Deadline hell -TV Guide editors slam networks.
Exclusive: Frustrated TV Guide editors and reviewers let fly at TV network scheduling, finding it impossible to collate an accurate guide, dumping reviews and even copping angry calls from readers.
- Published by David Knox
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EXCLUSIVE: How are the constant changes to TV schedules impacting on television print guides?
According to editors, reviewers and critics they are making life a nightmare. The changes are so frequent that editors are dumping feature articles, asking staff to write last minute reviews, copping angry calls from the public.
In a special investigation TV Tonight has spoken to TV journalists to learn how they are coping with incessant changes.
All of them spoke on the proviso of anonymity.
In the print world preparing a weekly TV Guide can begin up to three weeks in advance as critics view preview disks, and the final deadline for print may be as early as ten days ahead of a TV week.
“This year in general has been the worst for guides going out with wrong timeslots and TBAs. This is through no fault of ours, as we chase the networks right up until our very latest print deadline for times, dates, changes. But most of the time anything we’re told appears just to get us off their backs until they work out their schedule. Programmers are changing schedules regularly and almost right up until the day before, which used to be a very rare occurrence,” said one insider.
Another said, “Reviewers can have no confidence that the programs that they are told are screening will actually appear on the day and at the time indicated. Viewers can’t be sure that a series they’re trying to follow will screen at the same time next week, whether there will be a single episode or a double, or if something new and unexpected might suddenly pop up in that timeslot. Programs that are hastily shuffled into the schedule appear without proper promotion.
“I was given a double-episode of Law & Order: Los Angeles for my Guide preview night of Thursday September 8. The two episodes actually sat quite well together as a double, with the first featuring a shock killing of one of the main characters and the second the aftermath of the shooting.
“My copy deadline is first thing Monday, so I email Channel 7 to check nothing’s changed. No reply. I open the Guide to find that the scheduled double episode has been cut back to a single so that Seven can instead run a repeat of The Truth Behind … The Ark. Grrrr.”
One Editor noted how freelance reviewers were under the hammer.
“Pretty much every week at least one busy writer has to file at a filler after a show they reviewed was pulled at the last moment. Given they actually feel obliged to watch the shows first, this is a huge imposition on their time,” they said.
“Why do networks do it? Ratings, of course. Programmers are so obsessed with trying to squeeze every last ratings point out of their inventory they lose sight of the importance of a stable schedule. Programming has become increasingly reactive, with programmers dropping shows or shifting them based on overnight figures rather than giving a show time to bed in.”
Another said entire stories had to be pulled shortly before a deadline.
“Take Network TEN for example the other day, Criminal Intent finale, which we had a story for, was out of the schedule completely at the beginning of the week and by mid-week it was back in and showing the very next week. Rushed into the schedule and moved forward,” they said.
“I can’t remember the last time I put through the reviews (which span a seven day period and have two to three a day) and it actually didn’t change. These days, a typical week would include wasting precious/valuable time to fix up the guide to coincide with the endless amendments, but even then there is no guarantee shows won’t be dumped or episodes changed around for the hell of it. Usually every week there is a show reviewed that is wrong due to erratic programming.
“Let’s just say there have been plenty of times we’ve gone to print and had to scramble last minute to change things and having a Mentalist finale story was also another example of this. They changed the finale date because it clashed with a big Seven show going to air (think it was DWTS finale).”
Another said: “In regards to last-minute programming, it means increasingly we’re wasting time on interviews that can’t be run to coincide with the launch of a show, and obviously their news interest declines once it’s launched. But it’s TBAs and amendments that are my big bug bear. Seriously – you can’t tell me what movie is going into a 7.30pm Saturday night schedule yet?”
The worst nightmare for an editor is losing a cover because of a last-minute change. But there are consequences.
“You only have to have it happen a couple of times before you start a self-preservation system where unless the show is either a proven performer, or shows promise, you tend to put it to the back of the line as a prospective cover. If launch dates are hazy, it’s at the bottom of my list. Frankly, I’m interested in covers for launch – not two weeks in. And certainly, you remember who’s let you down at the last minute. If I lose a cover from one network it’s unlikely I’ll take up their replacement – I’ll be looking to their rivals to fill it,” one editor warned.
All journalists indicated that several networks had increasingly pushed out the delivery of their Amendments, seemingly nervous that rivals would counter-programme against them. But some claimed kneejerk moves for short-term gain would impact on the long-term trust with viewers.
“The skittishness by the networks points to a lack of confidence in their line-ups, a self-destructive paranoia and a nervous second-guessing of what their opposition might be doing,” said one.
Another said, “The paranoid secrecy with which Seven in particular guard their scheduling can be just as frustrating. Sometimes an official notice of a show premiering arrives days before the TX (telecast); sometimes the official publicity material goes out AFTER the TX is being advertised on the actual channel. Often these are programmes we’d like to give publicity to but this cloak and dagger stuff makes it impossible. On the upside, I expect this drives the actual Publicity people nuts too, and many of them are very good about providing advanced unofficial notice in order to make deadline.”
But one believes networks have their eyes on each other and not the customer.
“I don’t think networks care how much viewers hate it. They spend so much time trying to second-guess and one-up their competitors, they’re forgetting their customers. You only have to look at the results of your recent viewer survey to see that. I think viewers would appreciate a network having the balls to declare they’re programming something at a certain time and leave it there.
“The chopping and changing of shows only damages them further in viewers’ eyes – it smacks of a lack of confidence in content, and the viewers see that.”
It’s not just receptionists at TV networks that hear complaints. Guide editors cop phone calls from angry readers too.
“We cop the brunt of their endless complaints, mainly about programs running over time and shows not being on when they’re in guide and they are ropeable about it, often saying they will switch off from the station. I don’t blame them and it is interesting to see when shows don’t work like Camelot etc that networks are surprised. What’s there to be surprised about? There was hardly any promo for it, so of course it’s not going to work,” said one insider.
Another nearly didn’t even meet the deadline for this story they were so tied up with checking Amendments and answering irate calls.
“I’ve just taken the third phone call for the day from an angry reader, upset that my guide isn’t correct,” they sighed.
Several felt their Guides offered free promotion for networks but were being too-readily overlooked.
“When it comes to our TV guides we are the key holders to the TV viewers’ week. When they pay good money for our guide they want to know it’s right, no TBAs (something which Nine has become particularly accustomed to) and shows in the right slots,” said one.
Another agreed: “The thing that continues to confound me about both these practices is that we’re here to help. We want to provide accurate information. We want to promote the networks and their shows. Viewers want to know what’s on and while channel flicking and a last minute check of an EPG might let them find shows it just seems very poor business practice – especially in such a competitive environment – to (a) not make use of an incredible – free! – publicity tool like a printed guide and (b) p*ss off every reviewer and editor in the country.”
A third editor said, “I think networks take publicity from TV guides for granted because they’re not paying for it. And I get that inconveniencing a TV guide editor is the least of their concerns. But if ratings is their main concern, they should think about giving every show the best chance of success and not alienating viewers by moving shows around and pulling them from the schedule after a few episodes.”
A number of journalists pointed to Nine as the worst offender for changes.
“In one day I was rung nearly every five minutes for half-an-hour about the same change which was shifting so radically in a timeslot and day it was staggering. I don’t blame the publicists here, they must be pulling their hair out too,” said one.
A second editor agreed Nine topped the list: “In regard to being told of amendments, Channel Nine is the worst. I have just been added again to their email alerts after ‘dropping off.'”
“Channel TEN publicity is good at dropping an email or phone call letting you know something has been pulled, as is Seven (who incidentally has the best track record for sticking with stuff, in my opinion). Sadly the news that something has been pulled is invariably a day or two after my Guide’s been printed, or results in a rush of couriered discs to find replacements.”
Another said, “The worst offenders are the commercial networks and Nine is the worst of those, although TEN’s not much better. Foxtel is generally very good, although it has the advantage of being less driven by ratings. Interestingly, the ABC has been guilty of making late schedule changes recently – despite not having the same commercial imperative to chase ratings – which is an unwelcome development.”
Indeed, several pointed to the ABC for joining a commercial broadcasting habit, and not just because it was relying on the BBC to confirm a new season of Doctor Who. In recent weeks it has moved Qi, renamed Grand Designs Revisited and announced a later starting time for Crownies.
“The ABC is well and truly in the mix now. Recently the whole Saturday night lineup changed 10 days out because someone realised it was time to screen Doctor Who. It’s possible they didn’t know how soon they’d get their hands on it but they must have known it was imminent – in this situation a TBA is preferable to launching a new series (Monroe) then pulling it at the last minute. Midsomer Murders was also bumped recently because it would have been in conflict/competition with Downton Abbey. A: they should have known this in advance and B: when there’s no revenue at stake, this twitchiness is really irritating.”
Some acknowledged tha networks had to respond to low ratings on primary channels but questioned whether they were also sabotaging digital channels.
“I have some sympathy with changes to prime time scheduling on the main commercial channels – if you have something that’s tanking that’s potentially costing you money, tweaking the mix once a show has gone to air is annoying but justifiable,” said one.
“But the constant f***ing about with the digital channels is another matter. Nine is a particularly grievous offender – even quality shows like Weeds and The Big C which I know viewers are waiting on and wanting to watch are pulled unceremoniously. And it’s not like they’re replaced with some fabulous new product. Why you’d drop Big C and replace it with Sex Education is utterly beyond me. No network is exempt.
“TEN’s digital channels actually seem pretty stable at the moment but my response to preview materials for Seven and Nine’s second channels now is just to ignore it.”
As for a solution, journalists say Programmers need more faith in their product and their audience.
“Program proactively. Back your product. Stop taking into consideration only what rival networks are or might be doing – your viewers will appreciate it. Let your publicity department know what’s going on. If you are moving something to a secondary digital channel, tell your viewers (the recent Camelot debacle was a case in point),” said one.
“The solution is that they stop acting like paranoid children and show some confidence in their programs, promote them properly and stop stuffing everyone around,” agreed one reviewer.
“This behaviour is not helping anyone.”
55 Responses
It is not just receptionists and TV Guide editors that have to deal with complaints either. People are understandably angry at being treated so shabbily, and when they come onto a website to complain, they can do so with gay abandon and generally ignore the forum’s TOC. As much as we moderators would like to let their complaints be heard, unfortunately we have to follow the rules and instead remove or edit their posts. Which of course, can lead to them abusing us and accusing us of “censorship”, which I assure you is Not the case. The good news is that moderators forward on such complaints (we have been instructed by the network to do so, in fact) – so complaints Are heard, especially if they are written in a way that satisfies the TOC and so are not removed. And the longer a complaints thread is on a forum, the more likely it is that it will get the attention of those further up the food chain.
In order to help you get your complaint heard, here are some hints:
1) Read the rules Before posting. Different forums have different rules and you should become accustomed to that forum’s particular rules.
2) No matter how angry you are, do not swear. Aside from this being “not a good look” for you personally, I can guarantee this will result at Least an edit by a moderator and more likely than not a removal of the post. Moderators are there to protect the members of that online community. In the wild west that is the Internet, this includes children. Your best bet is to ALlways keep your posts PG. After all, if you cannot express yourself without swearing then that indicates more about your intelligence than anything else.
3) Do not insult or hurl abuse at employees of the network. Moderators are there, as I said, to protect members of that community, this Includes network employees. Abuse of anyone is not tolerated (and shouldn’t be). Also, like swearing, if you cannot voice your opinion without hurling abuse at someone then….
4) Try to keep all complaints in the one thread. In other words, do not start a new thread just because you feel you are that important. Longer threads have more impact and they tend to stay at the “front” of a forum longer. For example, if everyone started a new thread to complain then these threads soon get pushed to the next page of the forum, But if people continue to add to an existing thread then it stays on the front page.
Now, the bad news, like most things to with TV it is all about numbers. A thread which has 100 posts in it may draw the programmer’s attention, but remember that they are trying to get hundreds of Thousands of people to watch their shows (at least) so in the big scheme of things, a 100 post thread is pretty insignificant to them, especially compared to poor ratings. That is Not to say that you shouldn’t try. Just make your complaint in a way that is appropriate. I am sure that this should be true for receptionists and TV Guide editors as well.
Unhappy Mod: Yes those are Comments tips I would largely endorse. Having said that, I’m not sure you read and observed the rules on this site before so strongly telling others to do so. I kindly request no caps, succinct length and staying on topic (this topic is about Guides not online forums). Kinda ironic, but nevetheless I have edited your CAPS out and approved.
I’m a TV junkie. We count on reviews to plan our viewing. But after years of being abused by TV programmers we spat the dummy and went crazy on technology. We now own 4 PVRs – in order of usefulness a Beyonwiz, IQ2, TiVo & Tevion – and a computer with digital tuner & a big internet limit. We record the main channels from 7:00 to midnight (Aussie drama & variety type shows) to avoid the worst of these games. Even so, we still get screwed by programming screw-ups.
It’s bizarre that at the same time as broadband is becoming cheaper and downloading of TV shows easier that the FTA stations would make it harder to follow your favourite shows. When you stop, move or interrupt a series because it’s ‘only’ getting 500 or 600,000 viewers…that’s an awful lot of people to say ‘up yours’ to.
I have stayed loyal until now by watching FTA but it is just getting so hard to keep up that I am being pushed so very, very close to following so many others I know who get their TV elsewhere.
This is like watching a pod of whales beaching themselves. Industry suicide for no good reason.
Too much to hope for I guess that some grown ups from all the channels could get together with the interests of viewers (!) in mind and sort out some common boundaries??
How about a response from network programmers to balance this article?
Thanks for another great article David. I still read printed TV guides – in particular The Age’s Green Guide – as I enjoy reading the reviews and articles (without having to be online) so it is very interesting to read about the increasing pressure placed on publication.
Great article, but will the Networks care??!!
I used to set my PVR with 10 extra minutes – in case the show ran over – Now I set it at 2.5 hrs for a 1 Hr show, last nights Law and Order LA a prime case of totally out of times advertised – Mitrebin
@waz. GD revisited is not quite a repeat. The intro and end are new with the middle a repeat as kevin “revisits” projects that generally wern’t completed on time for the series schedule so we can see how they finished up. Quite interesting.
It’s all just too hard.
If there is a show I like I just wait for it to come out on DVD which is getting to be quite quick now. As well as super cheap!
People I know also hire television series each for about $5 for 3 nights. If they don’t manage to watch the whole series they just burn the dvds and then can watch them whenever they please. TV Networks you lose and I guess it’s times like these you deserve to.
One of the best articles this year, and a desperately needed one.
It’s got to the point with FTA that I don’t even bother starting to watch new shows on any channel because it’ll inevitably get pulled, rescheduled, cancelled, etc. within a week or two.
They are pathetic. They haven’t cared about their audiences for a long time. Maybe it’s too late in the game for them to change their ways.
@ Goonies, I feel you are sadly mistaken. If the petulant programmers mess around with the schedules so much, we the consumer of their efforts stop watching as we get p*ssed off. If certain stations do this all the time, then we lose confidence in them and stop watching. Now if we stop watching who the hell are the advertisers gonna advertise to? A robust well promoted schedule will win over an erratic micro-managed schedule anyday. Very very simple really
I’m curious as to why X-Factor has been showing consistently at 7:30pm most days, but was at 8pm on Thursday 15th (tonight) – the EPG says it runs till 8:30, but it’s now 9:02pm and the episode is half done.
What’s even stranger is that on Twitter, people are already posting what’s happened – hey, I feel like I’m in Adelaide !
Anyone know why ?
Gee whiz what a suprise 9 is the worst offender. Not having a good week 9 with MW on Monday night with 60 minutes plugging the movie afterwards with stories!
I like how ABC named Grand Design Revistied that’s just actually a fancy word for repeat, right?
This is a top article, David you’ve outdone yourself with this little beauty. I’m as proud as punch from reading it, as its so true!
Great article David!
I totally agree with all the previous posters, the free to air networks treat their viewers with total disrespect, and then seem surprised when shows don’t rate. I have long since stopped watching new series on FTA, as they is always a 99% chance that it will be pulled off air within a few episodes, or rescheduled into a new timeslot with no notification.
Whenever people ask me why I have Pay TV, my answer is simple, I can set my I.Q to record a series from the first episode, and I can be certain that every episode will be screened, at the same time every week. Pay TV has it’s problems, but I pay for consistency and choice in programming.
Wonderful article David. My sympathies to those that have to put together the TV Guides. I wish the networks would get their act together and be more reliable in their programming and start times as that way the viewers know when to show up. I want to watch all the channels and I’ll admit generally I’ll do that if you choose the right time and stick to it (review it each season but I can stay with a show for years if it’s done properly eg. House I watched it for 5 seasons on Wednesday, I believe, and quit when it moved to Sunday ) . I also wish they’d not mess with the actual programmes either eg. editing out the credits or pop-ups. Even the ABC does the latter just to drive viewers away. I don’t know why. I guess it just seems too hard to be reliable or just deliver the programme unchanged. Tell us after or during the ad breaks what’s on next. Because that’s mainly what I want. Plus playing stuff I’m interested in will also get me to show up and I’m fine if there’s stuff I don’t care for. Because hopefully another channel will have something on.
“But some claimed kneejerk moves for short-term gain would impact on the long-term trust with viewers.”
You think ?!
I have very little trust with the networks. If it was not for the excellent ICE guide which chases the programs around the schedule and weeds out repeatsbefore recording them for me, it would be a lot worse.
Too much dicking around of a show by a network and I just give up and source the show somewhere else.
@ Goonies……the advertiser may be the ones that count…..but we are the consummers of their products…..without us….no business for the advertiser to advertise!!!
David…..thankyou for a great and informative article…
@ Jen13…..I sooo agree…..this is my constant arguement….as a retiree….I have much more disposable income…..I am the person who consumes the advertisers products….I …like you ….are some of the viewers the TV channels should be aiming to catch….
Also ..many still rely on print for their TV programming…..they do not have or use computers or EPG’s……
Terra Nova is a new progam that looks good…but it is on TEN and I am afraid to start watching….in case it is pulled after a few weeks….find it difficult to get attacehd to any program these days….sad situation….
“We’re the ones that count, you dolts!!”
Unfortunately we are not the ones that count, advertisers are, and until they complain about current practices, nothing will change.
@ steveany – yeah I think you are thinking too hard! There is no way they want you channel surfing. I think it is just a case of another obsolete item. Don’t get me wrong I used to love doing the highlighter as well – at least now I don’t have to buy the cruddy West Australian!
@Jen13 – me too!
I used to get the weekend paper (which was utter garbage) just so I could scan the enclosed TV guide for the week ahead. This meant I could tune in for the shows I wanted to see and thus avoid the rest.
Could it be that the guides are being deliberately fouled up so that viewers are forced to channel surf or EPG to find what’s on? It’s like a restaurant putting all the bad-for-you meals on the table in front of you before you choose, rather than your picking the healthy salad you know you should have from the menu.
Surely TV programmers aren’t that evil. Or clever? Are they?
I used to get the Sunday Herald and looked forward to going through the TV guide with my yellow highlighter, selecting my favourite FTA shows and seeing new ones to watch.
I still get the paper, but my only interest is in the last two pages – with the Pay TV highlights listed, just in case there’s something I’ve missed.
I only watch FTA for the news now.
Everything else comes from Pay or DVDs or from overseas.
The funny thing is that these days I have more time and more money now that I’m retired. But advertisers apparently aren’t interested in parting me from my cash! How peculiar!
Speaking of which, King of the Hill was dumped from ELEVEN’S animation block this week to make room for a f***ing repeat of Cleveland. -.-
Saw a funny caption last week on Prime “Now (whatever it was) Next TBA”. I don’t get the “Now” bit that everyone has copied from the Americans. We know it’s “Now” that we’re watching something. Just stupid.
Another stupid idea is starting programs at 7:05 so the 7:30 program actually starts at 7:37, and running programs to 8:45 – only to have the other two main channels run their start times late to try to match.
I think we just want to be treated with just a little bit of respect, if I know what’s on offer and can make plans to watch accordingly I will.
I am finding that in deciding to watch a certain series all of a sudden it will class with a “bumped” epp. Of something else I have been watching on a different channel at a previously different time.
Because of the immensely paranoid attitudes of programmers they are constantly in fear of theoretical ratings and are scared to back their gut.
I believe that because of this lack of people skills and general gut feeling the industry is heading towards obliteration giving them more channels to spread out their programming is akin to extended hours shopping before Christmas.
Even though we are given more hours we still end up getting the same thing and all the extended hours do is make us procrastinate.
Real decisions, solid content and consistency start by getting just one of these right and viewers will be a lot happier.
An absolute cracker of an article, David. Looks like you got comments from quite a few people. Every one of those comments is salient and bang on the money. Every single one of the issues mentioned have been raised on here before by many different commenters. Unfortunately, I don’t think it will make any difference.
@MuchoTB – you say that the commercial networks are there to make a profit but that they don’t care about their audiences. Their behaviour would certainly seem to bear that out at times, but that’s just bizarre. It’s the viewers that deliver the ratings that determine how much they charge for advertising space. Less viewers = less profit. P!ssing people off with last-minute schedule changes will only lead to lower ratings. I don’t understand why that’s such a difficult concept to grasp.
Personally, if I were trying to put a printed guide together and continually being frustrated by one particular network, I would just print TBA for the whole week and see how they liked that. Like most others here, I haven’t wasted my time with a printed guide for many years.
If Camelot had already been cancelled before Channel 9 aired it, then they should have either backed it anyway, or put it on at a timeslot they don’t care as much about (or one of their digital channels instead). If we can find out that things are cancelled, then programmers have access to the same information as well, and this should be informing their decisions.
My biggest peeve is when they replace a first run show with something that is a repeat, just for the ratings points. They’d get more eyeballs in the long run if they showed more commitment to first-run content.