Conflicting rating reports for Countdown

Conflicting reports suggest that Countdown figures have improved since the new-look show aired, while others suggest the ratings for the game show are severely lower than the former series.

News outlets today have reported that the ratings for daytime Channel 4 game show Countdown have risen by 11% since the new look programme, hosted by Jeff Stelling and Rachel Riley, took to the air at the start of January.

The Mirror states: Their opening show 10 days ago attracted an audience of 1.3 million. Since then, the revamped Countdown has averaged just over 1.1 million to easily beat 2008 figures.

The show, presented by Des O’Connor and Carol Vorderman up until December last year, was watched by 1.8 million viewers for the final edition at Christmas. According to archive rating stats that was a small rise, while Channel 4 suggest it was a quite a large leap.

The Telegraph report: The TV station claim the audience for Vorderman’s final appearance was a one-off and more viewers watched Stelling and Riley than their predecessors’ average audience of just one million. This contrasts with widely reported average viewing figures of 1.7 million for when O’Connor and Vorderman were at the helm.

So are the figures up or down? If you believe the ratings were 1.7 million in 2008, and are now 1.1, then they’re down. If you believe Channel 4 that they were just one million last year, and are now 1.1 million then they’re up.

Helen Warner, Channel 4’s Head of Daytime, said: “I’m really delighted with Jeff and Rachel’s debut – the show had a 20 per cent uplift compared with the average ratings for Countdown in 2008.”

Let’s hope this isn’t an ITV-like spin session by Channel 4. After all, the viewing public expects better than that from our fourth network – and Channel 4 is certainly much more respected by audiences for their lack of putting spin on things. Countdown began in 1982, produced by Yorkshire Television in Leeds. The show is best known for its years hosted by the late news-anchor Richard Whiteley, who died in 2005.