This Morning ratings 'halve' weeks after Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard take over
This Morning in crisis as figures plummet since Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard were named to steer the flagship show.
This Morning heads for more disaster following its huge new host's signings. It has been reported that viewing figures have almost halved in two months following Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard taking over.
Millions tuned into their first day back in March but figures have indicated a huge plummet. It has been said that at the same point in May, the peak fell to 589,000 - with an average of 486,000 tuning into the popular ITV show.
This is the latest blow following the huge loss of hosts Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby. It took the network months to find a suitable pair and conducted a series of live auditions with possible contenders.
A string of celebrity presenters and broadcasters were in the running including Rochelle Humes, Andi Peters, Josie Gibson and Craig Doyle. A TV insider told The Sun: “Nobody at This Morning thought viewing figures would dip beneath the landmark low of half a million."
Bosses had hoped for Ben and Cat to spark a resurgence and keep the ratings over the million mark.
The source continued: “Now there is a massive question mark lingering over the future of the show as it’s difficult to justify the huge costs of making a live, daily show, especially at a time when ad revenues for linear TV are so low.”
However, an ITV spokeswoman said: “This Morning continues to reach over four million viewers a week and remains one of the most streamed programmes on ITVX in 2024.
“The award-winning show has never had a better connection with viewers; with 11 million followers across This Morning Social Media platforms and almost 130 million video views of This Morning content each month, reaching an average of 62million unique social media accounts every month.”
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Ben, 49, and Cat, 48, took some time off over the half-term break with the show pulling in a familiar face.
Josie Gibson stepped in to host alongside Dermot O'Leary which fans went wild over calling for her to stay.
On Monday Josie, 39, took to Instagram and penned to her 730,000 followers: "Thank you for tuning in this bank holiday on Monday!!!!! See you tomorrow from 10am!!!!" While thanking her glam squad who created the sensational look."
Her followers leapt to the comments section where they admitted they only "switched it on" to see her.
One user said: "Love watching you! I switched it on because you and Dermot were on." "So glad to have you back on really love you hosting the show please host it more," added a second.
A third expressed the same view and penned: "LOVE YOU BEING BACK KEEP HER ON WITH DERMOT".
