Why The Project is doing it tough, with no help from TEN.
Pitting The Project against Neighbours is a great way to cannibalise your audience.
- Published by David Knox
- on
- Filed under News, Top Stories
Question without notice to Network TEN:
Why on earth are you playing a premium first-run Drama series in Neighbours against a premium first-run Light Entertainment series in The Project, when they are both shooting for the same demographic?
How is this good business sense?
Which show is it supposed to be helping?
Aren’t you asking your viewers to decide between one or the other?
Wouldn’t it make more sense to protect your first-run local content rather than cannibalise the audience?
The Project has endured so many Programming changes that it has now ended up competing for the same audience as Neighbours, yet this was never the intent.
When Neighbours moved to ELEVEN in January 2011 it was scheduled against state-based news editions, with George Negus at 6pm. It was an alternative offering and The 7pm Project, as it was then known, was running against reruns of Everybody Loves Raymond.
By April 2011 TEN moved Negus to 6:30 against Neighbours, but the two shows were still arguably shooting for a different audience -one was serious current affairs and the other a youthful soap audience.
By October of the same year the Negus experiment was axed and The 7pm Project became The Project, running for an hour at 6:30pm. That was the first time it went head to head with Neighbours. But by February 2012 the show moved again to 6pm as TEN moved its Reality juggernauts back to 7pm. It was a big ask to compete with 6pm news bulletins.
The most recent move was a return to 6:30pm last December, again commencing head to head with ELEVEN’s soap. The show has now endured so many timeslot changes that it has impacted on a loyal audience.
Two years ago when it was a half hour 7pm Project, the show was frequently above 700,000 viewers. Admittedly TEN was in much better shape and the landscape had not fragmented as much as it has now.
But last week it averaged 435,000, only just ahead of The Bold and The Beautiful on 400,000. At the same time another 300,000 viewers are watching Neighbours on ELEVEN.
Both are arguably shooting for the 16-39 and 18-49 demographics. TEN is effectively forcing one mass audience of 700,000 to split into two.
Even more bizzarely, all this time Neighbours has not attracted Drama points for the network when it could have if it had been played at 6pmon TEN. As of this week the government has ruled that first run Dramas on multichannels will finally attract points.
But it’s time to consider moving Neighbours to 6pm to encourage the same audience to feed into The Project at 6:30pm, coaxed by direct promos. Lifting The Project would also help give TEN’s 7:30 shows a stronger lead-in.
There has been some chatter that the license fee TEN has paid for Neighbours precludes it from switching it back to TEN. Both the network and FremantleMedia Australia declined to comment when asked by TV Tonight.
On Monday, TEN’s CEO Hamish McLennan acknowledged to the joint Senate committee that TEN paid lower or “market” rates for content that was designed to screen on a multichannel.
Whatever the limitations, my message to TEN is to put your first run local content against US reruns and find a better way to flow audiences from one local show to another.
Stop making the audience choose. Do what you can to protect your talent. Programming 101.
67 Responses
talking at work about this and everyone here agrees Neighbours should stay at 6.30 as it is the time parents are able to relax and watch Neighbours with their children, who prably are not that into The Project or is there any law saying you cant show the project on Ten and eleven at the same time. It would be anitersting experiment because some people do not bother watching the secondary channels.
From day one the The Project should have been a late night panel type show.
Hughsey and Charlie have now become these polished semi-funny news readers. Who are restricted to what they say. From the first episodes you could see they were struggling to not swear and let it rip. Which is what they should have been allowed to do in the first place.
My entire family love The Project. It offers the usual news headlines but also interest stories (public interest stories) that are really intriguing and captivating, compared to those offered my ACA and TT. Hughsey definitely isn’t as funny as he was back on Rove, but he offers a lighter side to the panel, and having a different fourth member every week from varying backgrounds really adds to the stories presented – such as when Dr Andrew is on and there are medical stories which he puts his 2 cents in on, Natasha on any political news, and Steve Price on just about anything as being a radio jockey he has an opinion on everything (but everyone should have a look at the stories he done this week on child unemployment in Australia – truly inspirational). It is really hard though also being a Block fan and missing the second half of every show because TEN don’t offer reality programming at 7pm (even though I’m pretty sure they were the first network to back with Big Brother – correct me if I’m wrong). Here’s hoping TEN can be bigger and better this year!
I choose neighbours over the project. but would be good if I could watch both.
Have to agree! I can’t help but notice Neighbours has dropped in viewers since the projects move. I also think the way Ten treat the talented project team is a tad criminal. I never actually know when the shows gonna start and often forget its on due to watching ACA or Today Tonight following on from my 6 o’clock news fix. No wonder Ten has problems.
Yeah, I watch The Project and Neighbours so it is definitely hard for me so I end up missing pieces of both programs as I flip between them.
The days were great when the project crew used to make promos for those who were watching Neighbours. I think they may have even been live promos telling the audience to stick around after Neighbours or when Neighbours moved to 11 they’d tell people to move over to 10 after Neighbours was over.
Eleven is a join venture between Ten and CBS. Neighbours moving to Eleven was part of that deal. It is not a simple matter of Ten doing what-ever it wants.
Secondary channels were a mistake. They were an excuse to tie up more spectrum, after HD was revealed as gimmick, to keep it from being used by competition and to try and damage Pay TV.
A semi-autonomous secondary channel that competes for your most profitable demographic was a really stupid mistake. One Ten are paying for big time.
Such a pity. The Project has become a great show. It’s funny, covers actual news and the panel have fantastic chemistry. Ten really need to help this show more.
On a side note, I’m finding since the start of this year that the news they cover is often very Melbourne-based. I’m from Melbourne, so it doesn’t bother me. But surely its not good for ratings.
Sadly I think the biggest problem with The Project is that it isn’t very good.
It has no chance against the strong reality formats or news programs from the rival networks.
Ten needs to replace it with reality strip stat.
They should get rid of the Project. Absolute left wing garbage.
Hear Hear !! (Clapping excessively)
I think many viewers would be switching from News to Neighbours at 6.30. Changing timeslots could do more harm than good.
Neighbours should probably return to 6.30 on TEN and reinstate The 7pm Project.
Spot on. I’ve said all along Neighbours should be back on Ten, but at 6pm. Neighbours viewers are either younger and therefore not watching the news, or older and more likely watching ABC news.
The Project should stay at 6.30, but i think it should go back to a half hour program. It offers an alternative to the crappy tabloid trash on 7 & 9.
Ten started the trend of reality shows at 7pm and it worked brilliantly for them. No idea why they don’t put Masterchef / Biggest Loser back at 7.
We are talking about Ten here. Nothing they do makes sense anymore. And they haven’t made a good programming decision in years, hence the position they’re in
Good on you David, I love that you go in to bat for us. We all want 10 back.
Better yet, move The Project to 6pm on Eleven. It would serve as a “news alternative” to its intended demographic, who possibly don’t watch traditional 6pm news anyway. It would also serve as a lead-in to Neighbours, given they (are supposed to) appeal to the same target audiences.
I couldnt agree more, they should switch Neighbours with the simpsons and have simpsons running 6:30 weekdays on Eleven.
What you say makes total sense but Ten aren’t smart enough to do it.
At the time I’m sure moving Neighbours off the main channel was a good idea at the time but I agree it’s not working, maybe it should have moved back to TEN at 6pm, just before The Project?
I like “The Project” and sometimes wait for the encore up late, but at 6.30pm it is Neighbours time, put the project back at 7.00 pm where it used to be and also put Neighbours back on TEN, where it belongs. I am not in the age group of either I am in my 60’s and watch Neighbours, if I am out it gets recorded on 3 PVR’s just to ensure the recording is there.
By the way I like the fact that I am “youthful” Thanks.
Interesting TEN’s programming is being blamed, we gave up watching the show a 18 months ago, looks like others are now following suit. Was on in the background in my hotel a couple of nights ago and is past it’s prime now, too many revolving presenters, Hughesy past his best, trying to too hard to get something funny out of wach segment, Carrie very pretty but all fluff now, Charlie even more arrogant, not funny and more left wing as ever.
Great article, David. You should be the programmer at Ten. Seriously.
Re Neighbors, I remember it rating really badly before it was moved to Eleven, which made sense at the time. But it’s lifted it’s game and is in top form at the moment. This weeks episodes have been great with the wedding and explosion.
Surely they can stop paying “market” rates and put it back on the main channel?
The Project is one of ch10s most consistant performing shows. In the new fragmented landscape its numbers are ok and there could be an argument that by pitting it against Neighbours the network has fully secured its main target demo. I am not convinced that if you ran them consecutively you would secure an audience of 700k for each.
So called lead ins are becoming less and less relevant, the remote is king and catch up tv online is always available. The Last Resort gets one of the biggest lead ins across the week and its ratings are…….Some lead ins may work, but this mentality is so 2004….antique
Never thought of it this way, great article David. Always assumed it was just because of the constant time-slot changes, not the fact that they’re competing against Nine, Seven and themselves.
Although that’s just Network Ten for you. No idea what they’re doing, even with great Australian shows like The Project and I assume Neighbours.
I see some merit to your argument. And no doubt there is some over lap between the Neighbours and Project audience. But you can’t presume everyone that likes Project on Ten also likes Neighbours on Ten’s digital offshoot Eleven.
40% of people also have DVRs and can watch both if they wish.
But you are right mostly I think. Maybe it’s time to something like
TEN
5.00 Ten News
6.00 Neighbours
6.30 The Project
7.30 Primetime
And put The Simpsons back on Eleven for an hour long block 5-6pm.