TEN’s inconvenient truths
- Published by David Knox
- on
- Filed under News
The Daily Telegraph has gone to town on the TEN Network over its on-going inability to tell anything without a half-truth.
“Seriously full of crap,” is how journo Fiona Connolly calls TEN’s ads for direct-streaming of its new episodes. As indicated in this site, some new eps took a few weeks to hit our screen.
Connolly attacks TEN’s claims that The Biggest Loser was ‘the year’s top-rated show in all major demographics.’
“When checked, there were at least six shows that beat it. Seriously.”
Ouch.
“But the network was at its story-telling best when The Daily Telegraph phoned last Tuesday to confirm that Gretel Killeen had been dumped from Big Brother. Ten’s head of corporate communications knew nothing. Seriously, apparently.”
In other words, the newspaper was beaten to the punch on the story and they’re not happy.
For what it’s worth as far back as April TV Tonight has criticised TEN’s habit of strategically claiming ratings wins but conveniently ignoring the fact that ratings are gleaned from 6-midnight, not 6-10:30pm. And for a network that claims to be chasing the 18-49 demographic it somehow manages to overlook the fact that it’s losing the year in that demographic anyway.
But hey, it’s all about spin right?
Connolly adds, “All organisations are guarded about the movements of staff, especially if they’re paid squillions of dollars and doing a terrible job of it, but no CEO or director of a company would get away with such bald-face lying and nor should any TV network.”
Source: Daily Telegraph
5 Responses
TEN has now caught up to House after the US had a week or two off.
TEN’s pursuit of the 18-49 came after a shift of the 16-39 demographic for many years. In the year overall it isn’t winning that demographic, though to be fair they did acknowledge this would take time.
I agree the choices after 10:30pm are often slim pickings, but when it comes to OzTam its important everyone is on the same playing field, otherwise we have little to compare the networks to, advertisers included.
It’s fine to make a claim that Show X had a win in the 18-49 demographic. But TEN has frequently claimed it wins the night in 18-49 too. It doesn’t. It wins 18-49 between 6pm-10.30pm.
What are you talking about? Tonight’s episode of House will air just HOURS after the US. 😐
If they did that wouldn’t have the US network logo on it like Letterman has the CBS watermark?
I’ve worked in network TV for 6 years now, and I have to strongly disagree.
Even though OZTAM reports metro shares for TOTAL viewers between 6pm-Midnight it is actually a very outdated system. I think most within the industry with a thorough understand of what drives revenues and the mechanics of network TV would agree.
Like any business, television is about making money. I chuckle when people think networks should ignore the bottom line for the sake of a few disgruntled viewers. Of course I 1000% agree with the theory that the viewer comes first. I think the networks dick the viewers around with schedule chnages and show over runs way too much.
However, they are all private companies and owe it to their shareholders as well, to make as much money as possible. That money comes from advertisers. Those advertisers chase those viewers that they beleive they can influence t buy their products through advertising – and by large that is the 18-49 demo.
The networks chase this demo feircly. This is how they make money. This is the barromoter of success. Therefore, when the whole industry is designed and focused to catch as many viwers in that demo as possible, then Ten is actually right to trumpet those demo victories over total viewers.
Australian Idol with 1.2 million toatl viewers and 800,000 in the 18-49 is a far more profitable show than 60 Minutes with say 1.6 million total viwers bt only 500,000 in the demo.
When networks design their schedules and detremine their own success through 18-49 victories, I think it is fair of Ten to report its victories like that.
Similarly, 6pm -10.30pm is really primetime. OZTAM may define it to midnight but that is an outdated system. The shows past 10.30 are often B or C grade fare that receive little or no promotion, publicity or network support. Australian viewers by and large switch of the TV at 10.30. 90% of networks programming efforts are targeted between 6pm and 10.30 or even 7.30pm and 10.30pm.
I think OZTAM is sticking to an outdated “Oficial” reporting system, when increaingly total viewers and 10.30pm – Midnight numbers are becoming less and less important. Even breakfast TV ismore important that post 10.30pm
I have to say, that if people at home can download an episode of house via dialup within 24 hours of it airing in the US, then why can’t TEN grab it off the satellite and have it airing here within the same amount of time? why are we waiting weeks?