News Archive:
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 …
Superstar Dancers of the World
Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe of American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance fame have developed a new global dance competition tentatively titled Superstar Dancers of the World (please change that titled pronto, boys!).
Australia will be one of eight countries set to participate in the battle, which sounds part Eurovision and part circus acrobatics.
“This dance competition is very much like the Olympics,” said Craig Plestis from NBC.
“The physical feats these athletes and artists pull is mind-blowing, and we’re so excited to form what we hope will be the definitive …
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 …
TEN the biggest loser in earnings
Despite a positive start to the year with So You Think You Can Dance and The Biggest Loser, Network TEN has today reported a 25% slump in earnings for 2007/08 financial year. But TEN lost steam with Big Brother.
The network signalled today it will still hold on Idol next year, ahead of its 2009 launch.
TEN said earnings at its television business fell 11.8% to $209 million, falling short of its own forecast in June, when it warned TV profits would be down about 10% because of the economic slowdown and Seven’s …
Partying Brooke Hanson misses media commitments
Everyone who participates in eviction style shows knows part of the gig requires media, including post-show interviews. Whenever anyone is turfed from Big Brother, Australian Idol, So You Think You Can Dance or Dancing with the Stars there is always a solid day of media interviews.
Yesterday, Brooke Hanson, who was sent packing from Seven’s dance card on Sunday night missed her round of interviews, putting her out of favour with Seven publicity.
Hanson was scheduled to do five phone interviews yesterday morning, including one with with Seven’s online arm Yahoo!7, but …
Mark who?
“Do you think there is a void left by Mark? I don’t think so,” Dicko has said today in an interview.
That would be Mark Holden, as if there was any doubt…
“It’s all about the talent this year and we’re keen to move away from the image of bickering middle-aged people and show people what they want to see - young people on a journey.”
Dicko also commented on other changes to the Australian Idol format this year, including the extra voting that proceeds during the Monday verdict show.
“We took a look at …
TV’s night of double acts
Sunday night was very probably a first in Australian television, as two commercial networks broadcast two different shows from the one building as Rove and Dancing with the Stars went head to head last night.
At Global Studios, South Melbourne (formerly 7 studios), the building was bursting at the seams with entertainment, audiences and variety. There was everyone from Hollywood celebrity to radio and sports stars and it all ran like clockwork. Even the foyer had to be divided into two, with one door for Rove and another for Dancing.
The traffic was …
American Idol spins around new judge
At a time when some talent shows are cutting back on their number of judges, American Idol is adding a fourth permanent face to its panel: Grammy-nominated pop composer, Kara DioGuardi.
Whether its adding or subtracting, the common denominator here is change, or being seen to effect change. Heaven forbid these shows should be seen to be standing still. The addition of a fourth judge follows the exit of producer Nigel Lithgoe, best known as an on air judge on So You Think You Can …