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TEN failing 7pm test

Programmer David Mott admits the 7pm slot has been a disaster. You can hear the silent screaming.

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This will come as no surprise to any reader of this site. But it’s good to hear the problem being addressed publicly.

TEN’s chief programmer has conceded it is in the doldrums due mostly to the 7pm timeslot.

“Where the problem is for us – and it’s the elephant in the room – is 7pm and there’s no question it’s our biggest challenge,” Mott told the Daily Telegraph. “It’s hurting us and we have to bring people back . . . at 7pm.”

TEN has cycled through Friends, Taken Out, Friends (again) and Will and Grace to no avail, dragging down other shows that follow.

Meanwhile Home and Away and Two and A Half Men regularly register more than 1.2 million in the same timeslot and ABC1 news counts about 1.1 million. While TEN took a risk with Taken Out, the format didn’t seem polished enough and it didn’t provide enough variety, especially with 3 weeks of female contestants.

“If you’re not performing at 7pm, and we haven’t been, then we’re not performing the rest of the night,” Mott said. “It’s particularly hard when you’re trying to launch shows when you don’t have an audience flowing through.”

Viewers have been angered by kneejerk axings, and shows moving around the schedule. There is a wholesale loss of faith that needs addressing with a new branding for 2009.

On Wednesday night the network had just 16% share, and is set to finish in its worst position in eight years.

TEN unveils its 2009 line-up on Monday.

Source: Daily Telegraph

71 Responses

  2. Isn’t it all largely Neighbours fault – not enough people are watching at 6.30pm to stay tuned to find out what’s on at 7pm.

    I guess this does increase the chances of Big Brother rising from the ashes, but although it might help the channel, it wouldn’t help the show itself if it remained stuck in the 7pm slot.

  3. I think a show like The Panel could work in that spot- talk about the events of the day, interveiw someone, reveiw something, have a music act.

    Also it would be great to see something like Spicks and Specks in the spot- it suits all ages and Ten could do themed nights based on guests, times of year and things. Maybe Ten should just buy the format from ABC like they did with GNW years ago.

    What ever they do- no more Hamish and Andy .

  7. Why don’t ten re-work their entire evening line-up. Why not put Neighbours on at 6pm following directly on from their successful hour long news bulletin then back it up with something like Dr Phil at 6.30 or even Oprah 6.30-7.30 to take on the likes of ACA and TT in the trashy tv stakes.

  8. I agree entirely with those calling for Whose Line to be played at 7pm. A show where it doesn’t matter if you miss an episode, and something that was never given a fair go by channel 9.

    failing that, something that has never been given a real go in an early primetime slot is what should be there. The Office woudl be great in there as well.

  9. TEN is just failing the year. Not even the news can pull out a decent figure. Lets all wait and see what TEN’s 2009 line up will be. All I can say is thankgod for Biggest Lose and Dance..

  10. Maybe Ch10 should try The Hills? I know it’s already been on Foxtel but it may pull some of the viewers from Home and Away. I’m sure the kids out there aren’t that interested in Alf’s latest squeeze.

  12. Putting soap against soap is always suicide. Neighbours at 7 pm would die fast,
    though the idea of putting Out of the Blue there during Home and Away’s summer break could be very interesting. The ridiculous thing is that Ten used to have Neighbours at 7pm for years, then were so scared of Channel 7 moving Home and Away to the same timeslot they played defensive and moved it. In my opinion this was the most monumentally stupid decision in Ten’s history and years later they continue to pay the price every single weekday.

  13. No…no….no more Rove please. I think Rove is a bit Mel-and-Kochie (and he’s not even funny) but I’ll admit he does get the job done.

    I think the Office or Everybody Hates Chris would do really well! Maybe even the British verison of the Office.

  14. You forgot to mention their failed attempt at Bondi Rescue reruns David!

    Judge Judy worked for while in primetime some years back, to the point Ten almost made an Aussie version – prehaps that could be worth another shot – there’s be several episodes that most people haven’t seen.

    Its interesting just how many shows has Ten tried at 6pm / 7pm slots in the last decade or so, and seeing that most turned out to be duds.

  17. Two ideas for Ten. First Alex is on the mark – there is no law that i am aware of that says 7pm must have a half hour show. Second, stop flogging ‘reasonable’ shows that could help your lineup by playing 25 hours a week of them. I avoid Ten because either a) they pull a show after 2 weeks, or b) they play it every night and I cant keep up. Just a thought – be innovative and back your judgement for more than a fortnight.

  18. The Office should be on, but not at 7pm. I would put it on daily at 8pm over summer to build an audience. What can they do at 7pm? I’m not sure and they don’t pay me anything to tell them.

    I could probably come up with some idea’s, so those execs reading this my contact details are available. 90’s sitcoms are not going to work it’s plain and simple.

    Unfortuatley the problem 10 has now is that 2 1/2 men has established itself as a genuine contender to H&A and it does not leave much room for a replacement.

  21. i agree bring back good old everybody loves raymond too the 7pm timesolt it is much funnier than the simpsons,friends,will grace and at least its a good show not like some of the other crap you see on tv these days

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