walk on the Wild Side	2,126	14.4
7	Polar Bear: Spy on the Ice	1,755	10.5
8	Animal 24:7	1,503	24.1
9	Halcyon River Diaries	1,262	7.4
10	David Attenborough’s First Life	590	10.5