14Feb2012
Big Ratings Boost for “Countdown” with New Host Nick Hewer
The Apprentice star Nick Hewer seems to be making Channel 4 happy (so far) as the new host of the long running letters-and-numbers game Countdown. Hewer, who replaced Jeff Stelling this year, has helped the nearly 30 year old show see a nice increase in ratings. Channel 4 reports that Countdown has grown 22% from the show’s average audience in 2011. This current series is seeing 860,000 viewers and a 10.7% share. In 2011 the figures were 703,000 and a 9.2% share. Nick is new, though, and as always we’ll see what happens when initial curiosity wears off. However, for now, Channel 4 has to be pretty please.
What do you think of Nick Hewer as the host? If you haven’t seen him, check out a clip of him here.
Wow – ‘apogean’ and ‘apogeic’ were both possible in the same episode! – ZM
It’s interesting to see how the players choose their letters; Victoria starting by getting the minimum 4C 3V before filling in the other 2 spots, and Chris switching between C and V for the first 8 spots. Wonder if that strategy has any bearing on the game in general, but that Q in Chris’s first letters game proved unusable.
As host, Nick Hewer does well enough, coming closer to Des O’Connor on the host scale in cultured demeanor that his (Des’s) polar opposite in liveliness, the late, great Richard Whitely. (The few clips I saw of Jeff Stelling, I put him midpoint.)
I swear this could work in the States, there just needs to be a suitable cable outlet (the show’s too smart for broadcast or GSN, so that limits the options)…
I’m getting good at Countdown! I was reciting Rachel’s solutions step for step all the way! :D
So my first thought reading this is “God no, it means this awful host won’t be fired!”. But then look at the detail and they’re comparing January 2012 with the whole of 2011, not January 2011. Naturally January is always one of the highest rated months for TV across the board, while episodes airing in summer are often a couple of hundred thousands down – so I doubt actually the show has seen any ratings boost at all.
Nick Hewer is so wooden and unconvincing that I am surprised he appears to have had a number of favourable reviews from TV critics. Like Brekkie, I am very suspicious about the alleged substantial increase in viewing figures.