Ratings Roundup: Local Drama Does the Numbers in Europe on Thursday

PREMIUM: Domestic television drama productions won Thursday prime time in three of the four largest markets of continental Western Europe on December 6.

In Italy, the winning drama was even a repeat. In Spain the winner was a Spanish feature film.

In France, TF1 won comfortably with long-running police series Julie Lescaut taking 5.848 million viewers and a share of 22.5 percent. In Germany, ARD 1 topped the night with drama series Alles ausser Liebe (Anything But Love) at 5.09 million viewers and a share of 16.3 percent. In Italy, the top prime-time rating was for a repeat of long-running series Don Matteo on RAI 1 with 5.164 million/18.14 percent for the first of two back-to-back episodes.

In France, M6 took second place with HBO-co-produced Transporter: The Series at 3.82 million/14.1 percent, while political affairs came third for France 2 as monthly Des Paroles et Des Actes (Words & Acts) drew 2.928 million/12.1 percent. France 3 was a close fourth with U.S. feature Zodiac (2.824 million/11.9 percent).

In Germany, number two, going head to head with Anything But Love in the same 20:15 time slot, was RTL’s long-running police series Alarm für Cobra 11 (3.15 million/10.2 percent), followed by Criminal Minds on Sat.1, again in the same time period. Sat.1 showed back-to-back episodes of the CBS series with very similar results (2.86 million/9.2 percent for the first). Pro 7 countered in the period with light entertainment, but Die Grosse Quatsch Variety Show managed only 1.68 million/5.7 percent. RTL followed Cobra with HBO-co-produced Transporter: The Series (2.63 million/8.8 percent), which was just beaten by Criminal Minds.

In Italy, the local version of Endemol’s format Deal or No Deal (Affari Tuoi), airing in access time on RAI 1, again outscored prime-time programming, pulling 5.296 million viewers and a share of 18.64 percent. Behind Don Matteo in prime time was U.S. feature No Reservations (2.845 million/10.94 percent) on Canale 5.

In Spain, competition was tight. The winner was local comedy feature Al final del camino (Road to Santiago) on Antena 3 with 2.484 million viewers and a share of 14.7 percent. It followed on from the same channel’s hit light entertainment show El Hormiguero (The Anthill), which finished second for the night with 2.471 million/12.5 percent. Running a very strong third was La Sexta’s local version of British (Channel 4) format Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares (Pesadilla en la cocina) with 2.366 million/12.6 percent. Fourth place went to Telecinco’s drama series Hospital Central (2.158 million/11.6 percent).