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Here comes the 8:30 switch-off?

Ratings: Only one show from 8:30pm last night could rank above 400,000 viewers.

Beware. Viewing is now falling to lower numbers from as early as 8:30pm.

Only one new show after 8:30pm could register above 400,000 metro viewers last night.

Joanna Lumley’s Hidden Caribbean drew 450,000 then RBT (398,000) and The Montreal Comedy Festival (317,000), Ramsay’s 24 Hours to Hell and Back (249,000) and Insight (182,000).

Reality shows are still doing good business holding viewers to 9pm.

MasterChef Australia continued to reign in entertainment, last night at 975,000 viewers and topping the demos.

That was well in front of Big Brother (695,000), 7:30 (588,000), Paramedics (546,000), Foreign Correspondent (532,000) and a lift for Who Do You Think You Are? (403,000).

Seven network won Tuesday with 26.0% then Nine 25.4%, 10 21.8%, ABC 16.8% and SBS 10.0%

Seven News was #1 with 1.19m / 1.14m for Seven. The Chase was 695,000 / 642,000 and Home and Away was 669,000.  Criminal Minds was just 141,000.

Nine News (1.19m / 1.08m) led for Nine then A Current Affair (767,000). Hot Seat drew 620,000 /  367,000. Botched was 229,000.

The Project was 560,000 / 353,000 for 10 then 10 News First (476,000) and later NCIS (183,000).

ABC News won its slot with 820,000. Road to Now (389,000) and The Drum (237,000) followed.

On SBS it was  SBS World News (179,000) and Where Are You Really From? (144,000).

NCIS led multichannels on 175,000.

Sunrise: 277,000
Today: 228,000
News Breakfast: 152,000 / 51,000

OzTAM Overnights: Tuesday 30 June 2020

23 Responses

  1. I have both Amazon and Netflix, I used to have Stan but when they upped the cost, I opted out and went to Amazon and found it fantastic. I do like some of the foreign shows, very good stories and some very quirky. Take for example some of the first scenes in White Lines, priceless stuff. Interesting camera work also.

  2. There are way too many ads on FTA. I wait an extra hour each week so I can watch HYBPA? and Kinne on Tenplay without ads. The only thing I watch on FTA anymore is Brooklyn Nine-Nine because I can record it with my IQ3 and skip the ads and when I finally cancel Foxtel I’ll be waiting for it on Netflix. What is the point in FTA. Most shows take months to air, are full of ads, always late, and are always being taken off or moved around. I would rather wait a year and watch it on Netflix or Stan. I do wait for Ten shows because I can watch them on Tenplay with no ads.

    1. Unfortunately it didn’t start till 9.20pm, are they trying to kill that show too! Just happened the show I was streaming finished at 9.20 and I flicked over just as they were starting, last week they seemed to start even later so I didn’t even bother to tune in, just kept streaming as too hard to guess when they might start.

  3. When are the networks going to realise that by starting their shows at different, random times it’s actually killing the FTA industry. Sure, they would get viewers who stick around for what’s on next but I’m sure there’s many who have no interest in what’s on next and know shows on other networks have already started so they don’t even bother, and go straight to streaming.

    1. Based on what’s happened to 7 West Media’s share price over the past decade, I suspect they’ll only realise their mistakes when the share price finally hits zero…

  4. With the usual caveat of COVID-19 limiting available content the schedules are just utterly dire at the moment. Last night’s Top 20 featured only one drama (Home and Away), not a scrap of comedy and just wall to wall news and reality. There need to be other choices and other forms of presentation – it would be good to see some innovative forms of news presentation for example, say with an omniscient narrator rather than on camera host. Anything to get away from the drudgery and predictability of what is on offer. And I am only talking about prime time not the wasteland outside of it. Increased ratings during the pandemic should have massively increased revenues and that needs to be put back into programs.

    1. The Standard Media Index showing a drop of 35.4% in media agency advertising expenditure/spending across the board in Australia during the first full month of COVID-19 (April 2020).
      Ad spending changed:-33% in Television, -27% in Digital, -61% in Outdoor, -45% in Radio, -52% in Magazines, and -35% in Press.
      The only industries that increased ad spends was Australian Banks and Government.
      It is expected to not recover till the end of the year.

  5. We went looking at 8.30 but only found Rosemary & Thyme worth watching. Then discovered it is the same episode we have all seen about four times. For months, Tuesday night has been Cold Case, but that is gone or moved. None of the competition shows interest us at the moment. Waiting for Farmer Wants a Wife, and new Rosehaven and Hard Quiz, which I think will all be earlier shows.

  6. The vast majority begin to watch their drama on streamers around 830. The FTA networks raised a white flag some time ago despite evidence drama can still rate with add breaks. Shortsightedness had them fighting all the wrong fights.

  7. Blows my mind that Hot Seat rates anywhere near The Chase. Is it rusted-on Ch 9 viewers? People who can’t find the remote? It’s surely not on purpose. Couldn’t be. No way.

    1. I haven’t watched Hot Seat in years as my blood was boiling with Eddie blatantly giving out answers. The format is unfair as it is without him granting concessions to undeserving contestant after contestant.

      I would love to see a return of the classic format, but until then, I refuse to watch the flaming bag of poo that is Hot Seat.

  8. Shows that FTA is only for news, reality or sport. We’re streaming every night. It’s cheap (share a log in with friends). There are no adverts, pop ups, overruns. We watch what we want, when we want every night and are not at the mercy of the networks. My kids never watch FTA at all. If something is on FTA we want to see, we record it, skip adverts.

    1. I have been recording shows since the VHS days. I never watch TV live and always skip adverts. I do not have streaming services and have enough ABC and SBS documentaries or entertainment, some lifestyle and drama to keep me happy. At worst I will watch a DVD of a series I have borrowed if I haven’t seen it.

      1. Mostly ABC & SBS for me also…more than enough…I do not record….they both have excellent catch up…and SBS so many great movies….then there is Youtube…I do not have time for streaming services.

  9. Have you seen the volume of quality releases this week on Netflix? Add free? No voiced over truck drivers, no one buying things from auctions, no adds, on that, and going back several weeks now, Fast & Furious, 7Mate 830 start, eh I like the film, its on Netflix, I rest room, make a cuppa, sit down 845, F&F on Netflix, finish the film, back to FTA, still 45 mins run time…why would I waste time on FTA..

      1. Also a lot of the “foreign language content” Netflix Originals have English Dubbed versions (i.e. an English speak track), if you don’t want to read any subtitles.

  10. Not surprised really. The networks aren’t giving us anything to watch. There is nothing on. I stick to Netflix or whatever after 8:30pm so much lately.

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