Ratings Roundup: European Viewers Spend Sunday Night at the Movies

PREMIUM: Sunday night was movie night in major European markets, as Hollywood titles cleaned up at the top of the ratings.

In France, the number one program was TF1’s showing of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe from Disney with 4.716 million viewers and a share of 19.9 percent. Second place was another American film, No Reservations on France 2, with 4.101 million and 16 percent. M6 finished third with current affairs show Enquête exclusive (2.725 million/10.9 percent).

An American film also led the ratings in Spain as TVE 1 pulled an unusually dominant Sunday prime-time audience of 4.440 million viewers and a share of 25.7 percent for sci-fi disaster epic 2012. Cuatro was in third place with animated film Alvin and The Chipmunks 2 (1.745 million/9.2 percent). In second place was Telecinco’s entertainment show Aida, often the Sunday evening winner (2.616 million/13.7 percent).

Disney animated feature The Princess and the Frog finished third in Germany with 3.71 million viewers and a share of 10.6 percent on RTL. But that was way below the numbers scored for ARD 1 with its long-running police series Tatort (Crime Scene) at 20:15, which pulled 9.08 million and a share of 25.6 percent. The same channel was number two for the evening with another police series starting 90 minutes later as Swedish import Wallander attracted 4.90 million and a share of 17.1 percent.

In Italy, the Sunday prime-time winner was part seven of RAI 1’s drama series L’isola (The Island) with 5.177 million and a share of 20.99 percent. RAI 2 was in second place with the second of two episodes of American series NCIS (2.727 million/10.65 percent). Canale 5 was third with The Two Towers installment of The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2.279 million/11.82 percent).

Even on Sunday, the biggest audience of the day in Italy was Endemol’s format Deal or No Deal (Affari Tuoi) on RAI 1 in access time with 5.991 million and a share of 22.83 percent. That show sometimes wins every day of the week in Italy.