Look at the Auditel data from Mentana and Gruber. That’s right: we fell for it

The soap about excesses and "incontinence" between the two anchors raised La7's share, also driving DiMartedì

ROME – Follow the Auditel. Because in the end, after a tortuous path in the advertising mechanisms that Cairo dominates like few others in Italy, that’s money too. The numbers. The statistical transposition of the Italian voyeurs, attracted by the irresistible smell of the TV mess: everyone crowded there on La7 at 8.30pm, minute more minute less, to watch the new episode of the Mentana-Gruber soap. “Otto e mezzo” closed on Monday with 1,781,000 spectators (8.4%) despite the fatal delay caused by TG La7’s overrun. Tuesday, after question and response on Mentana’s intentional incontinence, 2,061,000 spectators (9.2%). With the news at 1,612,000 viewers and a slight increase compared to the Monday of the “sgarro”. La7’s share curve minute by minute betrays all the hype of the case:

While the feuilleton still burns ratings – it’s not over – between notes from interested parties, colleagues on the side and the gloating company, the duel of susceptibility between giants of the local anchor gives precious minutes of visibility to the first evening of La7. With a mechanism that the more clueless had already understood from the second episode of the series: the one in which Mentana announced that he would talk about the crime at the end of the news, after the commercial break. A nice and good teaser. We all fell for it.

And if the evening before Gruber complained about the connection at 8.46pm of a program that will be called – oh yes – Eight and a half for a reason, the following evening Mentana exceeded again for the reply, at 8.36pm. With the effect of dragging the now engaged public until the next possible bullshit, to which perhaps Mentana himself would finally respond the next day, in a show of action and reaction that my father bought at the market.

A repeated win-win that also involved third parties, like “Dimartedì”: 1,536,000 spectators (8.9%) in the frantic wait that Gruber, intent on promoting his latest book, could respond to Mentana. Floris doesn’t ask, she doesn’t answer, but now the ratings are done. Another ride, another ride. All happy and incontinent.