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Happy New Year!

Happy 2016 everyone. Here's what's ahead...

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Happy New Year to all my readers at TV Tonight.

Hope the year ahead is everything you wish for.

2015 was a year of Streaming, with the 3 major players continuing to impact on Free to Air and Foxtel (the latter cites a wider acceptance of paying for content has seen their numbers rise – includes Presto). Expect more tempting titles to come from Netflix and the first local drama series from Stan, Wolf Creek.

Amongst the plethora of new goodies coming from Free to Air these sound promising:

  • Cleverman, Barracuda, Comedy Showroom (pilot season) and Tomorrow When the War Began on ABC.
  • Molly, Wanted and The Secret Daughter on Seven
  • Here Come the Habibs!, Hide and Seek, and Soundbreaking on Nine
  • Australian Survivor, The X-Files and Brock on TEN
  • Deep Water, The Family Law and Inside Heston’s World on SBS.
  • Secret City, The Kettering Incident, Westworld, War and Peace on Foxtel.

2016 is also an Olympics year, with Seven broadcasting from Rio from August 5th and an election year (that’s good news for funny folk such as The Chaser, Gruen, Mad as Hell, The Project, The Weekly with Charlie Pickering). It’s even a US election year -and there is a Census coming.

We also see the return of Offspring to TEN after two years off air, celebrations at ABC for Play School (50 Years), Australian Story (20 years), Insiders (15 years), Offsiders (10) and The Book Club (10).

And in September there is the rather small matter of Australian TV and Channel Nine turning 60.

ABC’s primary channel turns HD in June, Nine adds Live Streaming, Seven has another new channel and is poised to turn HD for its primary channel while OzTAM will finally add online videos to its ratings data.

On the news front we are expecting major change in media reform, likely to come with changes to the Reach Rule and the 2 out of 3 (more info on both below). But whether both will happen, in what time frame, and whether the Anti-Siphoning List is affected remains unclear.

There are plenty of ongoing tugs of war surrounding ownership, piracy, funding, public broadcasters, local content, fragmentation and ‘digital disruption.’ Look no further than a minutes-to-midnight deal signed between Nine and WIN. Remember this: in media the landscape changes so dramatically it barely reflects the same one two years ago.

But first things first.

Next week TV Tonight turns 9 with the site’s annual awards to be announced soon. The Golden Globe Awards are also just around the corner.

Ratings season begins Sunday February 7th but many shows will look to get a jump-start ahead of this -it’s always a chess-game as networks look for clear air.

Here we go again!

David.

The ‘2 out of 3 rule’ prevents mergers that involve more than two of three regulated media platforms (commercial television, commercial radio, and associated newspapers) in any commercial broadcast license area.

The ’75 percent reach’ rule prevents individuals or companies from controlling a total license area that exceeds 75% of the Australian population.

20 Responses

  1. Happy New Year David and family.
    As a humble viewer I really appreciate the time and effort you put into this site.
    All the best for 2016 .. it will be an interesting year.

  2. Happy New Year David and colleagues like me who like to share opinions. Thanks David for doing such a wonderful job of keeping us up to date with what’s happening in the TV world. I was hoping for some early fireworks with the 9/Win deal but it fizzed. Can’t wait to see what the new year has to bring. I am looking forward to meeting the Habib’s and revisiting the X Files. No matter what I am sure it will all be interesting.

  3. Happy New Year!

    On the face of it there seems to be a bit more drama in the works for this year but when I watch the summer sports, carols, fireworks etc. on the commercial networks ie. 7, 9 and 10 all I see is more and more ads for the same old reality shows. So when you think about it not much has changed at least with the commercial networks.

  4. Looking forward to Tomorrow when the War began, Habibs and definitly X-Files. 2015 was such a big year for TV so looking forward to this year and what Stan can achieve locally.

  5. Good morning David Knox…and Happy New Year to you also……
    Wow…..here ….everyone is just trying to get moving….and you are chock full of amazing info…
    Two things…I was shocked to realise The Book Club has been going for 10 years….and….TV Tonight turning 9….where has the time gone….
    PS….Hiatus | Define Hiatus at Dictionary.com
    a break or interruption in the continuity of a work…..just saying….*G*

  6. Some areas of the media that are fast becoming relevant. For example regional operators, what value do they offer to the public. No real local programs and no point of difference. Then there is print media, most local regional newspapers carry the same adverts and many use the same copy/stories. Most of us have smart devices or download content so the breadth of services has given us more choice than one could have imagined 20 years ago. I can’t see how small or regional operators surviving in this new landscape. Should the government relax media laws watch the changing ownership take place.

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