The Sun-Herald

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Our best asset: daggy idealism

by David Dale.
The land that loves to lose. This view of us comes up for discussion on this day every year. It seems to be one of those elusive "Australian values" so many people are trying to pin down nowadays. A book called Who We Are -- A miscellany of the new Australia*, offers (amongst a listing of such national characteristics as "Laconic understatement", "Fair go", "Mateship" and "The tall poppy syndrome") the following:

"Loving to lose. There's a theory that Australia, founded by rejects from British society, is more inclined to celebrate failure than success, with a national holiday devoted to a military fiasco, a hero hanged after bungling a bank robbery, an alternative anthem about a sheep thief who commits suicide, and a film industry that keeps making self-critical movies that nobody goes to see."

To these symptoms of national masochism we might add the fact that the most watched TV program so far this decade was a tennis match in which an Australian we didn't like was defeated by a Russian. And the fact that the most successful Australian movies of the decade have included a musical about a failed writer who loves a dying prostitute, a thriller about a psychopath who tortures tourists in the outback, and a tragedy about junkies in Cabramatta.

But if you take a longer term view of the way Australians like to see themselves, you might analyse the pattern in quite a different way. The most successful locally made TV series of the past ten years have been Dancing With The Stars, The Block, Big Brother, Australian Idol, Kath and Kim and SeaChange. The most successful locally made movies of the past 20 years have been Crocodile Dundee, Babe, Moulin Rouge, Strictly Ballroom, The Dish and Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.

None of them features the kind of hero who might appear in US movies and TV shows, but they're not about losers either. They're about ordinary people who are prepared to have a go, even though the task is difficult or risky or embarrassing. They are about the triumph of innocent enthusiasm over cynical pessimism.

In our favourite flick, Mick Dundee thrives in the big city, partly because he carries a machete but mainly because he never descends to the level of the mean Manhattanites. In our favourite TV show, Simone Warne knows she can't dance but keeps trying. The central characters of Babe, Strictly Ballroom, Kath and Kim and SeaChange pass cheerfully through turbulent times, with only their innocence for protection.

The Australians at Gallipoli may be attempting the impossible, but they die occupying the moral high ground. There it is again. Daggy idealism. Having a go. And for at least one day of the year, that's not a bad quality to celebrate.

* David Dale is the author of Who We Are -- A snapshot of Australia today (Allen and Unwin). His latest book is Soffritto -- A delicious Ligurian memoir. To join a daily discussion of Australian attitudes, go to http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

• by David Dale in The Tribal Mind at 02:38 PM
• Comments (63)

Friday, April 21, 2006

The (non) ratings race: weeks 15 and 16

This blog is now history. To join the latest discussion of Australian attitudes, go to http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

Updated 10 am Friday April 21.
Thank God it's almost over -- the Easter "non-ratings period", that is. At this point in a fortnight of rubbish and repeats, Australians are so desperate for entertainment that 1.33 million viewers in the mainland capitals last night were prepared to stick with a bunch of old clips from 'Lost', strung together with flim flam from the series creator J. J. Abrams.

It was called 'Lost: Revelation' but as usual, nothing was revealed. Up against it, a repeat episode of 'Medium' attracted 1 million -- nearly as many as a new episode normally gets.

Seven won the night, with 29.4 per cent of the prime time audience share, followed by Nine on 28.4, Ten on 23.3, ABC on 13.1 and SBS on 5.3. "Official" ratings start again on Sunday, which will probably be won by Ten, since Nine and Seven are holding their fire against 'Big Brother'.

Most watched shows Thursday
1 The Biggest Loser (10) 1.4m
2 Today Tonight (7) 1.4m
3 Nine news (9) 1.4m
4 Seven news (7) 1.3m
5 Lost: Revelation (7) 1.3m
6 A Current Affair (9) 1.3m
7 Home and Away (7) 1.2m
8 Getaway (9) 1.2m
9 Las Vegas (7) 1.2m
10 Amazing Medical Stories (9) 1.1m.
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

Updated 10 am Thursday April 20.
We need to laugh, and when the sun is out, We've got something we can laugh about. The sun is out for Channel Ten and the ABC, who both reap huge audiences on Wednesdays from Australia's need to laugh.

'Thank God You're Here', Ten's improvisational sketch show, soared to 1.74 million viewers in the mainland capitals last night, while 'Spicks and Specks' became the ABC's most watched show of the week, with 1.16 million.

In this column's opinion, Fifi Box is the only weak link in TGYH. But who should replace her?

The obvious answer is Gretel Killeen. Before she became a Deeply Important Person, she used to be a down and dirty standup comic, with the blend of resourcefulness and self-mockery a TGYH contestant needs. A couple of weeks of risk-taking might be the remaking of her. Any other casting suggestions to keep TGYH's standards up? The entire gang from Spicks and Specks? Bert Newton? Cate Blanchett?

Most watched shows Wednesday
1 Thank God You're Here (10) 1.7m
2 Today Tonight (7) 1.5m
3 Prison Break (7) 1.5m
4 Seven news (7) 1.4m
5 The Biggest Loser (10) 1.4m
6 Nine news (9) 1.4m
7 A Current Affair (9) 1.3m
8 Home and Away (7) 1.3m
9 House rpt (10) 1.3m
10 Spicks and Specks (ABC) 1.2m
(OzTAM preliminary estimates)

Updated 10 am Wednesday April 19.
Kate Langbroek may have been voted off Dancing With The Stars last night but she does have the consolation of knowing that she is three times as popular as Jesus Christ -- which is more than John Lennon could ever claim. Or perhaps she's just three times as popular as Mel Gibson (see below).

Channel Nine had wiped the floor with Seven over the Easter break, but once the floor was clean, the dancers moved onto it and lifted Seven back to the top in audience share. We hope that's not too much of a mixed-metaphorical way of reporting that 2.13 million viewers in the mainland capitals switched on Seven to see 'Dancing With The Stars' last night.

Most watched shows Tuesday
1 Dancing With The Stars (7) 2.1m
2 Seven news (7) 1.6m
3 Today Tonight (7) 1.5m
4 The Biggest Loser (10) 1.5m
5 Nine news (9) 1.5m
6 All Saints (9) 1.4m
7 A Current Affair (9) 1.3m
8 Home and Away (7) 1.3m
9 CSI rpt (9) 1.2m
10 The Simpsons (10) 1.1m
(OzTAM preliminary estimates)

Updated 10 am Tuesday April 18.
Audience estimates for the past few days suggest the kind of people who stay home over Easter to be measured by OzTAM are lovers of current affairs and the ABC. But they are not lovers of religious programs. Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ drew only 418,000 viewers across four mainland capitals on Friday night, plus 182,000 in Melbourne on Sunday. Part one of the special-effects spectacular The Ten Commandments drew only 837,000 on Sunday night, but grew to 960,000 on Monday.

Most watched shows Thursday April 13 to Monday April 17.
1 Cold Case (9) 1.7m
2 Nine news Sunday(9) 1.7m
3 Seven news Monday (7) 1.6m
4 Today Tonight Monday (7) 1.6m
5 20 to 1 (9) 1.6m
6 60 Minutes (9) 1.5m
7 A Current Affair Monday (9) 1.5m
8 Nine news Monday (9) 1.5m
9 The Biggest Loser Monday (10) 1.5m
10 Home and Away Monday (7) 1.1m
11 The Great Outdoors (7) 1.2m
12 Hotel Babylon (9) 1.1m
13 Doc Martin (ABC) 1.1m
14 Dalziel and Pascoe (ABC) 1.1m
15 Nine's Sunday football (9) 1.1m.
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

Updated 10 am Thursday April 13.
Comedy is king on Wednesday nights. Ten's improvisational sketch show 'Thank God You're Here' boosted its audience (thanks to Shaun Micallef, some might say) and the ABC's 'Spicks and Specks' rocketed into the top ten.

What Australia watched on Wednesday
1 HOUSE RPT Ten 1.484m
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1.458m
3 THANK GOD YOU'RE HERE Ten 1,456m
4 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,400m
5 THE BIGGEST LOSER (AUS) Ten 1,316m
6 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,208
7 NATIONAL NINE NEWS Nine 1,202
8 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,149
9 SPICKS AND SPECKS-EV ABC 1,117
10 BEYOND TOMORROW (R) Seven 1,099,000
OZTAM preliminary figures

What Australia watched on Tuesday.
1 DANCING WITH THE STARS 4: THE TOP FIVE Seven 1,645,000
2 THE BIGGEST LOSER (AUS) Ten 1,421,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,406,000
4 CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION -RPT Nine 1,404,000
5 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,395,000
6 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,253,000
7 NATIONAL NINE NEWS Nine 1,223,000
8 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,179,000
9 CSI: NY -RPT Nine 1,144,000
10 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,131,000
11 SURVIVOR: PANAMA-EXILE ISLAND Nine 1,086,000
12 THANK GOD FOR THE SIMPSONS Ten 1,069,000

Updated 10 am Tuesday April 11.
Channel Nine keeps on winning in a fortnight when winning doesn't matter. Last night it repeated an episode of '20 to 1' and managed as many viewers as that show pulls when it's new. Some viewers just can't get enough of nostalgia.But repeating 'Desperate Housewives' doesn't work as well for Seven. An episode containing a bunch of old clips lost 700,000 viewers from last week. In the absence of serious competition, a new episode of Ten's 'The Biggest Loser' was top show for the night.

Nine's prime time audience share was 27.4 per cent, followed by Seven on 26.7, Ten on 22.5, ABC on 17.7 (boosted by new Andrew Denton, who beat new 'Hotel Babylon') and SBS on 5.7.

What Australia watched on Monday night
1 The Biggest Loser (10) 1.6m
2 Today Tonight (7) 1.5m
3 Cold Case (9) 1.5m
4 Seven news (7) 1.5m
5 20 to 1 repeat (9) 1.3m
6 Home and Away (7) 1.3m
7 Nine news (9) 1.3m
8 Desperate Housewives Juicy Details (7) 1.2m
9 A Current Affair (9) 1.1mm
10 Bondi Rescue (10) 1.1m
11 The Great Outdoors repeat (7) 1.1m
12 Enough Rope with Andrew Denton (ABC) 1.0m
(OzTAM preliminary figures)

Updated 10 am Monday April 10.
Bugger! That's what Eddie McGuire must be saying this morning. The biggest audience '60 Minutes' has achieved for the year -- 1. 94 million in the mainland capitals -- and it's on a night when the ratings don't count towards the year's totals.

Channel Nine did so well at the begining of the Easter "non-ratings period" we are inclined to believe the theory that Seven did a deal with the devil, and he's being even more mischievous than the contract requires.

This column is embarrassed to admit that we have no idea what was on '60 Minutes' last night (we were watching 'Helen of Troy', or more precisely Bettany Hughes talking about Helen of Troy). Channel NIne kindly tells us that there was the discovery of a family that walks on all fours (possibly a missing link between humans and apes); an interview with the Rolling Stones, and a report on a woman with multiple sclerosis. If any reader can suggest which of these was fascinating enough to hold such a huge audience, please use the comment space below to inform us.

It's academic which station won the night (because for the next two weeks the advertisers don't care), but Nine had a prime time audience share of 33.3 per cent, followed by Seven on 28.0 per cent, Ten on 19.0, ABC on 13.3 and SBS on 6.4.

What Australia watched on Sunday night
1 60 Minutes (9) 1.9m
2 Where Are They Now (7) 1.9m
3 CSI (9) 1.7m
4 Nine news Sunday (9) 1.5m
5 Seven news Sunday (7) 1.4m
6 Hotel Babylon (9) 1.2m
7 Ghost Whisperer (7) 1.0m
8 ABC news (ABC) 1.0m
9 Australia's Brainiest Cricketer (10) 0.98m
10 Law and Order: Criminal Intent (10) 0.89m
(OzTAM preliminary figures)

David Dale is the author of Who We Are -- A snapshot of Australia today (Allen and Unwin). His latest book is Soffritto -- A delicious Ligurian memoir. To join a daily discussion of Australian attitudes, go to http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

A summary of last week
Eddie McGuire needs to say goodbye more often. The ratings report for last week shows that his farewell performance as host of 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire' gave Channel Nine a rare success in a week when it was savaged by both Seven and Ten.

McGuire attracted 1.34 million viewers last Monday to his revelation that 'Millionaire' will disappear until July, so Nine can find and train a new host and he can get on with saving the network.

It was a stellar ratings performance against 'Desperate Housewives' on Seven and an AFL match involving McGuire's own team, Collingwood, on Ten in the southern states. But it was not enough to put 'Millionaire' among the top ten programs in a week of triumph for Ten.

Ten's new local comedy 'Thank God You're Here' drew 1.48 million people on Wednesday, while the US medical medical drama 'House' soared to 1.59 million and the diet game 'The Biggest Loser' had its best week, averaging 1.39 million. Ten will launch a new season of 'Big Brother' as soon as the Easter non-ratings fortnight ends.

Last Wednesday McGuire moved from genial host to hardnosed boss, cancelling 'Clever', Georgie Parker's Sunday night game show, which was half a million viewers behind Seven's 'Where Are They Now?' Nine's spokeswoman said: "Clever is being rested, with the format to be revisited later in the year. While Clever performed well, its ratings haven't been enough to justify such a key place in the schedule."

The addition of celebrities such as Pauline Hanson briefly boosted audiences for Bert Newton's 'Family Feud', the afternoon show that leads into Nine's news, but by Thursday it was back below 500,000 --suggesting that when the Logie Awards are over, Bert could be another victim of Nine's current ruthlessness.

Seven won the week with a prime time audience share of 28.9 per cent, followed by Nine on 27.9, Ten on 23.2, ABC on 14.9 and SBS on 5.1.

During the non-ratings fortnight, Nine is replacing 'Clever' with 'Extreme Makeover' and launching the British soap 'Hotel Babylon' and a new season of 'Super Nanny'. After Easter, Nine will launch two documentary series: 'Hello Goodbye', about Sydney airport, and 'Missing Persons Unit', about NSW police.

Three of Seven's hits -- 'Lost', 'Prison Break' and 'Commander in Chief' -- are starting to fade, and 'Dancing With The Stars' may suffer from last Tuesday's surprise removal of Jennifer Hawkins. But after Easter, Seven hopes to regain momentum with the return of 'Grey's Anatomy', 'Border Security', and '24'.

What Australia watched last week
1 Dancing With The Stars (7) 2.1m
2 Desperate Housewives (7) 1.8m
3 Where Are They Now (7) 1.7m
4 House (10) 1.6m
5 Seven news Sunday (7) 1.5m
6 Thank God You're Here (10) 1.5m
7 Lost (7) 1.5m
8 Today Tonight (7) 1.5m
9 Nine news Sunday (9) 1.5m
10 60 Minutes (9) 1.4m
(OzTAM preliminary figures)

This time last year
1 Desperate Housewives (7) 2.2m
2 Lost (7) 2.0m
3 Dancing With The Stars (7) 1.8m
4 60 Minutes (9) 1.7m
5 CSI Sunday (9) 1.6m
6 Grand Prix (10) 1.5m
7 Celebrity Overhaul (9) 1.5m
8 Without A Trace (9) 1.5m
9 CSI Miami (9) 1.5m
10 The Great Outdoors (7) 1.4m

• by David Dale in The Tribal Mind at 04:19 PM
• Comments (259)

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

The seven tribes of tellyland

By David Dale.
Despite what the politicians say, there is no such thing as "the average Australian". There are many different average Australians -- which is why it's fun to live in this country.

But this diversity is a headache for TV programmers. The fragmentation of the mass market means advertisers nag the networks with this sort of question: "Yeah, yeah, we know Desperate Housewives attracts 1.9 million viewers each week in the mainland capitals. But what kind of viewers are they -- male, female, young, old, rich, poor, smart or silly?"

These days, when TV types talk about how a show is doing, they don't just call it a hit or a flop. They use this sort of jargon:

"It skews young male, so the footy will knock it around" (Translation: most viewers of Prison Break are men aged between 16 and 39, who will shift to Channel Nine if there's a football match).

"We were thinking GBs, but it went wider" (Translation: The Biggest Loser was expected to attract grocery buyers, but instead it's popular with young males and high income earners).

"It's no big loss, because it was skewing old" (Nine is in no hurry to bring back Who Wants To Be A Millionaire because the main audience is people over 55).

"It might pull a few OG1s from the ABC" (The miniseries Rome, about the rise of Julius Caesar, is likely to appeal to people in Occupational Group 1 -- professionals earning more than $70,000 a year).

The networks and the research agency OzTAM find it useful to divide Australian viewers into seven tribes. These were the most watched shows for each tribe during the latest week of "official" ratings:

People over 55
1 Dancing With The Stars
2 Seven News
3 Who Wants To Be A Millionaire
4 ABC News.
5 Today Tonight
The oldies are also fond of Dalziel and Pascoe, The Bill and Australian Story, but are strangely uninterested in 20 to 1 (which finds its best audience with men aged 25 to 54).
The rich (OG1s and OG2s)
1 Desperate Housewives
2 Dancing With The Stars
3 House
4 Where Are They Now
5 Lost.
The top occupational groups are also fond of Spicks and Specks, The Biggest Loser and Thank God You're Here.
Grocery buyers
1 Dancing With The Stars
2 Where Are They Now
3 Desperate Housewives
4 All Saints
5 Seven News.
The shoppers also like Today Tonight, McLeod's Daughters, and Doc Martin.
Men aged 16-39
1 Lost
2 Thank God You're Here
3 Prison Break
4 House
5 The Simpsons.
The groovy guys also like Friday Night Football, Futurama, and The Biggest Loser.
Women aged 16-39
1 Desperate Housewives
2 House
3 The Biggest Loser
4 Dancing With The Stars
5 Thank God You're Here.
The groovy chicks also like Commander in Chief, The Amazing Race and The OC.
Men aged 25-54
1 Friday Night Football
2 Lost
3 Desperate Housewives
4 Thank God You're Here
5 House.
The mainstream men also like Prison Break, 60 Minutes and The Simpsons.
Women aged 25-54
1 Desperate Housewives
2 Dancing With The Stars
3 House
4 Where Are They Now
5 The Biggest Loser.
The mainstream women also like All Saints, Ghost Whisperer and Commander in Chief.

You may now understand why certain commercials always appear with certain shows. The advertisers are targeting you by tribe.

David Dale is the author of Who We Are -- A snapshot of Australia today (Allen and Unwin). His latest book is Soffritto -- A delicious Ligurian memoir. To join a daily discussion of Australian attitudes, go to http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

• by David Dale in The Tribal Mind at 05:57 AM
• Comments (52)

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

Damaging young minds, eroding national values

by David Dale.
A high school student phoned last week and asked if this column could help her with an assignment. Her teacher was under the impression we might be able to answer a few simple questions about popular culture, and she wanted to email them to us. We said yes. Now we're seeking your advice. Here is what she sent:

1. What do you think encompasses Australian values?

2. Do you think Big Brother is suitable for prime-time television?
3. What do you think has made this show so popular?
4. Do you believe this show is eroding Australian values to any extent? Why?
5. Do you think the contestants are a reflection of society or do they reflect what society is becoming? Why?
6. Do you think this show represents reality? Why?
7. Regarding children in particular, is this show damaging to their values and perceptions of themselves and society?
8. What do you believe motivates people to become contestants of the show?
9. What is your opinion of the 'uncut' segment of the show?
10. As the series continues to appear each year, where do you believe this show is heading? How far can they push the boundaries?
11. In general, do you believe society's younger generation is being demoralised and desensitised by Big Brother?

We wondered for a moment if this might be a stunt dreamed up by Channel Ten to promote a show which returns to the box as soon the Easter non-ratings period is over, but we had to give this poor student the benefit of the doubt. These were the answers we sent ...

1. Curious about new ideas, loyal to family and mates, skeptical about pretentiousness, cheerful, calm, generous, modest, irreverent. 2. Yes. 3. Like any soap opera, it has the potential to be funny, sexy, suspenseful and horrifying. It lets viewers ask themselves "What would I do if I were in these circumstances". It could be a fascinating experiment in group psychology.

4. Not more than other TV shows. Some contestants are unpleasant people who do not embody the values listed above. But the viewers soon identify the good, the bad and the stupid, and are more likely to mock the contestants than admire them. The main issue is that BB seems to hold up "notoriety" as a virtue, and implies it can be achieved without talent or hard work.

5. The contestants are chosen and portrayed by the producers as extremes of certain character types, so they are not a cross-section of young Australia. 6. No, it is an artificial situation. 7. Not necessarily. If parents allow their children to watch the 7pm version of the show, they should sit with the kids and discuss what is happening.

8. They are exhibitionists who think this will give them instant fame. 9. Like the rest of the show, but with more nudity. 10. The broadcasting authority has ordered Channel Ten to edit more responsibly, so it won't go further in the direction of sexy content. This year it's likely to contain more constructed games and role-play.

11. No. It might even have the opposite effect. Provided parents and teachers give younger viewers the tools to analyse the issues raised by the contestants' behaviour, BB could be a useful lesson in how humans interact and how the media try to manipulate audiences. The main problem for me is that Channel Ten shows too much BB, at the expense of program variety, and it becomes tedious.

You may have a different view. If you'd like to help this poor student and her optimistic teacher, you can join the discussion below.

David Dale is the author of Who We Are -- A snapshot of Australia today (Allen and Unwin). His latest book is Soffritto -- A delicious Ligurian memoir. To join a daily discussion of Australian attitudes, go to http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

• by David Dale in The Tribal Mind at 06:28 AM
• Comments (158)

Sunday, April 9, 2006

The ratings race: week 14

This blog is now history. To join the latest discussion of Australian attitudes, go to http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

To reward readers who check this blog on Saturdays and Sundays (ie wasting their own time instead of their employer's), we're introducing an irregular feature which will raise and dissect rumours. Our first rumour is that Seven is about to axe Prison Break or move it to a later timeslot. Seven has given us this response:

"Prison Break and Commander In Chief rank as the number 1 and number 2 new scripted programmes on television. Both are in particularly difficult timeslots and both are delivering stunning audiences -- actually bigger audience shares , as in percentages of viewers -- than they achieve in the US. Prison Break is up 40 per cent on Blue Heelers audience in the same timeslot last year. We have two great programmes duking it out -- Prison Break and House. Both are holding each other. Why would we or Ten consider a schedule change? Commander in Chief wins its slot in every demographic under 55. It's not moving, either."

Seven refuses to reveal timeslots for its forthcoming programs. "What we do know is that we're supremely competitive with very few timeslots requiring immediate surgery. We have Grey's, 24, My Name Is Earl, Crossing Jordan and a new hit from the US (The Unit) and another promising programme from the creator of Lost (What About Brian) in the wings. Add in Border Security, True Stories, Medical Emergency, more Where Are They Now, another instalment of Dancing with the Stars and some new Australian series in pre-production. We also have THE two hotter-than-hot US series to come: Criminal Minds starring Mandy Patinkin (up against Lost in the US and is now level-pegging with it). Bones is up 50 percent from its debut and is now a top 20 and rising in the US rankings. This is a buzz programme like Desperate and Lost -- an X Files for the new millennium that's redefined the procedural drama genre."

Now here's a little contest. The Tribal Mind will give a copy of the popular culture guidebook 'Who We Are' to the reader who correctly guesses the timeslot Seven will give to Grey's Anatomy. Can you put yourself into the mind of a TV programmer? Where are the other networks vulnerable and where does Seven need strengthening? Send us your guess (via the comment space below) before midnight Sunday (when we start the new week's ratings blog). Sometime in the next two months Seven will announce its plans for Grey's Anatomy and we will all know the winner.

Updated 10am Friday April 7
Thursday used to be one of the big viewing nights of the week. Now it seems to be an occasion when people stay out for dinner. If 'Lost' can be the most watched program with just 1.5 million in the mainland capitals, clearly a big chunk of former viewers are Somewhere Else.

Seven won the night with 30.5 per cent of the prime time audience, with Nine on 27.3, Ten on 22.9, ABC on 14.0 and SBS on 5.3 (thanks to Inspector Rex).

'Bert's Family Feud' had been doing well earlier in the week, thanks to an infusion of the faded famous (is there anything left for Pauline Hanson?) but fell victim to the late night shopping yesterday by slipping back to 460,000. Oddly, the shopping urge does no harm to Bert's rival, Deal Or No Deal, which managed 880,000 yesterday.

What Australia watched on Thursday
1 Lost (7) 1.5m
2 Seven news (7) 1.4m
3 Today Tonight (7) 1.3m
4 The Biggest Loser (10) 1.3m
5 Home and Away (7) 1.3m
6 Nine news (9) 1.2m
7 A Current Affair (9) 1.2m
8 Getaway (9) 1.2m
9 Las Vegas (7) 1.2m
10 Medium (10) 1.1m
OzTAM preliminary figures, mainland capitals

Updated 10am Thursday April 6
The Working Dogs have done it again. The team that gave us Frontline, The Castle, The Dish, All Aussie Adventures and The Panel have another hit on their paws with Thank God You're Here. Last night the improvisational sketch show attracted 1.48 million viewers in the mainland capitals, and combined with The Biggest Loser and House to give Channel Ten its best night of the year so far.

Ten won prime time with 28.3 per cent of the audience, followed by Seven on 28.1 per cent, Nine on 24.2, the ABC on 14.7 and SBS on 4.7. If Eddie McGuire wants to have any hope of generating a new hit show this year, he'd better knock on the door of the Melbourne office labelled Working Dog Productions.

What Australia watched on Wednesday
1 House (10) 1.6m
2 Today Tonight (7) 1.6m
3 Seven news (7) 1.5m
4 Thank God You're Here (10) 1.5m
5 The Biggest Loser (10) 1.5m
6 McLeod's Daughters (9) 1.4m
7 Home and Away (7) 1.3m
8 Prison Break (7) 1.3m
9 Nine news (9) 1.3m
10 NCIS (10) 1.2m
OzTAM preliminary figures, mainland capitals

Updated 4pm Wednesday April 5
This afternoon we received this hot rumour: Channel Nine has just cancelled its Sunday night geek gameshow 'Clever', leaving the excellent Georgie Parker unemployed. We asked Nine about this, and got this reply:

"Clever is being rested, with the format to be revisited later in the year. While Clever performed well, its ratings haven't been enough to justify such a key place in the schedule. Coming up in terms of launches, Hotel Babylon starts this Sunday, with Supernanny in from Good Friday. Post Easter we will launch Hello Goodbye and return Missing Persons Unit."

Asked what will replace Clever, Nine replied: "Clever was never scheduled to air over that non-ratings fortnight, with Extreme Makeover to air at 6.30pm for the next two Sundays. Beyond that, we are keeping our plan for the slot under wraps for now."

So Nine has started getting rid of shows without having anything interesting to replace them with. A curious programing strategy, to say the least.

Meanwhile, more than 2.1 million Australians in the mainland capitals on Tuesday night watched the most shocking moment in the history of 'Dancing With The Stars': the sexiest contestant, Jennifer Hawkins, was voted off by the viewers, despite being a favourite of the judges.

What drove them to this? Jealousy? Sympathy for the second-raters? An outbreak of the tall poppy syndrome? The host, Daryl Somers, could not contain his astonishment, inadvertently insulting the other dancers with the speculation that viewers must have thought Hawkins was going so well they didn't need to vote for her.

This bit of blood sport helped Seven to win the night with 36.1 per cent of the prime time audience, with Nine on 25.9 per cent, Ten on 20.8, ABC on 12.8 and SBS on 4.5.

Nine news beat Seven news in Sydney and Brisbane, and Pauline Hanson helped 'Bert's Family Feud' to leap by 100,000 to a record 633,000 across the capitals. But Nine's new prime time game show, 'Survivor: Panama' is sinking fast, with just 931,000 viewers.

Viewers of 'Dancing With The Stars' will have two weeks to eat themselves up with guilt over their negligence, because the show will replay "greatest moments" during the Easter holidays.

Ten's launch of the improvisational game show 'Thank God You're Here' has potential, but you can tell we're about to enter a non-ratings period. Ten is cramming next week's schedule with old episodes of 'The Simpsons'. At least during the Christmas silly season, the stations take the opportunity to try out new shows they're not quite sure about. At Easter, it's mostly repeats. That softens us up for 'Big Brother'.

What Australia watched on Tuesday
1 Dancing With The Stars (7) 2.1m
2 Today Tonight (7) 1.5m
3 Seven news (7) 1.4m
4 The Biggest Loser (10) 1.4m
5 All Saints (7) 1.4m
6 Home and Away (7) 1.4m
7 Nine news (9) 1.4m
8 A Current Affair (9) 1.2m
9 The new Simpsons (10) 1.1m
10 Futurama (10) 1.1m
OzTAM preliminary figures, mainland capitals

Updated 10 am Tuesday April 4
Eddie McGuire's farewell performance as host of 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire' attracted 1.34 million viewers across the mainland capitals last night. This was a stellar performance against 'Desperate Housewives' on Seven and, on Ten in the southern states, an AFL match involving Eddie's own team.

In Melbourne, 428,000 people watched their local boy's revelation that 'Millionaire' will go off air until July (while Nine finds and trains a new host), and 368,000 watched the Collingwood Magpies v Adelaide Crows clash.

Clearly the Mexicans have forgiven Eddie for moving to Sydney to take control of Channel Nine. In Sydney we're more sceptical. 'Millionaire' got only 381,000 against 569,000 for the Housewives and 229,000 for 'Numbers'.

The addition of celebrities to 'Bert's Family Feud' yesterday afternoon added some 60,000 viewers across the capitals. It totalled 532,000 against 857,000 for 'Deal or No Deal'.

Seven won the night with a prime time audience share of 30.2 per cent, followed by Nine on 26.7, Ten on 23.6, ABC on 13.8 and SBS on 5.7.

To join a discussion on what Pay TV contributes to Australian culture, click here .

What Australia watched on Monday
1 Desperate Housewives (7) 1.8m
2 Today Tonight (7) 1.6m
3 Seven news (7) 1.5m
4 The Biggest Loser (10) 1.4m
5 Nine news (9) 1.4m
6 Home and Away (7) 1.4m
7 Who Wants To Be A Millionaire (9) 1.3m
8 20 to 1 (9) 1.3m
9 A Current Affair (9) 1.2m
10 The Great Outdoors) 1.0m
OzTAM preliminary figures, mainland capitals

Updated 10 am Monday April 3
During the 50th birthday year of television, nostalgia is bound to be BIG. Channel Nine is doing well on Mondays with its '20 to 1', and Channel Seven is doing even better on Sundays (a night usually dominated by Nine) with 'Where Are They Now?' Last night the Sunrise crew's evening appearance attracted 1.7 million viewers in the mainland capitals, against 1 million for Georgie Parker's geeky game show 'Clever'.

Seven's news also beat Nine's news for the first time on a Sunday. But Nine still won the night, with 31.3 per cent of the prime time audience, to Seven's 26.9 per cent, Ten's 21.8, the ABC's 14.8 and SBS's 5.1.

Nine was lifted by the credibility of Sam Neill in two hours of 'The Triangle'. What do we make of this show -- junk or intriguing sci-fi? Clearly Nine doesn't think part two is good enough to take on 'Desperate Housewives', so we won't see the conclusion till 8.30 tomorrow night, against the end of 'Dancing With The Stars' and 'All Saints'. How will it go in that competition? It was a particular favourite last night with viewers aged 16-39 (though their top show was 'Australia's Brainiest Footballer').

The ABC's Australian crime drama 'The Silence' attracted 838,000 viewers -- 200,000 less than Poirot was pulling in that timeslot. Perhaps the formula looked too much like a blend of 'Cold Case' and 'Black Jack'.

What Australia watched on Sunday
1 Where Are They Now (7) 1.7m
2 Seven news Sunday (7) 1.5m
3 Nine news Sunday (9) 1.4m.
4 60 Minutes (9) 1.4m
5 The Triangle (9) 1.4m
6 Ghost Whisperer (7) 1.3m
7 Australia's Brainiest Footballer (10) 1.2m
8 Law and Order SVU (10) 1.1m
9 Formula One Race (10) 1.1m
10 ABC news (ABC) 1.0m
OzTAM preliminary figures, mainland capitals

What happened last week
Finally the mystery is solved. The other networks were wondering why Channel Nine seemed so passive in the face of this year's onslaught from Channels Seven and Ten. Why is it so slow to launch all those new shows it's been boasting about?

Now Nine's Secret Weapon stands revealed: The Footy. The ratings results for last week show that simply by broadcasting AFL on Wednesday and Thursday, and rugby league on Friday, Nine managed to steal the crown from Channel Seven.

Nine has only three programs in the top ten for the week: the closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games, its Sunday news and the nostalgia documentary '20 to 1'. Its new show 'Survivor: Panama' was beaten on Tuesday by Seven's 'Dancing with the Stars' and by Ten's 'The Simpsons'.

Its weekday news lost the advantage it had gained over Seven's news during the Games and A Current Affair is 300,000 viewers behind Today Tonight. Nevertheless NIne won the week with an average prime time audience share of 32.4 per cent, while Seven got 28.3, Ten 21.0 , the ABC 13.6 and SBS 4.7.

How did this happen? From 8.30 pm on Wednesday and Thursday Nine concentrated on AFL in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. From 8.30pm on Friday, Nine showed NRL in Sydney and Brisbane.

They pulled enough male viewers away from 'Prison Break', 'Lost', and the Friday night movies to let Nine retain the advantage it gained on Sunday with the Games closing ceremony.

While the footy season continues to build, and while Ten continues to steal viewers from Seven, Nine doesn't really need any new hits to maintain its position -- conservative, but Still The One. And if one or two of its new shows after Easter turn into hits, then it could win the year.

But it should make the most of the footy while it can. Next year Nine's share of the AFL rights moves to Channel Seven.

In its new Saturday night slot, Blue Heelers got 694,000 viewers (236,000 in Sydney and 168,000 in Melbourne) against 839,000 for The Bill (257,000 Sydney and 211,000 Melbourne).

Most watched shows, week ending April 1
1 Comm Games closing (9) 2.74m
2 Nine News Sunday (9) 2.01m
3 Dancing with the Stars (7) 2.00m
4 Desperate Housewives (7) 1.92m
5 House (10) 1.52m
6 Lost (7) 1.47m
7 Today Tonight (7) 1.45m
8 Seven news (7) 1.41m
9 The Biggest Loser elimination (10) 1.41m
10 20 to 1 (9) 1.41m
(OzTAM mainland capitals)

The Tribal MInd column appears every Tuesday in The Sydney Morning Herald, and updates the ratings each weekday. To read earlier columns, go to www.smh.com.au/tribalmind . David Dale is the author of 'Who We Are -- A miscellany of the new Australia' (Allen and Unwin).

• by David Dale in The Tribal Mind at 06:31 PM
• Comments (324)

Tuesday, April 4, 2006

The elite alternative

By David Dale.
Australians are watching a lot more pay TV than they used to. After nine years of misery, the subscription industry is celebrating a rise of 33 per cent in prime time viewing over the past 12 months. On a typical night, 562,000 people in the mainland capitals watch something on the 70-odd pay stations -- 140,000 more than at this time last year.

But what are those somethings they are watching? How do the 25 per cent of Australians who subscribe to this technology actually use it? What, in other words, is pay's contribution to our culture?

If you study a list of the 100 most-watched programs on pay in the first quarter of this year, you could draw these conclusions:

1 Pay lets Australian men see more footy. Of the top 30 pay shows this year, 12 involved rugby league, 10 rugby union, four AFL, one soccer and three cricket. The ratings agency OzTAM estimates that the most watched pay program of the past three months (a league match) got 169,000 viewers across the mainland capitals.

2 Pay lets Australian kids see more Simpsons. The most watched non-sporting program (at No 31 on the pay list) was The Simpsons Interactive with 66,000 viewers. It is smart satire with a strong ethical message, so it builds values in our future leaders. Four hours a week on Channel Ten is clearly not enough.

3 Pay lets Australian nostalgists and English immigrants relive the good times. Among the top 20 non-sporting shows, five are UKTV sitcoms: Open All Hours, Keeping Up Appearances, Fawlty Towers, As Time Goes By and Gimme, Gimme, Gimme.

4 Pay lets Sylvester Stallone scholars study his body of work. Among the five most watched movies so far this year, three were from the Rambo oeuvre (the other two were US Marshalls and Air Force One). And the top 50 shows included The Contender, Stallone's boxing game show (which gets 39,000 viewers).

5 Pay helps Australian women to raise their aesthetic standards. The top 20 non-sporting shows included Australia's Next Top Model, The Myer Fashion Spectacular and Too Posh To Wash.

6 Pay supports local drama for a tiny elite. The highly publicised Love My Way, starring Claudia Karvan, attracted an average audience of 46,000 viewers over the eight episodes shown this year.

So now you see how subscription television is giving Australians meaningful alternatives and intellectual enrichment.

Most watched programs on Pay TV so far this year
1 NRL: Sea Eagles v Roosters (Fox Sports 1) 169,000
2,3,4,5,6 NRL matches (FS1) 140,000-160,000
7 Rugby Union: Reds v Waratahs (Fox Sports 2) 139,000
8,9 NRL matches (FS1) 127,000
10 AFL: Coll v St Kilda (Fox Footy) 122,000
11-15 NRL matches (FS1) 115,000
16 Soccer: A-League 107,000
17 Cricket Test (FS2) 105,000
18 AFL: Geelong v Brisbane Lions (FF) 104,000
19 Cricket OD1 (FS2) 104,000
20-23 RU matches (FS2) 101,000.

Most watched non-sporting programs on Pay TV this year
1 The Simpsons Interactive (Fox 8) 66,000
2 Australia's Next Top Model (F8) 62,000
3 WWE Raw (F8) 62,000
4 Rambo III (TV1) 57,000
5 Open All Hours (UKTV) 55,000
6 Married With Children Reunion (TV1) 51,000
7 Keeping Up Appearances (UKTV) 49,000
8 Fawlty Towers (UKTV) 49,000
9 World's Wildest Police Videos (Fox8) 46,000
10 Rambo II (TV1) 45,000.

Most watched non-sporting free to air shows this year
1 Dancing With The Stars (7) 2.27m
2 Desperate Housewives (7) 2.25m
3 Lost (7) 2.12m
4 Nine news Sunday (9) 2.02m
5 Prison Break (7) 1.94m
6 CSI (9) 1.76m
7 Commander-in-Chief (7) 1.74m
8 CSI:NY (9) 1.62m
9 Today Tonight (7) 1.58m
10 Ghost Whisperer (7) 1.57m.
(OzTAM mainland capitals)

David Dale is the author of Who We Are -- A snapshot of Australia today (Allen and Unwin). His latest book is Soffritto -- A delicious Ligurian memoir. To join a daily discussion of Australian attitudes, go to http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

• by David Dale in The Tribal Mind at 08:21 AM
• Comments (42)