‘Britain’s Got Talent’ returns with solid viewing figures

For all of those who were waiting eagerly to see the return of “Britain’s Got Talent,” we come bearing some good news: Many were apparently rather thrilled to see the show back on the air.

As a whole, the Simon Cowell talent series drew 9.5 million viewers for its first episode back on the air Saturday, which marks a decrease of around a million from the audience last year. That may sound troubling on the surface, but it remains fairly common at this point for shows to lose around 10% of their audience year to year. This is also just a one-week sample size, and ratings could easily rise again for the show next week.

Much of it for this show ultimately depends on the talent. For example, the series became an international focus at one point after Susan Boyle found fame for her performance of “I Dreamed a Dream,” and has since gone on to sell tens of millions of albums. However, since that point the show has not always generated the same sort of international attention, even if there are some beloved acts who has taken part in the competition. The last winners of the show in Collabro have gone on to tour and record music. Boyle did not even end up winning her season, but she still took the world by storm.

We’ll get a better chance to take a look at the ultimate tapestry of this season when we have episodes air over the course of the next several weeks. Stay tuned!

If you missed our review for the “Britain’s Got Talent” premiere over the weekend, you can check that out right now over at the link here! Also, sign up now to get some other talent-focused TV updates on all we cover, courtesy of our official CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: ITV.)