'Downton Abbey' sees ratings dip amid ad break complaints

ITV1's hit drama series Downton Abbey has seen its audience slide in recent weeks amid criticism from viewers over excessive advertising breaks in the Sunday evening show.



Downton Abbey's second series launched on September 18 with nearly 9 million viewers, but dropped to just over 8.7m for the third episode last Sunday.

The ratings decline is relatively minor, but it is in stark contrast to the show's steady rise over the last series and comes despite the programme enjoying recent awards success at the US Emmys.

The Daily Mail reports that viewers are upset over the amount of advertising breaks in the drama, particularly that the final part of one episode lasted only three minutes, including a highlights clip of next week's broadcast.

One viewer complained: "Nice of ITV to broadcast a bit of Downton Abbey in between the ad breaks."

Another added: "These bloody adverts drive you mad. Each one is over four minutes long and the last one was five minutes from the end."

Viewers have also complained that the launch episode of Downton Abbey was marred by a series of advertising idents run by insurance giant Aviva.

The new eight-part series of Downton Abbey features a 90-minute episode at the start and finish, with the middle episodes being 75 minutes. It is estimated that a 30-second ad slot during the programme would have cost up to £100,000.

In response to the criticism, an ITV spokesman said: "We followed the same pattern as other 90-minute dramas. We are a commercial broadcaster."