About 6.5 million people tuned in for the series opener on Channel 4, representing a drop of nearly 4 million on the previous serious premiere PAFans of The Great British Bake Off have complained that ad breaks taking up almost a quarter of the new series left the first episode feeling “rushed”, with too few mood-setting shots of “sheep and squirrels”. About 6.5 million people tuned in for the series opener on Channel 4, representing a drop of nearly 4 million on the previous serious premiere. The number of viewers marks a five-year record for the channel, however, and will increase as people watch on catch-up in the coming days. Controversially, the 75-minute show features almost 17 minutes of ads, including Channel 4’s own promos. The channel has denied reports that this makes it the most ad-heavy show in its history, telling Campaign that “the exact same” ad pattern was…

Source: The Times August 30, 2017 11:03 UTC