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TV war -it’s only the beginning

Sunday night's slapdown will set the tone for the year between two great rivals.

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2014-02-08_0103If there’s anything to be learned from Nine’s sudden switch of Schapelle from Monday to Sunday it’s this: 2014 will be a bloody ratings battle.

Tomorrow is the first day of the ratings year but this slapdown will set the tone for the year between two great rivals.

Seven had declared its hand with INXS: Never Tear Us Apart for Sunday night. Nine had opted not to enter that fight and safely earmarked Monday for Schapelle.

But news in Bali changed all that.

It’s impossible to know which aspect of Corby’s release swayed the decision to move by 24 hours.

Was Nine hoping to segue from her release straight into a ratings blockbuster? Were they worried that Corby news would have exhausted us by Monday? Are they hoping the family might be swayed into an interview deal by the telemovie and time is of the essence? Or did they feel the wind in their sails and decide to take on Seven for the first day of ratings?

Nine Publicity simply said the move was “Due to the current events unfolding in Bali.” Publicity advised the show was moving to 8:30pm. However EPG information indicates it starts at 8:40pm (Nine declines to send me amendments and yes, it’s the only network not to do so).

Yes, this is the state of television network programming in 2014, people.

Meanwhile Nine has also not allowed media to preview the telemovie. Does that mean it’s a dog? Unlikely. It means they have been worried about media writing copy which might have jeopardised her parole, and jeopardised their chances at a potential Corby interview.

From a media perspective, this makes it particularly difficult to recommend a drama that has not been sighted.

Seven on the other hand distributed the first episode of INXS a week ago (Review is now online).

Don’t be surprised if either 60 Minutes or Sunday Night trims for length to get the jump on the other by a few minutes.

Caught in the crossfire is ABC’s excellent Rake season premiere. ABC cheerfully locked in its timeslot and distributed previews weeks ago (Review is here). It has its work cut out in this stoush. It’s not the first time 3 local dramas have been pitted head to head.

TEN also unveils So You Think You Can Dance, thankfully earlier, and leads into Winter Olympics coverage.

After 9am Monday morning we will know who won the battle. Timeshifted numbers will be another week away, but it will be all over as soon as the headlines are out on Monday.

Programming is like a game of chess. There are moves, bluff, errors and checkmates. 2014 is only getting started.

40 Responses

  2. Seven Melbourne gave themselves a pat on the back a short time ago.
    An ad for 7 News showing how while they had the Corby parole live, 9 was showing a silly story on ACA.

  3. I’m over the Schapelle story (and i think most of Australia are too) and Nine are stupid to program it against INXS. I was going to watch INXS regardless of what the others programmed. I predict Nine will be licking their wounds on Monday morning.

  6. from the commercial the production values look average….INXS on the other hand looks awesome.

    It will be a bloody year but come Monday i predict 2 punches will be landed and it will be the red corner smiling with MKR and INXS.

  8. I am really annoyed about Nine’s decision. I was really happy to watch both. I grew up with INXS – the day Hutchence died, I was studying for my HSC exams and I was devastated – it felt like my childhood was well and truly over – I had tickets for the concerts they were rehearsing for!! Yet, I find the whole Corby case fascinating. I think I’ll prob stick with INXS, because I think more people will watch it, meaning I can be a part of the twitter conversation!! That, and I think Nine sucks for that decision! I’ll record and watch Schapelle later.

  12. In regards to the Schapelle story, my thoughts are that this first story must contain much of the same old footages that have been gathered over the last nine years, and endless replayed over and over.

    But I think the scariest thing is, and now dread is that we will get years of her story as she tells it, plus where is she, and what is she doing now stories, even possibly initiated from the Corby clan?

    But sadly for her greatest risks may come from those who will profit from every aspect of her life, even if they have to engineer temptations/situations that threatens the conditions of her parole period, and anything else that will keep her in the news after she finally serves out her sentence.

  13. So the ABC assumed that the Commerical networks would have nothing planned for the first Sunday of the ratings season? When Sochi was on?

    Seven is defending it’s winning streak and trying to increase its share of viewers under 60. Nine is trying to close the gap on Seven and retain a 40% share of the ad market. Ten is gambling on expensive events, throwing wildcards about, and fighting for survival.

    Rake has been a MA rated show that doesn’t appeal to the ABC’s Sunday night audience. It has been shown later in the week and later in the year when there has been less on the commercial networks. It has had modest ratings and a lot of its audience watched it on iview.

    The ABC knows all this.

  14. ” Programming is like a game of chess”

    Indeed it is, but without the accurate timing clocks that true masters of the game are compelled to use.

    And regardless of the checkmate end game, the poor old viewers will always be the pawns and it is obvious our chess piece value status, is treated as such in network eyes.

    How frustrating it must be for them because we must be there at the beginning of the game, but most times we are usually the first to be sacrificed for the sake of winning the game, and nearly always relegated to watch the powerful pieces play out their game plan, from the sideline of the chess board.

  17. I suspect the Schapelle Corby telemovie, which seems to have been produced with indecent haste, is not very good (and another reason why there’s no review copies) – which is why it was initially programmed on a Monday night. The unfolding real life events have given Michael Healy an opportunity to throw a grenade into Seven’s Sunday night and we all know he loves doing that!

  18. The frustrating thing about their behaviour is the last minute programming changes which means that shows are missed. In this case I have little interest in watching schapelle. I was however planning to check out the Mayday Mayday – story on qf32 which was originally scheduled on Sunday at 8.40pm. I’m not going to bother chasing down a new timeslot as who knows where it will be rescheduled to. I will be watching INXS. Hope it lives up to the promos.

  19. I wont be watching Schapelle already know all I want to about it, why they don’t leave the poor girl alone is beyond me, Don’t think INXS will be as dramatized anyway like Schapelle, at least they have more insight to INXS happenings as they have conversed with the people that were involved with the group not like Scapelle where very little correspondence has been had with the family so most of it would have to be speculation.

  22. “Programming is like a game of chess. There are moves, bluff, errors and checkmates”

    ….and viewers are an irritant…..don’t viewers realise that the programmers are trying to run a tv network…..A bit like hotel guests at Fawlty Towers

  25. Yes, both Nine and Seven won’t want to overrun their lead ins, both will want to be getting the “jump in”, factor. As Australia readies to watch,” remotes in hand”. By the promos, it looks like’ INXS:NTUA’ has the better production values, to what looks like a tackier ‘Schapelle’.
    I think this one will split on the demographics, with the younger skewing towards “Schapelle” and the older towards “INXS:NTUA”.

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