Despite Mass Criticism, The First Episode Of ‘New’ Top Gear Was Officially A Hit
It’s pretty clear from the reactions on our live discussion that most of you guys didn’t really take to the first episode of new Top Gear. In fact, the poll we ran yesterday revealed that a whopping 24 per cent of you scored the episode as a 1 out of 10…
Twitter seemed full to the brim with complaints, too, while reviews have been less than favourable. However, in terms of raw numbers, the first episode was actually a hit.
The new Top Gear is a hit. OFFICIALLY. 23 % audience share. 12% MORE than the opening episode of the last series. These are the FACTS.;— achrisevans
Top Gear audience grew throughout the hour. FACT. Won its slot. FACT. Still number one on i Player. FACT. These are THE FACTS folks.;— achrisevans
In a series of Tweets, host Chris Evans revealed that the show enjoyed a massive 23 per cent audience share, representing a 12 per cent increase on the first episode of series 22 when the show was still presented by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May.
Top Gear i Player views now at 1.1 million. Rock n roll ! Thank you. Team and channel totally thrilled.;— achrisevans
The caveat here is that the intrigue surrounding just what the show would be like in the post-Clarkson era will have no doubt fuelled the apparent popularity; the acid test will be the figures for the second and third episodes. However, it seems people weren’t switching off, because the audience actually grew throughout the airing. Evans also revealed this morning that iPlayer views have topped one million.
Growing up on a diet of World Rally Championship highlights and lengthy Gran Turismo 2 sessions, a life in cars was as good as inevitable for Matt.
Comments
12% more people watched this to see how much of a flop it was going to be compared to the last series
FACT FOLKS : People only watched the first episode to laugh at how crap it was
Wow and I thought Clarkson could be childish…..
I am sorry but Chris Evans voice just kept driving me absolutely crazy, especially with all the shouting. Kept reminding me of a teenager who’s ying and yang haven’t dropped yet….
I almost want to make a twitter so I can respond to his BS tweets
The only thing they’ve hit is the bottom.
Yes - the first episode, everyone was curious about the show, but what about next week, or in one month? View rates will drop drastically.
Those 5.4 million is because people wanted to see what it was like. Next week itll flop. And why does Chris “wannabe Clarkson” Evans keep rambling about facts. Someone is al little insecure i think
I am sure all 3 people who watched it were very happy..
Just wait for the Grand Tour’s first episode. I bet it will eb a bigher hit. Fact
the guy was dumb… now he’s gone totally nuts
In my opinnion almost every single joke was forced and unnatural. They just tried too hard. Especially the whole the best Ramsey’s car vs the best Eisenberg’s car… I get that the had to mention some of the holy trinity cars, but come on… There are other ways to do it.