Comedy Central's battles set ratings records

Comedy Central is claiming record ratings for its Roast Battle UK series.

The six-part series was stripped over five nights earlier this month, when it became the highest-rated show the channel has ever commissioned in the UK.

It peaked at a total of 569,000 adult viewers for the second episode, which featured Joe Lycett versus Nick Helm and Daniel Sloss versus Desiree Burch.

The programme was especially popular with younger viewers, peaking at 375,000 16-34-year-olds. That is well over four times the average number of viewers in that age range that the broadcaster normally gets for 10pm shows.

The figures are all consolidated, so include catch-up views in the first seven days after broadcast, as well as the overnight figures.

Hosted by Jimmy Carr, with judges Russell Brand and Katherine Ryan, Comedy Central was also pleased with the amount of Twitter traffic the show generated.

Louise Holmes, vice president of programming, said: ‘This achievement is testament to the success of the show’s no-holds-barred format which packs a comedy punch and lets comedians use their razor-sharp wit to take down their opponent.

‘Viewers have relished the comedy arena setting that Roast Battle provides - evident in the response across both linear and digital platforms.’

Published: 29 Jan 2018