ITV bosses are reportedly growing concerned after three of its weekend primetime programmes failed to deliver strong ratings.
Dermot O'Leary's Marriage Ref and Jonathan Ross's magic show Penn & Teller: Fool Us both failed to win their slots on Saturday night, while Sunday night's latest episode of Popstar to Operastar achieved just 2.85m - down from the 4.1m who saw the opening episode.
O'Leary's new Saturday night panel show attracted just 11.1% of the available audience on its second week, while Ross's latest vehicle performed slightly better with 3.58m watching. Industry insiders now believe that all three shows face being axed, The Sun reports.
"It's a disaster. If big-name stars like Dermot, Myleene [Klass] and Jonathan can't help get these shows big audiences, then you're stuffed," a source told the paper.
However, ITV defended the programmes' performances, highlighting that they were attracting a younger audience to the channel.
"We're pleased that our new entertainment shows meant ITV1 was the most watched channel in peaktime among younger viewers on Saturday night," a spokesperson added.
Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2011 3:43 pm