There was a lot of uncertainty as to how our favourite baking show would fare once it moved from the BBC.
And while the overall reaction to Channel 4’s The Great British Bake Off debut was positive, it turns out that the official viewing numbers were down.
See: What Did Viewers REALLY Think Of Channel 4’s The Great British Bake Off?
Last night’s opening episode averaged around 6.5 million viewers. Sounds pretty good, right?
But, it turns out, this is a drop of almost 4 million when compared to the previous series of the show. And this includes the 700,000 people who tuned in via Channel 4 +1.
#GBBO launched on Channel 4 with 6.5m viewers, the show's lowest series debut since 2013. Here's how it stacks up against previous launches. pic.twitter.com/Nc1H0ZIqVR
— Jake Kanter (@Jake_Kanter) August 30, 2017
Channel 4 had previously said that it would be pleased with anything between 5 and 7, so celebrations will surely be underway.
Cue the baked good and a glass or two of bubbly!
#GBBO launches on @Channel4 with 6.5m average and 30.4% share pic.twitter.com/6GPxKHRLWF
— Channel 4 Press (@C4Press) August 30, 2017
The Bake Off has given Channel 4 some of its best viewing figures since it broadcast the London’s Paralympic Opening Ceremony in 2012.
It is also the biggest peak time share for audience members aged 16 to 35 in over 10 years, according to Channel 4’s press office.
Speaking about the figures, Channel 4’s chief creative officer Jay Hunt said: ‘The Great British Bake Off’s audience last night proves it’s still one of the country’s favourite shows.’
She added: ‘I am delighted millions watched the new team put 12 magnificent bakers through their paces. It’s the largest share of young audiences we’ve had for a show for over a decade.’
— Channel 4 Press (@C4Press) August 30, 2017
Channel 4 famously purchased the Bake Off contract last year. Jay previously reportedly said that they needed to attract at least 3 million viewers to break even on the investment.
Although viewing figures were down, social media mentions were up 299 per cent compared to the first episode of last year’s series.
Meltwater, a media monitoring agency, conducted the research and found that Bake Off was mentioned 179,538 times.
Only time will tell how popular the rest of the series is going to be, but it looks as though there is still a big bunch of us that cannot get enough of the baking action.
By Jessica Ransom
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