Time for a numbers shake-up
This week is a window of opportunity but where will the numbers fall?
- Published by David Knox
- on
- Filed under News
This week begins something of a potential ratings reset, with the end of MasterChef and three Reality shows hitting our screens.
MasterChef has been on an upward surge for TEN and will surely top the rankings tomorrow night for its grand final. Both Seven and Nine have held off launching their new formats, and offer no compelling alternatives tomorrow.
On Tuesday both Nine and Seven launch untried new shows: The Hot Plate and Restaurant Revolution. You will be struggling to find any reviews of either show. Seven’s is presumably editing until the last moment and has not offered media previews. Nine, in a continuing effort to keep its powder dry from the opposition, offers previews only for journos who will attend on site.
TEN has neither yet offered reviews for The Bachelor nor The Great Australian Spelling Bee, launching on Monday next week.
These are curious choices when strong word of mouth is still the best marketing tool of all and all three provide online media hubs.
SBS also returns Go Back to Where You Came From on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (it offered previews several weeks ago) -a far more considered topic, but can it match previous seasons?
As The Voice pulls back to a single night a week there is now an opportunity for the numbers to shift. Seven has had a disappointing few weeks allowing Nine to make up some long overdue lost ground (the latter is still in single figures for weeks won).
Two food shows head to head is hardly a win for anybody. TEN should be commended for providing some commercial alternatives. Sadly that’s no guarantee of winning the battle.
19 Responses
Nine is really strong at the moment and I won’t be surprised that HotPlate comes out victorious.
I’d tip Restaurant Revolution to be the winner here, because its got the local and interactive element with viewers to build interest. That being said, after 3 months of MasterChef I don’t plan on investing in another cooking show.
Ten could benefit once again from having a point of difference. They’ve made the right decision in keeping the Spelling Bee away from the similar skewing The Voice/Dancing on Sundays. Right now, they’d be hoping that viewers will sample the cooking shows on Tuesday and go surfing for something different come Wednesday.
I’m tipping Seven to win the battle. I agree with the comments – 6.30 Sunday was surely the obvious timeslot for Spelling Bee. Is Spelling Bee a 1 or 2 night show? And what could TEN have for Sunday instead….
That wasn’t the correct time slot at 6.30 Sundays as I think it was suppose to be at 7.30 Sundays and Mondays. Its 2 nights a week. They could have comedy shows like The Odd Couple, Bondi Rescue, Gold Coast Cops and Scorpion to fill up the schedule. I think Ten made a smart move by moving Spelling Bee to Mondays/Tuesdays
Gold Coast Cops / Bondi Rescue are 6:30 and more Modern Family repeats are 7:30 Sunday, so it’s not exactly compelling. Scorpion appears to still be some way off. Spelling Bee should really have gone 6:30, but only where you have something solid to follow.
@tvf There are options to reality. Try watching the ABC or SBS. You’ll find that they often have some really great programs. Or read a book or watch a DVD!
Of course there are other options to reality tv but this article was about reality tv and that’s why my comments focused on that.
So you’re asking if Reality is your only option yet dismiss all other genres and channels…..
For example, I’ve looked at the tv guide tomorrow at 7.30pm and there is nothing scheduled on free to air that I’m interested in watching. In that timeslot the main shows being promoted are two food reality shows discussed in the article above which I’m definitely not watching. What I would be interested in watching in that timeslot is a current “drama” but there is none scheduled tomorrow at 7.30pm. Frankly a drama scheduled before 9pm is a rarity these days. When my tv preference is current dramas and what’s mostly on free to air is reality then I’m pretty sure “my options are reality, reality or reality”….or turning off the tv and doing something else. It was just a simple comment about too much reality on tv.
So my options are reality, reality and reality?
Looks like it – but we won’t be watching any of them. I have plenty of drama recordings to fill in the evenings.
Thanks for getting what my comment meant!
I still haven’t decided what show I’ll watch. None really appeal to me. After watching MKR I am over cooking!
I just hope the spelling bee finishes at 8.30 there is no need to make it later so young children can watch with their families. Personally I think 6.30 Sunday might have been better but then again it would go up against The Voice.
I think both the food shows will fail miserably and Ten will come out (deservedly) by showing alternative programming. Betting between 500-600k for RR and THP.
I’ll take that bet. Even money?
Lock it in!
If you’re a Masterchef fan and have just invested virtually every night of the last three months in the show are you really going to jump on to a new food reality show the next night? And like wise if you’ve not watched Masterchef it’s highly unlikely you’ll be too interested in these “new” shows either.
Obviously neither wants the other to get the head start but really do think Seven and Nine would be better off giving viewers a few nights to actually miss Masterchef before jumping in with something to fill the gap.
So if these two cooking shows start next week, what’s the scedule for The Block so it finishes early December? And what else do nine have to go against The Block?