News Archive:
07 / 08: Production report
2007 / 2008 was a very good twelve months for production.
Australian television drama produced 690 hours of television this year compared to 615 last year. The increase in hours was due mainly to local series/serials. Spending was also up, reaching $256m. The previous year was $253m. It was the best result since 2001/2.
Commercial free-to-air broadcasters spent $190m, 63% of the finance, for this year’s TV drama slate. Victoria pipped NSW in film and television spending with $250m in production, over NSW’s $239m. Queensland comprised $131m of production spending, With SA $32m, …
Rafters attracts international business
Packed To The Rafters has been sold to South Africa, Belgium, The Netherlands, several Scandinavian countries and Ireland and now there is strong interest from American producers - including Lost’s Damon Lindelhof and Carlton Cuse.
Seven Programmer Tim Worner confirmed he recently took a copy of the pilot to the US.
“After the second week’s ratings results here, the overseas people just came out of the trees to buy the show - US networks, US studios, UK producers - and everyone wanted copies,” he told the Daily Telegraph.
“It certainly already has some …
Seven forces Rafters fansite to shut
The Seven Network has muscled in on a website packedtotherafters.com.au run by an 18 year old fan, after it deemed his site would cause confusion with the show’s official website.
Seven’s own website is at the clunky address http://au.tv.yahoo.com/b/packed-to-the-rafters/
But now the network wants the webmaster, Michael, who started the site based on his love of the new Seven drama, to close down the site and hand over the domain.
Michael says he was shocked when he read the email from Seven lawyers.
“I couldn’t believe they required me to hand over the …
2008: The Top 200
And so as the 2008 ratings year concludes, here’s how they stacked up…
The biggest audience for the year was, unsurprisingly, the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, averaging 2.82m viewers. Late on a Friday evening that’s quite a feat -it didn’t start until 10pm AEST.
The biggest locally produced show was the AFL Grand Final at 2.49m viewers.
The most popular series was Packed to the Rafters at 1.94m viewers averaged across its series. If it weren’t for Victoria’s Underbelly ban, the result might have been different.
A note about these lists. As is …
Final week (almost) a Seven sweep
It was the last week of ratings for 2008, and the week all the free to air broadcasters bonded (temporarily) for Freeview with 4 of 5 metro CEOs there for the party, Nine scrambled to refinance its loans, an Australian actress was trapped in international terror, Seven sacked a reporter, former Sunday journos won the Gold Walkley, Nine let go another network celebrity, ACMA slapped Nine three times for A Current Affair, Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares and Spiderman, TEN dumped 90210 and rearranged its summer schedule again, a gangster’s wife was at …
Cover Story
Published for 51 years, TV Week is an absolute survivor in both the television and magazine industry. And like all survivors it has had to embrace change in order to remain the market leader. While other TV mags have fallen by the wayside, TV Week under the Australian Consolidated Press empire, is still a force to be reckoned with.
In Australian television stars always know they’d made it when they landed their first TV Week cover. It’s the Rolling Stone of Aussie telly. But what does it take to get a cover …
Freeview. Free party.
At last night’s Freeview launch at Parliament in Canberra there were CEOs, stars, buses and booze. And a lil thing about digital telly too.
Network stars and bosses mingled with politicians in the Mural Hall including Spicks and Specks’ Myf Warhurst, All Saints’ Kip Gamblin, the Bananas in Pyjamas and Gladiators’ Tom Williams. Also in attendance were Underbelly’s Les Hill, Underbelly II’s Dieter Brummer, The Chaser’s Julian Morrow, and Packed to the Rafters stars George Houvardas and Hugh Sheridan, as well as Good News Week’s Paul McDermott.
According to Mediaweek, Nine was represented …
Ratings logic as easy as ABC
There are more (in)glorious quotes today from network execs to marvel over. It’s nice to see the ABC thrown into the pack for once, too.
ABC TV director Kim Dalton has told The Australian he was particularly pleased that so many hit programs on the ABC this year were Australian-made.
“In 2008, more people watched ABC TV than ever before and that demonstrates the importance of the public broadcaster and the way we connect with all Australians,” Mr Dalton said.
While Seven will win the year in ratings weeks and total viewers, Nine …
You better smile. It’s Nine.
It was the week that the industry took action on piracy against an ISP, news crews were assaulted by angry locals, a regional broadcaster axed its entire news department, a court ruled regional licenses must be sold, a reality host pleaded guilty to welfare fraud, another reality show mucked up correct voting information, Screen Australia’s new CEO signalled a smoother ride for film over television, a daytime soap would be destined for primetime, the axe fell on more US shows and an old sitcom face left for the bus depot in …
Another week, another 2m.
Packed to the Rafters shows no sign of letting up, last night passing the magical 2m mark.
In its second last week, the show grabbed 2.016m viewers, Tuesday’s #1 most-watched programme for total viewers, 16-39s, 18-49s and 25-54s.
Together with Seven’s other formidable Tuesday line-up the network romped home with a 37.2% share over Nine’s 23.7% and TEN’s 21.3%. By the barest of margins, TEN finished the night first in the 16-39yo demographic with 30.5% to Seven’s 30.2%.
Mark Priestley’s final All Saints appearance also scored with 1.4m viewers.
Rafters will see the year out …
Are we there yet?
It was the week that everybody said they had new toys to unwrap, TEN declared the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Aussie producers gathered on the Gold Coast for their annual gab-fest just as Nine decided not to revisit the only drama set there, TiVo dumped one of its key partners, the last original member of Hi-5 chose to retire, the axe fell on several shows in the US, network programmers tried to defend late amendments, Seven apologised for comments made by one of its stars, Nine was revealed as wanting “no …
The race that tops the nation
It was the week a Pay TV spokesperson called broadcaster feuding “juvenile” while another exec wanted better inclusion at the digital switch table, a TEN programmer conceded it had massive timeslot problems, Nine axed production staff, Sonia Kruger was criticised for an on air joke, a former soap star said he didn’t really enjoy soaps, belated guide amendments left viewers confused, an ABC journo pleads guilty to charges in Singapore, drug charges against a Seven personality were dropped, Seven revisits its C7 case against Pay television, the ABC launches its new …