A creative PR spin. Seriously

To the network that is sending out Press Releases boasting about their “Best Sunday” all year, followed by their “Best Monday” all year:

Just a reminder that Prime Time runs from 6pm – 12 midnight, not 6pm – 10:30pm.

This is the standard which our other commercial networks (and indeed the non-commercial ones) observe, and it’s what OzTam views as Prime Time.

To only focus on a proportion of this on an on-going basis is really a bit of a spin, isn’t it?

Sure it was nice to have a decent Sunday, but when the others have all been dreadful (one as low as 14.9%), is it really cause to blow that trumpet? I mean, where were the accompanying Press Releases “Worst Sunday All Year”, “Sixth Best Thursday” or “So Bad We Finished Behind the ABC Sunday?”

I have no problem with a bit of PR that opts to highlight the good performance of an individual show, or a winning streak that is genuinely impressive.

But a 23% share? It was still third to 31.2% anyway.

Selectively ignoring the remainder of the Prime Time evening may lift that share to 28.4% but what’s the point when any decent journo can see right through it? And to do this week after week is a little tiring now.

If every network were to interpret the figures only by their demographic audiences, we’d end up with five separate yardsticks of older viewers, younger viewers, female viewers, affluent Liberal viewers, viewers who speak Swahili between Thursdays and Sundays….

TV Tonight will continue to focus on national ratings between 6pm – 12 am.

Now, how about putting those creative writers onto some Neighbours scripts?

This week’s ratings.