TEN’s incoming CEO Hamish McLennan says the network will now target older viewers and bid for key sporting events.
“We will look at everything,” he told the Sunday Herald Sun.
“We’ll preserve what’s great about it and make changes were we need to.
“We will look at sport, everything is up for grabs.
“We’ve had a laser focus in a youth demographic sense.
“But I think we can be youthful and appeal to a slightly wider audience without losing what we are good at.”
McLennan seeks “creative renewal” with cash ploughed into refreshing TEN’s underperforming program schedule and a promotions blitz.
But rumours of more job cuts for TEN are also gathering early ahead of his reign as CEO.
“As a general statement we need to be prudent in the way we run our businesses but the reality is there needs to be more investment in programming and promotion,” he said.
But he also stood by Masterchef and did not rule out a return to Australian Idol.
“MasterChef and Australian Idol have been great properties for the network.”
Unfortunately for Ten last years decisions on programming adversely affected the networks reputation, I hope with new guidance and a practical approach on attracting back all ages Ten may have a chance to regain lost ground. It must seriously pursue good content and also continue with successful programmes like Puberty Blues and the like. It should reconsider bringing back YTT the show was targeted to the wrong demographics,it was poorly produced and unfairly treated by placing it up against stiff competition. Give the show a new look and format get rid of the unknown judges and bring back the talented team.Australia needs our own grown idols and role models for our children to look up to. We also need programmes that give our kids hope and dreams that may one day become a stars. We do not have any programmes in Australia to encourage kids to have a go. We need feel good programmes that please all ages.
@Fire2013 – you’re being ironic, right?
If they’re wanting to target older viewers, then what’s happening with The Bolt Report show, that’s yet to come back, as it seemed like it was a fairly cheap show to make.
To turn Ten around will take at least 3 – 5 years, as it’s an impossible task to do in 1 year.
I stopped watching TEN some time ago despite them showing some of my favourite shows like NCIS, Good Wife, Law & Order SVU, Homeland…
The reason was ridiculously late starts, excessive repeats, changes in times and nights – I just lost track.
That combined with excessive and repetitive ads and promos changed my viewing habits completely.
Now I watch nothing on TEN.
I agree I think Channel 10 should approch Darry Somers to revive Hey Hey its Saturday on Saturday nights on Channel 10.
Many years ago it was on Channel 10 only for a year or so as I remember.
And I also think Channel 10 should re introduce weekly game show at the 7pm slot. I think they should try to revive Jeopardy or Sale of the Century to reach out to there older viewers and to have the older hosts hosting them again like Tony Barber or John Burgess. These formats worked 15 years ago and they would still work now.
I agree with another comment that channel 10 should reinvent the Midday Show at the 12pm time slot, I remember watching this as I was growing up and sadly tv now days is lacking in variety shows. And Channel 10 should aslo invest in new dramers like a remake of E-Street or Breakers which they aired a few years back.
Move David Attenborough’s Africa to Wednesday 730pm for starters. Australian Idol may work but don’t put it head to head with The Voice. Masterchef could have been a winner for Ten if they didn’t go head to head with MKR.
They need to produce some quality Aussie drama for 7:30pm time slot.
Oh and return Sandra Sully to Late News – any chance she can work 12hr days?
P.S GH was on Ten in 1995 at 5am
How about repeats of some great old Australian shows….Rush ..in my opinion one of the best cop shows ever made in Australia. Some of the programmes on Foxtel could be shown , I do not have Foxtel, I have no intention of getting Foxtel but I would like to see Grand Designs – australia, and the new series of Coast. How about overnight an “oldies” rage type programme with Andre Rieu, and some older music clips I have seen some around with Burl Ives ….I know I am going back a bit in time now but “Rage” is for the youngsters and “baby boomers” well there a lot of us and we can not afford to retire but we buy music and other things like DVD sets of shows. I suspect that even though I watch “White Collar” I will buy the DVD set when it finally gets released, and to keep faith with viewers theyt should continue on with series 4 of White collar, another 16 episodes.
Groundhog Day:
Remember – A few years ago Ten won the young demos 13- 24′s, 16-24′s, 16 -39′s and 18-49′s under Falloon, Blackley & Mott.
Remember the share price was $1.60 not $0.30 cents, the revenue share was 30% not 21%, ONE has Sport not a load of repeats, Eleven was launched and a great success, Ten took risks and invested in Australian Programming like the 7PM Project, MasterChef, Offspring, Rush, Talkin Bout Your Generation, Society Murders, Rove Live, Thank God You’re Here….
Remember the company was worth about $2 billion not $500m…
Ok apologies.
General Hospital was definitely on 10 around 1992 I think it might have been it was around the time when luke and laura returned !!!!!
GH was on ten in the 90s…
And it was never on TEN? It was on Nine. I think your point is made now, thanks.
General Hosptial celebrates 50 years on tv.
So
I’m an older viewr (51)
I don’t really like sport
but I beg of you, please leave “NCIS” where it is!
All these reality shows do nothing for me at all!
Message for ch 10 change call sign to single digit number eg 8 or 6 older people have trouble with remotes pressing 2 digits to get to 10 so they give up and stick with 2,7&9 I watched my inlaws
This might help to get a few more viewers
Maybe McLennan has not realised that the AFL, NRL, V8′Ss, FFA have all been dealt with in the last year with multi-year contracts.
To even suggest that Cricket Australia might consider the Youthful/Older Network Ten as a partner when they have incumbent Nine and a well proven aggressive Seven is naive to the extreme !
@NN01
I agree Ten news should be at 6pm. Sure they win 5pm but who cares- its too early. 6-7pm on ten has been a big problem ever since they moved to a 5pm news service.
Game show at 5.30pm, News at 6, Project at 6.30 or 7pm. It worked 30 years on ten, worked 15 years ago on 9, it worked 10 years ago on 7, It will still work. They just need a creditable new service to get the viewers and will help them keep them for the night.
The problem with this new guy…..he has no TV experience, 10 could turn into a news limited “fox and friends” station, and the biggest issue – he has been appointed by one L Murdoch, and Mr Murdochs appointments have not bee all that successful of late.
I can feel another Bob Shanks era coming (10 TV Australia 1989 – fail fail fail)
Amazing that the genral media is so afraid to say that LM is delivering News Corp a free ride in sport, killing off FTA competition and making Ten the voice of the unrepresented billionaires AUstralia has to celebrate and nurture
I didn’t even know General Hospital was still going. I thought it had been axed years ago!!
Yep, Hey Hey and General Hospital – that’ll save the network. And some people say that Hamish McLennan is delusional.
Ten fix your 6:00-7:30 time slot.
6:00 News
6:30 The Report
7:00 Neighbours
7:30 -
Ten needs to make more Australian drama’s like Puberty Blues, some shows that produce talent and is appealing to a very wide range of people of all ages.
Ten have a max of 3 reality shows and a max of 5 US shows.
Make Eleven the home of your reality shows and US imports!
Please ….. no game shows!
chadsterboi ….give that person a job at TEN…I would watch all but The Doctors and the Simpsons…but that is just me…I like the rest!
It’s a pity the new CEO wasn’t there when Ten were bidding for the NRL rights.
Earthquake – you are right “Groundhog Day”.
Skew a bit older but in a youthful manner – revolution or exactly what Ten was doing for years prior to Murdoch joining.
Murdoch & Warburton – Report Card !
Success – Bikie Wars…..
Failures – Breakfast, Lara Bingle, Everybody Dance Now, Young Talent Time, The Shire, US.Idol, Simpsons back at 6.00pm, losing the AFL, axing Video Hits, axing The Circle and of course losing about $200 million in advertising revenue !!!
Well done but it still sounds a little like “Groundhog Day”.
The new CEO is some what correct in getting more sports content. but i will say this it was the man who hired him that threw a big fat spanner into that idea when he sold most of the sporting assets and the ones the network does have are less popular and the broadcast of them have been diminished. So is Ten going to go around in circles now? i think yes,. The former administration had it right poorly executed but right none the less. in a 24 sports channel which would have garnered the older demos. The question for Ten is where will they get the money for more sports events considering the company is already in cost cutting mode and is hemerging money. I said this in my previous post on the sacking of Warbuton and i will say it again. The network cannot move forward with the current board members at the helm and that bbviously includes Lachlan no nothing about FTA TV Murdoch. Until that is tone Ten will continue to flounder and the low ad rates don’t help which all the networks are struggling with. Ten needs to make a better use of their out put deals and their websites of which they have three. in most cases they have the tools but no one who knows how to use them.
In short: “We’re going to keep doing what we’re good at and change the things we’re bad at.”
Groundbreaking strategy, that. No wonder he got the job…
Hamish mate how about Lawn Bowls in HD for us oldies and please include Bingo and top it off with repeats of Mitch Miller and his band
Correction Correction to my 1-59pm comment
My reference to James closing the door behind him, was directed at James P. not James W, because sadly but in hope, and if it is any consolation, he can leave with his head held high, knowing that he won one major battle, against those identified problems at Ten.
A big belated thank you James W. for getting rid of the Lachlan anointed/appointed Paul Henry, and again sadly for you, but in hope you had set your sights the real problems at Ten, but unfortunately it seems they got you first.
But every cloud has a silver lining, you can now delete several channel favourites from your remote, as there is no need to watch Ten’s lot if you are after any news about events at Ten, considering your demise was lucky to be one sentence in length, or even any at all.
If TEN wants to attract an older audience, they could revive Hey Hey or a game show at 7 o’clock.
How does the 3 biggest Tv Shows in recent times not get picked up from any commercial TV especially Ch10 Australia such as The Walking Dead, Game Of Thrones and Breaking Bad?
I watched American Idol the other night and really enjoyed it. The format of the judges just giving comments (and not trying to make their artist sound like they were going to be a worldwide superstar – quoting Ronan) was refreshing and not over the top because they weren’t competing against each other. They disagreed on some performances and that was fine, but it was more about the singers themselves. Much more enjoyable than X Factor which seemed like a teenage rock concert for most of the series. It’s funny how people say they don’t want another talent show but we can have endless cooking and renovations shows.
Start a new breakfast show and a new morning show soon.
And keep shows like: Masterchef and The Biggest Loser.
@ chadsterboi
Decisions, decisions ahead, unfortunately your 9-30 am slot is either a typo or a no go?
Because Hughes is fully committed time wise, researching endless hours of footage, so he can stir Ten’s anti labor pot( in particular PM Ms Gillard) on The Project each night, bearing in mind he has to find and supply extra footage for the ever so unbiased Steve Price.
Why is it that regardless of the size so many organizations faced with similar Crissie , two of the hardest things to achieve is to get the source of problem, to admit they are just that and once identified, get them to put their name on the top of to go list.
Not that this will ever happen at Ten, but if the real agenda of the new CEO is to save Ten, his first priority should be to forget the programming forget target demo’s ages etc.for now.
The main and only target he should be chasing, is chasing Lachlan, Gina and Bolt Out The Door and have James close the door behind him, but leave the lights on as he also leaves.
But targets and agenda’s are the magic word at Ten, and unfortunately only time will reveal the true agenda and who set that agenda and how long ago was that agenda set?
Finally Ten have come to their senses and realised the only way forward is to target older viewers and a wider audience but since they have been ignoring that audience for over 15 years now it won’t be easy to get them back without a complete rebranding and overhaul of the network,.
With reality saturation on other networks, I would love to see a return to good drama that runs for the entire year with characters to know and love, a sitcom or two (almost forgotten what an Australian sitcom is, don’t think we’ve had one this century) and some good classic gameshows.
None of it has to be expensive or glossy but just as long as it’s good and has a good feel to it. That’s the most important thing, if you can get into a viewer’s psyche, then you’ve got them.
Idol could work. Fans vs Favourites.
I can see the super15 on FTA very soon. Tennis and cricket will be contested. I think he should rebrand the network to TEN/FOX. And TEN/SKY News at 5
Sign up Kerri Anne Kennerley and have a day time variety show with a band,guests and a audience. – similar to the Midday show. That would be a point of difference.
6am – 9am Breakfast Show
9am – judge judy
930am – Hughes Kitchen
10am- Bold and the beautiful
1030am – Morning News Hour
1130am Entertainment Tonight
12pm – Midday Show with Kerri Anne
130pm- The Doctors
230pm – Dr Phil
330pm- good chef bad chef
4pm Judge Judy
430pm – Bold and beautiful
5pm – News
6pm – The simpsons
630pm – The project
730 ????????
I think you’d win a few over with this type of programming up until prime time. I’ve been in Tv production and would like the chance to program this cause I think there is a good blend across all demos and this could be a winner for ten???
Any thoughts?
Channel Ten need to bring back Australian Idol and So You Think You Can Dance.
Australian Idol would work by ring ing it back at teh start of the year, to beat The Voice and The X Factor. SYTYCD needs to be on the sunday and monday nights.
Also bring back YTT, when you look at it’s ratings on the sunday night of about 500K viewers it was not a bad figure compared to many of channel tens other programs.
David, it almost feels like Groundhog Day, how appropriate a revisit to your editorial a few months back saying that Ten can innovate and reinvigorate its programming lineup.
As another commenter has said, Ten has missed the boat on much of the major sports rights. They will need to look to compelling alternative programming to bring in any kind of audience.
My guess, is if they want to skew older (but on the cheap) that game shows might be a good way to bring older viewers in.
Congratulations Hamish for looking at an older audience – which ten have ignored for the past 15 years or so ……. but you need your head examined if you think Idol – which is failing incredibly in the ratings ….. will save the day …… if it’s failing now, then why would you want to throw money at it by reinventing the wheel?
The key sporting events is the Olympics, Cricket Australia, Temnis Australia, Australian MotoGP
The new CEO has already left his mark. Attenborough’s Africa, scheduled to start at 18:30, started precisely at (pause for significant drum roll please…..) 18:30 !
Ahhh, I can feel the new wave washing away years of FTA lethargy. Still, it is a good start.
And the new CEO is targeting an older audience… somebody loves me!
I hope they will bring back
General Hosptial !!!
Note to other post:
Having New White Collar, Burn Notice and Blue Bloods on ONE is a step in that direction, would love TEN to buy Chuck off Nine and run another night with Psych and Chuck on, could even place Eureka with that (there are still episodes they haven’t shown) or even a show like Leverage (which sure is over but has 5 seasons unseen on Aust Free To Air as far as I know).
I think its stupid they have age groups they try to work for like 18-39 or what ever it is. The public will watch if theres something good on they dont care about the intended target. I think they should go for the Cricket and bring back a reality/singing show but no Australian Idol they need something that appeals to a wider audience like X factor or AGT
Be pretty easy to chase both younger and older, just do the older demographic on TEN and the Younger Demographic on Eleven. Bumping Glee to there after the 269,000 rating is a start (if it got that on there it would be good), get some focus for people to turn on to. ONE would have been a better home American Horror Story as well, use that channel for that type of programming. They use it now for Sons Of Anarchy, use it for that type of programming, put Californication on there, AHS, Dexter etc (I’d even consider getting the rights for Breaking Bad off the ABC and running that in repeats).
Analogue TV is turning off in December, set the extra channels up now and be patient (as once no analogue those without an STB will have to buy one and the extra channels will be just as viewable as the main ones).
Lets see – American Idol is proving to be an absolute dud at the moment and the incoming CEO is suggesting bringing back Australian Idol? And of course he’ll schedule it up against The Voice or X factor and then wonder why it is being hammered in the ratings.
Seriously the past few years have been a disaster for Ten – not because they don’t have decent shows – but because of incompetence high above.
Get rid of So you think you can dance and replace it with Everybody Dance Now. Get rid of the AFL and replace it with nothing. Get rid of Helen Kapalos who is now thrashing Ten’s Project in the same timeslot. Shove Neighbours to Eleven where it is rating about 500K less than it did on the main channel. Shove the very enjoyable Before The Game from Saturday night to Thursday night – up against the AFL Footy Show on Nine. Bring back YTT – a very enjoyable talent show – and treat it like crap by sticking it on Friday nights up against the AFL. Put a very entertaining MCP up against MKR where it is being thrashed 5 to 1 in the ratings.
I watch Ten more than Seven and Nine combined but that’s not saying much. In fact there is so much rubbish on TV at the moment I’ve rediscovered reading and walking the dogs.
whats good about it?? well they did have a successful morning program till they changed it timeslot and then cancelled it.
they did have a popular soapie bringing viewers to the channel, but they moved that to another channel.
they had a successful reality show about people sharing a house but they effed that up by brining in to radio dj’s no one likes.
and finally they let shareholders run the network.
seems logical to me, to let ELEVEN serve younger viewers, and let TEN move towards older ones
And schedule promos correctly. Sat. night at 8:10 a promo for “Africa” ran for the ep. they ran at 6:30pm “6:30 tonight on TEN”. Happens all too often.
Sad to say I’m starting to fall into this demographic but I don’t watch reality shows. I prefer drama’s and comedies but do like Mythbusters, Top Gear and good documentaries.
TEN needs major sports, rights to other major events and a credible news service as platforms to launch and advertise its other shows – many of which are well produced and historically fresh and innovative – not the cynical clones that the current all-powerful commercial duopoly serves up (and, sadly we swallow in our the millions!). Worth noting that TEN has held the rights to AFL, NRL, Melbourne Cup, Rugby Union, V8 Motorsport, many major golf events, Olympic Games, Commonweath Games etc at various times. Where are they now? Mostly on other FTA networks and, of course, Lachlan Murdoch’s Fox Sports. I would also like to see a list of TEN’s innovative programming over the years e.g first breakfast programme, No 96, the Panel, Big Brother, Offspring, Thank God Your Here etc – this would be a long list. Just shows commercial TV can be fresh and innovative but it doesn’t count for anything if you can’t get people to watch.
Yes, very much what carolemorrissey said. Australian Idol was great in the past but now with all these other shows that exist and that weren’t there before why would you try to bring idol back to life when it offers less than the others.
Should have just tried for big brother again ( though maybe you can’t do it just yet with 9 having it.)
The cricket and @l^mp!cs are the only key sport not locked up for the next 5 years. They can bid all they want for the cricket, but they won’t beat Nine who have a last bid option.
And Ten is already targeting 18-49s since they lost most of their 16-39s. They can try targeting over 50s but 7 year old repeats of New Tricks are beating NCIS on Tuesdays.
I don’t think this is designed to mean anything other than I’m here now and everything will be fine. The guy doesn’t start work for a month and has no FTA experiencing.
Yeah, Australian Idol did well, because back then it was the only ‘talent’ show on. Now we have The Voice, X Factor and Australia’s Got Talent. We don’t need another talent show. And not all of us ‘older’ viewers like sport.
Good to see that he is thinking outside the square.
I wonder what he means by key sporting events?
I would have thought that most of the events which would rate are already locked in elsewhere.
He wants to target older viewers but doesn’t rule out Australian Idol………get it right buddy, us older viewers don’t want to warch Idol or necessarily sport, some decent drama would help and treat NCIS , The Good Wife and Homeland like the excellent shows that they are.
Australian Idol..WTF… Don’t do it! Oh shit that would knock the new guy off before hr even got a run at the job.