It’s always a pleasure to share my semi-annual report card on the top-rated UK documentary and lifestyle programs.
I enjoy the compelling diversity and quality of the UK industry.
SIZZLING SIXTY
Here are the Top 60 Documentaries, Lifestyle & Current Affairs programs for UK through June 30, 2017 (in thousands).
| Channel | Programme | ‘000 | |
| 1 | BBC 1 | Countryfile | 7,670 |
| 2 | BBC 1 | Antiques Roadshow | 6,506 |
| 3 | BBC 1 | Masterchef | 6,474 |
| 4 | BBC 1 | Rio Ferdinand: Being Mum + Dad | 6,345 |
| 5 | BBC 1 | Spy in the Wild | 6,218 |
| 6 | BBC 1 | Antiques Roadshow Holocaust Memorial | 6,076 |
| 7 | BBC 1 | The Real Marigold Hotel | 5,999 |
| 8 | BBC 1 | Our Friend Victoria | 5,397 |
| 9 | ITV | The Real Full Monty | 5,362 |
| 10 | BBC 1 | Who Do You Think You Are? | 5,242 |
| 11 | BBC 1 | Watchdog | 4,869 |
| 12 | BBC 1 | DIY SOS: The Big Build | 4,824 |
| 13 | BBC 1 | The Truth About Sleep | 4,704 |
| 14 | BBC 1 | The One Show | 4,670 |
| 15 | BBC 1 | Panorama: Madeleine McCann: 10 y | 4,474 |
| 16 | ITV | Britain’s Busiest Airport Heathrow | 4,309 |
| 17 | BBC 1 | The Met: Policing London | 4,224 |
| 18 | ITV | Martin Clunes: Islands of Australia | 4,222 |
| 19 | ITV | The Cruise: Sailing the Mediterranean | 4,216 |
| 20 | BBC 1 | Galapagos | 4,173 |
| 21 | BBC 1 | Shop Well for Less? | 4,104 |
| 22 | BBC 1 | Eat Well for Less? | 4,095 |
| 23 | CH4 | Gogglebox | 4,068 |
| 24 | BBC 1 | Reported Missing | 4,051 |
| 25 | ITV | The Martin Lewis Money Show | 4,004 |
| 26 | BBC 1 | Week the Landlords Moved In | 3,982 |
| 27 | BBC 2 | The Fifteen Billion Pound Railway | 3,908 |
| 28 | BBC 1 | Supermarket Shopping Secrets | 3,861 |
| 29 | BBC 1 | Italy’s Invisible Cities | 3,859 |
| 30 | ITV | Sugar Free Farm | 3,840 |
| 31 | BBC 1 | Panorama | 3,823 |
| 32 | BBC 1 | Spy in the Wild: Meet the Spies | 3,784 |
| 33 | BBC 2 | Top Gear | 3,767 |
| 34 | BBC 1 | East Africa Crisis Appeal | 3,635 |
| 35 | ITV | Britain’s Best Walks / Julia Bradbury | 3,619 |
| 36 | ITV | Save Money: Good Health | 3,559 |
| 37 | ITV | Long Lost Family: What Happened Next | 3,524 |
| 38 | BBC 1 | Britain On The Fiddle | 3,459 |
| 39 | BBC 1 | The Truth About Stress | 3,451 |
| 40 | ITV | Paul O’Grady: For the Love of Dogs | 3,419 |
| 41 | ITV | Killer Women with Piers Morgan | 3,407 |
| 42 | BBC 1 | The Sheriffs Are Coming | 3,400 |
| 43 | BBC 2 | Winterwatch | 3,378 |
| 44 | BBC 2 | Great Pottery Throwdown | 3,345 |
| 45 | ITV | Love Your Garden | 3,290 |
| 46 | BBC 1 | Call the Midwife: The Casebook | 3,234 |
| 47 | ITV | Devon & Cornwall Cops | 3,206 |
| 48 | BBC 1 | Planet Earth II: A World of Wonder | 3,174 |
| 49 | ITV | Lady Lucan: Time For Truth | 3,165 |
| 50 | ITV | Tales from the Coast with Robson Green | 3,144 |
| 51 | BBC 2 | The RHS Chelsea Flower Show | 3,135 |
| 52 | BBC 2 | Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby | 3,127 |
| 53 | ITV | Prince Philip: 70 Years of Service | 3,114 |
| 54 | ITV | The Kyle Files 3 | 3,097 |
| 55 | ITV | Unbelievable Moments: Caught on Camera | 3,075 |
| 56 | BBC 2 | The Day the Dinosaurs Died | 3,045 |
| 57 | CH4 | Titanic: The New Evidence | 3,000 |
| 58 | ITV | Save Money: Good Food | 2,992 |
| 59 | BBC 2 | Mary Berry Everyday | 2,981 |
| 60 | BBC 2 | Gardeners’ World | 2,966 |
The list combines BARB’s Documentary, Hobbies / Lifestyle
and Current Affairs categories.
TAKEAWAYS
Corbyn Whispering?
- Many of us saw Brexit predictors in the nostalgia-packed 2016 UK Hits List.
- There was no big royal birthday or wedding this year.
- It was left to Prince Phillip (#53) to deliver the HRH-loving audience. (However, I expect that the Princess Diana anniversary will change that for the FY2017 score card.)
- The rural magazine Countryfile tops the chart, despite losing around 1 million viewers vs the 2016 peak.
- But is 2017 a Jeremy Corbyn predictor?
- Maybe work-related topics are popping a bit?
- For example, hit shows covered airport, hotel and police operations.
- There are lots of “Austerity Survival” guides, Eat Well For Less and Shop Well For Less (#21, #22), Supermarket Shopping Secrets (#28), Save Money: Good Food (#58), and Save Money: Good Health (#36).
- And anxiety indicators: The Truth About… Sleep (#13), and …Stress. (#39).
- And The Week The Landlords Moved In (#26) challenges owners to live with their renters’ budgets.
Celebrity / Pop Culture
- Retired football star Rio Ferdinand (#4), comedian Victoria Wood (#8) and programs inspired by The Full Monty (#9), The Real Marigold Hotel (#7) and Call The Midwife (#46)…
- … They are reminders of the evergreen appeal of factual shows inspired by celebs and legendary TV programs or movies.
- The Rio Ferdinand special earned acclaim as “an uncompromising, soul-baring examination of grief and in particular its effect on men.”
Natural History / Wildlife
- The BBC’s Spy in The Wild (#5) reveals the UK’s lasting love of wildlife programs.
- Spy In The Wild: Meet the Spies (#32) highlights how the Natural History audience delights in getting behind the scenes to learn about the amazing kit and fieldwork devised by production teams.
- The 4-day “Live event” Winterwatch (#43) drew a peak of 3.4 Mn viewers to an inventive blend of Live feeds from Dorset, fixed cameras and pre-produced packages.
- Reversing 2016 results, true Natural History programs nudge out popular pet shows, topped by Paul O’Grady’s Love of Dogs (#40).
- The BBC’s Galapagos (#20) was launched from the Alucia research vessel.
- When I was engaged by the Dalio Foundation on a strategic plan for Alucia Productions, I set in motion the Alucia’s use as the platform for David Attenborough’s hit Great Barrier Reef series, earning the credit of Development Executive.
More on Genres…
- Brits love the Travel genre, which barely has a pulse in the U.S.
- Crime seems to be popping in the UK as in the U.S., including cold case specials on Madeleine McCann and Lady Lucan.
- Italy’s Invisible Cities (#29) shows that 360 imaging can carry a hit show in a year that the History genre isn’t delivering.
- Antiques Roadshow ranks #2 behind Countryfile:
- AR’s highest-rated episode gained 400,000 viewers over 2016.
- And a hit Holocaust Memorial special added to the franchise’s decades of achievements.
90 is The New 30
- Specials on Prince Philip (#53) and Mary Berry (#59) are a reminder that the ageing UK broadcast audience loves its Golden Oldies.
- Here are the average ages of viewers for:
- BBC1: 61
- BBC2: 62
- ITV: 60
- Channel 4: 55
- Channel 5: 58
- The UK production and programming community itself is ageing:
- The grey hair stands out a bit more each year at our conferences and markets.
- Younger creatives are drawn to online platforms.
- Maybe that partly explains the noticeable lack of originality among these hits?
- Also: Read my post on Sam Barcroft’s WCSFP Stockholm presentation about the viewing habits of UK young (16-24) vs all viewers.
Americans: Take Notes!
These UK hits are earning closer study by U.S. programmers:
- Channels like Nat Geo, Discovery and History are commissioning more quality, documentary-style factual programs after their audiences grew tired of Reality.
- Shrinking audiences for the U.S. networks translates into budget pressures, and therefore more opportunities for UK co-productions, acquisitions and format sales.
- Meanwhile, Netflix and Amazon are expanding their UK operations, and that means sourcing more global factual content from the UK production community.
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SVOD EXPLAINED
Original Analysis for Documentary Producers & Executives
PLUS TAKEAWAYS
Opportunities, Success Factors & Deal Terms
for Netflix, Amazon, YouTube, Vimeo and other OTT/VOD Platforms
Original analysis from DocumentaryTelevision.com with
distributor Kinonation’s Roger Jackson
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