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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

  1. I know it was lambasted strongly on this site, but I really enjoyed Taken Out, sure it was trash tv and an easy target, but arn’t there people out there that kind of miss it and wouldn’t mind giving it another chance? Maybe over summer and see how it goes….As some peple have said it was getting better numbers than Will & Grace.

  3. Hmm.. How about TEN make a current affairs show? Like.. One that contains respectful journalism. TT and ACA seem to get a lot of viewers, so imagine if TEN made a better current affairs show? That may draw in more viewers.

  4. Further to above comment:

    Call it Rove Daily like his web site, and yes, agree with Earthquake – enough Hamish and Andy. Really over them! Have them on the show occasionally!

  5. Here’s another idea:

    Rove does a daily show at 7pm rather than once a week on Sunday nights. It will rate better then rather than Sundays with varying start time constantly affected by the previous shows’ end time. Would be great to have some original comedy, with guests, music, political satire, skits, etc – the works. To me, Rove is out of place on Sundays in any case.

  6. Maybe they shouldn’t have been so hasty in axing BB it outrated every single show that has been put in the 7pm timeslot since it was axed they should bring BB back in 2010 I hear john Howard is itching to be the host

  9. The Office at 7pm is the ideal option. It has 4 seasons now, thats the same amount Nine had before they started flogging 2.5 men to death and look where they are now! Its the highest-rated sitcom on NBC, come on Ten, give it a shot.

  10. I don’t know about Bold and the Beautiful its daytime tv, and trash tv, I wouldn’t like to see it in primetime personally, but it could work maybe….

    Everybody hates chris is funny and has quite a large number of episodes, I love the office more, but chris is a much more broadly appealing show that TEN could get to perform.

    The Office at 7pm would be ideal though…ahhh wishful thinking.

  11. I remember suggesting Bold and the Beautiful to Channel 10 as an evening show many many years ago in forums such as the Green Guide.

    If it can rate half a mill at 4.30, imagine what it can do at 7pm!

    The number of people I know who work and tape B&B, and watch it when they get home, multiply that Australia wide and you have ready-made viewers for 7pm.

  12. Hopefully they try “the office” at 7pm over summer. Although personally, I would like to see them abandon the ‘standard’ way of having the same show on at 7pm every day. 7-8:30pm could be a “comedy timeslot”, showing different shows each day.

  13. I’d love to have neighbours on at 7pm – purely for the fact that instead of having 1hour of crap each week night – it’d only be 30 mins 🙂

    My vote would be the office, maybe 30 rock? People know it, like it, and would watch it – the people who stay up late to watch it will say to their friends – “check this out, it’s the show im always raving about – the one you dont stay up late for”…..Basically, fans will hook fans and it’ll snowball….

  15. Most Home and Away Viewers watch Neighbours as well, Stupid to put them against each other. There was a time when Neighbours was on at 7, H&A at 6.30 about 20 years ago. When one of them moved, the other quickly took the oppisite slot for that reason (forget exact sequence of events but there was a week or so when they were both on at the same time).

    As I read the story I thought Sports Tonight early edition (like another reader suggested above). Guaranteed success.

    Another option which is no different than the way 7 and 9 do 4.30 news and 6pm news, why not have 10 news at 7pm as well as 5pm (5.30 on HD)? ABC news will take a beating!

    Think having a soapie on against H&A will not work. H&A too strong.

  16. Antoinette – no more Hamish & Andy please. They are overkill at the moment. They have certainly replaced Eddie Everywhere, because they are on radio, tv, internet – even on the ABC (well one of them are).

  17. Agree with Andrew.

    Nine were sitting on a goldmine with Whose Line. It would have been perfect 7pm fodder. A bit dated now unfortunately (with all those Clinton references), but probably no more so than Friends!

  18. what on earth makes anyone think that Neighbours would beat H&A at 7pm? Neighbours struggles to 800K viewers most nights while H&A gets between 1.1m and 1.3m, its pretty clear which one viewers prefer..putting Neighbours in the 7pm would be suicidal for the show!

  19. Put in a Half hour talk show that people will watch or another current affair show that is hosted by a big name. A Hamish and Andy show based in Melbourne. They will travel all over Australia.

  20. Game shows are a bad idea for such an important time slot.

    If I were doing programming on ten, I would switch Neighbours with Will & Grace. An audience of those who don’t want to watch ACA or TT will mean a half decent sitcom will pull decent ratings.

    What ten needs at 7pm is a loyal viewership. Neighbours is the only show they have that will be able to take on two and half men or home and away.

    I acknowledge that it is a risk, but it needs to be given a shot for 2 or 3 weeks. If it fails put it back to 6:30, no harm done.

  21. Maybe 10 should put on Two and A Half Men on at 7pm. Maybe it will beat Two & A Half men on 9. lol. just another silly idea.

    Ten should stick with Will & Grace until February and then replace it. The Biggest Loser is the only thing that has worked at 7pm this year and it got similar ratings to Home and Away. By May, 10 needs a stable 7pm show that people will want to watch and not one that we have seen countless times before or if not many people have seen it. Frasier, Raymond, Friends and Will & Grace will not work and Taken out was a flop. Time for something new and something fun.

    10 can have a success here if they really try and as long as people will give them a chance. Time to start fresh with the networks in 2009 and put the past behind them.

  22. I think channel 10 has got much more problems than just the 7pm. Main problem is Home and Away as it drags all the teen viewers (10’s prime audience) .

  25. I’m not an expert but…

    At 7:00, if 10 want to be successful amongst 16 to 39 year olds, up against BitTorrent and YouTube, they have to go a little leftfield.

    Ideas.

    1. A Jon Stewart type news show could work, especially when to do with federal and state politics in Australia.
    2. A show that has D-I-Y filmakers putting videos in and maybe showing three five minute stories in a half-hour show, introduced by a host.
    (Both could fill the Australian drama quota.)
    3. If that fails, try The Office or something like that.

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