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What do programmers say about timeslot switcheroos?

"If something falls over in a particular timeslot you can't just leave it there, haemorrhaging."

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Today’s edition of the Green Guide talks to three Melbourne programmers about the habit of changing timeslots and the frustration it gives viewers.

Seven programmer Graeme Hill says the network doesn’t make changes for the sake of it: ”We have to rate. If something falls over in a particular timeslot you can’t just leave it there, haemorrhaging. But thankfully, we haven’t had too many of those situations lately.”

Nine’s Melbourne program manager Len Downs says when it comes to rethinking a timeslot anybody can be wise after the event: ”You make a move based on what you believe is going to happen, you use the data you have and it might or might not work. But when it doesn’t work, you’ll have people coming out of the woodwork and saying, ‘We knew that would happen’.”

TEN’s Melbourne program manager, Peter Andrews, says. ”If something has a global buzz about it, you can’t wait too long to show it in Australia. That’s why we fast-track things like Glee and House; sometimes we show them less than 24 hours after they aired in the US. The landscape is evolving so fast that there’s no ‘easy’ timeslot for a show any more … sometimes the viewers might not get it but I guarantee you that if a show does move, there’s a very logical reason.”

All three work in tandem as part of a national Programming team that is Sydney-based.

If online forums are anything to go by everybody wants to play Programmer, but in all likelihood it’s a job you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy. Under daily pressure from sales, advertisers, audiences, shareholders, media commentators and even micro-managing bosses it ain’t no picnic….

You can read more at The Age.

35 Responses

  1. Who thought it was a good idea to squash up the credits of a movie and run an inane voice over promoting some show at another time slot… I find it Very annoying and I simply switch off or switch the channel – in the end it means I watch more DVD less TV.

  2. Explain to me why the crappy shows rate and get season after season yet the good shows get cancelled after one or two seasons?
    And you wonder why Channel BT prevails and everyone gives up on actual TV

  3. The only point I’d like to make is: Where is House??? It is supposed to be on right now! It moved from Wednesdays to Mondays a couple of months ago, then two weeks ago we were told that “it was having a break for two weeks, returning on May 9th”. That means its supposed to be on right now, but instead GNW that was Mondays @ 8.30 before House took its spot and it got pushed back to 9.30 is now back @ 8.30 and House is nowhere to be seen. The Channel ten website says “Episode information currently unavailable. Please check back shortly”. Great! Even they don’t know when its going to be on!

  4. @CrAig sorry I took offense on this one and most my comments are short but this is something that really grinds my gears and after having worked in an allied industry years ago I felt the post appropriate.

  7. I think most of us understand the commercial realities. Obviously, if you can increase your audience share by replacing a poorly rating program with one that will perform better, why wouldn’t you?

    The trouble is that by being overly reactive, say by replacing a new show with the 5th repeat of your go-to spakfiller, might produce a gain in the short term, it often has larger negative effects over the longer term. Network programmers need to give new shows time to build an audience. Moving programs to a later slot after only a couple of weeks is just stupid.

    I’m sure there are things to be considered that those of us who don’t work in television might not be aware of, but to suggest that we have no understanding of the process is disingenuous at best. And as for being smart “after the fact”, there are many examples on this very blog of where a programming decision has been criticised before it’s actually occurred, and that criticism has later been borne out.

    Len Downs and the other Nine programmers are kidding themselves if they think that the decisions that they have made over the last six months (delaying, moving, dumping, mid-season “breaks”, double eps, lack of communication re these changes, and endless f’ing repeats) has in any way been better for Nine overall – just look at the ratings. Now that people have more choice (including on-line), they are punishing lazy or disrespectful programming.

    Eleven has been with us 4 short months yet has managed to build a loyal audience by having a stable line-up. Negus is regularly getting a decent audience because Ten allowed it to build it up, and listened to calls to move it to 6:30.

    I could go on, but if these people haven’t taken note of the thousands of words already written about this, I don’t see them starting now.

  9. @James,that wasnt the main point timeshifting on one programme does not count for the other three digital set top boxes that are recording different content because these clowns all decide to drop all their bombs at once.
    Just as well they were’nt in charge of the cold war all the ammo would be gone in one salvo and they would be using pea shooters for the remainder.
    I would like to see David run a little poll and see just how many of his regular posters or even friends or aquaintances have ever had one of these little ratings boxes.

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