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
Last time the TG premiere ( 25 January 2015) was up against Call the Midwife.
10.98 vs 6.41 Million. That’s why the new season got the bigger share with 4.4 Mil.
I think Evans could have been more liked by TG fans if he were to take a more humble approach and honor those 3 instead of trying to be sarcastic about the caterer and trying hard to be liked….and man his voice is annoying…Sabine is the only one that might keep me watching the show.
The star segment wasn’t brilliant, but I liked the ACR vs Z06 thing they did. Basically what it showed was that Matt Leblanc and Chris Evans can convincingly host a car show without trying to be clarkson and may and Hammond. I think having 2 hosts for them is going to work out better than trying to replicate the 3-host format.
Hey, it’s pirated…so…
Horrible, only Matt Leblanc was good
People are eager to see what new top gear looks like,thats why the ratings increased.
The real test however,is in the next episode.
Now who do we believe?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/30/top-gears-first-episode-branded-boring-and-badly-presented-by-fa/
“As funny as Chris Evans” is now officially an insult phrase
Chris Evans just isn’t as exciting or interesting as Clarkson was, and they way he talks and introduces things isn’t as amusing.
I actually enjoyed the new format. Sure it was a little awkward at times, it will never be the perfect chemistry of our favorite three car guys, but it still maintains the fun, the over-the-top sillyness that made the original enjoyable. These guys seriously have their work cut out for them, they know they can’t possibly be better than what came before, they can’t dare be too similar. I think that the variety of hosts and having more people on board could make for a good program. I mean let’s be perfectly honest, if the name wasn’t “Top Gear”, and this were a show on youtube or netflix with all these great names and such a big budget, we would all be cheering.