‘It was a binding experience’: TV producers mourn decline of hot 9pm slot

UK broadcasters used to rely on big audiences at 9pm, but as viewing habits change, figures are falling below the 1m mark

Last month something unusual happened in the television world. At 9pm, traditionally a crucial time slot for Britain's main broadcasters, none of their shows were able to attract an average audience of 1 million viewers.

An ITV documentary about Madeleine McCann was the most popular in the slot, drawing a broadcast audience of less than 900,000 viewers. It happened again less than a week later when ITV's thriller Coldwater narrowly beat Channel 5's Fare Dodgers: At War With the Law. The unwelcome phenomenon has since happened for a third time.