Wednesday, April 01, 2009

TV ratings: The Wire's BBC2 debut draws 600,000 viewers

Acclaimed drama The Wire finally given UK terrestrial premiere nearly seven years after first US showing

The Wire season one

The Wire: attracted an 8% share of the audience. Photograph: HBO

The Wire, the critically lauded US drama that up to this point has been relatively little watched in the UK, attracted 600,000 viewers on its first British terrestrial airing on BBC2, Monday 31 March. I is on for 5 nights a week Monday to Friday - miss it? Start now or catch the BBC iPlayer.

In an era when hit US shows such as Lost and 24 are often first broadcast in the UK within days of their American TV premiere because of fears about illicit online viewing, The Wire's debut on one of the five main British terrestrial channels comes nearly seven years after it was first broadcast on US cable network HBO.

The Wire attracted a respectable 8% share of the total TV audience last night between 11.20pm and 12.20am on BBC2, according to unofficial overnights.