Viewers quit ITV by the million

VIEWERS are switching off ITV1 in record numbers. The ratings slump, amounting to millions of lost viewers each week, means ITV1 is now watched by only one in five of the population.

Figures today show one in 10 deserted the channel in the past two months and almost a quarter of young viewers stopped watching over the last year.

Programmes such as The Bill and The Royal are proving a turn-off for those who tuned in in their millions to watch I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here. It presents a major headache to station bosses who will lose advertising revenue if they do not stop the trend.

The figures show:

Total audiences fell 10% in January and February compared with the previous year.

Among 16 to 34-year-olds, the audience fell by 23% in the same period.

The number of ABC1 viewers, the affluent audience advertisers most want to reach, fell by 12%.

ITV bosses now face a declining, older and less well-off audience. They blame the drop on not showing I'm A Celebrity at the beginning of this year. It was broadcast in 2004, giving the channel a massive ratings boost which could not be replicated in 2005.

But the slump underlines the fact that ITV1 is dependent on the show to keep its overall figures high. Despite starting this year with a pledge to introduce quality drama, it has failed to gain viewers for shows including Wire In The Blood and A Touch Of Frost.

Figures show that in January, ITV1's audience share was down from 24.5% in 2004 to 22.1% in 2005. The 10% drop in its share represents 1.5m viewers a night at peak times, adding up to millions each week. In February the share was 22.3%, down from 24.6% last year. The only channel with worse figures was BBC2, which lost 12% of its audience share in January and February.

{2} ITV's worst hit area is the young audience, with only 17.4% of 16 to 34-year-olds tuning in to ITV1 in the first two months of the year. Last year it was 22.7%. ITV is hoping to woo back viewers with new programmes this year, including reality show Celebrity Love Island.

The schedule is dominated by Coronation Street and Emmerdale, along with series including The Bill, Heartbeat and The Royal. It is using double bills - including Coronation Street, which will be shown twice tonight - and special showings to boost audiences.

And ITV has turned to what are thought to be guaranteed winners such as showing James Bond films every Friday night. But experts have warned that it is losing the range of programming needed to keep its audience. One insider said: 'It needs mass audiences, but the danger is it ends up too old and too down-market.'

The slump is revealed days before ITV chief executive Charles Allen reports its financial results, which are expected to show profits up 17% to £290m. But analysts believe most of the good financial news is because 1,000 jobs were cut and a series of other savings made. They expect to see no rise in the money the channel is making from advertising, its main source of income.

An ITV spokeswoman said: 'Last year we had the most successful I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here. We don't have that this year. We are still the most popular channel in peak hours.'

Ulster Television, one of the last remaining independent ITV companies, warned today that ITV1's advertising revenues could grow much less slowly than the rest of commercial television's this year.

The latest figures from Sky showed that it had more than 7.6m subscribers, compared to 5.5m in 2001, and plans to reach 10m by 2010. Freeview is estimated to reach 5m households and sales are on target to reach 8m homes by the end of the year.