Looking back over the last year, 2016 will not be fondly remembered. But as the final months of the year kicks off, at least Sir David Attenborough is here to turn things around, with the news emerging that ratings figures for his wildlife programme Planet Earth II is beating ITV’s The X Factor among viewers aged 16-34.
According to ITV, Sunday evening’s results show of the long-running pop music reality competition drew an average of 1.4m viewers in the much-coveted demographic. But that was 100,000 fewer than the wildlife documentary series attracted on the same night.
“I’m told we are attracting a larger than normal number of younger viewers,” Attenborough told the Radio Times, the BBC-produce scheduling guide and magazine.
“Apparently the music of Hans Zimmer, in particular, is striking a chord with the young. And that pleases me enormously.” You can listen to the Oscar-winning composer’s score embedded below:
The wildlife series, now airing its second season after a 10-year gap between its debut in 2006 and the current run, goes head-to-head with The X Factor results show at 8pm on Sunday nights. On average, the ITV music show, which features Simon Cowell and Irishman Louis Walsh, is watched by roughly 7m viewers, while Planet Earth II routinely pulls an audience of 12m.
In response to the news, an ITV spokesperson said that while the number of younger viewers watching The X Factor is lower, the demographic still accounted for a larger proportion of the show’s total audience.
