Comments on: Fan fury at Nine

By: Benno

Benno — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 02:29:28 +0000

Sephiroth_FF, the US elections is a perfectly good excuse, as FOX will take a few weeks off, however if they let people know about these breaks, people will understand that it is not nine’s fault, which it usually is, and that they will return the show asap. But of course, that is too simple for 9 to understand.

By: Really Peeved

Really Peeved — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 13:15:35 +0000

Why do Tv stations in Australia keep canceling good shows. I was actually enjoying US Kath & Kim and it was pulled by channel 7, now after Googleing to find out why , I find my favorite on channel 9 Fringe has been pulled also. Why the hell do Stations keep doing this it sucks and really annoys you. At least give the shows some time before you get rid of them. No wonder people go to pay TV. Thank God for the internet is all I can say. At least I can still watch the programs the stupid TV stations pull. AT least give people some warning you are going to pull something and give us repeat after repeat . Sick and tired of this and disgusted.

While I am at it why on earth to stations let there stupid dance with the starts and other like programs run over time. People spend good money to buy set top boxes etc that allow you to record a program automatically only to find that they miss the ending of a show because the previous ran over time. Get it together TV stations or you’ll loose at lot more viewers.

By: Sephiroth_FF

Sephiroth_FF — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 06:54:55 +0000

The US elections is a pathetic excuse to use, especially considering that it’s not even here yet. And why on earth is Australia making a big deal over the elections anyway? It’s not like we’re getting a new president.

By: tvaddict

tvaddict — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 14:00:57 +0000

I reckon the tv networks (mostly Nine) are in collusion with some of the dvd producers for these shows because they show some of the season before axing it & then a week or so later the ad for the dvd set is on tv, so anyone not familiar with channel BT is kinda forced to go out & buy the dvds to see the rest of the season. Damages is a good example of this, others are Nip/Tuck & Outrageous Fortune.
Really wondering what the future of ‘free to air’ tv is with antics like this from networks & the fact that so many people dload tv eps from the net instead, then theres alternates like Foxtel, dvds & gaming to draw people away from FTA. Another factor in why these shows arent rating is surely the insane amount of advertising that makes any shows in peak timeslots not worth watching unless you do time shifting (record it & watch back later) so as to forward through the ads. The only live tv i watch now is after 10.30pm when there is less ads, thats if im not busy catching up on shows recorded earlier or the night before etc

By: Baggygreen

Baggygreen — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 11:40:16 +0000

The way I see it the real problems for FTA are really biting. Having this pulled didnt bother me..why. When I saw the ads, realised it was scifi and wouldnt appeal to the ch7 55+ viewers I new it wouldnt last. I didnt even bother, they wont grow an audience let alone service a niche, even a big one. This show looked ok so I will wait for Fox to pick it up (this is what I do with Prison Break & 24 – why anyone bothers to deal with ch7 on these two is beyond me) or get a dvd of the season when it comes out. I really dont care that much about ‘fasttracking” – within reason, I just need to know it will actually be shown and not be insulted with time changes and my absolute favourite ‘a non rating period rest’ – like they should be able to dictate when I want to watch things.

By: Benno

Benno — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 01:02:19 +0000

@ Cameron

Blame the viewers? Oh that’s rich. Channel nine is well regarded as the worst station when it comes to yanking shows off the air, and not caring for the viewer at all. People just don’t trust them, and with these types of shows, they require viewers to watch nearly every episode to follow, and if this cannot be guaranteed due to them taking the show off without a moment of notice, then why would they bother? The loyalty to the network, and the others, is getting slimmer, and if they don’t repair this, they can only expect their shows to get less and less ratings for every new one they try.

By: John

John — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 00:55:28 +0000

And yet 9 keeps screening crap like 2.5 Men…

Why that show keeps getting massive air time yet they axe a quality show like Fringe

By: Cameron

Cameron — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 00:44:21 +0000

This show was alright and I was not shocked by it getting the bone. It lasted 5 episodes unlike the 1 or 2 that usually air before getting yanked off. The show never managed 1 million viewers and 671,000 viewers for an 8:30pm slot on commercial television is too few to keep the show on air. Any tv network executive would take off a poor rating show and I would of done the same thing even if Fringe was a favourite.

If there is anyone to blame in all this, blame the viewers for not watching, if they were, Fringe would have had 1.4 million+ instead of 671,000. At least The Mentalist had an extra 300k. The networks are only replacing and swapping shows due to a lack off viewers. Maybe the networks and viewers need to meet in the middle. Watch the show and not get taken off. For Fringe it was not watch and get taken off.

I thought Fringe had a lot of promotion and being on for 5 weeks was enough to gain an audience especially a strong one but to go down to 671,000 shows that it did not build an audience. What is the point of airing a show that has so few viewers when another show can do better. The Mentalist is a better fit for the timeslot and is a great show too. It seem like Fringe was a failure in Australia.

At least Fringe is another show saved for summer which is just over a month away.

By: Irastev

Irastev — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 20:42:15 +0000

After changing the timeslot from Sunday night to Wednesday, Mentalist lost almost half a million (!) viewers. Do the math, Nine. Put Fringe instead of Mentalist on Sunday nights, and it’ll get well over a million viewers. For heavens’ sakes, look at the numbers the dull Midsomer Murders on ABC used to gather at 8:30 on Sundays!

By: classclown

classclown — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 18:11:00 +0000

Is it just my imagination or is somebody inside 9 deliberatly trying to sabbotage them? They are doing a good job.

By: FlossAus

FlossAus — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 15:55:22 +0000

Agree with everything being said and more! I would also like to say Channel Nine, this is thing called BitTorrent that’s stealing your advertiser appealing under 40′s demo, is payback for the treatment of West Wing and Six Feet Under for so many years.

Also, what all major networks need to understand moving forward, is that, because of the way modern media works, with a raft of ideas for every fan base out there, if something doesn’t interest us viewers on TV at 7.30pm, we will switch off. We will find another source of entertainment. We will find a reliable, ready now program that we can view on our terms. So what if it’s part of Generation Now, that’s the advertiser’s pay dirt demos and that’s what the programmers need to realise.

So I completely agree with those people who suggest running late night comedy, late night drama, late night sci-fi blocks or utlising the HD channels. As a long serving Buffy fan, we will stay up for the shows if you keep them in place and you can, Advertising Departments, be assured of some very attractive, target specific demos to sell your ad space in. Sure, the figures won’t top the million mark, but would you rather target specific, intelligent A-B demos to speak to or 1.2m repeat CSI Miami watchers?

By: Zambora

Zambora — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 14:59:17 +0000

David’s comment “Nine says Fringe is not back until summer.” if true, is apt.

Nine will have that much shelved programme in their warehouse to run over summer – only problem is ‘we have cricket, so shows will be on ONE week then off the next…

Anyway as I have said before, IF there is choice between all networks at same time and I am undecided NINE loses out because THEY do not value my loyalty.

10 years ago , Nine was The One.
By this time next year, it might be a nonentity as ’2 and half men , ramsay and csi been done to death…

Chances are Seven,Ten and ABC licking licks and rolling out new product next yearand people will give Nine the flick.

By: Steve

Steve — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:41:01 +0000

I agree that networks should definitely take advantage of the late-night timeslots. Channel 7 built up a huge late-night following a few years back when they had Buffy, Angel and Felicity Mon-Wed at 10.30pm. I’m surprised they arent trying to do this now.

Ch 7 could do late-night comedy line ups (30 Rock and Scrubs would fit well together and the audience is already used to these being on late), or former ‘high fliers’ Prison Break, Heroes and Lost so that they remain on the air. Ch 9 could air ER (remember ER channel 9, it used to be #1), Fringe, and plenty of other shows that they have cut. Ch 10 could squeeze in 90210, Burn Notice, etc.

It could be the new ‘primetime’ for loyal viewers. Im currently o/s and the high rating shows are screened at 10pm rather than 8.30pm.

I presonally think one network should cut their 7pm weeknight program and start airing their hour-long programs earlier (they could potentially win ratings with four programs back-to-back – 7pm, 8pm, 9pm and 10pm). What would I know, though?

By: nick

nick — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:22:48 +0000

Hey David, what happened to the Missing in action or the Axe links you used to hav on the old site? They’d be absolute chockers with shows now ey?

By: nick

nick — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:19:59 +0000

Put Fringe on at 10.30 for crying out loud! it makes no sense, take off a big American drama and screen absolute s*** like how to have sex after marriage, i dunno wats goin on with these networks but somethings should be done really, u buy a show, promote the hell out of it and leave it on for a whole season, its not like it had no viewers.

By: ali

ali — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:16:31 +0000

Dead right Craig. For anyone interested, sites such us TV.com or epguides.com will give you a list of episodes and airdates in the US.