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Best International Shows are not on Free to Air

Readers indicate Netflix & Foxtel have the top US shows as they struggle to find new offerings on Free to Air.

All the shows battling it out for Best New International Show in the TV Tonight Awards can be found on either Netflix & Foxtel -but there are mixed views on which was best for 2016.

According to current polling, the most-popular new international show on Free to Air barely scrapes into the top 10.

The trend reflects that TV networks have been abandoning their US output deals in favour of local content.

Voting for the annual reader awards has been open for a week.

By contrast the Best New Australian Show is dominated by Free to Air titles, although there are Pay TV and Streaming titles pulling votes too.

Best Aussie Drama is showing a clear front-runner, along with Light Entertainment & Reality, but it’s neck and neck in the Comedy stakes. It’s still too tight for Favourite Male, but a Favourite Female now has her nose out in front.

Meanwhile The Story of the Year and Biggest Blunder of the Year look set to recognise two different events, rather than the same.

You can cast your vote here.

16 Responses

  1. FTA is pretty much all about the Big Bang theory. Their best shows they put on late at night and then shuffle times (Chicago Fire, Scandal). Prefer to watch streaming now. Greater variety and we get to watch shows like Stranger Things, The OA, and old faves like Lost.

  2. I have noticed FTA Networks don’t seem to offer much new stuff these days, it’s more of the same stuff every yr now. Time to open your wallets 7, 9 & 10 and buy some new good Shows! Not crap like another 24!!! the last one failed so why buy another

  3. I think these few comments explain the problem for those FTA viewers who refuse to pay for their entertainment, FTA TV is currently trying to sustain a commercial niche market that relies on parochial audience support, to some degree the rise of reality TV has saved the bacon of the main FTA channels, this simplistic voyeuristic entertainment that fills the prime time slot serves it’s purpose but also puts a lot of distraction in the way of U.S.shows which due to vested interest are quickly slotted into different unattractive time slots usually when people have gone to bed. In most cases the average FTA viewer only want to wind down in front of the TV after work anyway.

  4. It’s becoming increasingly frustrating to me when I see new US shows on ET or Extra & think oh that looks great, I hope we get it here only for it to go to foxtel or a streaming service. I don’t know why they can’t do like they do with shows like Chicago Fire & The Americans & have a 2nd run on 7 or one of the other channels once it’s aired on the other channels, even if it’s a year later. They do that with movies, why not TV shows?

  5. Are we surprised by this? FTA just about always bow to the lowest common denominator to get the most ratings, quality shows always tend to fall outside this and often end up on paid services. And now with the like of Netflix for so little per month the FTA networks need to be worried!

  6. Channel 7 used to offer some great shows that catered for a range of audiences from Quantico, HTGAW, Blindpot – these are a few recent ones but last years treatment of them turned us off. I must agree Netflix has a range of shows that have been far better – especially given they aren’t pulled off airat a moment’s notice. I don’t think 7 will ever promote US shows in the same way again hence why MKR will get all the advertisement time until Feb ?

    1. I think in the end that is the biggest problem, total disregard for the viewing public…

      I gave up trying to track the chopping and changing of HTGAWM last time but when it started up this season I decided to give it another go…we all know how that ended up for me!

      So now we stuck with a chicken/egg situation where they point and say US shows don’t get traction.

      1. I had hoped they would bring back How to get away with murder during the summer months but not so far. And Quantico just disappeared too without explanation.

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