Sky Atlantic prohibition-era drama watched by 136,000 on Saturday, down from 438,000 for first series' debut
Prohibition-era drama Boardwalk Empire returned to Sky Atlantic with 136,000 viewers, a fraction of its debut audience two years ago but more than five times the channel's slot average.
The drama, which stars Steve Buscemi, had a 0.6% share of the audience between 9pm and 10pm on Saturday , up 445% on Sky Atlantic's three-month slot average.
However, it was well down on the 438,000 viewers who tuned in to the opening episode of the first series, broadcast on Sky Atlantic's opening night, on 1 February 2011.
Brucie beat Cowell, but bit closer, Strictly speaking
BBC1's Strictly Come Dancing held on to Saturday night bragging rights with another 9.7 million viewers, a 44.4% share, between 6.30pm and 8.15pm.
It stayed comfortably ahead of ITV's The X Factor, although the gap narrowed on last week, with The X Factor up to 7.9 million (34.6%) between 8pm and 10pm, from 7.8 million last week.
But the year-on-year tale remains the same, with Strictly solid and X Factor down for a second year in a row.
Water way to spend Saturday night
The fifth outing for BBC1's fantasy drama Atlantis had 4.4 million viewers, a 25.9% share, between 8.15pm and 9pm.
Recommissioned for a second series last week, BBC1's Saturday night successor to another fantasy drama, Merlin, was down from an average of 5.8 million for its launch episode last month.
Bonus (foot)ball
BBC1's Match of the Day performed well in its late evening slot with 4.2 million viewers, a 26.5% share.
It was up against ITV's The Jonathan Ross Show, which had 3.5 million viewers, an 18.7% share between 10pm and 11pm.
But Chris Evans' presence on the BBC1's National Lottery Live has not been enough to overcome the enormous odds of being scheduled against The X Factor.
The lottery show had just 3.2 million viewers, a 14.4% share, between 9pm and 9.10pm.
All ratings are Barb overnight figures, including live, +1 (except for BBC channels) and same day timeshifted (recorded) viewing, but excluding on demand, or other – unless otherwise stated. Figures for BBC1, BBC2, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 generally include ratings for their HD simulcast services, unless otherwise stated
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