The channel also reached a greater number of viewers aged 16-34, with an average share of 7.3%, beating its previous best of 6.6% in September. It said it also increased its reach among ABC1s.
The channel said the documentary 'The Funniest Ads in the World' pulled in 2.4m viewers and an 11% share, while the terrestrial premiere of Ridley Scott's Hollywood blockbuster 'Gladiator', starring Russell Crowe, pulled in a share of 19%, with 3.8m viewers.
Liverpool's Uefa Cup game against Olimija Ljubljana was watched by more than 3m viewers.
The news will put pressure on new director of programmes Matt Chambers to improve on the high standards set by Kevin Lygo, who recently quit to move to Channel 4 as director of television.
During Lygo's tenure at Five, he has cleaned up the channel's schedule, getting rid of late-night soft porn, and bringing in more popular programming inlcluding Hollywood premieres and US imports such as 'CSI: Crime Scene Investigation', 'The Shield' and most recently 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' spin-off 'Angel'.
If you have an opinion on this or any other issue raised on Brand Republic, join the debate in the .
_1.jpg)
.jpg)
