Did a large part of the country just go for a nap and forget to turn the TV off BBC One?
I wouldn’t be surprised if some soaps got the axe. Hollyoaks just got demoted to E4 (They got rid of Brookie for that). People just don’t watch them anymore.
Do they still cross over from the sewing jobs for 1 or 2 pints for lunch then back to work?
9 out of the 10 shows in the top 10 were on BBC
ITV are feeling the effects of Holly and Phil and Nigel Farage being a stain on the channel over thr last year for sure
Because Coronation Street changed its schedule and now it’s on at the same time as EastEnders.
Soaps in general are dying, for example go back 30 years and Emmerdale was one of the most watched shows on TV, with millions of views, it’s average viewership in 2023 is roughly 800k. Look at any list for most watched series in 2023 and it’s almost all on streaming services. This is yet more proof that the days of the BBC are long gone and broadcast TV is a thing of the past.
Are people watching fewer soaps now? I never watched them, so I didn’t understand their appeal. There felt like a massive amount of women in the 00s that you couldn’t talk to from 6.30 – 9 because they watch all the soaps.
Corrie needs more eye candy – bring back 2000 Adam Rickett and dishy dr played by Oliver Mellor. I’d start watching again.
It’s pretty clear ITV didn’t even bother to try this year – either they’re spread so thin over too many channels, or they’re running low on cash and ideas. You’d normally expect a festive Chase, Tipping Point or Lingo, or a big blockbuster to fill up the schedule, but not this year.
ITV1 Christmas day featured some cooking shows, then following the king’s speech a rehash of You’ve Been Framed, a sequel to a film nobody watched, Stephen Mulhern and his face of runny cheese smugly delivering a magic trick, 2 depressing soaps that haven’t been leading to anything this year, a one off Masked Singer featuring celebs you don’t really care about, a logic quiz at 9pm, and a tribute to Barry Humphries/Dame Edna.
Soap specifically, Emmerdale went down the shitter years ago with yet more Dingles, more of Charity scheming, and mediocre lesbian-centric plots featuring the charisma vacuum that was shagging the producer. There’s even fewer believable plot lines than EastEnders these days (not least how a church is still viable in a village of 40 characters), all the characters are beyond detestable, and whenever the writers get stuck they churn out a terrible drugs storyline.
Coronation Street specifically, again they’re struggling with storylines, the cast is far too bloated, we’re supposed to believe the knicker factory is a viable concern, and Ken Barlow hasn’t been given the death the character deserves at this stage (that would guarantee an Xmas ratings no. 1).
Put simply, the offerings on ITV1 specifically for Xmas day were a disgrace, and show a lack of effort – they’re either struggling for money, or they’ve spent too much over the year, but I can’t see advertisers being impressed in future if that lineup is all they can be bothered with
Honestly who the hell watches this absolute tripe like coronation street, dead Ender’s etc. how empty and without cause does your life need to be that you watch this garbage. It’s thoroughly miserable and depressing TV. If this kind of TV was a drug it would be tramadol or barbiturates.
These soaps are a strongly generational indulgence. I remember growing up my mother always having some variation of Emmerdale, Coronation Street or Eastenders on the television. She’s in her 60’s now and as far as I know has dropped off of watching them entirely in favour of streaming services.
Older viewers are either starting to switch off or are otherwise dying, and the people who belong to younger demographics like myself just never took up in the first place. I give them less than 10 years or near abouts before they’re all axed due to low viewership.
I think it might be because half of the people who watched it are dead. Hard to tune in from the grave.
Broadcast TV is done. Spent a few nights in a hotel recently with the wife. We purposefully didn’t take any connected devices with us and turned the data/wifi off on out phones. The room had FreeSat. We haven’t had broadcast TV in nearly 10 years, we were shocked at how dire it has become.
Surely no new people are watching soaps? Its people that have watched them for years who continue to watch them. Once they die they wont be replaced
Soaps are generally shit acting and stuff on Netflix and other streaming services are far superior
Not surprised. Watched a few episodes with my mum and sister over Christmas and it’s shocking how sterile and empty it feels compared to classic Corrie that’s on ITV 2 (or is it 3?) on weekdays.
The classic one feels cosy somehow, with characters like Fred Elliot who are entertaining even when they’re not doing anything. The new one feels sterile and like they’re trying way too hard to constantly shock/surprise the audience.
soaps lost their watchability once they went to 5 times a week.
two three times was pushing it to keep up with soaps as it is.
now they change storylines so fast so if you miss a few you have no idea whats happening.
No surprises. COVID wiped off a good chunk of their audience, plus old age in general. Add streaming services and changing times to that list and you have the nail in the coffin.
9 of the 10 are government subsidised programming. Shocker.
Always makes me laugh how soap stars leaving hoping to make it big in Hollywood, only to appear back in the same soap 3 years later when they realise they arent taken seriously as an actor
Exceptions obviously but very few
My wife watches soaps out of habit, she doesn’t watch anything else, unless I put it on. Coronation street was ok, when it was dull reality with a bat shit event happening, but now they’re spinning so many plates to fill hours of content it doesn’t work anymore. EastEnders is just nonsense, and a middle class version of an average part of London. Everyone is just accepting of drag artists and a gay bar that everyone drinks in? Every few years they have a story line where a white, atheist gay character tells a non white/ foreign gay person why that person’s culture/ religion is backwards and bigoted, and they’ll save them from their savage family. Oh, and every Irish character I can remember over the past 25 years is a crook, a simpleton, or a drunk.
Would it even be in the top 20 watched shows if they included the streaming services?
Soaps and legacy TV in general are a boomer thing that will die out with them. I cant wait to see them all axed.
My mum used to watch every soap possible.
Over the last year she’s down to just Emmerdale and River City.
That’s when I realised soaps were losing popularity, I suspect she’ll drop River City soon.
Back as a kid my mum used to watch it and I hated it. I got the impression that if you didn’t already know what was happening there’s no way to know. My question is how is anyone new meant to start watching a soap, surely their viewer base is in perpetual decline?
23 comments
Did a large part of the country just go for a nap and forget to turn the TV off BBC One?
I wouldn’t be surprised if some soaps got the axe. Hollyoaks just got demoted to E4 (They got rid of Brookie for that). People just don’t watch them anymore.
Do they still cross over from the sewing jobs for 1 or 2 pints for lunch then back to work?
9 out of the 10 shows in the top 10 were on BBC
ITV are feeling the effects of Holly and Phil and Nigel Farage being a stain on the channel over thr last year for sure
Because Coronation Street changed its schedule and now it’s on at the same time as EastEnders.
Soaps in general are dying, for example go back 30 years and Emmerdale was one of the most watched shows on TV, with millions of views, it’s average viewership in 2023 is roughly 800k. Look at any list for most watched series in 2023 and it’s almost all on streaming services. This is yet more proof that the days of the BBC are long gone and broadcast TV is a thing of the past.
Are people watching fewer soaps now? I never watched them, so I didn’t understand their appeal. There felt like a massive amount of women in the 00s that you couldn’t talk to from 6.30 – 9 because they watch all the soaps.
Corrie needs more eye candy – bring back 2000 Adam Rickett and dishy dr played by Oliver Mellor. I’d start watching again.
It’s pretty clear ITV didn’t even bother to try this year – either they’re spread so thin over too many channels, or they’re running low on cash and ideas. You’d normally expect a festive Chase, Tipping Point or Lingo, or a big blockbuster to fill up the schedule, but not this year.
ITV1 Christmas day featured some cooking shows, then following the king’s speech a rehash of You’ve Been Framed, a sequel to a film nobody watched, Stephen Mulhern and his face of runny cheese smugly delivering a magic trick, 2 depressing soaps that haven’t been leading to anything this year, a one off Masked Singer featuring celebs you don’t really care about, a logic quiz at 9pm, and a tribute to Barry Humphries/Dame Edna.
Soap specifically, Emmerdale went down the shitter years ago with yet more Dingles, more of Charity scheming, and mediocre lesbian-centric plots featuring the charisma vacuum that was shagging the producer. There’s even fewer believable plot lines than EastEnders these days (not least how a church is still viable in a village of 40 characters), all the characters are beyond detestable, and whenever the writers get stuck they churn out a terrible drugs storyline.
Coronation Street specifically, again they’re struggling with storylines, the cast is far too bloated, we’re supposed to believe the knicker factory is a viable concern, and Ken Barlow hasn’t been given the death the character deserves at this stage (that would guarantee an Xmas ratings no. 1).
Put simply, the offerings on ITV1 specifically for Xmas day were a disgrace, and show a lack of effort – they’re either struggling for money, or they’ve spent too much over the year, but I can’t see advertisers being impressed in future if that lineup is all they can be bothered with
Honestly who the hell watches this absolute tripe like coronation street, dead Ender’s etc. how empty and without cause does your life need to be that you watch this garbage. It’s thoroughly miserable and depressing TV. If this kind of TV was a drug it would be tramadol or barbiturates.
These soaps are a strongly generational indulgence. I remember growing up my mother always having some variation of Emmerdale, Coronation Street or Eastenders on the television. She’s in her 60’s now and as far as I know has dropped off of watching them entirely in favour of streaming services.
Older viewers are either starting to switch off or are otherwise dying, and the people who belong to younger demographics like myself just never took up in the first place. I give them less than 10 years or near abouts before they’re all axed due to low viewership.
I think it might be because half of the people who watched it are dead. Hard to tune in from the grave.
Broadcast TV is done. Spent a few nights in a hotel recently with the wife. We purposefully didn’t take any connected devices with us and turned the data/wifi off on out phones. The room had FreeSat. We haven’t had broadcast TV in nearly 10 years, we were shocked at how dire it has become.
Surely no new people are watching soaps? Its people that have watched them for years who continue to watch them. Once they die they wont be replaced
Soaps are generally shit acting and stuff on Netflix and other streaming services are far superior
Not surprised. Watched a few episodes with my mum and sister over Christmas and it’s shocking how sterile and empty it feels compared to classic Corrie that’s on ITV 2 (or is it 3?) on weekdays.
The classic one feels cosy somehow, with characters like Fred Elliot who are entertaining even when they’re not doing anything. The new one feels sterile and like they’re trying way too hard to constantly shock/surprise the audience.
soaps lost their watchability once they went to 5 times a week.
two three times was pushing it to keep up with soaps as it is.
now they change storylines so fast so if you miss a few you have no idea whats happening.
No surprises. COVID wiped off a good chunk of their audience, plus old age in general. Add streaming services and changing times to that list and you have the nail in the coffin.
9 of the 10 are government subsidised programming. Shocker.
Always makes me laugh how soap stars leaving hoping to make it big in Hollywood, only to appear back in the same soap 3 years later when they realise they arent taken seriously as an actor
Exceptions obviously but very few
My wife watches soaps out of habit, she doesn’t watch anything else, unless I put it on. Coronation street was ok, when it was dull reality with a bat shit event happening, but now they’re spinning so many plates to fill hours of content it doesn’t work anymore. EastEnders is just nonsense, and a middle class version of an average part of London. Everyone is just accepting of drag artists and a gay bar that everyone drinks in? Every few years they have a story line where a white, atheist gay character tells a non white/ foreign gay person why that person’s culture/ religion is backwards and bigoted, and they’ll save them from their savage family. Oh, and every Irish character I can remember over the past 25 years is a crook, a simpleton, or a drunk.
Would it even be in the top 20 watched shows if they included the streaming services?
Soaps and legacy TV in general are a boomer thing that will die out with them. I cant wait to see them all axed.
My mum used to watch every soap possible.
Over the last year she’s down to just Emmerdale and River City.
That’s when I realised soaps were losing popularity, I suspect she’ll drop River City soon.
Back as a kid my mum used to watch it and I hated it. I got the impression that if you didn’t already know what was happening there’s no way to know. My question is how is anyone new meant to start watching a soap, surely their viewer base is in perpetual decline?