"Star Cops" was broadcast on Monday nights at around 8:30pm starting on 6 July 1987 on BBC2. Competition was provided on BBC One by sitcom "Terry and June" and "The Nine O'Clock News". The fifth episode, "This Case to be Opened in a Million Years", was broadcast at the later time of 9:55pm. The BBC listings magazine "Radio Times" promoted the series, giving it the front cover of the 4–10 July 1987 edition accompanied by a four-page article by Johnny Black inside. "Star Cops" performed poorly in the ratings with an average audience across the series of only 2.2 million viewers. Chris Boucher has blamed the poor ratings on the timeslot the show was given, stating: "There is nothing that has ever gone out on BBC 2 at half-past eight until twenty-past nine; it's a grotesque period. It doesn't synch with anything on BBC 1; it just doesn't work in relation to anything. You had to badly want to see "Star Cops" in order to watch it because you had to sacrifice at least two hours of viewing to see it. I can see why people didn't want to have that problem.". He has also commented that the poor timeslot and the decision to air the series in July and August (a time when viewing figures are traditionally lower due to the summer) reflected the fact that "Star Cops" didn't have the confidence of the BBC management. This view is echoed by star David Calder who has described the timeslot as "an act of sabotage and absurdity".