“No comment” as The Project now runs overtime
The Project regularly runs overtime now, but TEN refuses to say why.
- Published by David Knox
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- Filed under Programming
Should we blame it all on Charlie Pickering, whose farewell speech extended to 8 full minutes, or throw our hands up in despair as TEN copies the competition?
Either way The Project is no longer finishing at 7:30pm.
In recent weeks it has been finishing at around 4-6 minutes late, despite other programming promoted as beginning at 7:30pm.
So does the show that used to hurriedly wrap up conversations as the credits rolled now find sixty minutes insufficient to cover its topics? Probably not.
Whether Peter Meakin has brought this idea across from Seven is unclear, but perhaps we should look to the trends that have emerged elsewhere this year for a deeper understanding of what’s going on.
The second half hour of the show is the network’s strongest audience outside of its 5pm News and trailing several minutes over the half hour junction is presumably a strategy to try to prevent viewers from switching over to the competition. Alas, that’s worked a treat for Seven and Nine at 8:30 – 8:45pm this year, all but killing off Secrets and Lies.
TV Tonight recently asked Seven and Nine about similar practices with regards to their breakfast shows seemingly unable to stick to their schedule.
In the interests of balance, it seemed only fair to put those same questions to TEN for The Project:
1) Why is The Project running overtime on a daily basis?
2) What times does it plan to end next week?
3) Will the EPG accurately reflect true times moving forward?
While Seven and Nine both responded to questions here, TEN declined to comment in relation to The Project.
Next week MasterChef Australia returns to 7:30pm and while the show is facing stiff competition from rival Reality shows, surely the last thing it wants to do is keep loyal fans waiting?
Meanwhile, you can always name and shame the worst offenders for Late Programming on TV Tonight’s crowd-sourcing Late List.
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- Tagged with MasterChef Australia, Secrets and Lies, The Project
41 Responses
Try flicking between Seven/Nine/Ten at 7:30 and you will notice that The Project just happens to finish at exactly the same time as Home & Away and ACA (or whichever finishes first). It’s obvious that the producers just let it run overtime until the audience over on the bigger networks is ready to switch over, rather than trying to preserve the 7pm audience into 7:30.
Producers produce as they are instructed.
Cannot believe how good Kate has been this week. I have always liked her but never seen her as a TV host, only a bit player. If they keep her they can go overtime as much as they like. Anyone else, 7.30 please.
@David Knox
Totally agree with your sentiments regarding the EPG accurately being aligned to running times, but unless ‘all’ do it its nearly as bad as none doing it, but what else have we have come to expect from out of step Network Ten, and the only consistency displayed by all the commercial broadcasters is one of ‘Arrogance’
Many have suggested some form of regulation may be needed, I’m on the record in many of my comments saying ‘Its is only going to get worse’ and almost daily there is more chance of regulations being eased and not tightened, simply because the more public opposition grows against Mr Abbott and Co’s tactics, the more he needs the same influences of the media that gifted him his landslide election victory.
‘Live’ shows runnning overtime can be excused to some extent. What I don’t understand is prerecorded shows consistently running over! And yet all channels somehow manage to fit to schedule when a sporting event is the next program…
Meh. Who cares. The Project is a shadow of it’s former self anyway.
Just look at Neighbours, that consistently runs over 7pm and start at least 2-3 minutes late.
If you can’t beat them join them I guess.
I agree re: Kate she has been terrific this week – the chemistry of Pete, Kate, Carrie and Dr Rocheford has been really fun to watch – wouldn’t mind that being the regular panel to be honest.
This is why we no longer watch commercial FTA apart from live sport.
While the odd and varied starting times might be annoying, if they didn’t tell fibs with their promos and also kept the EPG accurate as they are supposed to, it would be much less of an issue.
@Darcey09 – I wanted to say that.
Is there any real evidence to suggest that overrun (the small 2-5min kind) is an effective method of keeping people away from other shows, or do viewers say stuff it and watch the other show from T+5mins?
(Obviously a ~15 min gap is a different matter.)
I will give The Project some leeway, as it is live…live shows have always tended to run overtime however there isn’t really an excuse for any prerecorded show to run over as the network already knows exactly how long it is.
Sort of on the same topic…Millionaire Hot Seat always starts a few minutes before the advertised time. I wonder if it’s the only show to do this.
Tv schedules have always been programmed to finish on the hour or half hour. Sure there have been exceptions or occasional overruns but what the networks have been doing recently, while giving themselves a slight advantage and hurting the opposition is damaging long term. If you can’t switch over to another show you want to watch and catch the start people won’t watch something they don’t want to watch. They’ll stop watching tv or start taping everything. It’s not 1985. There are plenty of entertainment options. I have sympathy for ten, everyone else is doing it and right now they need to keep their lead in.
TEN will do anything to make sure they keep the audience from switching over at 730 ….. maybe they think this will help …..
If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?
Ten copying the competition? How soon we forget…
10 started it all years ago with The Panel regularly running 10,15, or 20 mins over scheduled end time. They even treated doing it as a knowing joke, with quick crosses to Sandra Sully supposedly waiting patiently to present the news.
Time for legislation – seems like these networks need intervention to save them from themselves
I bet all of a sudden their rating will improve if it was legislated they would have to keep to their scheduled times
2-6 minutes is nothing compared to what 7 and 9 have beenn doing for months and months, try 15-30 minutes over! Why is 10 suddenly being singled out for one show that is going over? Has it just become the norm for 7 and 9 to go overtime that no one bats an eyelid anymore? I also agree with ‘tvt’: Home and Away regularly runs over by at least five minutes most nights, 7 news also runs over by a few minutes most nights.
Firstly, other shows running 15 mins “over” are scheduled as such in the EPG, so while it isn’t ideal it isn’t actually misleading. Secondly, The Project is not the only show I have “singled out” for this habit. As the story indicates I put the same question to Seven and Nine recently. Are you suggesting TEN should not be asked the same questions? This change by The Project is recent and consistent. I would suggest the “no comment” implies it is deliberate.
David. The show was running overtime weeks before Charlies last night. I regulaly ask on the nightly facebook show thread why they run overtime now but no response.
I haven’t been a great fan of Kate Langbroek but I think her and Pete and Carrie are great together. Give her the gig.
As far as running overtime, as it’s not must see TV for us we just turn whenever.
I think we are all used to be treated with disdain and that is why so many of us go elsewhere for the stuff we really want to see.
I used to watch the second half of The Project, but 7two has quietly removed their 7pm news bulletin and Bargain Hunt now runs in that 6:30pm – 7:30pm timeslot.
I feel so sorry for the 8 or 9 viewers having to put up with the Project overrunning its original finish time. Not to to mention the 6 or 7 waiting for the show afterwards.
To be fair, while 7 and 9 responded, neither actually answered your questions. While I wish none of the networks employed this practice, I would actually prefer no answer to your questions rather than insulting spin as a response.
Many shows these days run overtime. I’m not a fan of it but I’m not sure why the project is being singled out here. Home and away in the same timeslot regularly runs approx. 2-6 minutes overtime most nights unless it is on before the footy.
Yet they’ll edit every episode of The Bold and the Beautiful down so they don’t run longer than 20½ minutes (and deny it). Is it any wonder why people turn away from TEN with all these inexplicable decisions.
Yeah it’s the biggest pain in the ass!! Ten was the one you could trust to start on time but now I know not to turn on 10 until 7.40pm