Skins season six launched with over 1 million viewers

New consolidated ratings figures reveal the sixth season of Skins actually launched with over 1 million viewers.

E4’s teen drama returned for a sixth season in January and according to overnight figures had just under 460,000 viewers. However, the opening episode, titled Everyone, had been available to watch online for a week beforehand. New consolidated figures for the episode reveal that its actual audience was significantly higher with the episode seen by more than 1.2 million viewers across different platforms.

Overnight figures are often widely used by the press because they are readily available the following day but they are not accurate or reflective of the audience watching. Overnight figures only take into account the rough size of the audience watching the programme as it airs. Final ratings are far more accurate because they take into account those who record programmes but watch later.

Final figures though are not so often used by the press because they so often contradict previous stories regarding ratings. A prime example was the sixth season of Doctor Who which suffered a decline in overnight figures which was quickly seized upon by the press. However, final figures placed ratings for the episodes much higher than stated by the press and more on par with previous years.

You can watch a preview for tonight’s episode of Skins here >>