Overnight Ratings for Strictly Come Dancing 3D are in

Overnight ratings (which do not consider time-shift viewing) for Strictly Come Dancing 3D have been published by Barb.

Figures supplied by Attentional show that the BBC HD channel (which broadcasted the side-by-side 3D feed of Strictly Come Dancing) averaged an audience of 53,000 peaking at 71,500 during the main show (19.00).

Although very small compared to the overall peak of 13.3 million viewers, this was still considerably greater than the audience for the BBC’s last 3D trial – the finals of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, which attracted just 18,000 viewers in the summer.

Perhaps alarming was that the 3D audience dropped considerably to an average of 27,000 for the results show which started at 21.00. In comparison, BBC One viewers dropped by 240,000 viewers to an average of 11.93 million from 12.17 million.
This represents a drop of 51% for the average 3D audience and a 2% drop for the average 2D audience. Whether people had had enough of wearing the glasses by then will surely be analysed by the BBC.

In addition to the television broadcast, Strictly Come Dancing 3D was also streamed to 19 cinemas across the UK which attracted 4000 Strictly fans. Also, for the first time, the BBC is making the 3D programme available for 7 days via its catch up service – BBC iPlayer but, as reported by 3D Focus, this will only be available via the television platform rather than the PC/mobile platforms.

A BBC spokesman told Broadcast: “This year’s Strictly final was a real event and it’s great to see the figures for 3D doing so well alongside the BBC1 show and live cinema screenings.”

Feedback for the 3D version of one of Britain’s most popular shows has so far been positive. Andrew Pettie from the Telegraph said “I'm not sure if the licence fee will stretch to airing the whole of the next year's Strictly Come Dancing in 3D but the extra dimension certainly enhanced my appreciation of Harry and Chelsee's bravura display.” He continued to write “ To my surprise, ballroom dancing is another athletic event instantly improved by being watched in 3D.

Fleckingrecords.co.uk said “The stereoscopic Strictly final boasted some beautiful visuals and the 3D was just breath-taking. From the dancing to Jessie J’s performances, we were captivated from start to finish. The BBC absolutely nailed it. We can’t wait to see what other 3D projects they work on in the future."

The success of the BBC Strictly Come Dancing 3D trial can be added to a series of positive events for the 3D entertainment industry recently. 71,500 is a very impressive viewing figure considering there are only an estimated 200,000 3D TV sets installed in UK homes. Time will tell whether the high portion of 3D TV viewers were simply curious and would jump at the chance to watch anything in 3D at this stage and finally put the glasses to use but the technical success of the event will surely put the BBC in a confident position for the broadcaster’s major 3D broadcasts next year – the return of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in 3D and 3D coverage of the Olympics 2012 games. As 3D TV sets slowly but surely enter people’s homes, other broadcasters will watching closely. Perhaps next year we will get X Factor 3D? (in cinemas at least!)

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