Strictly Come Dancing (series 7) - TV Ratings

TV Ratings

Weekly ratings for each show on BBC1. Figures exclude the BBC HD Channel. All numbers are in millions and provided by BARB

In September 2009 Strictly Come Dancing earned a place in Guinness World Records as "most successful reality television format", with licensing rights sold to broadcasters in 38 countries. Nonetheless the sixth series' audiences had suffered as a result of direct clashes with ITV rival The X Factor. The BBC's decision in August 2009 to screen the seventh series on Saturday nights only was partly an attempt to reduce conflict with the rival talent show, as ITV had hinted that The X Factor's results show would be broadcast on Sunday evening. Sources at the BBC described the move as "better for the viewers... people at home lose out if things are competing against one another... We wanted to make Strictly Come Dancing an unmissable TV event".

However, the BBC still came under intense criticism when the extended Saturday show, initially running from 7–9pm, clashed almost entirely with The X Factor's main show. ITV sources accused the BBC of "effectively splitting the audience". Writing in The Guardian George Dixon, head of scheduling for BBC One, argued that "the ability of viewers to see programmes again, whether via personal video recorders like Sky+, online catch-up services including iPlayer or on channels such as E4 or ITV2, the notion of 'forcing' viewers to watch... outdated", adding that "There are around seven repeats of The X Factor on ITV1 and ITV2 each week".

The scheduling conflict ended with The X Factor securing a higher audience throughout the series. On 22 October 2009, the BBC rescheduled the Saturday show, now down to eight contestants, so that the overlap between the two programs was only 45 minutes. The BBC denied that the move was in direct response to the success of its ITV rival, saying instead that the move was to accommodate a new series with impressionist Jon Culshaw. Strictly Come Dancing's runtime, previously fixed at two hours, was also expected to decrease as contestants were progressively eliminated, leading to a further reduction in overlap.