News Archive:
TV Forums report card
Since the advent of online, television fans have had ways of letting networks know what they think. No more writing letters to newspapers, it’s as easy as logging onto a network website anonymously and speaking your mind.
TV Tonight has been looking at how our networks embrace free and open discussion. Here’s how they stacked up.
ABC:
Within the ABC site there are individual show pages, many of which have open forums. Shows including Enough Rope, Compass, Can We Help?, At The Movies, Life at 3, Good Game, Media Watch, Spicks and Specks and …
Gone: Prison Break. Bumped: Heroes
Wentworth Miller’s Prison Break is the latest casualty of network programmers with Seven removing it from the schedule until summer. Earlier this month Nine did the same thing to Fringe.
The drama attracted 427,000 viewers last night, which was actually up from 389,000 the week before. Seven lost the night to the Nine Network.
But Seven has had problems with Heroes, netting a disappointing 624,000, dropping from The Amazing Race’s 902,000. It was beaten by RPA’s 1.02m and a repeat of Law & Order: SVU on 930,000.
Race was #1 in key demographics 16-39, …
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 …
Practice makes perfect…
America’s ABC has picked up Private Practice for a full season.
The network has ordered nine more episodes of the Grey’s Anatomy spin-off.
Despite the US positivity, the show has languished in Australia, unable to match the enthusiasm for its parent-drama.
Practice is the latest network series to get a full-season pickup, following NBC’s Knight Rider and Chuck, CBS’ The Mentalist, Fox’s Fringe and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.
Most of those shows have had an uneven reception in Australia too.
Source: Hollywood Reporter
Fan fury at Nine
Fans of Fringe who were unaware the show had been pulled from Nine’s current schedule got a rude shock last night and vented their anger in online messageboards.
They were universally vehement in their displeasure with Nine’s programming.
This site alone now totals 95 posts in one thread alone.
Over on Nine’s own messageboard there were more furious comments:
Fringe Dweller: C’mon channel 9, have some balls and tell the people why Fringe has been pulled! Oh I’m sorry, you don’t care about what people like. Maybe we could lose one of the four …
Now it’s a CSI: NY double
UPDATED: Nine now advises a movie to replace both CSIs, “Must Love Dogs”. Both CSIs now out, guys….
FURTHER UPDATE: Now it’s The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.
Nine will air two CSI: New York episodes on Wednesday November 5th at 8:30 and 9:30pm. That pushes out The Mentalist for the night.
The double ep is a result of the US election on November 4 with no episode of The Mentalist airing in America. Similarly TEN has no episode of House for the night, playing double eps of Life.
For Nine it means in a matter …
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 …
Current affairs surge at Seven
It was the week that current affairs and finance dominated. Ray Martin lamented the state of commercial news and current affairs at the same time as a former sports presenter won his first week behind a public affairs desk, a CEO lashed out at his rival networks but shot off about the starting date of his new current affairs project, while the network signed a former Sunday journo, TEN reported a 25% slump in earnings, a Telstra boss said Foxtel subscriptions were slowing, another Murdoch stitched up a production deal with …
Gone: Hole in the Wall, Wipeout, Motorway Patrol.
Fringe disappearing from Nine’s schedule wasn’t the only change within the programming department today.
It made switches to its Friday line-up from next week too.
Instead it’s bringing movies back to Friday nights, specifically, the Harry Potter series.
Harry Potter & the Philosopher’s Stone will air next Friday Oct 24 at 7:30pm. Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets airs a week later, Friday October 31st.
As a result a Friday edition of Wipeout and Hole in the Wall are out of schedule and plans to return Motorway Patrol are gone -thank goodness.
Gone: Fringe
Nine has just pulled the plug on one of it’s big new dramas, Fringe.
The big budget “thrilling new drama” the network recently promoted as with a big marketing push has been pulled from it schedule effective immediately.
Nine will instead move The Mentalist into its place from next Wednesday at 8:30pm, followed by CSI: NY.
This week the series rated a disappointing 671,000 viewers -thrashed by Criminal Minds’ 1.47m, beaten by Spicks and Specks 1.23m, and pipped by House’s 885,000 viewers.
The complex, futuristic drama starring Australian actors Anna Torv and John Noble has …
Airdate: Mythbusters: Super Sized Myths
UPDATED: Now shelved to be replaced by The Mentalist. CSI: NY remains at 9:30pm.
Nine has a two hour Mythbusters special “Super Sized Myths” set to air later this month.
The boys from Mythbusters are generally associated with SBS, but have also been seen fleetingly on the Seven Network.
The special will air at 8:30pm Wednesday October 29, meaning no Fringe or CSI: NY for that night.
Hosts Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage are back in this two hour special which hits everything possible! Sharks, taxis, rocket cars and cruise ships.
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 …