Lost finds 1m viewers on Sky One after £1.3m marketing push

by Darren Davidson, Brand Republic 04-Feb-08, 11:10

LONDON - A new series of US drama 'Lost' did the business on Sky One last night, with more than a million viewers following a £1.3m marketing spend.

The heavyweight marketing campaign, which equates to more than a pound per viewer, includes press ads, outdoor posters, radio ads and a Bluetooth zone at Victoria station.

It has paid off, if not at considerable expense, with the first instalment of the fourth season pulling in 1.1m viewers and a 4.9% share of total viewers at 9pm.

The marketing activity for the new series has promised to answer one of the many questions left unanswered at the end of the second season, which left many fans feeling frustrated. One of the key straplines in the campaign is: 'The answers are coming'.

Lost was followed on Sky One by a double-episode of US drama 'Weeds', which also began a new series.

The first instalment of this provocative, darkly comic series about a frazzled mum trying to maintain her suburban family life was watched by 147,800 viewers and a 0.7% share at 10pm. The second episode at 10.35pm drew 107,700 viewers and a 0.7% share.

BBC One dominated the daytime schedule on Saturday with live coverage of the opening matches of the Six Nations Championship.

Ireland's 16-11 victory over Italy at 2pm, scored 3m viewers and a 26.2% share of the audience.

The match was soon followed by England's shock defeat at the hands of Wales at 4.15pm.

Having led the match for much of the game, England collapsed under a late surge from Wales and lost 19-26 in the closing stages. It was watched by 6.5m viewers and a 34.4% share.

On Friday, Channel 4's new comedy strand got off to strong start. 'Derren Brown: The System' pulled in 2.3m viewers and a 9.5% share. Including Channel 4+ 1, the audience grew to 2.4m viewers and a 10% share.

'Alan Carr's Celebrity Ding Dong' made a solid debut at 10pm with 2m viewers and a 9.9% share. The audience rose to 2.2m viewers and a 10.7% share on Channel 4+ 1.

The show did well to match BBC Two's established Friday night comedy 'QI' in the 10pm slot, which is fronted by Stephen Fry. 'QI' drew 2.2m viewers and a 10% share.