Nine plays down soft start to 2011
"Were we pleased with that start? No. But it's only four weeks," says Nine's sales and marketing director.
- Published by David Knox
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Nine Entertainment Co’s sales and marketing director, Peter Wiltshire, has acknowledged the network’s underperforming start to the ratings year but says its key demographic, 25-54yo, has increased in the last two weeks.
”We didn’t start with the new product and as a result they [viewers] have gone looking. Were we pleased with that start? No. But it’s only four weeks. They have the privilege of choice but now they are coming back,” he told The Sydney Morning Herald.
But Nine has actually played a number of new shows: Ben Elton Live from Planet Earth, Mike & Molly, $#*! My Dad Says, This is Your Life, Harry’s Law, two Parkinson / Frost specials plus returning shows including Underbelly, The Farmer Wants a Wife and more. Not to mention its cricket content in ratings season.
So far it has won 3 nights in the ratings year.
Wiltshire said viewers were sampling digital channels.
”Our challenge has been dealing with the proliferation of viewing and trying to see where people are going to land, and it’s taken a few weeks,” he said.
”We are now scheduling against 14 other channels.
”It has definitely become more complex.”
Programmers will also be looking towards the end of Daylight Savings in April, always a point when numbers will rise.
John Sintras, chief executive of media buyer Starcom, agreed viewers were sampling more digital content.
”Whereas before someone might have said there wasn’t anything worth watching [on the main channels], they are now looking at the other 12 or so channels and finding something to watch,'” he said.
Commercial peak-period viewers had fallen year-on-year by 1 per cent for Seven, 9 per cent for TEN and 15 per cent for Nine, but overall peak-time viewing is up 8 per cent.
Source: smh.com.au
32 Responses
I’ll admit the only show mentioned I’d be interested in is the Parkinson/Frost specials but it’s not on when I could watch them (wasn’t it against Q&A?????? If so, dumb ) . I’ll also admit if I have choices other than Nine and Ten I’ll probably choose the other choices. Because of the lack of reliability (start times, changing days after years of the same one and whether it’ll show up in the first place ) . That said I’ll still watch Sherlock if it’s on at an 8.30pm Sunday timeslot. I also am wondering what’s happening with Fringe on GO. I wish they’d not always be about short term fixes and think long term. Lastly I wish they’d put Chuck on GO. If they put it on Fringe’s timeslot after the show finishes it’s third season I’d watch it. I hope they stick to a timeslot or at least day. Around 8.30pm or 9.30pm because it is often rated M. That way they could show all the episodes if they chose be reliable. Maybe a futile wish. Please be more patient. Ironically I like a trick Seven does is they just put it on later the same day to maybe keep viewers if it wasn’t getting the ratings they wanted i.e. 8.30, 9.30, etc.. I’m not a fan of 10.30 however.
Poor, pathetic and many other colorful words to describe their start to the year. Oh well origin should pull close 2 mill every game of the series. Ten will snag them in the next 3 months though
@ Michael “If the TV Tonight readers were given the chance to schedule your channels (Nine/GO!/GEM) for one week, you’d see your ratings grow… we’d do a much better job!”
Are you sure about that? Look at the comment below you…
As other people have mentioned, your programming department sucks! Your schedule is basically full of repeats… people want something new, give shows a chance rather than scheduling another repeat of Two and a Half Men or The Big Bang Theory. If the TV Tonight readers were given the chance to schedule your channels (Nine/GO!/GEM) for one week, you’d see your ratings grow… we’d do a much better job!
Maybe if Nine renews Hey Hey, the network might get better ratings!!
@steveany: He’s probably got an easier job that his counterparts over at Ten right now 🙂
But Nine needs some sort of long-term strategy not just commissioning micro-seasons of shows with 3 or 4 episodes of This Is Your Life as ‘specials’. There is no consistency, even worse on GO and Gem where the schedule changes every week, or they issue amendments on top of amendments. Perhaps Mr Wiltshire needs to direct his frustrations at his programming people not blame the viewers.
Hate to stick the boot in but I can honestly say the only regular shows I either watch or tape on Ch9 are the AFL Footy Show and CSI (the original). I guess I’m not in the right demographic.
Keep drinking the Kool Aid Pete!
Thats because you can no longer rely on Mr Sheen to get you over the line like last year.
Even getaway is going down fast.
Sorry but that is blantant spin and a load of rubbish. 9 just has no faith and continues to yank things around the schedule, aka Big Bang Theory is one example. If they want a show to work stop moving them. They have no good content and its starting to fill up with a truckload of rubbish.
Denial isn’t just a river in Africa. David’s already mentioned a stack of new (but mostly rubbish) new content and Nine (the channel) is in exactly the same boat as Seven with regard to competing against multichannels, except that Nine’s boat is leaking and the bilge pumps can’t keep up.
(I want to shout this but David won’t let me): Get rid of the clowns in your programming dept. It’s the only way that you’re going to make ground back up on Seven. Put out some half-decent content at a day and time suitable for that content and allow it to build a loyal audience.
Unstable programming on all three of their channels has pushed their figures down. Nine have to stop being so reactionary to overnight ratings and start allowing programs to build in their timeslots – especially on GEM and GO! – who’s schedules look nothing like they did even a month ago. Seven’s channels and ELEVEN in comparison are very stable. Ten also suffering from unstable programming.
Poor Peter Wiltshire – how would you like his job right now?
Channel 9 is a turd I wouldn’t want to polish.
@ ?Man: No, daylight saving ends first Sunday in April.
I hope Nine reads this….
I think if u get rid of your current programmers and u know who they are.. I think u will do much better in the ratings!! there have been some stupid decisions so far this year!!! axing a show cos they rates 700,000 plus is one of the dumb things!!
When 9 starts a show and then they take it off the air due to poor ratings. I never watch 9 because you get into to a show and then they take it off. There is no point in watching 9.
Oh yes, it’s because of multichannels! It has nothing to do with their poor programming, abundance of repeats, constant rescheduling and over reliance of the same shows to fill their schedule. Of course us viewers are to blame!
Even the Footy Show were making fun of the fact that Seven was miles ahead last night. Nine needs to get their act together.
Yes Wiltshire, we were sampling something digital, but it wasn’t a channel.
Yeah yeah blah blah blah. Show some consistency in programming and who knows viewers might be wooed back.
They are paying the price for bad programmers
Pete – I hate to alarm you but you did start the year with all your new content. You’d hope your 25-54s are up because rugby league/footy shows are back in your schedule.
”Our challenge has been dealing with the proliferation of viewing and trying to see where people are going to land, and it’s taken a few weeks,”
What a shame it’s taken Nine a few weeks to work out that they’re landing on Seven.
Sounds like he’s in denial as viewers ‘sample’ the digital channels, not to mention GO!/GEM are now regularly being beaten by the other digital channels and even ONE is showing signs of improvement. Nine needs some solid shows and to keep them and stop the random changes, viewers like consistency and Nine is just not giving us that right now.
Typo. ( i think ) end of daylight saving is in march.