All Stories FeedGone: Fringe (again)
This really is very poor for customer relations…
Nine has now dropped Fringe from its schedule a second time, despite promising the show would air over summer (technically they kept the promise, they just never promised for how long). It is to be replaced with repeats of Crime Investigation Australia from Monday.
On Monday night the show managed 602,000, beaten by a double ep of Bones on 1.16m and ABC’s 90 minute Celebrity: Dominick Dunne slightly ahead on 697,000.
Now the J.J.Abrams sci fi, hailed as one of Nine’s big titles for the second part of the year can’t even find an audience in summer. Or is it that the audience was disillusioned by the first dumping? When Nine initially dropped Fringe readers of TV Tonight vented their anger in droves.
Nine’s abandonment of Fringe, now out of schedule entirely, follows TEN’s promise of 90210 for summer, but given just one night’s return in the last week of ratings. It didn’t even make it to summer.
What remains something of a contradiction for Nine is its continual courting of younger, advertiser-friendly viewers while demonstrating programming disdain for the shows that appeal to the market and failing to understand the way younger viewers think.
Nine would do well to spend some time on focus groups -but then, these things kinda cost money….
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still no fringe, i dont expect it to come back at all now, but even if it did i wouldn’t watch it because i’ve already seen the first 14 episodes by downloading them it’s so much easier, i wanted to say shame on channel 9 for not airing fringe for 2 reasons 1 being that fringe was the only sci-fi show on 9 and 2 is that there are 2 australian actors playing leads in this show you’d think that they would at least air the show for that, but no it’s all gotta be about the ratings, stuff you channel 9 im done with tv.
What the free tv network suits don’t seem to understand or do understand but choose to ignore it is that the tv viewer won’t tolerate their shows being rescheduled or look like being rescheduled or disappearing altogether because of so-called poor ratings and they resort to illegally downloading copies. Those copies are then quickly transferred to DVD and sent to friends and before you know it there ar thousands and thousands of copies out there
By the time tv programmes like Legend of the Seeker, Merlin, Sanctuary, Eureka, Stargate Universe and the like get to Australia they will have been seen by pretty much everyone in the country all because the viewer doesn’t trust the networks to air the entire run of episodes on a regular day and time
I would hold Fringe up as an example, it’s an excellent series
Definitely right Mark, that’s how i heard about Chuck and Eleventh Hour.
@Josh
Quote – “No offence David, But after this coming Monday, we’ve officially caught up to the US. So Nine had no option of continuing it over the summer because there are no episodes left to air!
New episodes don’t air until almost February in the US. I love your site and visit it daily, but what was the point of this article and all the fuss; knowing that they had run out of episodes?”
Actually you are very mistaken. The US is up to a 10th episode and is on break until early January. So there is a lot of fuss about another cancelled show.
These days, it makes more sense to read or hear about a new show on the Internet, then download it, or wait for the DVD.
The FTA networks are completely hopeless now; don’t even give them another chance.
I have all 10 eps thanks to the wonders of modern tech.
I cant wait till it;s return in Jan or Feb…
Marco: “Oh, FFS!!!” My sentiment exactly.
Every time something I like comes on (OK, I like Sci-Fi/paranormal.), it vanishes because the networks freak that they aren’t #1 100% of the time.
This is why I need broadband. BitTorrent is far more reliable than Seven, Nine and Ten programming combined. Less ads too.
i’ve been on holidays nearly a week already and instead of watching free to air TV I have been watching TV shows on DVD (and movies too) – there are no ads, no changing times, you can watch it when you want and channel 9 can’t take it away from you, like everything else they stop/change etc. to be honest I have not watched WIN/9 all holidays…what’s that tell you??
So obviously non-ratings period means nothing.
This isn’t surprising but it’s really infuriating. What’s the point of taking it off if it rates low when ti doesn’t really matter?
Is episode 7 the only episode they missed?
On the bright side for me, at least there is no longer a clash with Army Wives.
This is a shame especially since this week’s episode was very very good.
The removal of Fringe from the 9′s schedule means that Star Wars: The Clone Wars on 10 is currently the only sci fi show that is currently being shown on free to air (non-HD) TV.
I’m a considerably tech savy guy, but i could never quite understand why people would rather download tv shows & movies with crappy sound & picture quality, just so they could watch them first.
I have now seen the light!
If the networks keep abusing the public, more & more people are going to jump on the BT train. For considerably cheaper than a Pay-TV subscription you get internet & all the TV shows you like, in as high/low a quality as you like, with no ads, whenever you like.
I’m sorry, but after years of holding the high moral ground, i can take the abuse no more.
You’ve lost another one.
I remember when I loved non-ratings because I got to see all the shows they’d ripped off during the year, it was almost as busy as ratings season. Fringe and L&O are the only shows I’ve been watching.
Never saw the last season & a half of Judging Amy either
Nine could and should shift both Fringe and Gossip Girl to their 9HD channel
(just as they’re currently showing 2 year old Nip Tuck episodes on 9HD on Monday nights). It’s unfortunate The Sarah Connor, Pushing Daisies and Chuck shows didn’t get moved to 9HD also, instead of being sold to Foxtel. I expect Ten will move the mediocre 90210 show to 10HD, where it can remain at a stable timslot.
The funny thing is, if you are trying to court a younger audience you really need to be on the mark with your programming or they’ll download instead. Dicking around with the scheduling does not encourage viewer loyalty. I can only say that Channel Nine deserves everything it gets.
How is a show expected to gain an audience if they never know if it’s going to be on or not? I am so glad I discovered the joys of bittorrent after Moonlight was ignominiously pulled last summer. Channel Nine can sink into the sad hole it’s dug for itself for all I care. I only care how things rate in the U.S. now.
Word of advice to any Fringe fans… Download it. See Ch9, that’s not so hard is it.
Sorry Josh, but there is one more episode left.
Kudo’s to ch 9 though, keep up the good work you idiots. It has justified me having a large download quota so I can watch my favourite shows that continually get treated like crap.
not even remotely surprised. I didnt get into it this time around because a) how it was bounced around before getting axed b) plus it was up against spicks & specks, hollow men etc c) saw no point in getting into it a few episodes into the season.
It’s such a shame that to people who aren’t “in the know”, downloading torrents of our fave shows is an illegal activity.
If just one of the commercial networks have a “series timeslot guarantee” that means that for say 3 months, a show will be on at the same time every week and not moved no matter what, they will win viewers and possibly ratings overall.
The biggest problem with free to air TV nowadays whether it be during ratings time or summer, is that alot of shows that would otherwise do well are not given a chance. Shows are written off or moved for too quickly.
To me its a bit like your local shops changing every time you go there, or a bar or restaurent closing their doors after having a night that not as many people turned up. Sooner or later you’ll either go somewhere else or just buy online. Anyone in business knows brand building and loyalty takes time, and consistancy to get there.
they just don’t get it do they.
it will never be sucessful at 9:30 even during the summer, so put it on at 10:30 or 11:30. so we can record it to watch it later. sure some people will complain but not as many that will if it is completely gone.
and crime investigation australia = 9 now has more factuals than 7 no matter which way you look at it.
Josh it doesn’t matter if it’s one ep or 100, look at ch10 doing the same with Burn Notice (2 eps unaired) also House and NCIS which have continued and big fan will just get these online, rather than wait months for them to be re-started in Feb.
I have to wonder how long Flashpoint will last on 09?
I’m amazed Ten hasn’t pulled Carson Kressley’s show yet, this – I wasn’t expecting. Not sure why Nine thinks more crime is the answer to their woes, a 3 way crime spree by the nets on Monday night is gonna be about as useful as it was on Wednesday night a few months back (ie: Criminal Minds vs CSI NY vs Life)
As others have said … no point moving shows to 9.30 or later and even mentioning the “Ratings” word because most people have to get to sleep so they can get to work the next day.
So, Nine is using the lame ratings excuse to move shows around in the non ratings period??? Is that the case?
Taking a show off during the season does not stain the show … we all know how idiotice the network programmers are … it only further stains the network and looses them even more once loyal viewers … if they do not stop this behaviour now then they will soon have no audienceto mistreat at the whim of the advertisers.
Pathetic!
Jack!
Dangit! Not again! Can’t they at least find another timeslot for it? Even if it is like 1am in the morning or something? Just don’t take it off totally!
I think there are actually 2 more episodes that Channel 9 could have aired – the missing ep 7 (which was due to air next week) and then ep 10, before it went on hiatus in the US.
Very frustrating not having the eps aired in order, totally destroys the plotline!!
A problem with the networks is, they really seem to not want to develop an audience for a lot of shows. Somethings on, and if it doesn’t rate well instantly they will dump it. Then they just replace it with repeats of reality,lifestyle shows and free to air tv becomes more stagnant. If this is what people watch, i guess the audience gets what they deserve. Maybe there just isn’t a market for quality drama series any more on free to air.
“What remains something of a contradiction for Nine is its continual courting of younger, advertiser-friendly viewers while demonstrating programming disdain for the shows that appeal to the market and failing to understand the way younger viewers think”
Excellent point David. Could not agree more.
Also – I think that when these shows are taken off during the season only to return in the summer – it stains them. Subconsciously viewers realise the show was not strong enough to make it ‘in-season’ and it’s returned for summer where I might have a better chance. It’s like a big demotion – and I think people realise that, and it hurts the show.
Fringe obvioulsy was never going to set the world on fire in oz. But I suspect if Nine didn’t pull it off in the first place and let it grow, it would do better in summer. Or if they launched it as a new series in summer – it also would have done better. But it is the re-moving only to bring it back in summer aspect that I think damages a shows brand beyond repair.
Nine really know how to annoy everyone don’t they
Stop buying Sci Fi shows!
Sci-Fi is a very hard genre to win…look what Nine did with Moonlight and now Fringe. It’s a very niche market, people either love it or they hate it!
FFS, Its a non-ratings season.. Get a grip FTA, Still wanting PayTV to be a sucsess.. Keep the axings coming and FTA will be obsolete in the near future!
Nine are idiots. There was only one more episode until it would of gone on hiatus! Could it really have hurt to keep it on only for one more week?
Well thank the lord for bittorrent – I gave up on Nine and Fringe at episode 4 I could just feel it coming – and reverted to downloads straight away – its a great show.
I can still vividly recall the large posters of Fringe on buses, and the hyperbole of the ads on the radio. I thought, with this massive advertising campaign, surely they wouldn’t treat this show with contempt as well. But then, straight away, i remembered channel nine’s previous record with shows, so i resisted.
Then, when nine promised to return the show during ‘non-ratings’, i thought that, as the name suggests, they don’t care as much about ratings during the summer. But then again, as i experienced with Big Bang Theory last summer, the term ‘non-ratings’ is a misnomer.
Tip to channel nine, it is harder to retain a under 55 audience than over 55 audience. Quid, pro, quo – you show respect, we show respect. One day when you go broke, you’ll realise how many idiotic decisions you have made.
Nine can’t spend money doing research – they got pay all their warehoused talent (sic). I am glad I watched first few eps of Fringe – could of got hooked, if promoted and shown week after week.
Programme shuffle number 75 by Nine in past month.
No offence David, But after this coming Monday, we’ve officially caught up to the US. So Nine had no option of continuing it over the summer because there are no episodes left to air!
New episodes don’t air until almost February in the US. I love your site and visit it daily, but what was the point of this article and all the fuss; knowing that they had run out of episodes?
Monday’s episode was pretty craptacular… the quality has been sliding each week.
Pitty… I had high hopes for the show.
Oh well there was only one more episode to go before we were in sync with the US (not of course counting the missing episode). Off to the internet I go …
I started watching it via alternate sources since episode 4, so i believe ch9 did something after ep3 that made me switch away from them, then they skipped the episode that introduces the major arc (or so was reported here i believe, i don’t know if they ever got around to showing it).
Being on ch9 it was dead before it was aired. They have pretty much shot themselves in the foot, I don’t know if i will bother with any new prime time TV show be it sci-fi or not on 9, unless they do a hell of a lot to make up for what they have done in the past.
Are you serious!what is channel nine doing. no wonder everyone hates them. there is no point in them returning the show ever as anybody who likes it has or now will start to download. Don’t the executives get it people will download (especially younger popele which this show is targeted at) unless they get the show within a couple of weeks the american viewings and that when shows get bumped around the schedules people get over it and download. bad decision channel nine….looks like i willl have to start downloading another show…
Channel Nine an go to hell! I am boycotting the network from now on. It isnt doing that badly it is 9:30pm. Most shows in the 9:30pm slot isnt doing much better.
I am never watching a Channel Nine show again!
Damn!
No Fringe
No 90210
No Dirty Sexy Money (Sorry but that late it may as well not be on)
And Heroes (well im in bed by 10:30, i need to work)
Grrr!!!
and 9 works their magic again. I hope CIA bombs just as bad, such a stupid move.
Oh, FFS!!!
CH9 can suck my DL, year after year I’m willing to trust they will keep showing the shows I want to see. There is a list too big to put on line of the show that they have failed to finish. Still waiting 2 years later for the final season of Gilmore Girls and 3 years for Everwood! Farscape anyone? SciFi just doesn’t work for them lets not forget Enterprise. I blame my self, I should have learned from last year when they dropped Moonlight mid season and never bought it back!
Mark my words this show will never be seen again on ch9 or FTA! (I hope I’m wrong)
The “younger, advertiser-friendly viewers” are exactly the ones that will download anything and not give a toss about the legality of it. (Oh, okay, that’s me too, but just ask anyone in the Gen X or Y age groups how much downloaded TV, movies, music they consume.)
The commercial networks still just don’t get it. If you screw around with your viewers, they will screw you right back. They have the power now, and there’s not a court in the land that can ever change it.
so episode 7 will never be seen, typical, i wasn’t watching this whole time, just recording and saving coz i am wary of 9, and i was going to start watching after episode 7 so i could watch them in the proper order, not what 9 dishes out. this will do so amazingly on dvd because of 9, especially since they edit and cut bits out.
you are totally right david, they are taking on shows that appeal to younger viewers like me and then they treat them all like something you scrape off your shoe, they really don’t get it.