Throughout the programme's history, "The Apprentice" has received high viewing figures with each series. When its first series was broadcast in 2005 on BBC Two, it attracted an average of 2.5 million viewers per episode, with an audience share of 11% for its timeslot that allowed it to beat popular programmes being aired on rival channels at the time, such as "Desperate Housewives". By the following year, the second series achieved a far higher average of 4.4 million viewers and an audience share of 27%, surpassing those achieved from the live broadcast of the 2005 UEFA Cup Final and other televised programming, such as the film "Pearl Harbor".