“New: Bondi Rescue” in 10 EPG
How to let people know you show is not a repeat? Not this way.
- Published by David Knox
- on
- Filed under Programming
10 is making some subtle -if rather unnecesary- tweaks to its EPG listings next week is what appears to be a push to alert people to new episodes.
Instead of Bondi Rescue in the EPG the 10 show will be listed as New: Bondi Rescue.
Similarly there is New: FBI: International and New: Law & Order: SVU.
So far it doesn’t extend to all titles such as New: Have You Been Paying Attention? or New: 10 News First.
I can only deduce this is because the network is not happy with the ratings and fearful that people assume these are rerun episodes.
But networks also need to take some responsibility. The amount of rerun content (particularly on 10) and shifting timeslots means viewers do get confused about what is first run material.
I’m not convinced this is the best answer and really, where will it stop?
- Tagged with Bondi Rescue, FBI: International, Law & Order: SVU
9 Responses
I actually think this is a good idea & all networks should do it. One thing I like about the Foxtel EPG it has the season & episode nos. Why don’t the DVD recorder EPG’s do that? It is so annoying not knowing which season & episodes are airing especially when they are always switching from new to older episodes all the time like 10 is doing at the moment with FBI. They just suddenly stop showing new episodes half way through a season with no explanation & start showing repeats.
Given the series and episode numbers are also published, it is very easy to see if the episode is one that you have watched or not.
This may backfire if audiences start looking for “new” and disregard everything else. Previously, a viewer may have unknowingly started to watch a repeat and not realise until it’s too late to switch channels, but by then they’ve been added to the “peak” ratings.
There’s nothing worse than sitting down and looking forward to a show and to get 10 minutes in and then realise you have already seen that episode before. I thought that most listings say “repeat” but these days it doesn’t seem very common.
This amendment to EPG titles is frustrating as it disrupts series link recordings on Foxtel and Fetch because the new program title does not match the titles in the active recording list. It took me a long time to figure out why Nine News (the 6pm Edition) stopped recording on my Fetch, even though it was listed in the active recordings. I eventually realised that the program name had been changed to 9 News, which prevented the recording to occur.
Missed recordings are a bonus to the Networks as viewers are then forced to use a “catch-up” channel with limited ad-skipping. “Your custom is important to us” but we also have other priorities.
For some reason sometimes series link cannot distinguish between series or times either…. like the ABC channels that have multiple repeats of a show on both channels …e.g..Hard Quiz..Gruen..Austin…also Law and Order SVU on Ten S 24 & 25…and now Hudson and Rex on Viceland with series 3 on Saturday night and S2 on Sunday…I get clash messages every week ..and have to reschedule..
Ten previously did this with “The All New Simpsons”, which I suppose was fair given that repeats were a network staple (ah, the good old days). But I doubt that highlighting the fact that they’re playing new episodes of FBI or Bondi Rescue is going to make much of a difference (if any),
It is quite common in the UK with +1 and multichannels that re-air the same programmes. I don’t think it’s a bad idea.