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Rumour: Pointless

Speculation on the future of Pointless has media circles buzzing again.

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The rumour mill has ramped up on 10 quiz show Pointless with speculation it will not return into production.

Entertainment reporter Peter Ford this morning told 6PR he had heard the crew were advised this week, but 10 is understood to have a big batch of episodes in the can for the immediate future.

10 declined to comment today.

Yesterday it drew a mere 163,000 viewers, insufficient for a 6pm primetime slot. Its best figure this week was 189,000 on Monday. Meanwhile SBS is also preparing Mastermind to go head to head around May.

10 Head of Programming Daniel Monaghan recently told TV Tonight he would like the show to perform better.

“Mark and Rochy do a wonderful job as hosts and Shine make a very good show. I do think we’ve suffered a little bit from people who watched Family Feud and people who watch Pointless are not at all similar. So we’ve learned a lot.

“It’s a well-made show but whether or not we will be able to get there is another story.”

Monaghan confirmed there were no plans for “rested” show Family Feud but did not rule it out in the future.

“We built the set so our aim is to bring it back at some point but it’s not planned to be brought back right now,” he said.

35 Responses

  1. What’s going on? In the other article, you replied FF was axed. In this article 10 are saying Feud coming back at some stage. Very confusing! Can you please make it clear?

  2. It seems to me that 10 set up their programming mess way back when they decided to not have their news at 6pm. Ever since then they have struggled to be taken seriously with the News, and are unable to get the programming mix right.

    Like others, I wasn’t keen on the changes to the Aus Pointless, but the hosts make up for it, and I really enjoy it. But with family members who are rusted on to 6.00 being News time, I only get to watch when they are not home. Any other time, we would be watching regularly.

  3. I think Game shows need some sparkle so……. Let’s Bring back Jeopardy with Tony Barber. 😛 or It’s a knockout with Billy J Smith and Fiona Macdonald.

  5. I just thought that Pointless was TEN’s way of filling the slot with a game show that gave out substantially less prize money without the backlash that they would have been subjected to as they couldn’t have just decreased the prize money of Family Feud without viewers taking notice.

    Family Feud’s ratings were poor as well, so, as long they were to play an underperforming game show at 6pm, it may as well be one that gives out very little prize money.

  7. The show has a good cast & good production values. It doesn’t have grant Denyer which is a bonus. The only way forward is 4.00 Pointless, 430 Bold, 5pm News, 6-7 The project or 7pm Pointless

    1. Personally I think the News would be better for 5:30pm – 6:30pm as people are getting home at 5:30pm and they may get a jump on other channels and yep straight into The Project. Not sure I’m A Celeb, Changing Rooms and especially Dancing With The Stars would work at a 7pm start, Masterchef may as it did in the past but I don’t know. So a game show at 5pm up against the Chase and Millionaire that is a half hour long verses their hour formats, then just leaving prior to that (B&B etc) as is.

  8. In my opinion, I think they got the casting right however I think Andrew Rochford should of hosted and Mark should be at the desk. It just did not clicked for me and I was a big fan of the UK where (Yes both Comedians) but Alexander plays the straight man in the pairing

  10. 10 have a habit of shows with ominous titles living up to their name don’t they…e.g. Biggest Loser & now Pointless. I think they should cut their losses and run news for another 30 minutes. I think there would be an audience out there for a tight half hour 6pm news like the old 7&9 days. I imagine they would be reaching a different audience to those watching the 5pm news.

  11. Translation: Family Fued viewers can just sit and shout out half a dozen answers, whereas Pointless actually requires critical thinking.

    Love Mark and Doc – both are great. We will definitely miss it if it goes.

    I think they should have been doing ”prime-time specials” like FF did occasionally, to give other people opportunities to sample the show. Like right now could be having some ‘I’m A Celeb” specials. etc.

  12. Family Fued failed and now Pointless has failed. Don’t just throw something else in the same time slot. Ten need to learn from their mistakes. They need to maybe revamp everything from 5pm to 7:30pm. Don’t just change the deck chairs and hope to get a different result.

  15. I just can’t figure out how people can say bring back shows such as Family Feud, Sale of the Century etc. Weren’t they booted because of low ratings in the first place? I can never quite get my head around that?? If people stopped complaining and just watched Pointless for a few episodes they may just get a laugh out of it and enjoy.

  16. I was very cynical of it but I really enjoy it now, I like the mix of categories – sometimes political, sometimes pop culture. It’d be a shame if it went, but what else would they put in there?

  18. I’ll take formats that are not good for $1,000 Alex. I love a good quiz show but this format is not a good quiz show. Bring back sale of the century or jeopardy or million dollar minute or that suit case show or any other option – I understand 10 won’t have access to all of them. What about something in the cbs stable. Something that people can relate to.

    1. If Pointless was to get the chop, I would suspect they would try The Price Is Right with a new Australian host. (I suspect Larry Emdur is still on an assumed long term contract with Channel 7)

      Think about it, CBS broadcasts TPIR in the USA. If CBS was given the opportunity, it is not unrealistic to think that they might want to Americanize our country’s edition. That would be good and bad in some ways.

    1. Yes, an hour long with 4 couples like the UK version, which the ABC had in the 4.15 PM slot until late last year. No ad breaks was a big plus for me with that show.I can’t imagine TEN would ever do that!

  23. There may have been a mere 163,00 viewers, but my wife and I were two of those, and both have become quite addicted to this irreverent take on the British original.

    The UK version has its place, but you can only memorise a certain number of chemical elements before your brain goes on strike.

    Fingers crossed the Doc and Mark manage to get the renewal they deserve so we can hear more ways the highest scoring contestants will be ‘eliminated’ that night. Have we had “Exerminated” (in a dalek voice) yet?

  25. I find pointless, just that.
    The Feud has a cosy family team feel, that is more appealing . It will certainly be back because of the simplicity of the game , for the entertainment value.
    What needs to be revamped is the annoying scoring system that often makes only the last round count. They are trying to extend the ‘who will win’ suspense. That is childish, all rounds should be equal. We will still watch to the end , because of the ‘comedy’ value.
    While we are talking Game shows – on ‘the chase’, could you please let us know the chasers final answer. It would give us a better indication of the size of the win.

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