Live +7 boosts 'Wonders', 'Junior Doctors'

Professor Brian Cox's Wonders of the Universe and BBC Three's Junior Doctors have both received significant ratings increases under new data from the BBC's Live +7 system.

The BBC has published more ratings data from its new audience measurement system, introduced last November to work alongside traditional 'overnight' ratings.

Live +7 is designed to give a more accurate picture of viewing consumption of BBC shows by aggregating live recordings, narrative repeats, BBC iPlayer and HD viewing for seven days after transmission.

Covering programmes aired in March, the new Live +7 data reveals that the first episode of Cox's Wonders of the Universe series actually pulled in a combined audience of 6.4 million on BBC Two, up 77% on just overnight data.

An episode of BBC Three's popular Junior Doctors programme aired on March 29 enjoyed a massive 235% increase in its audience to 3.6m.

Aired on BBC One on March 9, The Boat That Guy Built pulled in a Live +7 audience of 7.7m, up 92%, while the March 28 transmission of comedy Mrs Brown's Boys was up 62% to 4.6m. Agony & Ecstasy: A Year With The National Ballet, a BBC Four documentary shown on March 22, was boosted by a healthy 172% to 1m.

David Bunker, head of audience research at BBC Vision, said "Whether it is learning about industrial age Britain in BBC One's The Boat That Guy Built or life on the wards on BBC Three's Junior Doctors, audiences seem to be finding the informative popular and the popular informative."

Published last month, the first Live +7 data covering January and February indicated that an episode of airport comedy Come Fly With Me attracted a total audience of 10.1m, up 40% on overnight figures, while Top Gear grabbed 10.6m on all platforms, up 97%.