What did UK Viewers Watch before the Olympics? Part 2. 'Antiques Roadshow' Wins Gold

My out-of-the-couch reaction to Mo Farah’s fantastic 10K win on Saturday was a reminder that there are three categories of Olympic Gold:

Gold.
Your garden variety step to the top of the podium.
Solid Gold.
A win that captures very special athletic power and durability.
Heavy Gold.
The Chinese concept for a win that is a turning point for a people or nation. Farah’s 10K, Kathy Freeman’s 400 in Sydney and Liu Xiang’s 110 hurdles at Athens come to mind.

Antiques Roadshow

This Olympic weekend, we turn to the UK Hobbies & Leisure category where Antiques Roadshow earns my Solid Gold medal for placing #1 and #5 on the Top 100 list for 1H 2012.

Why is AR such a dependable hit?
How can a 35-year strong series be kept fresh?
Read on…

Antiques Roadshow is one of the most successful franchises in the history of television:

UK:
- It has enjoyed 35 years as a hit series.
International versions:
- US: AR has been the #1 (or close) PBS show for 15+ years.
- Canada, Sweden and elsewhere.
- Arguably helped shape US #1 reality hit Pawn Stars and countless imitators.

Top 100, Hobbies & Leisure, 1H 2012
Viewers / ‘000

	Title	Channel	Viewers	Share
1	Antiques Roadshow	BBC 1	7,410.2	28.4
2	MasterChef	BBC 1	6,269.0	23.3
3	DIY SOS: The Big Build	BBC 1	5,424.3	22.1
4	Top Gear	BBC 2	5,294.1	15.4
5	Antiques Roadshow: Diamond Jubilee	BBC 1	4,807.2	18.7
6	The RHS Chelsea Flower Show	BBC 1	3,498.0	16.3
7	The Hairy Bikers’ Bake-Ation	BBC 2	3,220.8	13.0
8	Love Your Garden	ITV1	3,215.5	14.1
9	The Restoration Man	CH4	2,811.5	10.5
10	Location, Location, Location	CH4	2,799.8	10.6
11	Countrywise Kitchen	ITV1	2,715.3	12.2
12	Bargain Hunt	BBC 1	2,539.0	22.6
13	Homes Under the Hammer	BBC 1	2,430.9	26.2
14	Springwatch	BBC 2	2,418.8	9.8
15	Gardeners’ World	BBC 2	2,398.0	9.3
16	Saturday Kitchen Live	BBC 1	2,370.5	27.0
17	The Best of Top Gear	BBC 2	2,360.0	8.9
18	Great British Menu	BBC 2	2,311.9	10.9
19	Flog It!	BBC 2	2,285.7	10.3
20	Antiques Road Trip	BBC 2	2,253.8	16.1
21	Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is	BBC 2	2,202.4	12.4
22	Gok’s Teens: The Naked Truth	CH4	2,162.0	8.9
23	Hairy Bikers’ Best of British	BBC 2	2,155.9	9.6
24	Come Dine With Me	CH4	2,083.0	14.5
25	Our Food	BBC 2	2,058.3	8.3
26	Celebrity Antiques Road Rrip	BBC 2	2,036.5	8.8
27	Superscrimpers	CH4	2,014.6	7.4
28	Britain’s Empty Homes	BBC 1	1,951.6	21.0
29	Wanted Down Under	BBC 1	1,908.6	28.7
30	Four In a Bed	CH4	1,900.6	12.2
31	Nigel Slater’s Simple Suppers	BBC 1	1,894.4	23.7
32	Come Dine With Me: Extra Portions	CH4	1,868.4	9.7
33	Country House Rescue	CH4	1,860.1	7.6
34	Gardeners’ World Live	BBC 2	1,818.4	6.7
35	Rachel Allen: Home Cooking	BBC 1	1,810.6	21.3
36	Little Paris Kitchen: Cooking w Rachel Khoo	BBC 2	1,770.4	6.8
37	Four Rooms	CH4	1,728.6	6.7
38	Gok Cooks Chinese	CH4	1,721.3	6.9
39	Phil Spencer: Secret Agent	CH4	1,680.8	6.5
40	Raymond Blanc: Kitchen Secrets	BBC 1	1,677.7	23.1
41	Home Cooking Made Easy	BBC 2	1,632.1	6.2
42	Wanted Down Under Revisited	BBC 1	1,619.6	29.1
43	Britain’s Heritage Heroes	BBC 2	1,576.2	7.3
44	Baking Made Easy	BBC 2	1,570.7	5.8
45	Dickinson’s Real Deal	ITV1	1,561.1	19.4
46	Two Greedy Italians – Still Hungry	BBC 2	1,512.1	5.9
47	Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is	BBC 2	1,440.2	7.7
48	The Hairy Bikers: Mums Know Best	BBC 2	1,422.8	6.8
49	Antiques Uncovered	BBC 2	1,388.6	5.3
50	Great British Food Revival	BBC 2	1,304.2	5.4
51	Hugh’s Three Hungry Boys	CH4	1,285.7	4.6
52	Flog it! Ten of the Best	BBC 2	1,196.4	13.7
53	May the Best House Win	ITV1	1,183.8	15.3
54	60 Minute Makeover	ITV1	1,182.6	14.9
55	Something For the Weekend	BBC 2	1,143.2	11.3
56	Marco Pierre White’s Kitchen Wars	Channel 5	1,013.2	4.2
57	Superscrimpers: Hot Summer Tips	CH4	904.8	3.4
58	Sunday Brunch	CH4	859.7	9.3
59	Saturday Kitchen Best Bites	BBC 2	737.9	8.1
60	Chinese Food in Minutes	Channel 5	697.1	5.7
61	Snog Marry Avoid?	BBC 3	666.1	3.8
62	Timothy Spall: All at Sea	BBC 4	581.1	2.4
63	Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals	CH4	552.5	3.2
64	Meals in Moments	Channel 5	528.8	4.0
65	Grand Designs	More4	526.6	2.3
66	Timothy Spall: Back at Sea	BBC 4	518.7	2.0
67	Holiday: Heaven on Earth	Channel 5	502.4	2.2
68	Priceless Antiques Roadshow	BBC 2	479.9	3.8
69	River Cottage Everyday	More4	473.4	1.5
70	The Family Recipe	Channel 5	457.9	6.3
71	Grand Designs Australia	More4	453.7	1.6
72	Kirstie and Phil’s Embarrasing Bits	More4	452.4	2.2
73	House Gift	ITV1	450.6	5.5
74	Top Gear Vietnam Special	Dave	449	4.6
75	Relocation, Relocation	More4	424.4	1.4
76	Auction Hunters (Series 2)	Quest	420.7	1.6
77	The Renovation Game	CH4	402.5	3.3
78	River Cottage Bites	CH4	387.7	4.9
79	Storage Hunters	Dave	387.1	1.5
80	The World’s Best Diet	ITV2	383.5	1.4
81	See Hear	BBC 1	378.3	9.3
82	River Cottage: Gone Fishing	More4	373.4	1.5
83	Monty Don’s Italian Gardens	BBC 4	369.9	1.4
84	Restoration Man	More4	365.1	1.4
85	Three in a Bed USA	CH4	363.5	4.7
86	Salvage Hunters	Quest	356.2	1.7
87	Jamie Does…Venice	More4	351	1.3
88	Petworth House: The Big Spring Clean	BBC 4	345.8	1.3
89	Three in a Bed	CH4	342	5.6
90	Relocation: Phil Down Under	More4	335	1.2
91	A Place in the Sun	CH4	333.6	4.6
92	Beeny’s Restoration Nightmare	More4	332.5	1.8
93	Secret Location	CH4	319.3	5.5
94	A Million Pound Place In the Sun	More4	318	1.2
95	Grand Designs Revisited	More4	317.9	1.3
96	Phil’s Empty Homes Giveaway	More4	315.4	1.2
97	A Place in the Sun: Winter Sun	CH4	313.8	6.8
98	One Man and His Campervan	BBC 2	302.5	3.7
99	Location x 3: A Decade in Property	More4	293.9	1.6
100	Come Dine With Me Footballers Special	More4	290.5	1.5

Antiques Roadshow Profile

Format

Hour
Hosted
Experts appraise objects brought to a location by the antique-owning public
The owners are asked to guess the value of their piece?
The antiquarians provide their estimate, often to the shock of the owner

Production Cycle

26 episodes / year
14 locations / year
20+/- pieces / episode
8PM Sunday slot on BBC1
2 specials in past season
- Remembrance Day
- Queen’s Diamond Jubilee

Clip: The Vase/Junk
(Test your ear for British accents)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYmz-qMvXIQ

Why a Dependable Hit?

We asked several UK programming experts: ‘What makes AR the BBC’s most durable hit nonfiction format?’

Here are some of their answers:

‘Huge charm.’
‘Full of eccentric but relate-able British characters who are owners of pieces or experts.’
‘A guilty pleasure.’
‘Gentle and easily-watched.’
‘Familiar and cosy.’
‘Perfect for 8PM Sunday before the stressful work week begins.’

Genre-blender

AR is a hybrid that involves:

‘Travel to lovely places.’
‘A History series that engages people with the buried treasures of British life.’
‘For several moments each week, a suspenseful guessing Game Show about the value of pieces.’

Talent

BBC news reader Fiona Bruce is ‘very likeable and enthusiastic, yet authoritative.’

How does the BBC team keep AR fresh?

Evolving Tone
- The exchanges between public and experts are less formal.
- Experts are ‘slightly less academic’ and more relate-able.
- But NOISY characters are not invited!
New Features
- More ‘change pieces’ (40-50 seconds) are being added before the ‘value surprise’ segment.
- Example: a sharp exchange of views between two experts about the value of a piece.
- A Guessing Game Segment, in which viewers guess the very different values of apparently similar objects.
Specials
- The Remembrance and Jubilee specials were ratings and critical successes.
New Platforms
- A new AR app will engage live audience in the Guessing Game, and more.
- Release date: October 2012.
Social Media
- AR is one of the most talked about UK TV series on Twitter.

Spinoff: Fake or Fortune

Experts analyze alleged fake works of art and antiques
Also hosted by Fiona Bruce.
BBC1 Sunday night lead in to AR.

My Big Takeaway: AR Delivers Value!

Antiques Roadshow is a ROI (return on investment) powerhouse!
It anchors the highly-viewed Sunday night schedule, delivering a massive if older skewing audience, decade after decade.
Yet AR‘s production costs are a fraction of BBC Blue Chip factual specials or drama.
And AR doesn’t require the higher cost and maintenance demanded by the talent that typically drives hosted cooking and lifestyle programs.

Biggest Challenge

Like most public broadcasters, the BBC is cutting budgets across all program categories.
Antiques Roadshow currently delivers 26 episodes from shoots on 14 locations.
The trick will be to maintain a fresh viewing experience in the face of any future pressures to further cut the # of locations.

More Reading / Videos

Our Globe Trekker Case Study: Another great public television franchise analyzed from the inside.
History US executive producer Mary Donahue discusses AR and the development of the hit series Pawn Stars.
What did Brits watch before the Olympics? Part 1. Top 100 Factual shows, 1H12.

Editorial Assistance: Alexander Watson

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