It’s always a pleasure to share the list of the year’s highest-rated unscripted programs.
Here they are for 2017:
- #1-50 and #51-100 are covered in this post.
- #101-200 are in the following post (a gift for readers who are deep divers.)
- My brief Takeaways are below the #1-50 list. Please share your own Takeaways!
Trend
- I’m sharing more data this year because I hear that many of my readers are watching out for international co-pro’s, pre-buys and format licenses.
- They are responding to tighter budgets and shrinking commissioning pipelines as channels react to the rise of SVOD services and other online viewing platforms.
| Programme Title | Channel | Share | ‘000 | |
| 1 | Blue Planet II | BBC 1 | 45.8 | 14,011 |
| 2 | The Great British Bake Off | CH4 | 36.9 | 10,045 |
| 3 | Diana, Our Mother: Her life + Legacy | ITV | 36.7 | 9,390 |
| 4 | The Apprentice: The Final | BBC 1 | 32.4 | 7,986 |
| 5 | Countryfile | BBC 1 | 36.0 | 7,670 |
| 6 | The Apprentice | BBC 1 | 26.8 | 7,187 |
| 7 | Antiques Roadshow | BBC 1 | 26.9 | 6,657 |
| 8 | Masterchef | BBC 1 | 25.1 | 6,474 |
| 9 | Diana, Seven Days | BBC 1 | 32.9 | 6,425 |
| 10 | Rio Ferdinand: Being Mum + Dad | BBC 1 | 26.2 | 6,345 |
| 11 | Queen’s Christmas Message | BBC 1 | 39.9 | 6,232 |
| 12 | Spy In The Wild | BBC 1 | 25.7 | 6,218 |
| 13 | Antiques Roadshow Holocaust Memorial | BBC 1 | 25.6 | 6,076 |
| 14 | The Real Marigold Hotel | BBC 1 | 23.3 | 5,999 |
| 15 | Wild Alaska Live | BBC 1 | 31.9 | 5,998 |
| 16 | Gogglebox: Celebrity Special 2017 | CH4 | 24.8 | 5,502 |
| 17 | Celebrity Masterchef | BBC 1 | 23.2 | 5,484 |
| 18 | Our Friend Victoria | BBC 1 | 24.2 | 5,397 |
| 19 | Attenborough / Giant Elephant | BBC 1 | 20.3 | 5,378 |
| 20 | The Real Full Monty | ITV | 24.2 | 5,362 |
| 21 | Who Do You Think You Are? | BBC 1 | 22.7 | 5,242 |
| 22 | Fake Or Fortune? | BBC 1 | 26.0 | 5,127 |
| 23 | Long Lost Family | ITV | 23.2 | 5,125 |
| 24 | Snow Bears | BBC 1 | 23.6 | 4,969 |
| 25 | Paul O’Grady / Dogs | ITV | 21.1 | 4,960 |
| 26 | Diana: In Her Own Words | CH4 | 20.6 | 4,923 |
| 27 | Watchdog | BBC 1 | 23.5 | 4,869 |
| 28 | DIY SOS: The Big Build | BBC 1 | 21.4 | 4,824 |
| 29 | The Great Christmas Bake Off | CH4 | 16.1 | 4,768 |
| 30 | The Truth About… Sleep | BBC 1 | 20.3 | 4,704 |
| 31 | The One Show | BBC 1 | 22.5 | 4,670 |
| 32 | Ambulance | BBC 1 | 21.1 | 4,660 |
| 33 | Police Tapes | ITV | 20.5 | 4,522 |
| 34 | Eat Well for Less? | BBC 1 | 19.7 | 4,494 |
| 35 | Easyjet: Inside The Cockpit | ITV | 20.2 | 4,488 |
| 36 | Panorama: Madeleine McCann | BBC 1 | 19.2 | 4,474 |
| 37 | The Real Marigold On Tour | BBC 1 | 18.3 | 4,411 |
| 38 | An Hour To Catch A Killer | ITV | 18.1 | 4,362 |
| 39 | Inside London Fire Brigade | ITV | 18.7 | 4,317 |
| 40 | Britain’s Busiest Airport – Heathrow | ITV | 18.5 | 4,309 |
| 41 | Gogglebox | CH4 | 18.0 | 4,264 |
| 42 | The Met: Policing London | BBC 1 | 19.5 | 4,224 |
| 43 | Martin Clunes: Islands Of Australia | ITV | 19.4 | 4,222 |
| 44 | The Martin Lewis Money Show | ITV | 17.8 | 4,221 |
| 45 | The Cruise : Mediterranean | ITV | 17.3 | 4,216 |
| 46 | Galapagos | BBC 1 | 16.9 | 4,173 |
| 47 | Elizabeth And Philip: Love + Duty | BBC 1 | 14.6 | 4,149 |
| 48 | Shop Well For Less? | BBC 1 | 17.3 | 4,104 |
| 49 | Martin Lewis Money Show Live | ITV | 17.5 | 4,098 |
| 50 | Sir Bruce Forsyth: Mr Entertainment | BBC 1 | 21.7 | 4,094 |
The list combines BARB’s Documentary, Hobbies / Lifestyle and Current Affairs categories.
TAKEAWAYS
Natural History
- Blue Planet II earned an exceptional audience. The series stepped outside the expected stunning wildlife sequences and forcefully addressed the crisis in our environment. That’s supposed to scare off audiences. It didn’t.
- Blue Chip Natural History had a great year, with Spy In The Wild, Wild Alaska Live and Attenborough’s Giant Elephant winning Top 20 Honors.
- (I recently covered PBS’s Natural History ratings, including Wild Alaska Live which you can read here.)
Royals
- Prince Philip carried the weight of the Royal’s ratings in 1H 2017.
- In 2H, viewers were drawn to Diana’s anniversary (#3, 9, 26, 65), a wedding anniversary (#47) and a Prince’s engagement (#54).
Celebrity / Pop Culture
- Grieving football star Rio Ferdinand (#10), comedian Victoria Wood (#18) and programs inspired by The Full Monty (#20), The Real Marigold Hotel (#14, 37) and Call The Midwife (#98)…
- … They are reminders of the evergreen appeal of factual shows inspired by celebs and legendary TV programs or movies.
Where’s Netflix?
- Netflix and Amazon are private subscription services.
- They don’t share viewing data, though my colleague Dr John Morse is closely tracking SVOD ratings tools that are being developed by research firms. Read more here…
| Programme Title | Channel | Share | ‘000 | |
| 51 | Question Time | BBC 1 | 16.8 | 4,081 |
| 52 | The Apprentice: You’re Hired | BBC 1 | 22.9 | 4,063 |
| 53 | Reported Missing | BBC 1 | 16.6 | 4,051 |
| 54 | Prince Harry & Meghan | ITV | 16.8 | 4,034 |
| 55 | Joanna Lumley’s India | ITV | 18.3 | 4,025 |
| 56 | The Week The Landlords Moved In | BBC 1 | 18.2 | 3,982 |
| 57 | Masterchef: The Professionals | BBC 2 | 17.1 | 3,930 |
| 58 | The Fifteen Billion Pound Railway | BBC 2 | 17.4 | 3,908 |
| 59 | Supermarket Shopping Secrets | BBC 1 | 16.1 | 3,861 |
| 60 | Italy’s Invisible Cities | BBC 1 | 14.6 | 3,859 |
| 61 | Panorama | BBC 1 | 20.0 | 3,855 |
| 62 | Ross Kemp Behind Bars | ITV | 17.1 | 3,848 |
| 63 | Sugar Free Farm | ITV | 16.3 | 3,840 |
| 64 | Gordon Ramsay On Cocaine | ITV | 16.4 | 3,839 |
| 65 | Diana: The Day Britain Cried | ITV | 14.6 | 3,817 |
| 66 | Gino’s Italian Coastal Escape | ITV | 17.4 | 3,816 |
| 67 | Spy in the Wild: Meet the Spies | BBC 1 | 17.6 | 3,784 |
| 68 | Top Gear | BBC 2 | 13.2 | 3,767 |
| 69 | How To Spend … Christmas | ITV | 15.8 | 3,731 |
| 70 | Serial Killer / Piers Morgan | ITV | 15.9 | 3,683 |
| 71 | The Ganges / Sue Perkins | BBC 1 | 15.9 | 3,671 |
| 72 | Love Your Garden | ITV | 17.6 | 3,653 |
| 73 | How To Stay Young | BBC 1 | 15.9 | 3,648 |
| 74 | Dec East Africa Crisis Appeal | BBC 1 | 26.5 | 3,635 |
| 75 | The BBC Election Debate | BBC 1 | 17.0 | 3,625 |
| 76 | Britain’s Best Walks / Julia Bradbury | ITV | 17.1 | 3,619 |
| 77 | A Very Royal Wedding | ITV | 14.9 | 3,588 |
| 78 | Gone To Pot: American Road Trip | ITV | 13.5 | 3,585 |
| 79 | Money: Good Health | ITV | 14.6 | 3,559 |
| 80 | Killer Women with Piers Morgan | ITV | 15.7 | 3,553 |
| 81 | Long Lost Family: Next | ITV | 15.1 | 3,524 |
| 82 | Britain On The Fiddle | BBC 1 | 14.1 | 3,459 |
| 83 | The Truth About Stress | BBC 1 | 14.7 | 3,451 |
| 84 | Remembrance Sunday | BBC 1 | 37.2 | 3,442 |
| 85 | Love Your Home And Garden | ITV | 16.1 | 3,436 |
| 86 | The Harbour | ITV | 14.4 | 3,431 |
| 87 | Paul O’grady: Dogs | ITV | 14.3 | 3,419 |
| 88 | I Am Bolt | BBC 1 | 15.8 | 3,409 |
| 89 | Tonight | ITV | 16.6 | 3,403 |
| 90 | The Sheriffs Are Coming | BBC 1 | 14.1 | 3,400 |
| 91 | Orkney: When The Boat Comes | BBC 1 | 17.0 | 3,380 |
| 92 | Winterwatch | BBC 2 | 14.0 | 3,378 |
| 93 | Harry / Meghan: Royal Engagement | BBC 1 | 16.0 | 3,377 |
| 94 | Mary Berry’s Country House Secrets | BBC 1 | 14.1 | 3,372 |
| 95 | Panorama: Brit’s Offshore Secrets | BBC 1 | 14.2 | 3,359 |
| 96 | The Great Pottery Throw Down | BBC 2 | 14.8 | 3,345 |
| 97 | Russia With Simon Reeve | BBC 2 | 14.0 | 3,287 |
| 98 | Call The Midwife: The Casebook | BBC 1 | 17.0 | 3,234 |
| 99 | Devon & Cornwall Cops | ITV | 14.6 | 3,206 |
| 100 | Planet Earth II: A World Of Wonder | BBC 1 | 19.6 | 3,174 |