The vicious cycle of late programming
How big is the impact of pulling a show at the last minute and replacing it with another? Huge.
- Published by David Knox
- on
- Filed under News
The impact of Nine’s decision to pull Excess Baggage from its schedule for next week has reverberated right across its upcoming primetime for at least the first two weeks of ratings.
Most networks lock in copy with print guides, such as TV Week about ten days out from the start of any given week.
This year the start of the ratings season, Sunday February 12, has been a game of cloak and dagger, with networks waiting until the last minute to release some titles, or even to throw red herrings into early Guides.
There were strong rumours a week ago that Nine was moving on Excess Baggage, but it didn’t confirm the change until Tuesday, after seeing Monday night’s figures.
Nine’s Guides to Online Media for this Sunday weren’t sent until Wednesday -which must qualify as the latest delivery by any network in any week. Preview disks for some shows next week also arrived yesterday, after Nine had finally locked them in.
Narration for Earth Flight‘s second episode is being revoiced, already pushing it past the deadline for print media for the week of February 19.
What this all means for viewers is that print Guides are likely to be riddled with incorrect information or TBAs.
And let’s not get started on all the outdoor advertising that has to undergo change.
What it means for the network is less promotional opportunity for new shows. A worst case scenario of those two factors colluding could mean poor numbers for the replacement shows, leading to even more shows getting the heave ho. It can be a vicious cycle.
With any luck the worst is behind us all, and Nine does have some tempting titles including Sherlock, Alcatraz and (hopefully) Earth Flight.
Healthy competition is a win for all viewers.
Informed viewers are a win for industry.
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- Tagged with Alcatraz, Earth Flight, Excess Baggage, Sherlock
31 Responses
I agree, I bought TV Week for years and a year or so ago found myself hardly using it, instead going online or using the phone app, mainly for convenience but also because of the number of late changes to the lineup.
I was purchasing a TV week on a regular basis for a while. But now just use on screen epg’s.But I always got the ‘TBA” in the guides. Very annoying why can’t the FTA’s stick to schedules.
EPG’s are just as irrelevant as peint guides. I went out last night and needed to record MKR and The Straits. Now 3 days ago the EPG had one finishing at 8.30 one starting at 8.30. Perfect. Those are the times i recorded, but i knew Seven would run late. Checked the EPG early yesterday and MKR was scheduled to finish at 8.43. Meanwhile throughout the whole day Seven had been still been advertising Grey’s to start at 8.30 So they had updated the EPG, yet still advertising 8.30, that’s false advertising. Sick of it. Bout time networks got fined for this crap. I considered making a complaint, but seriously nothing will ever change.
Scribbling big red circles around the shows I want to watch in the newspaper’s tv guide on a Sunday morning is one of the highlights of my week.
Who needs printed guides when we have TV Tonight?
@A. – Amen. They don’t need to study Game Theory, just know that much smarter people have already done the work and proven that the best play is not to try and tear your competitor down (in this case by programming shows with similar appeal against each other).
@Dave – I used to buy the Saturday West Australian just for the weekly TV guide until about 2005. The paper was a rag then and it’s only gotten worse since, so once I found a decent reliable on-line guide, I stopped wasting my money.
Even so, it’s sometimes hard work tracking a show down on the commercial stations, especially if it’s not popularist pap (so pretty much all my commercial TV watching). If it’s too much work I either give up or source it elsewhere.
Dave, I’m not surprised about the number of people buying a paper to get the TV guide. I remember (almost with some fondness) of getting the Sunday paper and making sure the TV guide was in the paper before I bought it then going through and ticking all the shows I was interested in. Although I must admit that became harder with the increased number of stations and the decreased amount of space devoted to them. With the availability of EPGs or Apps we tend to forget there are many people who, while maybe using computers on a daily basis, wouldn’t even think to seek out an electronic guide.
I’m old-fashioned I still like the printed TV guide even so I can have a glance at the week ahead to see what’s coming up but have missed a number of late changes because I’m not always glued to the internet or my mobile phone to find out about them.
Viewers should not have to chase programs around the schedule.
I remember once., You could set your watch by what time tv shows came on.
so if nine pulls a show at the last minute its simple, show another repeat of the big bang theory,that always works for viewers doesnt it?!
Whoops, I meant Charles Wooley is replacing David Tennant as Earthflight narrator. Man I wasnt even close with the name.
That would be some flight.
I work in a newsagency and the amount of people buying the paper just for the tv guide surprised me. I read my tv guide online but there are still a lot of people that rely on a printed tv guide.
It is frustrating. I used to always study the paper guide. But now with the EPG its so much easier. Though I notice when theres a late amendment on the EPG its always in capitals.
Still annoyed by Seven advertising the return of Happy Endings in TV Week this week but then dropping it again at the last minute.
Yes, I’ve seen advertisements for Excess Baggage all over bus stops and plastered across buses too saying about how it is on at 7.00pm on 9. I wonder how long it will take for those to come down?
Saying that I recall seeing ads on buses for Ben Elton live after it had been axed on buses and ads for the original Underbelly in Melbourne too after it had stopped from airing by the courts.
Perhaps it’s Mike Carlton, as Richard is no longer with us. If it’s Mike, good choice, always clear and easy to understand.
Re program changes, being the luddite that I am I always check the printed Green Guide as it generally gives you more information than an onscreen menu with just program titles. As I don’t have an i-anything, that’s not an option. Which doesn’t make tracking the constant last minute changes any easier – it drives me insaaaaaane. I really can’t see the point of dumping a scheduled mid-evening movie for yet another repeat of NCIS or another of those multi-acronym programs which all look the same.
If no one knows the bloody thing’s on, why bother? Like TEN the other week threw everything off the schedule to totally repeat the previous Sunday’s Young TT etc. Who knew?
Pointless.
@timothy — they’re seriously replacing David Tennant with Richard Carlton for Earth Flight?? That’s like having your favourite restaurant bulldozed and a Hungry Jack’s erected in its place…
(btw, dear reader: if Hungry Jack’s *is* your favourite restaurant, may God have mercy on your arteries.)
Eh? Richard Carleton?
You know, if I were a TV Guide I would throw up my arms and lead a revolt. On each page would be “Read a book!”, and nothing about what’s on TV at all.
Does anyone still use printed guides these days? I know I get my information from my Android app + over the air EPG guide.
I don’t understand why Nine is choosing to revoice Earthfligh, replacing David Tennant (Dr Who) with Richard Carlton. I for one can understand David Tennant clearly, and we all know it is a BBC production, so are Nine trying to make us thing it is an Austalian production to get more interest, or does it perhaps give more australian quota points?
Excellent points David. 🙂
I think they’re too obsessed with each other than trying to make it easy for the viewers. Just stupid. And putting two like shows against each other does not result in maximum viewers but the opposite of spitting the audience for both channels. They can’t look up and study Game Theory?
it just goes to show what the fta stations think of the viewer. constant changing of schedules and no information of when shows will be on air.survivor i believe starts this weekend and i havn’t seen anything to say when it will be shown on nine,along with top gear that is in to its 3rd week on sunday. there is no wonder that more and more people are turning the stations off and downloading everything they want to watch
Print guides- I used to purchase them but now the electronic app on the iPad is usually up to date, and it has got a synopis of every show
My parents, like most of their generation fall into the printed guide category, I really need to teach them how to use the EPG on their TV. But the fact is if they didn’t see it in the guide or are expecting a show at a certain time they often miss it and go on to something else. So yes last minute changes do impact the ratings for the replacement shows, which intern lead to those shows often being replaced.
Luckily for Mum and Dad if I know a show they watch has moved I’ll tell them…
BTW David love the picture LOL
To be fair, print guides are so 20th Century, and I imagine Nine know that. I get all my TV News (actually all my news full-stop) online, and I would hope most people are heading that way, if just because of this level of unpredictability going on.