TEN backtracks on House promise
TEN bumps a hot episode of House and backtracks on a promise to show 12 episodes of the drama with no repeats.
- Published by David Knox
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TEN is holding over next week’s episode of House and with it breaking a (silly) promise it made at the start of the ratings year to run the season for 12 weeks “with no repeats.”
Originally the episode “Simple Explanation” was set to screen next Wednesday night.
Now it is replaced by a repeat of “One Day One Room” and bumped to April 22nd.
This is also despite the network sending out information on the episode this morning, hyping the show’s content, including that FOX.com had more visitors to the website in the history of the network after the episode aired.
Looks like TEN just realised they have a hot episode that they want to play in official ratings. Can’t blame them for that. But what about that promise?
A TEN spokesperson said FOX was pre-empting episodes in the next few weeks and needed to create a buffer to satisfy delivery of the eps in time for fans of the show.
Compared to the second part of 2008 when it was dropping shows all over the place, TEN had been doing pretty well this year with programming too. Dropping shows and swapping episodes only confuses and angers viewers.
Making promises that aren’t kept is also a bit silly.
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34 Responses
It was a ridiculous promise to start with.
This is clearly one of the biggest rating House eps they are going to get, so why would they show it in no-ratings.
I’d just like to say thanks to anyone who tried to put a spoiler alert on this ep. I’m sorry that media and gossip columnists didn’t feel the same way when they revealed all in yesterday’s papers!
yeah the promo monkeys were at it again. Not to mention that last night’s promo pretty much gave away the big reveal. Now that I am completely spoiled I think I can wait for this episode no worries.
Surely the smartest thing to do would be to just show something else in its place? Then they’d not be breaking anything in its place.
Good point pondie. U should get a consulting gig with them. It woulda been a good way to uphold the promise. I think we all understand the reason the ep is held over. Question is how we will accept future promises, really…
looking at it from a different perspective, maybe ten should air the episode next week when there is weaker competition from 7 and 9, this will ensure a larger audience as it is a new episode. also if they do that, then they’ll need to promote the hell out of the show. This could be the trick to lure back viewers who’ve left and are watching crimiinal minds and mentalist.
it is a waste showing new eps during off peak but in the long run could have greater benefits.
I just finished watching this episode and now I read this news. I almost held off as it was just one week, but now I’m glad I didn’t bother trusting Ten.
Didn’t see this coming! (*rolls eyes*)
Well I always thought that a network that makes a promise like 10 did with House would gain respect from their viewers and attract higher ratings. I have, in the past, congratulated 10 for that commitment – until I read this story.
By breaking the promise, they will no longer be able to use it as a point of advertising as noone will trust it. Its now meangingless.
This whole idea of non-ratings period is pathetically poor respect for the viewers. Its out of date and needs to go. Ratings are counted still and networks still react to it. Why don’t we all start figthing it seriously and make it change.
i think they shouldn’t have made promises they couldn’t keep. WRT easter period, couldn’t they put in a show that isnt a repeat – like a special “1 off” kinda show – rather than a repeat? Previously, the repeats being shown between new episodes was the reason why i stopped watching house….
If it wasnt for my download limit, I’d have resorted to downloading house too. But now that BSG has finished……hmmmm……
I’ve seen the ep, and I can understand why they are holding it back. Way back at Christmas they would have had no idea that such a surprising episode would happen to line up with the Easter ratings break. Promises shmomises. Holding back the ep a week won’t harm anyone, and will only do good for the show is Aus.
Have to say I am with Bazza. Bumping the ep will just ensure people rush off to download it, because it is as you say, a hot ep. Its all anyone has been talking about House wise online. TEN might doing the right thing for them, waiting for it to count for ratings, and that is fair enough I guess, but to the House fans, this is just another broken promise. Online fans are talking about it now. TV centered blogs are talking about it now. In a couple of weeks it will be old news and once again we are left behind.
Hey
Boy do I hate dishonesty. If TEN want to back track on the promise then that is fine. They can say it is because it is a big episode and they want to play in ratings. The pre emption thing is a lie. From now to the end of the season FOX will have just one week off and that would not affect us at all, as we are just over a week behind.
Perhaps that should be put back to TEN.
good on them! that ep need to be screened during ratings. i can feel that its going to be a powerful episode, season 4 finale was probably one of the most amazing episodes of any tv show.
‘one day, one room’ is from Season3!!.. and it’s also the episode which House deals with a rape victim.. go figure Ch10 putting an episode like this up during Easter Holiday… they clearly have no shame!
No surprise that this will happen with a mainstream Australian television network…I was actually worried about this happening. I know that something huge was going to happen in next weeks episode but didn’t know what it was.
even though they backtracked on the promise, they have little choice, as showing possibly the strongest episode of the season during offpeak is a complete waste.
oh seriously ten you’ve done it again!
Bazza the answer to your question is ‘yes’. Sad isnt it!
And I thought 7 was bad.
Im actually thankful for 7, at least they air their series, generally uninterupted.
I agree it was a silly promise.
One thing bugs me though – ratings season seems split due to school holidays and then from November to March (slight exaggeration there)
Maybe ratings should be all year round or continuous from Feb to December.
Haha, i knew they couldnt keep that promise. Ah well! It was good while it lasted, and it is Easter holidays, repeats are expected. Isnt the rating period going on a break?
Appropriately… 10.
how was it a silly promise? it recognised what was pi**ing viewers off and promised to change. why did they pick the number 12, i thought it had something to do with them knowing they could get that many from the US, like a guarantee from them that there would not be any pre-emptions in that time. but i don’t think too many people will blame them for this, everything is repeating or changing in easter non-ratings and they have kept to it so far so they get points for that. how many weeks did they make it through?
I remember seeing that promo and thinking it was really odd. The fact they aren’t living up to something they hyped up so much is pretty low. But I guess that’s a commercial network for you.
And they seriously wonder why people download TV shows?
Do they really think this is still the 1960s, where every continent (or nation) is something of an island to itself, when it comes to media? Is it possible they are unaware that people on the net will actually talk to each other, compare notes, pass data along, yada yada? Are they unaware that the net expects events to happen planet-wide simultaneously and largely ignores, or works around, unnecessary and artificial boundaries?
Ten is taking the “20th century” part of Fox’s name too seriously.