0/5

Wednesday, we have a problem.

Ratings: Graham Norton, beaten by SBS trains, and This is Us fail to fire for TEN, feeling the long tail pain of administration.

Spare a thought for TEN. Last night the numbers were dire and the cupboard was bare.

Emerging from administration it is feeling the long tail pain in its Programming, and the ongoing effects.

Having creatively commissioned Bachelor in Paradise for the period between I’m a Celebrity and MasterChef it is awaiting the end of Married at First Sight to avoid throwing the show under the bus.

That left it with The Graham Norton Show to run on Wednesday. At just 277,0oo in a 7:30 slot it was 5th behind trains on SBS. But worse was to come.

Having re-acquired rights to This is Us -one of the biggest network shows in the US- it faced a grim 197,000 / 156,000 for a double episode, indicating fans have either seen the show after waiting too long, or have moved on. Twelve months ago TEN may have drawn upon Modern Family episodes, but it no longer has the option. The schedule is left with a handful of bright spots and its Bachelor rescue will be left to assist in non ratings.

TEN’s predicament draws attention somewhat away from a second disappointing outing for Safe Harbour at 146,000. Looking at the lead-in half the SBS audience switched off despite Gogglebox giving it a rave review last night on Pay TV.

Nine network won Wednesday with 32.6%, Seven 30.7%, ABC 17.0%, TEN 12.7% and SBS 7.0%.

Married at First Sight was #1 with 1.19m viewers for Nine then Nine News (867,000 / 831,000), A Current Affair (754,000), 20 to ONE (500,000), Hot Seat (434,000 / 281,000) and Botched (268,000).

My Kitchen Rules (963,000) led for Seven then Seven News (899,000 / 881,000), Home and Away (641,000), The Chase (525,000 / 323,000), Manu’s American Road Trip (524,000). Movie: The 40 Year Old Virgin drew just 135,000.

ABC News (718,000), Shaun Micallef’s Mad as Hell (671,000), Hard Quiz (630,000), 7:30 (568,000), Squinters (367,000), Think Tank (193,000) and Insert Name Here (184,000) comprised ABC’s night.

The Project (455,000 / 280,000) led a tough night for TEN followed by TEN Eyewitness News (407,000), The Graham Norton Show (277,000), Family Feud (270,000). This is Us was just 197,000 / 156,000.

On SBS it was Great Continental Railway Journeys (281,000), Safe Harbour (146,000), The Good Fight (118,000) and SBS World News (117,000).

9Life’s Talking Married topped multichannels at 177,000.

Sunrise: 254,000
Today: 243,000
News Breakfast: 118,000 /

OzTAM Overnights: Wednesday 14 March 2018.

30 Responses

    1. I gave it a try, but in my opinion American drama has to be something special to appeal to Aussies. I found it over-dramatised, slow, and the themes unbelievable. For example, whenever two characters have a serious conversation they stand in the middle of the room and face each other with full eye contact. Compare that with 800 Words, Seachange etc who recognise that Aussies just don’t do that. This is Us needed a lot more lightness interspersed with the “drama”.

      Oh…and the totally unrealistic triplet pregnancy and delivery didn’t help.

  1. This is Us was only rating just over 300k by the end of S1 and with the stunt they pulled in the S1 final and still continuing drag out Jack’s inevitable death, it was going to be lower. And with MAFS & MKR staggered across it even lower still. Ten knew this when they agree a price for it, they got an award winning US show to pad out their lineup and its not like there are better options. It will pick up approximately 100k in timeshifting and is the most watched show on Ten Play (probably another 80k over a month). People under 55 won’t put down their phones and watch 60 (or 120m) of drama, especially full of ads. The exception that proves the rule is TGD, though even that has lost 300k viewer since the Winter @l^mp!c break.

  2. best new show which is worth watching is on ABc comedy ” Tonightly ” with Tim Bollard I think that’s his name .last night was hillarious the skit they did on sunrise breakfast show was hillarious. great to see an Aussie tonight show that is so fresh and current and super funny.

  3. I really thought with CBS buying ten there would have been some new local programming instead of this crap that’s on .other than ncis that new show with Hughesy and googlbox that’s all I watch .why hasn’t Ten given their new $2 million dollar star her own show ,the project can not survive with all those hosts too many now walled and Carrie have to go Carrie and Lisa is not working.lisa needs to be on five night a week . .Walleed is disliked by too many .where is a new breakfast show and try sport .they need to try something different .

    1. it’s going to take time for CBS ownership to cause any significant change. It takes time to launch shows it can’t just be done in 5 minutes. We probably won’t see much change at Ten until 2019.

  4. This Is Us is failing for the same reason Young Sheldon will fail- slow tracking. The networks still don’t get it. As for Safe Harbour, people got sick of the boat people issue years ago. I’m sure it’s well made but I don’t want to be preached to.

  5. The ratings for This is Us are absolutely dire.I wonder what are they going to do with it?It seems like it’s gone past the point of salvaging now.

  6. There is a handful of people who pop up on TV that have me reaching for the remote….a particular politician I find annoying …and another Tom Cruise….hence, I did not watch Graham Norton although I love the show….

  7. I had hoped the requirement of TEN by CBS wold have seen some noticeable changes, clearly not. Perhaps they have long term plans. Once upon a time I watched quite a lot of TEN as opposed to 7 and 9, not anymore. Poor Sandra Sully looks all alone reading the 5pm News. When Ron Wilson, Jessica Rowe, Tim Webster and Tim Bailey were fronting the evening Newss it was my preference rather than others. They presented the stories without showing a veiled political slant. Of course other shows had my interest but like many others, it seems, I’ve deserted the channel.

  8. hey TEN, wanna try something different? There is currently a cricket tour of South Africa going on with the Aussies in it – perhaps bidding and getting the rights for that (in prime time too for most of it) couldnt hurt.

    Stuff the re-conceived ideas of ratings periods etc – TV landscape has changed. I doubt Fox Sports is paying much for the rights and TEN has shown themselves to be good at covering cricket. The tour of SA is a cheap one as they woudlnt even need to provide broadcast team – its all packaged from the channel in SA. There is also some IPL cricket coming up too which would be close to prime time too

    Sports works TEN. try something bloody different

    1. Well, it wasn’t really a two hour episode, just 2 back to back, which they’ll be doing next week as well. Unfortunately, it looks like they’re burning it off.

  9. I find Tens programming is somewhat a mish-mash of programs strung together. Ten never have recovered after moving prime times shows from 7pm start to 7.30pm. Perhaps they need to revisit that. They struggle cause their 6to7.30 don’t provide the lead in 7&9 enjoy. Thus is where they need to concentrate on in my view. This time slot is vital for Ten to reclaim former glory. Whilst the project is a good show its not improving there viewership. After many years on air the Project still rates way below others. Not having a strong base allows 7&9 keep viewers and build from there. Lisa on the Project is wasting good talent l feel she should be given her own 7pm show in current affairs. Ten need to find a winning formula….

  10. TEN needs another “Number 96”. “Bold & the Beautiful” does well for them at 4:30, sometimes better than their primetime fare. Not suggesting moving it, but a primetime local soap couldn’t be more costly than the bore-fest “I’m a Celebrity”. ABC picked up “Wentworth”. A clone of “Prisoner” I believe. Remember that show TEN? Then, we need some decent writers. But no more slow, female-skewed boring shows like TEN has offered recently.

      1. I don’t want to protrude but isn’t TEN’s current offering “enough to drive a body beresk”? As TEN must make something dramatic, make it Dramatic.

    1. I like your thought Jason but it just won’t happen. 7, 9 and 10 have well and truly moved away from the genre of soap. Yes, 7 still has Home & Away on their primary channel but that’s because the show pays for itself from overseas sales. The same could be said of Neighbours but it’s on Eleven.
      Creating and establishing an Australian Soap is just too expensive. I’ve been watching closely the ratings on this site. Even the once almighty MKR has struggled to crack the 1 million. It would seem most have switched to MAFS, why I do not know. Any type of reality program is a turn off for me.
      It would seem a lot of Aussies are fulfilling their entertainment needs by other means.

  11. I watched Graham Norton last night and it was entertaining. I would have watched GN on catch up, but the ch10 player is appalling through an LG tv. As for This is Us, the promos make me want to vomit, they’re so ugh…Safe Harbour, most comments last week covered that and it’s reflected in the ratings. So it was ep4 (finale) of Collateral on netflix, which was disappointing

  12. I zone in and out of ‘This Is Us’… i find it all a bit mediocre and i’ve also heard all the “spoilers” months ago about what happens… i was actually planning on watching it last night though, and then i saw on the epg that it was a double ep… well that put me right off and i didn’t watch at all

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