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The Tribal Mind: Week 39

This blog is no longer current. Click here for the latest discussion of TV ratings.

Updated 10am, Sunday September 30
With the footy out of the way, Dr Who made a comeback on Saturday night, attracting 927,000 mainland capital viewers who had not yet drunk and shouted themselves into unconsciousness. The Doctor's own grand final next Saturday should crack a million.

Although the match was not in prime time, enough viewers left their sets tuned to Ten to allow it to win the night, with 25.0 per cent of the prime time audience, while Nine got 24.7, Seven got 23.1, ABC got a hefty (for it) 20.5 and SBS got 6.7.

Before 6pm, we'd love to hear your predictions on the average audience the NRL grand final will total over the mainland capitals. (Click here to see how previous grand finals have rated).

What Australia watched, Saturday
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 AFL GRAND FINAL 2006 SYDNEY V WEST COAST Ten 3,155,000 765,000 1,184,000 330,000 326,000 550,000
2 GRAND FINAL WRAP UP Ten 2,546,000 446,000 1,058,000 299,000 270,000 473,000
3 GRAND FINAL PRE MATCH Ten 2,306,000 486,000 906,000 253,000 262,000 399,000
4 GRAND FINAL PRE MATCH ENTERTAINMENT Ten 1,477,000 311,000 613,000 161,000 165,000 227,000
5 TEN NEWS AT FIVE SAT Ten 1,390,000 180,000 623,000 192,000 165,000 230,000
6 SEVEN NEWS SAT Seven 1,216,000 339,000 287,000 286,000 109,000 194,000
7 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEO SHOW Nine 1,186,000 348,000 360,000 225,000 142,000 112,000
8 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Nine 1,015,000 315,000 259,000 180,000 125,000 136,000
9 MONK Ten 976,000 269,000 297,000 230,000 73,000 107,000
10 ABC NEWS SAT ABC 969,000 296,000 259,000 188,000 93,000 134,000
11 DOCTOR WHO ABC 927,000 263,000 244,000 197,000 105,000 117,000
12 THE BILL ABC 914,000 286,000 262,000 159,000 69,000 138,000

Updated 10am, Saturday September 30
The vintage detective series Midsomer Murders pulls 1.3 million viewers to the ABC on a Friday, but only 505,000 viewers to Channel Nine on a Monday. It's a mystery why Nine keeps it on, when the axe falls on shows that are doing a lot better, but programmers don't think like normal human beings.

Although Seven won Friday night, the full week's averages show Nine on 29.0 per cent of the prime time audience, Seven 27.6 per cent, Ten 23.5, ABC 15.1 and SBS 4.8. That's unlikely to change as a result of Saturday's viewing, because Ten's broadcast of the AFL grand final was not in prime time.

What Australia watched, Friday
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 MIDSOMER MURDERS ABC 1,345,000 400,000 357,000 235,000 177,000 176,000
2 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,303,000 391,000 407,000 208,000 113,000 184,000
3 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,283,000 374,000 388,000 211,000 135,000 175,000
4 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,181,000 297,000 355,000 184,000 136,000 209,000
5 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,171,000 315,000 328,000 163,000 153,000 212,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

Updated 10am, Friday September 29
Channel Ten's bold experiment of launching a big new US drama within a day of its launch in America is proving instructive. Traditionally Australian networks have been six months behind their US counterparts in launching new shows, which gives them time to see how the program is proceeding in the US and to ensure they are not risking prime time with duds.

But because TV fans now read about world programming on the net, and proceed to download shows illegally if they don't get them right away, Ten decided to gamble that Jericho was going to be this season's Lost or Desperate Housewives and rush it to air immediately.

As it turns out, Jericho's trajectory in Australia is downwards while it's holding its own in the US. Last night it managed only 947,000 viewers, down from 1.2 million last week. But then again, it was up against footy coverage at a frenzied time of year. Next week will be the real test.

Nine won the night with 37.3 per cent of the prime time audience, while Seven got 26.3, Ten got 19.2, ABC got 11.7 and SBS got 5.5.

What Australia watched, Thursday
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 THE FOOTY SHOW Nine 1,556,000 351,000 660,000 187,000 164,000 195,000
2 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,395,000 392,000 490,000 286,000 124,000 104,000
3 NINE NEWS Nine 1,325,000 370,000 428,000 289,000 136,000 102,000
4 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,318,000 407,000 384,000 223,000 110,000 194,000
5 GETAWAY Nine 1,290,000 339,000 460,000 233,000 124,000 134,000
6 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,226,000 325,000 310,000 212,000 137,000 242,000
7 TEMPTATION Nine 1,217,000 312,000 433,000 240,000 127,000 106,000
8 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,197,000 285,000 339,000 219,000 128,000 226,000
9 JAMIE'S KITCHEN AUSTRALIA Ten 1,164,000 279,000 400,000 185,000 159,000 141,000
10 CELEBRITY SURVIVOR Seven 1,047,000 292,000 322,000 182,000 88,000 162,000
11 JERICHO Ten 947,000 246,000 287,000 177,000 122,000 115,000
12 BONES Seven 935,000 251,000 303,000 172,000 91,000 118,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, maionland capitals)

Updated 10am, Thursday September 28
The beatification of Steve Irwin by the people of Australia continues. An interview with the holy mother on Nine last night averaged 2.5 million viewers (Click here to see where it falls among the most watched programs of the 21st century)

Nine won the night with 31.6 per cent of the prime time audience, while Ten got 26.2, Seven got 23.6, ABC got 14.8 and SBS got 3.3. Ten wisely decided not to waste a new episode of House against that competition, and ended with 1.1 million viewers for the repeat. The fans of Spicks and Specks are clearly different from the kind of people who would watch an interview with the Irwin family, so the ABC suffered minimal losses -- 1.05 million for its grooviest program.

What Australia watched, Wednesday
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 TERRI IRWIN - THE EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW Nine 2,514,000 770,000 781,000 481,000 234,000 248,000
2 THANK GOD YOU'RE HERE 2 Ten 1,703,000 434,000 589,000 304,000 190,000 186,000
3 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,405,000 463,000 377,000 240,000 105,000 220,000
4 NCIS Ten 1,348,000 346,000 458,000 221,000 166,000 157,000
5 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,305,000 325,000 373,000 241,000 143,000 223,000
6 NINE NEWS Nine 1,297,000 367,000 366,000 313,000 133,000 118,000
7 THE FORCE - BEHIND THE LINE Seven 1,247,000 355,000 295,000 245,000 108,000 245,000
8 MCLEOD'S DAUGHTERS Nine 1,233,000 353,000 365,000 240,000 142,000 132,000
9 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,230,000 369,000 382,000 245,000 106,000 128,000
10 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,221,000 335,000 328,000 213,000 132,000 213,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

Updated 10am, Wednesday September 27
The big question was: did Nine's Dancing on Ice queer the pitch for Seven's Dancing With The Stars? Although DOA only averaged 1.4 million viewers in July, it might have made the viewing audience a bit jaded with the genre.

Last night Seven launched the fifth season of DWTS, and got the answer: Yes, a bit. The audience of 1.8 million in the mainland capitals was less than the 2.0 million averaged last season, and less than the 2.1 million averaged by the most recent incumbent of the timeslot, Border Security.

Still, Seven won the night with 36.4 per cent of the prime time audience, while Nine got 26.4, Ten got 19.2, ABC got 13.8 and SBS got 4.2.

What Australia watched, Tuesday
Description Network Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 DANCING WITH THE STARS 5 Seven 1,835,000 642,000 519,000 274,000 180,000 220,000
2 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,381,000 452,000 452,000 167,000 147,000 163,000
3 NATIONAL NINE NEWS Nine 1,335,000 380,000 423,000 277,000 133,000 123,000
4 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,329,000 376,000 389,000 189,000 160,000 215,000
5 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,325,000 368,000 435,000 269,000 121,000 133,000
6 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,296,000 458,000 336,000 209,000 108,000 185,000
7 20 TO 1 Nine 1,261,000 320,000 406,000 240,000 145,000 148,000
8 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,213,000 379,000 330,000 180,000 132,000 192,000
9 TEMPTATION Nine 1,195,000 349,000 354,000 251,000 127,000 113,000
10 CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION -RPT Nine 1,083,000 259,000 331,000 212,000 148,000 133,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

Updated 6pm, Tuesday September 27
That Eddie McGuire is such a naughty boy. With nine and a half "official" audience measurement weeks still to go, he's put out a press release in which Channel Nine declares itself the winner of the 2006 ratings year. Nine has calculated that no matter what channels Seven and Ten do between now and December, Nine's average audience share in prime time will be Still the One. So the image you see with this text might be Eddie McGuire looking at Ten's Grant Blackley and Seven's David Leckie.

Nine's press release says it has won 20 ratings weeks to Seven's nine and Ten's one. "For the year ... Nine is leading nationally on a 29.4 per cent All People share, ahead of Seven on 27.8 and Ten on 22.4. Nine is up 0.5 per cent on last year's result. "Nine Network chief executive, Mr Eddie McGuire, said: 'The depth and strength of Nine's programming has been a major key to our success in 2006.'

No doubt the ability to generate such optimistic observations is the reason Our Eddie is paid more than $4 million a year. But there is the nagging detail that Nine has included the Commonwealth Games weeks in its score, when the tradition is to exclude such special events as Olympic Games weeks in ratings assessments. If you leave out the Games (and Easter), the picture is rather different -- Nine's average audience up to now is down 3.2 per cent, the ABC's is down 4 per cent, Ten is up 1 per cent and Seven is up 3 per cent.

These are the details:

Average number of viewers between 6pm and midnight, weeks seven to 38, excluding Easter and Commonwealth Games period, 2005 vs 2006
Nine 1,094,515 1,059,849 -3.2% Seven 1,022,214 1,051,851 +2.9% Ten 837,707 846,365 +1.0% ABC 595,894 566,457 -4.9% SBS 235,501 206,585 -12.3%.

Average audience share between 6pm and midnight, weeks seven to 38, excluding Easter and Commonwealth Games period, 2005 vs 2006
Nine 28.90% 28.40% -0.5% Seven 27.00% 28.20% +1.2% Ten 22.10% 22.70% +0.6% ABC 15.70% 15.20% -0.5% SBS 6.20% 5.50% -0.7%

Nine's gain, such as it is, has been with viewers over 55, but it is down badly with viewers aged 16-39 -- and that's the group the advertisers love. But of course, it might pick up in the next nine weeks.

Ten won last night with 29.1 per cent of the prime-time audience, while Seven got 26.7, Nine got 23.1, ABC got 14.4 and SBS got 6.6. Mystery of the night was the spectucular figure of 1.1 million for Four Corners. What subject matter could explain this rise?

What Australia watched, Monday
Description Network Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 Grey's Anatomy (7) 1,516,000 461,000 443,000 301,000 144,000 166,000
2 Australian Idol Live Verdict (10) 1,453,000 399,000 436,000 289,000 165,000 165,000
3 A Current Affair (9) 1,437,000 393,000 482,000 285,000 144,000 132,000
4 Seven News (7) 1,434,000 356,000 443,000 222,000 167,000 247,000
5 Home and Away (7) 1,385,000 460,000 365,000 229,000 143,000 187,000
6 Nine News (9) 1,383,000 357,000 456,000 300,000 140,000 130,000
7 Today Tonight (7) 1,354,000 359,000 415,000 211,000 155,000 214,000
8 Temptation (9) 1,307,000 373,000 375,000 286,000 139,000 134,000
9 The Kings of Comedy (9) 1,240,000 330,000 382,000 259,000 158,000 111,000
10 Cold Case (9) 1,106,000 364,000 302,000 193,000 143,000 105,000
11 2006 Brownlow Medal (10) 1,099,000 53,000 634,000 18,000 180,000 213,000
12 The Great Outdoors (7) 1,091,000 358,000 322,000 164,000 115,000 133,000
13 Four Corners (ABC) 1,062,000 329,000 311,000 202,000 84,000 136,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

Updated 10am, Monday September 25
Now we know how many people in the mainland capitals have a TV set but no DVD player – or a DVD player and kids who just love commercials. The movie Finding Nemo is the biggest-selling DVD of all time in Australia. Nevertheless, when Channel Seven showed it at 6.30 on Sunday night, 1.3 million people tuned in.

That was not, however, enough to let Seven win the night, because adult tastes reasserted themselves with Nine's CSI at 8.30. Nine averaged 30.3 per cent of the prime-time audience, while Seven got 25.8, Ten got 24.6, ABC got 16.1 and SBS got 3.1.

What Australia watched, Sunday
Description Network Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (9) 1,565,083 418,370 490,789 269,978 194,496 191,450
2 Australian Idol (10) 1,503,206 418,431 459,104 244,717 209,298 171,657
3 Nine News Sunday (9) 1,469,448 426,649 443,194 272,690 199,483 127,431
4 60 Minutes (9) 1,450,008 374,358 467,134 283,568 137,151 187,798
5 Finding Nemo (7) 1,345,404 401,368 376,352 227,374 149,163 191,148
6 Prehistoric Park (9) 1,317,272 337,928 462,801 224,927 130,241 161,375
7 Seven News Sunday (7) 1,273,857 319,305 393,428 223,405 148,188 189,531
8 CSI: NY (9) 1,245,196 330,760 402,029 212,073 155,853 144,482
9 The Worst Jobs in History (ABC) 1,148,479 338,813 340,914 202,142 136,648 129,962
10 ABC News Sunday (ABC) 1,130,486 294,877 320,215 211,305 153,822 150,267
11 Blackjack VII at the Gates (10) 912,022 267,102 291,945 124,738 123,896 104,341
12 It's Me or the Dog (10) 883,863 238,779 235,227 152,659 143,891 113,306
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

Updated 4pm, Sunday September 24
It was Channel Nine's birthday week, but Seven and Ten got the presents. "Bloody hell," the Nine programmers are saying this morning, "Why does nostalgia work for them and not for us? And why doesn't sex work at all any more?"

Seven's TV Turns 50 – the Events that Stopped a Nation averaged 1.5 million viewers in the mainland capitals, while only 1.1 million watched Nine's 50 Years of Television News, hosted by Brian Henderson (looking the same age – 42 – that he has looked since he was 21).

The return of McLeod's Daughters drew only 1.2 million, despite a promo campaign that looked like an after-midnight commercial for a dominatrix service. And the new Caesarian miniseries Rome averaged only 770,000, beaten by a repeat of NCIS on Ten, despite the revelation that the society ladies of 55 C trimmed their pubic hair into neat rectangles. Who knew the Roman Empire stretched as far as Brazil?

With typically short attention span, Nine has decided to terminate Rome after only one episode, replacing it on Wednesday with the latest US series of Survivor, so scholars of pubic grooming will just have to buy the DVD.

An explanation for Nine's failure with nostalgia may be that viewers feel they've already seen every clip in Nine's vault at least twice. Or that viewers are so pissed off with Nine's erratic programming policies they don't see any reason to join its birthday festivities.

In a difficult week, Nine can always rely on rugby league to push it back to the top. As of Friday, Nine was behind Seven. But after 375,000 people in Melbourne watched their own team make history on Saturday (joining 616,000 in Sydney), Nine just scraped in to win the week with 27.8 per cent of the prime-time audience, while Seven averaged 27.4, Ten got 24.4, ABC got 15.6 and SBS got 4.8.

What Australia watched, week to September 24
1 Steve Irwin Memorial Service live (ABC, 7, 9, 10) 2.39m (Sydney 0.56m)
2 Border Security (7) 2.24m (0.68m)
3 House (10) 1.89m (0.50m)
4 Thank God You're Here (10) 1.85m (0.46m)
5 AFL prelim. Sydney v Fremantle (10) 1.80m (0.37m)
6 Medical Emergency (7) 1.78 (0.53)
7 Grey's Anatomy (7) 1.72m (0.46)
8 Australian Idol (10) 1.54 (0.41)
8 TV Turns 50 – Events that Stopped a Nation (7) 1.54 (0.46)
9 Australian Idol Live Verdict (10) 1.52m (0.43)
OzTAM mainland capitals

The ratings race is updated every weekday for readers of David Dale's Tribal Mind column, published in The Sydney Morning Herald. David Dale is the author of Who We Are – A Miscellany of the new Australia (Allen and Unwin). Past columns can be found at www.smh.com.au/tribalmind. For a discussion on last week's trends in television, including the resurgence of Dr Who, click here.

COMMENTS

Nice win for nine considering the bad start. I've been reading this column for awhile and wondering why the massive anti-nine bias? Every week there seems to be nine bashing for some reason or another.Please try and be objective even if you do work for seven. GO NINE!!!!! Still the 1!!

StayinTouch replies: Congratulations, Patrick, you are the first person to send a comment to the new Stay in Touch (even if this bit of it looks like the old Tribal Mind). I hope you will comment on the other elements of the column, when they go up after midnight tonight.
Who works for Seven? Any bias you've perceived may come from the readers, who seem to be annoyed by Nine's scheduling behaviour. Stay in Touch aims to be equally unfair to all stations (and to all politicians).

  • by patrick on September 24, 2006 at 11:06 AM

I've faithfully followed this blog across from Tribal Mind . David , could I please have a short , potted version of why you are now StayinTouch ( SIT ) ? I've been in hospital .

SiT (or Tribal Mind) replies: Even people who have not been in hospital don't know the answer to that question. I'm in Stay in Touch because a few weeks ago the SMH asked if I would come back and edit the column on the back page. I said I would if it could be both online and in the paper. As far as blog readers are concerned, it's an expansion of Tribal Mind into other areas of interest. It launches tonight.

  • by jane doe on September 24, 2006 at 11:55 AM

TM This is for you:
Wouldn't you think that nines nostraglia trip was down on ratings because 7 had done the same road the night before?
As for RL saving 9, wouldn't you think the death knell really came on Friday night for 7, when 10 ripped the heart out of 7's normal Friday Audience?
Just a couple of thoughts for you to ponder ;)

  • by darryn on September 24, 2006 at 12:33 PM

Good to see the new transition SiT. Bit confused about the image up this week though. And to Patrick, in answer to 'nine bashing', personally for me, it's because of their domination and scheduling that I don't trust/like them. Once again, looks like they're Still the One, managing to win the year (again).

SiT replies: Image is one of the women with the Brazilian in Rome. What's confusing about that?

  • by N.C. on September 24, 2006 at 12:55 PM

Tribal, you said "It was Channel Nine's birthday week, but Seven and Ten got the presents".
No, I would say Nine got the biggest present of the week - winning despite Seven's multi-million dolar "event" celebrating 50 years of crappy Seven programs.
As for the Anti-Nine bias - it's the old Aussie tall poppy syndrome.

  • by Frank on September 24, 2006 at 01:59 PM

Just a question, TM, regarding the ratings for Steve Irwin's Memorial Service live the other day.
Was it shown on Ten as well as Seven, Nine and the ABC? This would explain the 2.39mill being an aggregate figure of the four network's audiences between 9 and 10am on Wednesday. Isn't it odd that on the daily figures they are four programmes, yet come the weekly ones they've been added up?

Tribal Mind replies: Nothing funny about it: I added them up. I followed the same procedure with, for example, Diana Spencer's funeral and wedding and the moon landing, in the report of most watched TV shows of all time, which you will find at www.smh.com.au/tribalmind

  • by Samuel on September 24, 2006 at 03:22 PM

Congratulations TM on returning to S.i.T. Welcome back. Regarding Rome, the ending to the episode last Wednesday is not on the DVD. There were a couple of other bits that are not on the DVD's. By my calculation Episode 1 of the DVD's finisherd at the 44 minute mark. All the rest was from episode 2. There were scenes in the Roman Senate that were completely cut.

  • by David on September 24, 2006 at 03:35 PM

You say that Seven and Ten got the "presents" from Nine turning 50 -- but I don't see where Ten exploited the nostalgia (and thank goodness they didn't).

Congratulations on the new column, Tribal Mind. I see that you're putting a new Sydney focus on things. Was that a part of the deal? ;-)

  • by James on September 24, 2006 at 03:50 PM

I didnt watch any of 9 or 7's crap, reason being 7 i coudlnt be botherd.. but the 9 i had a real reason.. i saw the first 30 secs or something and decided that this is basicly 20-1 with differant voiceover, few extra comments but basicly the same. what is the same as that other show they made up.. 50 tv moments or wahteva the hell it was called.. its all exacly the freakin same, not to mention that they probably use the exact same footage and just edit the background so it looks like it was filmed somehwere else. seemed to be just when they made it they thought hey hey i know.. 50 top moments.. ok you get onto doing that list, but only relase half of it, then we will rehash it and put the whole list.. so we can make 2 shows out of 1 format..

anyway nice of 10 to screen jericho so soon after it release in the usa, hopefully other networks do this.. i was busy that night and the encore presentation.. but if not i would of watched it just for the sake that it was easy to watch and not years behind.

  • by Chris on September 24, 2006 at 04:14 PM

It surprises me that people who have been following this column for weeks still can't work out why there is such an anti-nine bias. I 'll boil it down to 1 word.....arrogance!! A few weeks ago, it was mentioned how they destroyed the last series of Friends by dragging out 18 episodes over 40 weeks. What about last year when they refused to show the final episode of CSI in the current season until the following year. They then promised never to do that again and guess what they're doing it again this year. Can you imagine the uproar if channel 7 tried to do that with Lost or Desperate Housewives? From following the networks in America, channel 9 seems to be following the trend of NBC. A once proud and like channel 9 arrogant high-rating network that has crashed to the bottom of the ratings heap. Its only after a year or two at the bottom that they've realised what its like to be humble and treat viewers with respect. Every network in Australia except 9 knows what its like to be at the bottom of the ratings barrel and work its way back up. This is the experience channel 9 needs to get itself back on track.

  • by Terry on September 24, 2006 at 04:41 PM

Does winning the year just prime time or everything?

Tribal Mind replies: The stations only report prime time. I will report the 24 hours figure as well, when end of ratings year comes.

  • by MP on September 24, 2006 at 05:01 PM

If 9 has pulled Rome after just one espisode how come there were advertising promos for this Wednesday's show on NBN this morning during the Today show? Is it off and no one told the promo guy? or is it still on? I am very confused - as is inevitable when they jerk the schedule around the way they do.

  • by LAH on September 25, 2006 at 09:50 AM

I saw 2 promos for Rome during the CSI shows last night, so I'm assuming it's still on at 9.30pm on Wednesday?

SiT replies: Apparently. Then gone until the silly season.

  • by Fats on September 25, 2006 at 10:15 AM

The "anti-nine bias" began in this household one evening in 2002 when the network chose to treat viewers to an "encore presentation" of season 3 of The Sopranos in place of the advertised and much anticipated 4th season.
I can't imagine Eddie treating his core audience of Footy Show fans with similar contempt by airing an "encore presentation" of the 2005 NRL Grand Final this year, but I can dream.
As for Rome, it has been available on DVD in the US and UK since at least July, and part one of the final season of The Sopranos can be pre-ordered from the US.
What did Nine hope to gain by holding Rome back until after it was available to purchase on DVD? To pull this programme (which they advertised such fanfare at the beginning of the year) after one outing, shows how little respect they have for their shrinking audience.
I'm looking foward to watching both Rome and The Sopranos on DVD without the interuptions, edits and timeslot changes, but I wonder how either programme would have fared if ABC or SBS had won the rights.
I can't imagine that their programming departments would have been caught fiddling while er, Rome burned.
Questions for SiT; What were the ratings figures for The Sopranos, and is it being moved to a new timeslot?

SiT replies: About 470,000 and nothing has been announced about moving it.

  • by tinderella on September 25, 2006 at 10:36 AM

Wasn't it stated the Rome would be pulled October 4?

  • by darryn on September 25, 2006 at 10:36 AM

Totally agree with Terry - 24/09 4.41pm.
TM - if possible can you find out the reason why Rome was cancelled so quickly, there has been talk about it on this blog for some time but to cancel a show after 1 or 2 episodes is infuriating. From memory Rome last week received approx 300k more viewers than The Sopranos so ????
Enjoyed Jericho - will like to see ten stick with this show.
Does anyone out there know why 7 is airing I think 3 hours of Bones this week, 1 hr Wed and 2 on Thurs? It's a good show and deserves higher ratings but are they beginning to treat it like the latest series of 24

  • by db on September 25, 2006 at 10:42 AM

I'm a downloader ... it's so liberating.

  • by canoli on September 25, 2006 at 11:04 AM

@ db, maybe Seven sees the potential in the show and wants to put it out there to as many people as possible.
I believe I reported the fact that Rome is being cancelled, well a correction to that post, it has been MOVED, probably to Mondays, 10:30pm. This still hasn't been confirmed though, but it won't be returning to it's old slot.

  • by Nikotin on September 25, 2006 at 11:38 AM

Welcome back to the back page David. Hopefully the merry go round of SiT has ended.
Stay in Touch is an iconic part of the Herald. If my memory serves me correctly, our former fearless leader Bob Carr once said, "I don't start my day until I've read all of Stay in Touch. It's that simple". I miss Bob.

  • by Den on September 25, 2006 at 12:02 PM

Interesting to see that the first hour of Finding Nemo beat the final episode of Prehistoric Park in all cities except Melbourne. The target audience here in Melbourne (i.e. kids) must be having other activities to do last night (e.g. the Royal Melbourne Show).

  • by johnson on September 25, 2006 at 12:11 PM

Welcome back to SIT, Mr Dale!
My whinges about tv:
* Damn it. Completely missed Jericho due to the change in time slot. Am less than impressed with Channel 10.
* Damn it. They're boning Rome. I wasn't completely impressed with it, but it kept my interest for the first episode at least. And they're replacing it with something I really don't want to watch. Oh well, nothing to see on Channel 9 again...
* Damn it. Sharpe's Challenge last night was really quite excellent (and what a bloody cliffhanger), yet I don't see it listed in the top 10 shows for Sunday. What a shame.

  • by tqd on September 25, 2006 at 12:23 PM

Rome was trash and was treated as such, bring on the new Survivor!

  • by Dirty D on September 25, 2006 at 12:47 PM

canoli wrote: "I'm a downloader ... it's so liberating."

Not when they lock you up for infringing copyright! :)

  • by damien on September 25, 2006 at 12:47 PM

So Nine is replacing Rome with Survivor? When does Celebrity Survivor finish on Seven? One Survivor a week is enough...

  • by ttnow on September 25, 2006 at 12:54 PM

Regarding "Rome"; while I didn't think the show that that great (it was no "I, Claudius"), I'm amazed that Nine has so quickly canned it due to low ratings. It was in a late-ish timeslot to start with, and didn't begin until well after it's advertised starting time, commencing after 10PM on a weeknight; did they really think a million or more people would wait up? That's why we have recorders..... I wonder, though, whether the ratings were the real reason for the show's quick disappearance. Could a few complaints over more Brazilians than a soccer World Cup have had something to do with it?

  • by Mark on September 25, 2006 at 01:04 PM

Rome is still on this wed, see nine's webpage:
8:30:00 PMTerri & Bindi Irwin - The Exclusive Interview
9:30:00 PMRome
10:40:00 PMThe Sopranos

  • by edu on September 25, 2006 at 01:09 PM

David - I have a question. In the non-ratings period do you also go on holiday or do we get your analysis for the crap-fest of Summer TV?
Maybe we can form our own ratings panel?

SiT replies: The column continues all thgrough, not necessarily with me.

  • by Ryan D on September 25, 2006 at 01:23 PM

I am suprised that nobody hasn't said it yet but "An Audience for Rome wasn't built in a day".

  • by BSF on September 25, 2006 at 01:39 PM

Well personally I don't watch a lot of free to air or channel 9. But doesn't it mean if 9 is "still the one", it is so because the viewers have decided to vote for it with their people meters?
And while on the subject of 9, although didn't see it been mentioned in SMH, read elsewhere about the "climate of fear" working at the number 1 station following the boning of someone for "leaking" info to Jana. Wonder what all that is about?

  • by Frankie on September 25, 2006 at 01:53 PM

canoli wrote: "I'm a downloader ... it's so liberating."

Damien wrote: "Not when they lock you up for infringing copyright! :)"

I doubt there would be enough room in jails if they decided to lock up downloaders, every second person would be breaking the law.

  • by vanessa on September 25, 2006 at 02:12 PM

saw Jerico, thought it was good. Not sure what Ch.10 could have done to advertise that Jerico was moving to 8.30 (basically half cancelling Tench BTW). It was advertised all week there. The only place it was listed at 9.30pm was the TV guide at the start of the week.

  • by Chris on September 25, 2006 at 03:09 PM

When is the Today show getting boned?
I flicked over from Sunrise and it looks so desperate. Richard Wilkins is awful.
It must be soon, i'd guess the team from the new look Sunday program will be taking over. They look pretty slick but also comfortable.

  • by matt on September 25, 2006 at 03:17 PM

"Or that viewers are so pissed off with Nine's erratic programming policies they don't see any reason to join its birthday festivities"

Hell yes!!! I don't watch channel 9 becuase I'm sick of having to track the programs- I don't have that much spare time...

  • by jen on September 25, 2006 at 03:50 PM

It's pretty easy to work out why Nine cancelled Rome. Their own hubris. They waited a year (yes, a year) since it aired on HBO. The series, for all its bloodlust, sex, violence, shagging, swordfights and dirty bits was aimed at a reasonably educated and literate audience - just the sort of audience with enough intelligence to either download the series at the time or buy the DVDs form Amazon at any time in the past six months.
Why should I watch it on Nine? It's already on the shelf at home.
In any case, I'd expect the ABC to pick it up for a song (as they did with The West Wing, another sterling series canned by Nine's arrogance), run it over 12 weeks on Sunday nights and pull a very respectable audience.
By the way, apparantly the BBC truncated the first three episodes into two, which accounts for some of the people feeling it was a bit disjointed.
Buy it on DVD if you really want it - the US version has the complete episodes. (just make sure you've got a multi-region player).

Oh, and Channel Nine - I'm already two episodes ahead of you on Survivor, and will be four eps ahead by the time Eddie gets his lazy self around to airing it.

So I won't be watching that on free-to-air either.

Take a leaf out of Channel Ten's book - I'm watching Jericho on Ten, rather than a sneaky copy from a downloading mate, because they have the common sense in a digital world to show it straight after the states.

  • by Prentiss McCabe on September 25, 2006 at 03:52 PM

canoli wrote: "I'm a downloader ... it's so liberating."

Damien wrote: "Not when they lock you up for infringing copyright! :)"

Downloading is illegal, but so is invading Iraq. Just say that the intelligence that you used to download was faulty, but it seemed good at the time. Blame everyone else but yourself, and don't forget to throw in a few, "I don't recall" and "I can't comment".

But lets move on to TV that nobody would download, like the footy finals. I suspect more people in Syd, Mel, Ade and Perth will watch the AFL, but more people in Bris will watch the NRL. Overall, I predict the ratings to be 20% lower for NRL and 10% lower for AFL than last year.

See how the media is talking up the game by trying to make Sydney support the Storm and Melbourne support the Swans. I know the CEO's want to promote their footy codes in other states, but please, one city at a time. Are you guys that threatened by soccer? The only good thing about the finals is that ticket scalpers are guaranteed to make a loss.

  • by sean on September 25, 2006 at 05:09 PM

Last night missed out on taping "Finding Nemo" for my 8 year old so will have to buy the DVD, her birthday is next month. DVD's are so much better anyway as no commercials.

  • by Eunice on September 25, 2006 at 06:08 PM

So evil Nein has yet again let down it's viewers by cancelling Rome. I can't say I'm that surprised, although I was expecting Rome to last a few more episodes.
I had wondered if and when they would get around to showing Survivor. I read somewhere that it was too expensive to show "hot off the satellite", so they would be delaying it. You'd think they have learnt from that last season.
In any case, Channel BT will enable me to be at least 2 episodes ahead of Survivor and when Eddie eventually shows it, I can be watching epsiodes of Six Degrees, Men In Trees, Veronica Mars, Smallville, Brothers and Sisters...

  • by Sam I Am on September 25, 2006 at 09:25 PM

GRRRRRRRRRRR! That was the last episode of the season of Top Gear, despite the fact that we're still a good couple of seasons behind. Mythbusters is back on next week.
Oh and SBS, if you're gunna put up a web address for us to send best wished to The Hamster, build a decent website and get the web address right!

  • by Bereft Skerrick on September 25, 2006 at 10:00 PM

I laughed so much reading Sean's last comment but "I can't comment" any further.

  • by Frankie on September 25, 2006 at 10:18 PM

I'm amazed Rome got past Nine's censors in the first place. Eddie probably took one look at the nudity and pulled the plug.
Actually, I didn't think Rome was all that good anyway - not up to the standard of I Claudius.
Apparently, Seven have very quietly axed YOU MAY BE RIGHT(if anyone still cares).
Thanks to the ABC for The Worst Jobs in History, Four Corners and Denton - all great viewing the last few days.
Grand Finals? The AFL will beat the NRL, because there will be a large audience in Sydney for the Swans. I doubt too many people in Melbourne would even know who the Storm are.

  • by Evan on September 25, 2006 at 10:52 PM

Im probably one of few who is actually looking forward to the off-season. The only shows i enjoy at the moment are TGYH, Grey's Anatomy and thats about it. This year Prison Break was enjoyable, Lost was okay last year but has just turned totally unrealistic to make it enjoyable and i dreaded the Aussie Biggest Loser ads.

This is probably the only year I will enjoy the off-season because of my two fav shows are both ending this year, Charmed and Alias. haha i already downloaded them and watched them already but im still looking forward to seeing them along with everyone else(a year after the US!).

  • by Marilyn on September 25, 2006 at 11:27 PM

what in gods name did channel 9 have at 730 tonight?! (monday) was it another trip down memory lane? haven't they learned their lesson!

  • by jake on September 25, 2006 at 11:55 PM

Evan said I doubt too many people in Melbourne would even know who the Storm are.
Apparently 490,000 of them do.I understand that was the peak audience for the Storm v Broncos game.

  • by bobmar28 on September 26, 2006 at 08:22 AM

Correction,Storm v Dragons game.

  • by bobmar28 on September 26, 2006 at 08:27 AM

Haven't watched free to air TV for yonks. Got sick of seeing programmes that the stations would say "That's what the public wants".
They just foist upon us any old rubbish,and wait for the $$$$s to roll in.
I have Austar, which I happily pay for, and have a much wider selection of viewing.
P.S., what am I supposed to put in the URL column? www.smh.com.au is my homepage, so will that do?

  • by Stephen Rogers on September 26, 2006 at 09:02 AM

my disgust with channel 9 has just gone to even further depths!..i just heard the entertainment reporter on Kerri Anne's show discussing the Terri Irwin interview as "gut wrenching" and referring to the ads for it as "teasers" (i know its a tv term, but not appropriate in this case!)...Kerri Anne went on to say that she had spoken to Ray Martin and what he said, but she didn't want to give away any "trade secrets" about the interview...how low can 9 go!?!

  • by spw68 on September 26, 2006 at 09:20 AM

I doubt Ch 9 axed Rome because of the nudity. They should be more concerned about the amount of violence screened on telly anyway. I'm really surprised that some of the violent acts that I've seen on shows such as Cold Case, CSI and Law and Order make it into the M rating for screening before 9pm. I've been quite shocked to see a graphic rape scene on Law and Order screen a couple of minutes after the end of Australian Idol or a graphic mass murder on Cold Case when I was waiting to for the start of Two Twisted.

  • by J Bar on September 26, 2006 at 09:23 AM

Say SIT
can you please tell me how top gear rated lasted night?
thanks

SiT replies: 709,000.

  • by cycosmc on September 26, 2006 at 10:10 AM

The story on the breathen would explain the four corners jump.

Ddidn't actually get to see it myself though...slowly but surely being sucked into GA.

Sit: How did oz rate last night? It most definately was the most voilent episode I can recall so far, but strangely had strong "Angels in America" overtones to it

  • by darryn on September 26, 2006 at 10:10 AM

I think that figure quoted by our friend Eddie, definitely includes the Comm Games. Without them, the figures is alot less impressive.
Also, how did Midsomers, Criminal Minds and Boston Legal rate?

  • by Nikotin on September 26, 2006 at 10:12 AM

How did Ten win last night when it only had one program in the Top 10?

SiT replies: The Brownlows went on for hours.

  • by michael on September 26, 2006 at 10:16 AM

"what in gods name did channel 9 have at 730 tonight?! (monday) was it another trip down memory lane? haven't they learned their lesson!"
Just wait until they show a '20 to 1' of 20 to 1's. They can't be far away.

  • by Monte on September 26, 2006 at 10:19 AM

Yeah Eddie needs to subtract Weeks 11 & 12 at least...ie: weekly result 38.3% & 43.2%.

  • by paora on September 26, 2006 at 10:26 AM

Nikotin:
Midsomers 500,000
Criminal Minds 1.04 million

  • by paora on September 26, 2006 at 10:55 AM

Just wait until Channel 9 airs "20 to 1 of the best Hey Hey moments" ... can't be too far away.

I think it was disgraceful of what 7 did to Will Ferrel and the other American. And they weren't even good blooper moments.

Thank goodness that Channel 10 realised it wasn't worth competing with the retrosepctive tripe.

PS. KARN THE SWANS

  • by Rayzed on September 26, 2006 at 10:55 AM

I really think the tv networks are shooting themselves in the foot with their policy of cancelling a program if it doesn't rate straight away. People just won't watch anything new, because they know if it doesn't rate, it'll get cancelled, so they're not going to waste their time with it. Which is precisely why I didn't watch Rome (because Lord knows, i'd really rather watch something else than the Glass House, but I didn't think it'd get the audience and it'd be shafted, then brought back in the Summer when I don't get time to watch tv). I did however support Jericho because I'm applauding ten's experiement to show the program according to the US schedule. I was pleasantly surprised, I really enjoyed it and i'm looking forward to watching it again. And I agree, I don't know what else Ten could have done, they showed advertisements from Monday morning advertising the fact that it would now be on at 8:30 and Tench at 9:30, you couldn't have missed them if you watched another ten program that week!!

  • by rkiejda on September 26, 2006 at 10:58 AM

Prentiss McCabe at September 25, 2006 03:52 PM said re: Rome; "Buy it on DVD if you really want it - the US version has the complete episodes." Does this mean the UK R2 version is edited?

  • by Fats on September 26, 2006 at 11:10 AM

Does anyone know how Midsommer Murders rated last night? I hope falls flat on its pommy backside, channel nine wnating to rush the end of a quality show like Two Twisted in favour of REPEAT!!!!

  • by garredz on September 26, 2006 at 11:28 AM

I see 7 has found a new meaning for "new", saw the promo for Boston Legal which claimed it was an all new episode which for someone who never saw the show from the start it probabley is as for the rest its a new word for REPEAT just like encore.

  • by Dommy on September 26, 2006 at 12:23 PM

Channel Ten and the AFL should be happy with 634,000 people in Melbourne watching last night's Brownlow Medal. It was lower than 720,000 who watched last year's vote counting marathon on Nine because:
1. traditionally Ten does not fare very well on Mondays
2. The telecast started at 8pm and was up against Grey's Anatomy from 8.30pm to 9.30pm
3. it had Australian Idol verdict show as lead-in.

  • by johnson on September 26, 2006 at 12:29 PM

At the top of the page Sit wrote:
"So the image you see next to this text shows Eddie McGuire looking at Ten's Grant Blackley and Seven's David Leckie".

And nobody likes swimming with sharks, do they!

  • by TGO on September 26, 2006 at 12:40 PM

Speaking of Channel Nine chasing ratings, I can only imagine this was responsible for the misleading way they promoted items on the last Sunday show. They were heavily promoting a story about YouTube before each commercial break as "coming up" and "coming up next", but then showing other things, including Laurie Oakes (who they didn't promote at all) and a financial segment. My teenage son wanted to watch the YouTube story, and became furious with the misleading way they kept suggesting it would be right after the ad, only to show something they hadn't even mentioned.

  • by Libby on September 26, 2006 at 01:12 PM

So 9 are claiming the win already. I suspect that over the next few weeks we will see so much spin it will make us dizzy.... still, the inclusion of the CommGames ratings is not exactly a surprise to most of us, It was predicted by various commentators on the old Tribal Mind page MONTHS ago. And soon the fun part starts - the playing with numbers in a bid to predict what might happen in 2007. For example, what if 25% of the audiance get tired of the CSIs and nothing else changes next year? What will the AFL changes do to the overall ratings? etc etc. On a completely unrelated topic, I was really annoyed at 7's recent live nostalgiafest. Despite shelling out a ludicrous 7 figures per race to steal the V8 supercars from channel 10, and despite having had the V8s for many many years (and doing an appalling job of broadcasting them), and despite the public being very aware of the series because of the untimely death of Peter Brock and all the accompanying TV, there was not one motorsport image in their "great sporting moments" - no Wayne Gardner (even though he was currently on a channel 7 show), no Mick Doohan, No Mark Webber, No Peter Brock, No... but you get the point. I greatly fear that this demonstrates the exact level of committment seven have toward the sport. And with the telecast rights locked up for 5 years, I wonder if the category can survive what 7 are going to do with it?

  • by Mike Bourke on September 26, 2006 at 01:16 PM

Can I throw in a complete non sequitur and say how much I love Ruth Ritchie and her column? Just read Saturday's (I'm a bit behind), and laughed out loud. She gets it exactly in her summation of the desperate state of Australian commercial TV. I pray programmers at 7, 9 and 10 read her column (and of course this blog.) Keep up the good work guys.

  • by Bec on September 26, 2006 at 01:33 PM

I don't know about you people in Sydney, but here in Newcastle, Prime (seven) is advertising Boston Legal as all new episodes. I thought last week might have been a mistake but they did it again for this weeks episode. On another note, let's hope that Richard "the Hampster" Hammond makes a full and speedy (no pun intended) recovery. Top Gear just wouldn't be the same without him.

  • by Rob Brollo on September 26, 2006 at 01:43 PM

You May Be Right has been axed. No word on what will replace it.

  • by pete on September 26, 2006 at 02:08 PM

Quoth J Bar at September 26, 2006 09:23 AM: "I'm really surprised that some of the violent acts that I've seen on shows such as Cold Case, CSI and Law and Order make it into the M rating for screening before 9pm."
I'd say it's because violence in crime shows can be seen as somehow having a moral purpose, in that the perpetrators pay for their crime in the end, teaching us all a valuable lesson. This "moral" violence is somehow seen as less violent than "gratuitous" violence, merely there for entertainment purposes.
But of course to those of us who aren't very fond of any sort of violence, there's a very fuzzy line between the two.
(I assume the perps get cornered in the end by our heroes and sent to rot in jail? I haven't actually seen enough of the CSI etc franchises to know if that's always the case.)

  • by tqd on September 26, 2006 at 02:10 PM

Quoth rkiejda at September 26, 2006 10:58 AM: "And I agree, I don't know what else Ten could have done, they showed advertisements from Monday morning advertising the fact that it would now be on at 8:30 and Tench at 9:30, you couldn't have missed them if you watched another ten program that week!!"
Maybe Channel 10 could have not decided to change the schedule? Just a thought.

  • by tqd on September 26, 2006 at 02:12 PM

Mr TM
Ytd Commercial Share:
Seven 35.6%
Nine 35.5%
Ten 28.8%

  • by paora on September 26, 2006 at 03:31 PM

Two questions - could you please help mw with:

1)Is this where the ratings blog will be from now? If so, I'm going to miss calling you TM. SIT just doesn't quite have the same ring to it.

2) When is the ABC going to bring back the West Wing and what season will they be showing? I'm sure that this has been answered in previous blogs but I can't seem to find it. It's a very popular blog...with heaps of comments to go through.

  • by Helena on September 26, 2006 at 03:52 PM

I'm so sad that Season 2 of The Office finished on Sunday night (Ch 10).
Season 3 has just started in the US, but I guess we'll have to wait until next year.
I loved the UK version, and was ready to dismiss the US one, but found it to be just as good. The US characters were very similar to the UK ones, but with typically American differences.
I didn't even care it was on so late because it gave me something good to watch while waiting for ST Enterprise.
Thanks Ch 10!

  • by Sal on September 26, 2006 at 04:09 PM

just wondering how Tench rates? can channel 10 axe it already! its driving me crazy, the jokes wore off 10 minutes into the first episode. by the way, loved jericho, will definately be tuning into that this week.

  • by kate on September 26, 2006 at 05:37 PM

I liken watching commercial TV to voting. Don't do it, you just encourage the bastards.

  • by Stephen Rogers on September 26, 2006 at 05:39 PM

When 9 changed their logo by dropping the balls, they flew a helicopter all over town trailing a huge banner adorned with the new logo. I only ever saw it from the 'wrong' side, the side suggesting the new logo would be an 'e.'
That's e for Eddie - Channel Eddie! So no one should be surprised that a CEO who renames the network after himself should be so humble as to miss any opportunity to bone the opposition even if it means massaging the figures.
Curiously, Channel 9 hasn't inversed their watermark yet so I've taken to watching the station in a mirror - it's still the same old crap, though.

  • by toidi on September 26, 2006 at 05:42 PM

In regards to Helena at September 26, 2006 03:52 PM, The West Wing will return with the beginning of Season 6 on Monday 20th November at 8:30pm.

  • by Samuel123 on September 26, 2006 at 06:28 PM

"just wondering how Tench rates? can channel 10 axe it already! its driving me crazy, the jokes wore off 10 minutes into the first episode".
Kate: I saw channel 10 advertising for a studio audience today, so they obviously don't plan to axe it yet.

  • by JB on September 26, 2006 at 07:25 PM

Re Jerico time change. Ten could have changed the schedule? If you are refering to the TV guide in Monday's SMH, then you will probably find they decided to move Jerico after seeing the poor ratings for Tench on the thursday before, and the editorial cut off for the guide is probably before that. It was also advertised in that days MX commuter newspaper at 8.30pm.

BTW, I still like Tench. The IV with Daniel Macpherson was funny. I know it is just a bit better than average, but happy to keep watching it. Maybe 9.30 is a good solution.

  • by chris on September 26, 2006 at 08:49 PM

Can anyone tell me what series of Dancing With The Stars this is. We don't watch it but seeing the 'Stars' they have lined up we just wondered how many they have gone though already. Thks in advance.

  • by jane b on September 26, 2006 at 08:55 PM

Now I am confused.Should the commonwealth games be included in the ratings figures or not?If not,which other events should be excluded.

SiT replies: The audience averages for the year are supposed to give advertising agencies an impression of how well a network is performing, so they can place their commercials for next year. It's customary to exclude big events that won't be happening the following year -- like Olympics and Commonwealth Games.

  • by bobmar28 on September 27, 2006 at 08:44 AM

Only caught second half of DWTS. My only comment: I never considered taking up watching chess as a spectator sport until last night's chest sorry chess "celebrity".

  • by Befuddled on September 27, 2006 at 09:08 AM

bobmar asked about events being excluded from the ratings today @ 8:44 AM. It will be interesting to see what SBS have to say since The World Cup obviously falls into the category of event to be excluded. Will they go with the official figures which show them down, or will they go the Channel 9 route? (I refuse to call it Channel Eddie, his ego seems big enough already!)

  • by Mike Bourke on September 27, 2006 at 09:20 AM

Nine are winning the year if you discount one off events such as the Winter Olympics.
But you won't hear that coming from Simon Francis' mouth.

SiT replies: Good point. I will try to get OzTAM audience averages that exclude both Winter Olymplics and Comm Games.

  • by Adam on September 27, 2006 at 09:28 AM

tribal mind - what it channel ten doing with veronica mars??? Btw, new site looks great :)

  • by erin on September 27, 2006 at 09:29 AM

SiT, I don't think you can compare the numbers for Border and DWTS. Border only went for half an hour, while DWTS is averaged over two hours and abit.

  • by Nikotin on September 27, 2006 at 09:33 AM

V Mars will be back next Friday 6th Oct at 10.30pm.....picking up from ep 2, season 2

  • by Paul Pozzobon on September 27, 2006 at 09:39 AM

With the Winter Olympics it was programming as usual for Seven with the post 9:30-10:30 slots having the Winter Olympics on. But I guess it's only fair. SBS's World Cup coverage should also be excluded.

  • by Nikotin on September 27, 2006 at 09:43 AM

SiT, you said afew weeks back that you'd compare the news bulletins from each station, morning editions, afternoon, etc.

  • by Nikotin on September 27, 2006 at 09:46 AM

I dare say the reason dancing stars got 1.8 mill was that there was absolutey nothing else on the other channels.These 1.8 are probably the ones without a DVD player,computer, playstation or a good book.

  • by ace on September 27, 2006 at 10:09 AM

A dent in the ratings of Dancing With The Stars was inevitable. Even though the show is still entertaining, there are just too many celebrity shows on at the moment. Apart from 'Dancing On Ice', viewers are feeling celebrity fatigue with 'It Takes Two' and 'Celebrity Survivor' exhausting us in recent months. Let that be a lesson to Ch 7 and the copycat networks. Give the celebrities a rest now and try some new ideas.

  • by J Bar on September 27, 2006 at 10:17 AM

Nikotin, I think an important comparision to be made between BS and DWTS is that BS averaged 2.1 million-ish for its timeslot, whereas the peak audience for DWTS last night did not crack 2 million. So there was definately a drop in numbers for that 7.30 timeslot.

  • by Trent on September 27, 2006 at 10:26 AM

TM - How did real stories do? I think it is one of the more clever shows produced locally in some time. It is more like something D-Gen would produce. I would like to see Ten move it away from The Wedge though. It may do better not being tainted by that garbage.

  • by Dr DK on September 27, 2006 at 10:32 AM

I note that all the promos have been altered for the Terri Irwin interview tonight. Both Channel 9 and the Barbara Walters stories originally touted Bindi to appear also, but that seems to not be the case. Thank goodness she is not appearing...poor kid.

  • by Lisa on September 27, 2006 at 10:56 AM

Paul:-
>V Mars will be back next Friday 6th Oct at 10.30pm.....picking up from ep 2, season 2>

Thanks, Paul - great news!
So that final 30 seconds of an episode of VM that I accidently caught the week after the end of Season One was actually Ep One of Season Two? I wondered what it was - it hadn't been listed in my TV guide for that week! Hopefully I won't have missed too much by missing that episode.
Pity about the 10.30 timeslot, but a late-night screening is better than no screening at all.

  • by Mark on September 27, 2006 at 11:00 AM

the reason dwts isnt doing as well as previous seasons is because 7 are running out of so called "celebrities". c'mon seriously had anyone heard of the girl who plays chess before and the girl who lost weight and so is a "celebrity". personally i was over celebrity inspired shows before they were even invented and they should be made illegal due to the fact that all the "celebrities" ARE NOT EVEN CELEBRITIES.

  • by a on September 27, 2006 at 11:10 AM

to rob brollo (getting annoyed over boston legal being shunted and replaced with old eps), and to the nellies and nanas like damien getting all huffy and teary about "copyright infringement", try amazon.com. you'll end up with a dvd that has no ads, no adhd-ridden turd in the network's marketing screwing with the scheduling and sequence of your favorite show and, best of all, you can enjoy it on your terms. unless of course it's an hbo series, but let's not get me started with those hoopleheads.

  • by hank rango on September 27, 2006 at 11:17 AM

I think DWTS will continue to rise in Melbourne if Anthony Koutafides goes deep into the series. He is an Icon in Victoria and has a large Gay following nationally.

  • by darryn on September 27, 2006 at 11:32 AM

aside from the fact we have 'new old' episodes of boston legal - how does it stack up in the ratings please.
I am surprise the later episodes did not get a earlier 9.30? slot. For me its a good show and worth staying up for and i am (in theory) a good demograhic. (but hey i am only 1 on the watchers)

SiT replies:

  • by philv on September 27, 2006 at 11:37 AM

I too think the slightly lower numbers for DWTS are due to the uninspiring celebrity line-up. For me, the only ones worth watching are the chess champ (who's actually a pretty good dancer) and Andrew Gaze (who's just a really nice guy).

  • by Fielding on September 27, 2006 at 11:52 AM

Hey TM,
Could you please tell me how The Bill rated last night. I'm curious to see how it went against, DTWS, a show which it has struggled against in the past. Also if you wouldn't mind, could I also please have Futurama's ratings?
Thanks, much appreciated.
Daniel

SiT replies: Bill 797,000. And to answer the other perennial questions: The Wedge 722,000.

  • by Daniel on September 27, 2006 at 12:00 PM

i've only seen half of DWTS last nite, it was okay but I'm looking for the star celebrity constestants, where are they? were there even celebrities last nite, so to speak?

  • by edu on September 27, 2006 at 12:33 PM

Last night had some funny stats. besides the 1.83mill scored for DWTS, nothing else was over 1.4 mill. So minus DTWS, Tuesday would be considered a low viewing audience night (like thursday or friday)

  • by Chung on September 27, 2006 at 01:16 PM

Channel 7 will be pleased with the ratings for the Desperate Housewives Season 3 premiere in the US - over 23 million people tuned in. That, and the fact that more involving mysteries plus a more hands-on role for Marc Cherry have been promised this season, bode very well for its performance here in 2007.

Meanwhile, Studio 60 dropped 11% from last week and was again trounced by CSI:Miami.

  • by Fielding on September 27, 2006 at 01:22 PM

Who is Anthony Koutafides?
The Amazing Race 10 Is fantastic!
Nine shafted me with the finals of friends, sex/city, new series of Nip/tuck, final of Frazier....etc...etc

  • by dangle on September 27, 2006 at 01:41 PM

It is a terribly uninspiring line-up of DTWS, although I do respect Andrew Gaze for his past sporting feats but Tom Waterhouse? I thought DOI were scrapping the barrel with Jen Hawkins squeeze Jake, but Tom? C'mon on... Is that all we've got left? Since when is a 'star' a bookie?

  • by Lisa on September 27, 2006 at 02:00 PM

to hank rango : what does the trem " hooplehead " mean ? and if it is , as I suspect , derogatory , you are way off the mark about HBO . They have shown some of the best shows ever , Deadwood , The Sopranos , Rome, Oz etc . I'm sure I'll have lots agreeing with me . As for DWTS , what a misnomer of a title , last night's lineup was yawnsville , I've lost interest already , and in future will watch one of my many downloaded episodes from HBO

  • by jane doe on September 27, 2006 at 02:31 PM

hank rango wrote: "and to the nellies and nanas like damien getting all huffy and teary about "copyright infringement", try amazon.com."

Dude, get a grip. It obviously escaped you that my remark was made in mirth - I even included a smiley for you! Ah well... Fact is, I've been downloading since before bittorrent was invented and continue to do so due to the tactics of FTA networks.

  • by damien on September 27, 2006 at 03:01 PM

damien: a thousand pardons. i was at battle with myspace 'til 4am, and yr wit went straight over my head. and for some marvellous reason, i don't get emoticons.
jane doe: hbo IS wonderful, however...they indulge in some pretty grubby practises re the dvd release of their programs in the us. it's not uncommon for them to release the first part of a series and keep the consumer hanging on for ages for the rest of the season's release, as they've done with both sex and the city and the sopranos. as for the etymology of hooplehead; it's straight outta deadwood - the tv show. during the gold rush, there was a town near deadwood called hoople. the writers decided to cash in on this. and yes, it's very derogatory. especially when it spills from the shakespearean lips of al swerengen.

  • by hank rango on September 27, 2006 at 05:58 PM

Channel Eddie will win the year - but winning 25 or so weeks out of 40 isn't much to brag about. Recent years saw them winning 40 out of 40 - so this year has definitely been a failure compared to other years!

So why the hell did Eddie receive such an excessive pay package???

Isn't he the same CEO who has shedded 100s of employees and introduced draconian measures to cut costs? I mean - monitoring personal phone calls in the office??? Wonder how many personal phone calls amount to 4.7 million $$$???????

Oh well - they have a long way to go to be as disgraceful as Telstra and James Hardie.

But all is well - cos this is what Howards IR Reforms encourage!!!

  • by bettestreep on September 27, 2006 at 07:20 PM

thanks paul for the news on vm ;)

The third season premiere of GA beat CSI (both have the same timeslot) in America...and came first for the week...while House came in 20th.

  • by Jasmine on September 27, 2006 at 08:11 PM

Thanks hank rango for filling in my Deadwood gaps :) , I guess I missed that pearl amongst all the other cussing from al swerengen's lips . Your " Shakespearan " analogy is a gem :) How rude of HBO to delay the avaiability of series , just like channel 9 eh ? I don't get emoticons showing either , tho' I've added two for effect .

  • by jane doe on September 28, 2006 at 02:40 AM

Dangle, your comment about Anthony pretty much sums up why I said the ratings will rise in Victoria. He is not well known outside of the state unless you are a Footy fan.

He is a Carlton football player. Doubt if there is anyone in Victoria who doesn't know who he is ;)

Of course, that could be dangerous for the show, if he continues and doesn't attract the minds and hearts of non-victorians, it may lead to viewers turning off?

As for me, I'll be tuning in next week for my first ever episode of the show, as I've received quite a few emails from friends saying he will be dancing the rumba (sp?) next week and for this little black duck, it maybe the highlight of my television year ;)

  • by darryn on September 28, 2006 at 06:03 AM

i ended up watching the terri irwin interv