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The dumping ground of television
It’s become one of the stories of the 2008 television year: dumping shows ad infinitum. This month we’ve lost Fringe, Cold Case, Wipeout, Battlefronts, Kitchen Nightmares USA, Kath & Kim (US), 90210, Bondi Rescue: Bali and even a repeat series of Friends. Dropping shows isn’t new, but its rapidity is increasing, confusing audiences and disintegrating trust between viewers and networks.
Nine’s Head of Acquisitions, Daytime and HD programming Les Sampson spoke to TV Tonight about the challenges and ramifications of scheduling.
As we all know, delivering demographics to advertisers is an artform. Programming …
Full season for Knight Rider
NBC has now picked up Knight Rider for a full season.
The network has ordered another nine episodes of the action-drama, following an earlier thumbs up for four more, which is good news for Seven.
Knight Rider’s pickup is the first of NBC’s new fall series to receive a full season order, joining CBS’ The Mentalist, Fox’s Fringe and CW’s 90210 -two of which are already struggling in Oz.
In the US its most recent episode was seen by 6.9 million viewers.
The telemovie managed 902,000 viewers when it premiered here on Seven. But Seven …
Knight Rider wins extra episodes
Knight Rider has been given an order for another four episodes by NBC -good news for the Seven Network which owns the rights to the show in Australia.
It follows extra episodes ordered for CBS’ The Mentalist, both just shy of a full season.
So far Fringe and 90210 have been picked up for full seasons.
In the US, Knight Rider has had a shaky start, so the four episode approval is a cautiously optimistic move by NBC.
In Australia the telemovie grabbed 902,000 viewers. Seven has indicated it will air the series in October …
Jason Priestly to direct 90210
Jason Priestly doesn’t want to appear in it, but he has agreed to direct an episode 90210 later this season.
It seems he will direct this season’s 18th episode, which Aussie’s won’t see until summer, if we’re lucky…
Meanwhile, EW.com reports that Shannen Doherty is nearing a deal to return for two more episodes later this season. Executive producer Gabe Sachs would only confirm that she’s “in talks,” but sources insist “she’s coming back. The deal isn’t officially done, but it’s happening.”
Sachs says Doherty actually appearing in Priestly’s ep is yet to be …
Good news for The Mentalist, Entourage
CBS has ordered six additional scripts for The Mentalist, just shy of the nine that would give it a full season.
In its first two outings in the US, the show has won its time slot with an average of 15.4 million viewers.
On the back of the NRL Grand Final on Sunday night Nine managed a good 1.33m viewers, and gives the show a repeat outing on Wednesday night.
Along with Fringe and 90210 winning full seasons, this puts Aussie network choices in good stead -despite 90210 being bumped until summer.
Meanwhile HBO has …
ABC beats TEN as Seven wins
It was the week that American critics began to knife Kath & Kim (officially), ABC told staff it would cut up to 35 production jobs, Nine denied having a contract with the wife of a convicted crim, an actor lambasted his former soap, Today Tonight announced its next host would be a sports presenter and said its film crew helped -not hounded- an interviewee, Seven ’streamlined’ its Lotto results, buyers eyed a key production company, the Imparja / Nine Darwin deal fell apart, a TV critic died, and suddenly so did …
TEN on tenterhooks
It’s been an awful week for TEN, Taken Out, 90210 and Bondi Rescue: Bali were all erased within seven days of each other.
As of Friday TEN has only had three shows above the 1m mark -and one of those was a repeat.
On two nights this week TEN finished behind the ABC, with two more results yet to be handed down. As it tries to save face from a week of crushing blows, TEN is in danger of ending the week behind the ABC.
Ominously, Fridays are often weak for TEN, while Saturdays …
9021-0h dear. TEN drops teen soap.
Less than a week after dropping Taken Out from its schedule, Channel TEN has now yanked 90210, including plans to slate the show on Friday nights from next week.
Only five of the episodes have aired.
The show started in Australia with a double episode attracting 837,000 and 666,000 in early September. This week it averaged 616,000.
TEN had already announced a move it to Friday nights from next week, replacing it with Supernatural, but that now won’t happen. TEN maintains that it still believes in the show and it will return later in the year.
In …
TEN’s tears for Idol
Cheer up Tom Williams, Channel TEN is crying a lot more than you today after Australian Idol’s lousy Monday performance in the ratings.
TEN finished fourth again (it seems to be pretty regular for Mondays) with just 15.5% share for the evening. Only 893,000 viewers tuned in for the verdict show. Not only was it beaten by The Force, Border Security, Top Gear Australia and Australian Story -it was even beaten by Top Gear Australia in the all important 16 - 39 demographic.
Worse was to follow with 90210 attracting only 616,000, but …
Seriously confusing Mondays
Updated. In the musical chairs that is Network TEN’s Mondays (seriously) comes another round of changes to keep viewers on their toes. Have some sympathy for the poor folk at Pagemasters who have to enter these into all your print guides…
Now it seems Supernatural is returning, with a double season premiere at 8:30pm Monday October 6th. The first hour screened in the US last week. A week later it screens at 9:30pm.
That pushes 90210 out to a new time of Fridays at 8:30pm, edging the movie The Bourne Supremacy to 9:30pm.
Plans …
Burn Notice… bad news week
Burn Notice fans are not a bunch to quietly. Last time TEN took the show off air they protested so much the network did a backflip within 24 hours. Part of that was also due to the good ratings it won during the Olympics.
But it seems they just don’t have enough fans. How else do you explain that it’s being rested by TEN -again.
One more episode will air next Monday, “Rough Seas” episode 7 of the second season. Three more eps will go begging for now.
The drama also didn’t air this …
90210 wins full season
America’s CW has added nine additional episodes of 90210’s original order of 13, bringing the total order to 22. This makes the teen soap the first series of the 2008 Fall season to win a full season, after only 3 episodes have aired.
Following its 4.9 million viewers - the highest-rated series premiere in the CW’s two-year history - it dropped in its second airing but recovered last week to 3.3 million viewers. That was enough of a vote of confidence for CW, despite mostly disappointing reviews. It seems holding off …