Who We Are

Wednesday May 9, 2007 04:08 PM

Monday, November 26, 2007

WHO WE ARE: Arrivederci paparazzi

A weekly column about Australia, by David Dale, published in The Sun-Herald, 25/11/2007
Does it sound snobbish to say I'm cheered by the revelation that Australians are losing interest in their weekly gossip magazines? Would it be fair to conclude that this indicates an improvement in national taste?

The downward sales trend, shown in figures released last week by the Audit Bureau of Circulations, is startling. Overall, the five mags that specialise in paparazzi pics and celebrity speculations seem to have lost 141,000 regular buyers between September 2006 and September 2007. Woman's Day dropped 10 per cent (to 470,000 copies a week), New Idea dropped 10 per cent (to 388,500), Who Weekly dropped 6 per cent (to 144,000), NW dropped 12 per cent (to 177,000) and Famous dropped 16 per cent (to 76,000).

How far we've fallen from gossip's golden age (1992), when an issue of Woman's Day featuring photos of Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, having her toes sucked by her balding lover sold 1.4 million copies in one week. There was a dramatic sales slump towards the end of the 90s, when some readers apparently felt the gossip weeklies had played a role in the death of Diana Spencer, and avoided them. But by the middle of the Noughties the weeklies were doing healthy business again - until now.

This year's slump is tightly focussed on five magazines. It is not part of a general decline in reading of mass market publications. Over the same period, sales of newspapers have been steady, which means that the biggest selling regular publications in the land are still The Sunday Telegraph (668, 500), The Sunday Herald-Sun, Melbourne (622,500), The Sunday Mail, Brisbane (595,000), The Herald-Sun, Melbourne (530,000), and The Sun-Herald (500,000).

What are Australians reading at the moment instead of tales about stars who are splitting up, having babies, having affairs, gaining weight, losing weight, and doing drugs? Literature, it seems, thought not of the Jane Austen and Charles Dickens variety.

Here's a sampling of Australia's best selling books so far this year, according to ACNielsen's BookScan: 1 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, by J. K. Rowling; 2 The Secret, by Rhonda Byrne; 3 Guinness World Records 2008; 4 Double Cross, by James Patterson; 5 The Memory Keeper's Daughter, by Kim Edwards; 6 The Dangerous Book For Boys, by Con and Hal Iggulden; 7 Bones to Ashes, by Kathy Reichs; 8 Exit Music, by Ian Rankin; 9 The Six Sacred Stones, Matthew Reilly; 10 CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet Book 2, by Dr Manny Noakes & Peter Clifton; 11 High School Musical 2: Book of the Film; 12 4 Ingredients, by Kim McCosker & Rachael Bermingham; 13 A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini; 14 Those Faraday Girls, by Monica McInerney; 15 Jamie at Home, by Jamie Oliver.

So around the 10th anniversary of Diana Spencer's death, the readers of Australia may be in the process of swapping their decades-old passion for scandal and rumour with a fascination for magic, self-development, mighty achievements, suspense, adventure, dancing, comedy and healthy eating.

Or maybe the celebrity gossip just hasn't been that hot lately.

What's your theory on the scandal sales slump?

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. For further observations of Australian attitudes and behaviour, go to http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/.

by David Dale in Who We Are at 12:20 AM
Comments (9)

Sunday, November 25, 2007

The Tribal Mind: A year of neophilia

by David Dale
The silly season is only a week away, so we'd better get cracking on the task of identifying the trends in television this year. They are ...

1. The shortening of the national attention span Australians got into the habit of leaping upon new shows, trying them for a couple of weeks, then zipping off in search of fresh thrills. Ugly Betty opened with two million viewers and ended her season with 1.2 million. Heroes fell from 2 million to 900,000; Bionic Woman from 1.5 million to 900,000; Californication from 1 million to 700,000.

The attitude Australia has developed -- "We want it all and we want it now and something different tomorrow'' -- will be a nightmare for the networks next year, and for all politicians in future elections.

2. The boom in local drama and comedy. The triumphs were Kath and Kim, Thank God You're Here, Summer Heights High, Sea Patrol and City Homicide -- all better than most US imports. And let's not forget the solid work of All Saints, which held 1.3 million viewers even when it didn't have Dancing With The Stars as lead in, and Home and Away, which averaged half a million more viewers than its rival Neighbours without needing a makeover.

The networks will use this renaissance to argue that there's no need for regulations enforcing minimum local content, because "we'd be making Australian drama anyway''. But have they given us any reason to trust them in the past?
3. The collapse of Nine. We knew it would be bad, but not how bad -- prime time audience down 18 per cent on 2003. The viewers got their revenge for years of arrogant and unreliable scheduling. The network bosses joined the Rolling Stones in singing "When nothing I do don't seem to work, it only seems to make matters worse''.

At breakfast, Lisa Wilkinson's fixed smile didn't help Today catch Sunrise. At lunchtime, The Catchup started with 240,000 viewers and ended with 120,000. Late night, Mick Molloy's The Nation started with 700,000 and ended with 400,000. And please don't mention Viva Laughlin, the first misstep of High Jackman. At the end of the worst year in its history, Nine is left with a rump of geriatric viewers and disappointed advertisers.

4. The trends that weren't. The year began with three lavish new game shows -- 1 vs 100, The Rich List, and The Con Test -- and ended with poor old Eddie back doing Millionaire to half its original audience, and National Bingo Night on its last legs eleven.

And there was no place for nostalgia -- What A Year lasted just two episodes. Australians only wanted to look to the future.

Man of the year: Shane Bourne, reliable bass player for two roaring successes.

Woman of the year: Prize shared between Patti Newton and Julia Zemiro, who both proved they didn't need Bert.

Tell us the trends you spotted this year ...

by David Dale in The Tribal Mind at 09:33 AM
Comments (7)

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

THE BOX OFFICE: Armada here

To see a new short episode of Doctor Who, go to A time paradox the size of Belgium.
Updated 6pm Thursday November 22
We love our Cate and our Geoffrey and our Abbbie -- but only up to a point. The spectacular but tedious Elizabeth: The Golden Age was Australia's most popular movie last week, selling $1.9 million worth of tickets. That's hardly in the blockbuster class, but wondrous if you consider it an art movie.

It certainly beat the somewhat less Oscar-likely Fred Claus, which made $1.2 million. But it's unlikely to top the ultimate total earned by Death At A Funeral, which remains at number three after six weeks, with $9.7m.

The great Australian horror flick, Rogue (pictured), dropped 40 per cent in takings in its second week, and currently totals a mere $1.4 million. Who knew we hated crocs so much? Mind you, we're equally dubious about angels -- the Aussie fantasy Gabriel made just $656,000 in its first week.

We don't seem to be so down on vampires -- the Melissa George bloodfest, 30 Days of Night has made $1.7 million over its two weeks.

Week ending November 14
The power combo of Tom Cruise, Meryl Streep and Robert Redford was not enough to beat the English sense of humour in Australian cinemas last weekend. According to the Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia, Death At A Funeral remained at No. 1 after five weeks, selling $1.4 million worth of tickets, for a total of $8.5 million.

The American anti-war blockbuster Lions For Lambs came in second, with $1.2m, followed by the Disney kid flick The Game Plan (total $2.7 m in two weeks), and the vampire thriller 30 Days Of Night with our own Melissa George ($1.1m).

At this point you are wondering what happened to the Aussie monster flick Rogue, written and directed by Greg Mclean, who had a hit in 2005 with Wolf Creek. On 170 screens it made a mere $859,000. What could explain this? Surely there's not a national aversion to amphibian reptiles - we spent $48 million on Crocodile Dundee.

Meanwhile GfK Marketing tells us the nation's most purchased DVD last week was Transformers, closely followed by Summer Heights High (with more than three hours of bonus features), which will allow the incoming government to cut the budget of the ABC.
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. For further observations of Australian attitudes and behaviour, go to http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/.

in The Tribal Mind at 06:38 PM
Comments (0)

Monday, November 19, 2007

The Tribal Mind: Nine is the loneliest number

This edition of the blog is now a heritage item -- worth studying but no longer current. For the latest media trends, go to ttp://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare

by David Dale
Let us examine two high achievers. Leader A is perceived by the audience as old, tired, backward-looking, arrogant, lurching from one embarrassment to another -- once unstoppable but now unsaveable. Leader B is perceived by the audience as fresh, energetic, inventive, and ready for the future.

Leader A may still be capable of great things, and Leader B may be more style than substance, coasting on good luck and good spin. But that doesn't matter. Perception is everything. The images are carved in stone. Leader A can do no right. Leader B can do no wrong.

I'm talking, of course, about Channel Nine and Channel Seven. Did you think I meant something else?

Well, the parallels are uncanny. Back in May, this column suggested that the relative positions of Nine and Seven in the prime time ratings would be a better way to predict the election result than any opinion poll. Australia's edgy taste in entertainment this year is evidence of a change in public mood since the early Noughties, when viewers preferred shows about cooking, gardening and home renovating.

This column wrote: "Australia's current preference for Channel Seven, which offers novelty, over Channel Nine, which offers 'we know what's best for you', suggests that the nation is in 'sit-forward' mode. If an election were held now, we'd vote for surprise and risk rather than predictability and comfort.

"You can expect the prime minister to hold off the election date till as late as possible this year. He'll be watching the ratings, tracking the rise of Nine and the decline of Seven, waiting for clear evidence that we have settled back onto the sofa of life. Then he'll pounce."

So where do the stations stand now? Nine did try to pull a few rabbits out of its hat as the year proceeded, but its bunnies died within weeks. Seven is currently averaging 37 per cent of the prime time commercial audience, Nine is averaging 34 per cent and Ten has 29 per cent. Translated into "two party preferred" terms, as the opinion pollsters like to do, that would put Rudd just over 52 per cent and Howard just below 48 per cent. The result will be close.

Next week you'll be able to compare that prediction with the reality. You may glean a further sense of the national mood from these details ...

Peak non-sporting moments on free to air TV this year: 1 Kath and Kim (7) 2.5 million; 2 Election debate (9, ABC) 2.3m; 3 The Chaser's War on Everything (ABC) 2.2m; 4 Dancing With The Stars (7) 2.2m; 5 Heroes (7) 2.1m; 6 Ugly Betty (7) 2.0 m; 7 Today Tonight Mercedes Corby allegations (7) 2.0m; 8 The Biggest Loser final (10) 2.0m.

Peak non-sporting moments on Pay TV: 1 High School Musical 2 (Disney) 314,000; 2 Australia's Next Top Model, the winner (Fox8) 283,000; 3 Inside The Actors Studio The Simpsons Fox 8 274,000; 4 Movie: The King (TV1) 251,000; 4 Law and Order SVU (TV1) 225,000; 5 Crime Investigation Australia -- Wanda Beach murders and Beaumont Children (Crime) 200,000; 6 Movie: Failure to Launch (Showtime) 156,000; 7 Movie: Ice Age 2 (Showtime) 155,000; 8 Movie: The Da Vinci Code (151,000).

Feel free to discuss, below, what all this implies about the nation's decision on Saturday,

by David Dale in The Tribal Mind at 10:36 AM
Comments (3)

Sunday, November 18, 2007

WHO WE ARE: A nation of idealists after all

This edition of the blog is now a heritage item -- worth studying but no longer current. For the latest media trends, go to ttp://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare
A weekly column about Australia, by David Dale, published in The Sun-Herald, 18/11/2007
Another of the foundations of our national self-image is crumbling: the tall poppy syndrome. Australians like to think of themselves as a cynical bunch, viewing politicians and authority figures as crooks, liars, hypocrites or lazy bastards. The attitude is a remnant of the convict days, we say proudly, when we knew the people pushing us around were no better than we were, so we'd take any opportunity to cut them down to size.

But a survey of 3902 adults just published by the Centre for Social Research at the Australian National University suggests we may not be not so tough-minded after all. Compared with other western nations, we're actually rather idealistic, even enthusiastic about the people who organise our lives.

Last week we reported that the survey, published in a book called Australian Social Attitudes 2: Citizenship, Work and Aspirations (UNSW Press) showed surprising support for trade unions and for taxation (click here to read that), while 61 per cent agreed with the statement "The government doesn't care what people like me think" and 62 per cent said "Political parties do not give voters real policy choices".

But this doesn't mean we are more cynical about political institutions than other countries. An even higher percentage of the population think the government doesn't care in Poland, Japan, Germany, Belgium, the Czech Republic, and Hungary.

Shown the statement "Most of the time we can trust people in government to do what is right", only 40 per cent of Australians agree. But in Japan, only 9 per cent agree. In Germany, it's 10 per cent, in France 22 per cent, in Britain 29 per cent and in the United States 31 percent. The only nations that trust their governments more than we do are Denmark, Finland and Switzerland.

Asked how widespread is corruption in the public service, 80 per cent of Poles, 63 per cent of Israelis, 42 per cent of Japanese, 30 per cent of Americans, and 16 per cent of Australians answered "A lot of people" or "Almost everyone".

Asked about their fellow citizens, 58 per cent of Australians say other people can "almost always" or "usually" be trusted, while that is said by only 15 per cent of Chileans, 26 per cent of Japanese, and 46 per cent of Britons and Americans.

The researchers conclude that when our attitudes are "examined in a cross-national perspective, Australians' assessments of democracy appear rather optimistic. Compared to other rich democracies, Australia experiences high levels of trust in government, a public very approving of how well democracy is working, high levels of personal (internal) efficiency, and very low levels of perceived political corruption. Australians also place more value on obeying laws, honesty in tax payments, and voting than citizens of most other nations examined here ... while Australians can be negative about politics, they remain among the most trusting citizens, both interpersonally and politically, of the world's democracies."

Hardly the land of the tall poppy syndrome. Better save the title for Japan, Germany or France. The convicts are optimists after all.

by David Dale in Who We Are at 04:37 PM
Comments (11)

The ratings race: Week 46

This blog is now a heritage item -- worth studying but not the latest word on the subject. For this week's discussion, go to http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/.
To discuss whether beetroot is essential in Australian hamburgers, go to Retreats

The daily media report by David Dale, updated 10am Sunday
Channel Seven won the week, averaging 28.8 per cent of the prime time audience, with Nine on 26.7, Ten on 22.1, ABC on 17.2 and SBS on 5.1.

What Australia watched on Saturday ...
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 NEW TRICKS ABC 1,291,000 335,000 396,000 230,000 160,000 170,000
2 ABC NEWS-SAT ABC 1,136,000 324,000 333,000 197,000 146,000 135,000
3 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,100,000 275,000 305,000 226,000 97,000 196,000
4 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Nine 1,077,000 299,000 366,000 204,000 130,000 78,000
5 JUDGE JOHN DEED Seven 896,000 247,000 250,000 190,000 112,000 98,000
6 M-HERBIE: FULLY LOADED Seven 857,000 248,000 235,000 199,000 73,000 102,000
7 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEO SHOW Nine 831,000 251,000 254,000 153,000 73,000 100,000
8 THE BILL ABC 790,000 213,000 260,000 143,000 70,000 104,000
9 STAR WARS: EPISODE IV - A NEW HOPE RPT Ten 774,000 233,000 195,000 138,000 83,000 125,000
10 SECOND TEST - AUSTRALIA V SRI LANKA Nine 759,000 215,000 258,000 116,000 89,000 81,000
11 2007 FEDERAL ELECTION ANNOUNCEMENT: ALP ABC 751,000 185,000 256,000 124,000 83,000 102,000
12 TEN NEWS AT FIVE SAT Ten 646,000 135,000 166,000 128,000 96,000 121,000
13 THE WIZARD OF OZ -RPT Nine 636,000 217,000 221,000 88,000 53,000 57,000
(OzTAm preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

What Australia watched, Friday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,206,000 392,000 328,000 186,000 128,000 172,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,123,000 285,000 291,000 248,000 129,000 170,000
3 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,122,000 270,000 310,000 229,000 128,000 185,000
4 NINE NEWS Nine 1,069,000 325,000 310,000 212,000 137,000 84,000
5 THE BRIEF ABC 1,057,000 312,000 285,000 188,000 119,000 154,000
6 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,051,000 325,000 259,000 210,000 124,000 133,000
7 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,004,000 291,000 323,000 195,000 116,000 79,000
8 ABC NEWS ABC 971,000 270,000 279,000 182,000 94,000 146,000
9 TEMPTATION Nine 943,000 257,000 325,000 173,000 100,000 88,000
10 PAYCHECK Nine 906,000 251,000 279,000 193,000 88,000 95,000
13 FRIDAY NIGHT DOWNLOAD Ten 770,000 147,000 283,000 153,000 77,000 110,000
18 THE BIGGEST LOSER 4 Ten 684,000 160,000 236,000 99,000 69,000 119,000
19 M-THE GREAT ESCAPE (R) Seven 670,000 213,000 214,000 89,000 57,000 98,000

What Australia watched, Thursday
Description Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 MISSING PERSONS UNIT Nine 1,396,000 373,000 463,000 255,000 137,000 168,000
2 SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE Ten 1,282,000 338,000 426,000 245,000 126,000 147,000
3 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,248,000 322,000 358,000 242,000 127,000 199,000
4 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,224,000 343,000 344,000 231,000 125,000 181,000
5 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,171,000 302,000 343,000 230,000 120,000 176,000
6 GHOST WHISPERER Seven 1,159,000 312,000 345,000 217,000 115,000 171,000
7 THE GIFT Nine 1,097,000 311,000 360,000 162,000 125,000 139,000
8 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,081,000 307,000 350,000 238,000 95,000 91,000
9 NINE NEWS Nine 1,055,000 295,000 339,000 237,000 104,000 80,000
12 BIONIC WOMAN Seven 977,000 248,000 306,000 177,000 111,000 135,000
13 RPA WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Nine 975,000 283,000 304,000 143,000 122,000 123,000
16 HEROES Seven 870,000 240,000 283,000 129,000 97,000 122,000
22 NEIGHBOURS Ten 664,000 148,000 213,000 138,000 83,000 81,000
30 FAMOUS PRESENTS HOLLYWOOD UNCENSORED Seven 440,000 152,000 125,000 40,000 55,000 69,000
33 SUNRISE Seven 399,000 136,000 95,000 89,000 40,000 38,000
35 INSPECTOR REX RPT SBS 348,000 100,000 111,000 58,000 42,000 36,000
36 JUDGE JUDY Ten 327,000 77,000 103,000 79,000 34,000 34,000
46 TODAY Nine 279,000 74,000 89,000 69,000 16,000 30,000

What Australia watched, Wednesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 THE CHASER'S WAR ON EVERYTHING ABC 1,463,000 460,000 478,000 215,000 129,000 179,000
2 THE FARMER WANTS A WIFE Nine 1,350,000 412,000 381,000 279,000 112,000 166,000
3 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,323,000 394,000 366,000 224,000 146,000 192,000
4 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,315,000 386,000 393,000 228,000 120,000 189,000
5 HOUSE Ten 1,314,000 405,000 369,000 219,000 145,000 175,000
6 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,292,000 373,000 348,000 267,000 124,000 179,000
7 MEDICAL EMERGENCY-WED Seven 1,276,000 336,000 401,000 258,000 124,000 157,000
8 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC 1,270,000 360,000 411,000 219,000 119,000 162,000
9 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,163,000 356,000 351,000 241,000 113,000 102,000
10 NINE NEWS Nine 1,140,000 351,000 354,000 240,000 112,000 84,000
11 COLD CASE Nine 1,133,000 369,000 312,000 200,000 117,000 136,000
15 ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 5TH GRADER? Ten 1,047,000 285,000 326,000 136,000 129,000 172,000
17 THE LIBRARIANS ABC 1,006,000 351,000 311,000 123,000 88,000 133,000
18 LIFE Ten 840,000 222,000 252,000 149,000 98,000 119,000
19 CRIMINAL MINDS-WED Seven 813,000 188,000 309,000 128,000 82,000 106,000
20 PRISON BREAK Seven 805,000 220,000 308,000 82,000 89,000 106,000
28 2007 FEDERAL ELECTION POLICY LAUNCH: ALP ABC 566,000 185,000 190,000 84,000 43,000 63,000

What Australia watched, Wednesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 DANCING WITH THE STARS 7 Seven 1,751,000 567,000 529,000 283,000 156,000 215,000
2 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,311,000 399,000 428,000 194,000 129,000 162,000
3 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,299,000 339,000 379,000 263,000 141,000 177,000
4 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,266,000 367,000 343,000 260,000 128,000 167,000
5 20 TO 1 Nine 1,239,000 279,000 385,000 293,000 150,000 131,000
6 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,223,000 311,000 376,000 297,000 129,000 110,000
7 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,163,000 328,000 334,000 227,000 118,000 157,000
8 NINE NEWS Nine 1,156,000 288,000 368,000 269,000 128,000 102,000
9 ABC NEWS ABC 1,093,000 263,000 383,000 230,000 100,000 117,000
10 TEMPTATION Nine 1,058,000 273,000 330,000 240,000 108,000 107,000
23 THE BILL-TUES ABC 657,000 211,000 179,000 105,000 77,000 84,000
24 2007 FEDERAL ELECTION ANNOUNCEMENT: AUS GREENS ABC 546,000 176,000 163,000 100,000 53,000 54,000

What Australia watched, Monday
Description total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 CITY HOMICIDE Seven 1,722,000 464,000 534,000 304,000 211,000 209,000
2 BORDER SECURITY - AUSTRALIA'S FRONT LINE Seven 1,678,000 460,000 493,000 324,000 193,000 208,000
3 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,429,000 382,000 357,000 282,000 170,000 239,000
4 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,406,000 389,000 395,000 293,000 147,000 182,000
5 SURF PATROL Seven 1,334,000 377,000 392,000 271,000 143,000 151,000
6 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,328,000 339,000 368,000 259,000 147,000 215,000
7 NINE NEWS Nine 1,326,000 371,000 422,000 307,000 126,000 100,000
8 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,261,000 341,000 409,000 288,000 127,000 95,000
9 CRIMINAL MINDS Seven 1,245,000 342,000 393,000 196,000 167,000 147,000
10 AUSTRALIAN IDOL - THE LIVE VERDICT Ten 1,231,000 387,000 342,000 207,000 127,000 167,000
11 ABC NEWS ABC 1,179,000 317,000 386,000 220,000 101,000 155,000
12 ENOUGH ROPE WITH ANDREW DENTON ABC 1,130,000 385,000 337,000 193,000 84,000 130,000
13 AUSTRALIAN STORY ABC 1,070,000 304,000 289,000 238,000 88,000 152,000
14 WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE Nine 1,000,000 278,000 350,000 194,000 89,000 89,000
15 SUPERNATURAL Ten 990,000 287,000 273,000 180,000 113,000 137,000

What Australia watched, Sunday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 CSI Nine 1,473,000 408,000 435,000 280,000 188,000 163,000
2 KATH & KIM (R) Seven 1,427,000 384,000 435,000 312,000 137,000 159,000
3 AUSTRALIAN IDOL Ten 1,405,000 400,000 397,000 267,000 156,000 185,000
4 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,358,000 364,000 323,000 363,000 122,000 185,000
5 MY NAME IS EARL Seven 1,291,000 346,000 431,000 258,000 111,000 145,000
6 NINE NEWS SUN Nine 1,269,000 385,000 379,000 227,000 186,000 93,000
7 ROVE Ten 1,214,000 359,000 390,000 172,000 135,000 159,000
8 60 MINUTES Nine 1,190,000 313,000 355,000 250,000 140,000 133,000
9 ABC NEWS-SUN ABC 1,136,000 297,000 385,000 215,000 98,000 140,000
10 THANK GOD YOU'RE HERE RPT Ten 1,027,000 251,000 289,000 228,000 105,000 153,000
11 CAPTAIN COOK: OBSESSION AND DISCOVERY ABC 999,000 313,000 309,000 173,000 101,000 103,000
12 SINGING BEE Nine 981,000 235,000 357,000 181,000 118,000 89,000
13 CSI: NY Nine 970,000 304,000 347,000 176,000 143,000
14 NATIONAL BINGO NIGHT Seven 963,000 283,000 202,000 242,000 115,000 121,000
15 M-THE PRINCE AND ME Seven 953,000 296,000 309,000 151,000 93,000 105,000
16 COMMERCIAL BREAKDOWN Nine 898,000 211,000 320,000 166,000 117,000 83,000
17 RAIN SHADOW ABC 887,000 221,000 317,000 133,000 96,000 120,000
21 FIRST TEST - AUSTRALIA V SRI LANKA Nine 727,000 222,000 246,000 101,000 74,000 84,000
26 COMEDY INC. THE LATE SHIFT Nine 462,000 123,000 136,000 78,000 63,000 63,000
27 COMPASS ABC 456,000 138,000 147,000 69,000 51,000 52,000

Last week
There's been a bit of slippage in shows proclaimed by the networks only recently as hits. After starting with 1.5 million viewers in the mainland capitals, The Bionic Woman found herself below a million last week. She'll be lucky to survive the US writers' strike.

The new local comedy The Librarians lost 200,000 viewers in its second week, dropping to a million, but the ABC was consoled the next night by an unexpected 1.22 million viewers for The Sounds of Aus, John Clarke's survey of our linguistic eccentricities (or, as he would say, lungwustuc airxairntrucities).

The Melbourne Cup was also a big loser, with its lowest audience this decade. Even the cricket -- Australia vs Sri Lanka -- could manage only 794,000 on Saturday. Could it be that thousands of Australians are avoiding all television at the moment for fear of being confronted with another election announcement?

Channel Seven won the week with 28.6 per cent of the prime time audience, while Nine got 26.3, Ten got 21.8, ABC got 18.2 and SBS got 5.1.

What Australia watched, week ending November 10
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 MELBOURNE CUP-THE RACE Seven 2,191,000 533,000 1,047,000 293,000 137,000 183,000
2 DANCING WITH THE STARS Seven 1,778,000 523,000 591,000 283,000 172,000 210,000
3 BORDER SECURITY Seven 1,621,000 458,000 428,000 363,000 174,000 197,000
4 KATH & KIM (R) Seven 1,585,000 364,000 581,000 279,000 161,000 200,000
5 CITY HOMICIDE Seven 1,559,000 420,000 496,000 281,000 183,000 178,000
6 THE CHASER'S WAR ON EVERYTHING ABC 1,486,000 485,000 446,000 231,000 155,000 170,000
7 NEW TRICKS ABC 1,425,000 364,000 456,000 274,000 164,000 167,000
8 HOUSE Ten 1,418,000 433,000 384,000 229,000 151,000 222,000
9 SURF PATROL Seven 1,418,000 390,000 407,000 289,000 148,000 184,000
10 CSI Nine 1,389,000 371,000 441,000 236,000 171,000 171,000
11 AUSTRALIAN IDOL Ten 1,370,000 418,000 385,000 233,000 156,000 178,000
12 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC 1,362,000 391,000 416,000 245,000 150,000 159,000
13 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,357,000 369,000 364,000 259,000 155,000 211,000
14 MISSING PERSONS UNIT Nine 1,311,000 336,000 427,000 253,000 125,000 170,000
15 THE FARMER WANTS A WIFE Nine 1,304,000 382,000 412,000 259,000 90,000 160,000
16 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,296,000 382,000 464,000 185,000 123,000 143,000
17 MY NAME IS EARL Seven 1,291,000 319,000 474,000 221,000 131,000 148,000
18 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,281,000 260,000 383,000 308,000 153,000 177,000
19 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,268,000 372,000 340,000 260,000 134,000 162,000
20 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,265,000 326,000 416,000 251,000 162,000 111,000
21 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,264,000 336,000 365,000 226,000 148,000 189,000
22 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,255,000 399,000 307,000 259,000 126,000 164,000
23 ABC NEWS-SU ABC 1,232,000 331,000 392,000 242,000 132,000 136,000
24 MEDICAL EMERGENCY-WED Seven 1,224,000 314,000 360,000 263,000 145,000 143,000
25 THE SOUNDS OF AUS ABC 1,221,000 361,000 407,000 201,000 106,000 147,000
26 NINE NEWS Nine 1,212,000 346,000 378,000 266,000 125,000 97,000
27 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Nine 1,202,000 328,000 413,000 230,000 148,000 84,000
28 ABC NEWS-SA ABC 1,202,000 321,000 395,000 240,000 115,000 131,000
29 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,189,000 313,000 333,000 247,000 125,000 172,000
30 ROVE Ten 1,189,000 330,000 391,000 153,000 152,000 164,000
31 THE SIMPSONS TUES EP 2 Ten 1,186,000 311,000 366,000 181,000 147,000 181,000
32 SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE 3 Ten 1,177,000 289,000 409,000 197,000 135,000 148,000
33 CRIMINAL MINDS Seven 1,177,000 329,000 375,000 200,000 148,000 124,000
34 AUSTRALIAN IDOL - THE LIVE VERDICT Ten 1,160,000 402,000 299,000 205,000 111,000 143,000
35 CHILD IN A MILLION Seven 1,152,000 282,000 316,000 249,000 150,000 156,000
36 GHOST WHISPERER Seven 1,139,000 320,000 271,000 243,000 127,000 177,000
37 THE SIMPSONS TUES EP 1 Ten 1,133,000 288,000 352,000 184,000 139,000 170,000
38 60 MINUTES Nine 1,125,000 282,000 335,000 221,000 133,000 154,000
39 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,124,000 315,000 335,000 261,000 106,000 106,000
40 THE GIFT Nine 1,114,000 288,000 338,000 186,000 148,000 154,000
41 COLD CASE Nine 1,114,000 340,000 354,000 194,000 103,000 123,000
42 CSI: NY Nine 1,109,000 271,000 376,000 177,000 145,000 140,000
43 GETAWAY Nine 1,108,000 318,000 326,000 258,000 90,000 115,000
44 ABC NEWS ABC 1,091,000 303,000 351,000 204,000 99,000 133,000
45 NCIS RPT Ten 1,077,000 260,000 324,000 185,000 135,000 172,000
46 THE LIBRARIANS ABC 1,060,000 379,000 343,000 123,000 103,000 112,000
47 MELBOURNE CUP-LATE Seven 1,058,000 244,000 583,000 113,000 53,000 65,000
48 WITHOUT A TRACE Nine 1,050,000 316,000 317,000 155,000 124,000 138,000
49 ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 5TH GRADER? Ten 1,049,000 307,000 335,000 134,000 111,000 162,000
50 TEMPTATION Nine 1,043,000 274,000 341,000 220,000 97,000 110,000

by David Dale in The Tribal Mind at 12:00 AM
Comments (111)

Friday, November 16, 2007

Ten Years On: Constitutional crisis looms

This edition of the blog is now a heritage item -- worth studying but no longer current. For the latest media trends, go to ttp://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare
November 16, 2017: The President, John Howard, said yesterday he would not hesitate to use his powers of dismissal if the Prime Minister could not resolve the dispute that caused the Opposition to block key bills in the Senate.

The Opposition Leader, Malcolm Turnbull, has told Liberal senators to follow a policy of "total obstruction'' until the Prime Minister, Peter Garrett, abandons his plan to build a nuclear reactor in every state capital. Mr Turnbull is supported by four of the eight Greens senators, three of the six Holy Family senators, and the Democrat Senator Natasha Stott-Despoja.

Mr Howard delivered his threat during a ceremony in Canberra to mark Australia's return to 20 million people under the "depopulate or perish'' program. Mr Howard congratulated the Government on its anti-immigration and anti-fertility measures, which put Australia on track to reach the so-called "Flannery line" of 18 million by 2026.

Then Mr Howard departed from his prepared speech to add: "When Peter Garrett reached across the party divide to nominate me as the first president of the republic, he called it an act of national reconciliation. I told him at the time that this would not prevent me from doing my duty to the nation, and that includes ensuring the Parliament can function.''

Mr Howard's remarks were immediately condemned by the Victorian Premier, Peter Costello, and the NSW Premier, Pru Goward. Both are supporters of Mr Garrett's program to cut Australia's dependence on coal-fired power stations. "That little toad kept me waiting so long I had to move back to Melbourne and join the Labor Party to get career advancement,'' Mr Costello said. "Now he's threatening the first green Labor government in this country's history. He should respect the Garrett mandate."

Mr Garrett accused Mr Turnbull of wanting to continue Australia's greenhouse emissions so global warming would give his Woollahra home a water frontage.

STOP PRESS: the College of Cardinals in Rome has elected an Australian as the new Pope. He is the former politician Tony Abbott, who returned to the priesthood in 2008 after the Liberal Party failed to choose him as leader.

He will take the name Pope Abbott I, "in recognition of the way a humble Abbott can rise, through hard work and determination, to the top job in the world's most powerful religious corporation.''

Pope Abbott said his first priority was to "ramp up'' what he called "the war of ideas with Islam''. "Christianity needs to be packaged more dynamically, and I believe I have the diplomatic skills to do that," he said.

Footnote: Just like Doctor Who, Stay in Touch likes to change itself every so often. Next Monday you can look forward to an exciting new column, with a new editor, Emily Dunn.

To mark the transition, we've reprinted, above, a prophecy made by the column on the first day of its current incarnation (when David Dale became editor). Its portrait of Australia's political system in the next decade is, of course, totally absurd.

We welcome your predictions.

by David Dale in The Tribal Mind at 07:28 AM
Comments (10)

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

The tribal mind: Happy ending to Hollywood drama

by David Dale
DON'T panic. Out of adversity comes opportunity. The television writers' strike now entering its second week in Hollywood will be painful for those directly involved, but for Australians the potential is immense: it could reduce our networks' addiction to American product, reduce Australians' addiction to what the networks insist on feeding us, create more opportunities for local writers and give the US writers time to think about their continuing characters and plotlines so the shows we get next year will be more satisfying.

And if the strikers don't cave in to the producers, the whole agonising confrontation will ultimately give all writers a fairer share in future uses of their creations.

Short-term effects: Our "official ratings year'' ends in three weeks, and there are easily enough new episodes of our favourite US programs -- House, My Name is Earl, CSI, Criminal Minds, Ghost Whisperer and The Simpsons to last until December. The shows most urgently affected by the strike -- Heroes, Prison Break and Bionic Woman -- are getting small audiences here and won't be missed.

In the case of Heroes, which has been slow this season, the creator, Tim Kring, phoned Entertainment Weekly magazine from the picket line promising to make good use of his time off: "The message is that we've heard the complaints and we're doing something about it.'' According to EW, "The cliffhangers are back. Narrative purpose has been discovered. Old favourites such as Peter (Milo Ventimiglia) and Horn Rimmed Glasses (Jack Coleman) take centre stage.'' A good omen for other strike-affected programs which have been disappointing us lately.

Long-term effects: When the "official'' ratings season starts again in February, Channel Seven will have 11 unseen episodes of its blockbusters Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy, and eight new episodes of Lost. That will allow plenty of time for the strike to be resolved and more episodes written of the shows we care about.

Meanwhile our networks will have gone shopping in Britain and Canada for shows that will widen our understanding of the world, and will have diverted a chunk of their US budget to the creation of more Australian dramas and comedies. Cynics will say that the cheapest option for Seven, Nine and Ten will be to fill time with more reality shows, talent quests and game shows. I remain optimistic that they've been convinced by the success this year of Kath & Kim and City Homicide that Australians are finally ready to celebrate their own stories again.

And Australia's best writers will be able to give up their part-time jobs as waiters and cleaners because the US strike will create an international precedent giving them a useful percentage from DVD, mobile and internet sales of their work.

Or is this just wishful thinking?

by David Dale in The Tribal Mind at 10:30 AM
Comments (19)

Sunday, November 11, 2007

WHO WE ARE: We like taxes and unions after all

A weekly column about Australia, by David Dale, published in The Sun-Herald, 11/11/2007
Most of the time, and especially this month, politicians love to tell us what Australians want, need, believe and won't stand for. They apparently base their understanding of the Australian psyche on divine inspiration or something they once heard on talkback radio. The Centre for Social Research at the Australian National University takes a slightly different approach. Every two years it asks a sample of about 4,000 Australian adults what they want, need, believe and won't stand for.

Just in time for the election, but too late to affect the policy platforms, the Centre has published a book called Australian Social Attitudes 2: Citizenship, Work and Aspirations, based on their survey done in late 2005. It's a healthy antidote to the current pontificating, because it challenges much of what the politicians and their advertising agencies assume to be fundamental national attitudes. For example.

Australians hate and fear trade unions. The researchers disagree: "There is qualified but widespread support for unions among Australian workers, even among those who do not belong to them. Nearly half (46 per cent) of those respondents who said they were not a union member (and did not want to be) agree that, without trade unions, working conditions for employees would be much worse, and nearly a third agree that trade unions are very important for the job security of employees."

Overall, 79 per cent of the people surveyed agree with the statement "There should be a law to protect all workers in Australia against unfair dismissal", 69 percent agree that "Award wages are the best way of paying workers and setting conditions", and 52 per cent DISAGREE with the statement "Unions should have less say in how wages and conditions are set" (with only 24 per cent agreeing).

Australians demand lower taxation. Asked if the government should introduce tax cuts or increase spending on services like health and education, 34 per cent choose reducing taxes, 19 per cent say the situation should stay as it is now, and 47 go for increased social spending.

Australians think being a good citizen means being white and Christian and able to answer questions about Don Bradman. Asked what makes a good citizen, more than half the sample identified these qualities as very important: "Always vote in elections" (69 per cent); "Always obey laws and regulations" (66 per cent); "Never try to evade taxes" (61 per cent); and "Keep watch on actions of government" (54 per cent).

Given these discrepancies between what politicians assume and what Australians actually believe, these results may not be surprising: "The government doesn't care what people like me think" (61 per cent agree); "Thinking about the federal government in Australia these days, would you say that it is: a) run mainly for a few big interests looking out for themselves" (60 per cent) or b) "run for the benefit of all the people " (40 per cent); "Political parties do not give voters real policy choices" (62 per cent agree).

The candidates are no doubt too busy at the moment to read Australian Social Attitudes 2, which is probably just as well. It would only upset them.

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 Who We Are at 07:46 AM
Comments (5)

Saturday, November 10, 2007

The ratings race: Week 45

This edition of the blog is now a heritage item -- worth studying but no longer current. For the latest media trends, go to ttp://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare

The daily media report by David Dale, updated 10am Sunday
Channel Seven won the week with 28.6 per cent of the prime time audience, while Nine got 26.3, Ten got 21.8, ABC got 18.2 and SBS got 5.1.

What Australia watched, Saturday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 NEW TRICKS ABC 1,425,000 364,000 456,000 274,000 164,000 167,000
2 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Nine 1,202,000 328,000 413,000 230,000 148,000 84,000
3 ABC NEWS-SAT ABC 1,202,000 321,000 395,000 240,000 115,000 131,000
4 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,189,000 313,000 333,000 247,000 125,000 172,000
5 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEO SHOW Nine 910,000 251,000 308,000 181,000 92,000 78,000
6 JUDGE JOHN DEED Seven 910,000 271,000 306,000 138,000 108,000 87,000
7 WILLY WONKA & THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY -RPT Nine 851,000 264,000 269,000 151,000 83,000 84,000
8 M-A BUG'S LIFE Seven 844,000 242,000 244,000 145,000 91,000 122,000
9 FIRST TEST - AUS V SRI LANKA Nine 794,000 224,000 235,000 155,000 99,000 81,000
10 STAR WARS II - ATTACK OF THE CLONES RPT Ten 793,000 199,000 262,000 119,000 95,000 118,000
11 ELECTION ANNOUNCEMENT: ALP ABC 771,000 214,000 237,000 139,000 71,000 111,000
12 THE BILL ABC 706,000 222,000 183,000 132,000 71,000 98,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

The daily media report by David Dale, updated 10am Saturday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,255,000 399,000 307,000 259,000 126,000 164,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,229,000 345,000 289,000 244,000 163,000 187,000
3 NINE NEWS Nine 1,228,000 381,000 412,000 245,000 95,000 96,000
4 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,209,000 354,000 315,000 233,000 140,000 167,000
5 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,122,000 337,000 290,000 241,000 120,000 134,000
6 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,095,000 310,000 356,000 239,000 89,000 101,000
7 REBUS ABC 1,025,000 274,000 355,000 156,000 118,000 123,000
8 THE WEDDING DATE Nine 1,005,000 316,000 267,000 207,000 96,000 120,000
9 TEMPTATION Nine 1,000,000 280,000 329,000 210,000 87,000 94,000
10 AIRLINE Nine 966,000 277,000 303,000 203,000 89,000 95,000
11 AIRPORT -RPT Nine 965,000 271,000 282,000 206,000 99,000 108,000
12 ABC NEWS ABC 924,000 233,000 324,000 172,000 94,000 101,000
13 M-X-MEN 2 (R) Seven 867,000 206,000 282,000 171,000 110,000 98,000

The daily media report by David Dale, updated 10am Friday
After the most watched night of the week (Wednesday) comes the least (Thursday), with audience figures so low for the commercial networks that the ABC was able to grab 1.2 million for a documentary on the way we speak. Even if there wasn't a writers' strike in America, Bionic Woman would have been lucky to last out the year.

What Australia watched, Thursday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 MISSING PERSONS UNIT 9 1,297,000 335,000 423,000 252,000 120,000 168,000
2 SEVEN NEWS 7 1,275,000 363,000 315,000 259,000 140,000 199,000
3 HOME AND AWAY 7 1,248,000 376,000 297,000 257,000 143,000 174,000
4 NINE NEWS 9 1,228,000 361,000 378,000 264,000 129,000 96,000
5 THE SOUNDS OF AUS ABC 1,227,000 363,000 408,000 203,000 107,000 147,000
6 TODAY TONIGHT Network 7 1,186,000 332,000 317,000 212,000 141,000 184,000
7 SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE TEN 1,177,000 289,000 409,000 197,000 135,000 148,000
8 A CURRENT AFFAIR 9 1,164,000 336,000 351,000 255,000 110,000 112,000
9 THE GIFT 9 1,147,000 295,000 349,000 193,000 152,000 158,000
10 GHOST WHISPERER 7 1,139,000 320,000 271,000 243,000 127,000 177,000
11 GETAWAY 9 1,108,000 316,000 327,000 259,000 90,000 115,000
12 ABC NEWS ABC 1,095,000 330,000 344,000 197,000 105,000 121,000
13 TEMPTATION 9 1,085,000 259,000 374,000 234,000 100,000 118,000
14 RPA WHERE ARE THEY NOW? 9 998,000 280,000 305,000 148,000 135,000 130,000
15 BIONIC WOMAN 7 980,000 279,000 264,000 183,000 116,000 138,000
16 HEROES 7 943,000 270,000 327,000 128,000 89,000 130,000

What Australia watched, Wednesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 THE CHASER'S WAR ON EVERYTHING ABC 1,489,000 484,000 447,000 232,000 155,000 171,000
2 HOUSE 4 Ten 1,416,000 434,000 383,000 228,000 150,000 221,000
3 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC 1,362,000 391,000 416,000 246,000 150,000 160,000
4 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,324,000 393,000 362,000 261,000 140,000 169,000
5 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,321,000 346,000 330,000 264,000 158,000 223,000
6 THE FARMER WANTS A WIFE Nine 1,302,000 382,000 412,000 259,000 89,000 159,000
7 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,250,000 320,000 347,000 237,000 149,000 197,000
8 MEDICAL EMERGENCY Seven 1,224,000 314,000 360,000 263,000 145,000 143,000
9 NINE NEWS Nine 1,192,000 342,000 367,000 254,000 137,000 92,000
10 CHILD IN A MILLION Seven 1,152,000 282,000 316,000 249,000 150,000 156,000
11 COLD CASE Nine 1,115,000 338,000 355,000 193,000 103,000 126,000
12 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,115,000 331,000 319,000 251,000 124,000 90,000
13 ABC NEWS ABC 1,106,000 311,000 338,000 207,000 95,000 155,000
14 THE LIBRARIANS ABC 1,084,000 387,000 350,000 127,000 105,000 114,000
15 WITHOUT A TRACE Nine 1,054,000 318,000 318,000 157,000 123,000 138,000
16 ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 5TH GRADER? Ten 1,049,000 307,000 335,000 134,000 111,000 162,000

What Australia watched, Tuesday
To compare this year's cup audience (not including clubs, restaurants and pubs) with previous cups, go to The TV shows we loved. Here's what Australia watched on Tuesday ...

Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 THE 2007 MELBOURNE CUP: THE RACE Seven 2,191,000 533,000 1,047,000 293,000 137,000 183,000
2 DANCING WITH THE STARS 7 Seven 1,779,000 523,000 591,000 284,000 172,000 210,000
3 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,504,000 400,000 498,000 240,000 150,000 216,000
4 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,372,000 345,000 455,000 213,000 155,000 204,000
5 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,349,000 384,000 390,000 264,000 138,000 173,000
6 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,316,000 388,000 469,000 189,000 125,000 145,000
7 THE SIMPSONS TUES EP 2 Ten 1,186,000 311,000 366,000 181,000 147,000 181,000
8 ABC NEWS-EV ABC 1,184,000 320,000 396,000 233,000 97,000 139,000
9 NATIONAL NINE NEWS Nine 1,167,000 321,000 376,000 261,000 113,000 95,000
10 THE SIMPSONS TUES EP 1 Ten 1,133,000 288,000 352,000 184,000 139,000 170,000
11 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,131,000 292,000 367,000 269,000 103,000 100,000
12 NCIS RPT Ten 1,077,000 260,000 324,000 185,000 135,000 172,000
13 THE 2007 MELBOURNE CUP CARNIVAL: MELBOURNE CUP-LATE Seven 1,058,000 244,000 583,000 113,000 53,000 65,000
What Australia watched, Monday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 BORDER SECURITY Seven 1,621,000 458,000 428,000 363,000 174,000 197,000
2 CITY HOMICIDE Seven 1,559,000 420,000 496,000 281,000 183,000 178,000
3 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,457,000 388,000 387,000 288,000 165,000 229,000
4 SURF PATROL Seven 1,418,000 390,000 407,000 289,000 148,000 184,000
5 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,308,000 373,000 364,000 278,000 132,000 161,000
6 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,303,000 331,000 390,000 238,000 153,000 192,000
7 NINE NEWS Nine 1,231,000 325,000 358,000 299,000 141,000 108,000
8 CRIMINAL MINDS Seven 1,177,000 329,000 375,000 200,000 148,000 124,000
9 ABC NEWS ABC 1,143,000 323,000 353,000 214,000 107,000 147,000
10 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,138,000 310,000 290,000 295,000 116,000 127,000
11 AUSTRALIAN IDOL - LIVE VERDICT Ten 1,121,000 388,000 290,000 198,000 108,000 138,000
12 SUPERNATURAL Ten 1,001,000 291,000 263,000 209,000 106,000 132,000
13 AUSTRALIAN STORY ABC 945,000 298,000 245,000 191,000 77,000 134,000
14 WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE Nine 915,000 257,000 295,000 169,000 87,000 106,000
15 ENOUGH ROPE WITH ANDREW DENTON ABC 899,000 256,000 277,000 128,000 107,000 132,000

What Australia watched, Sunday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 KATH & KIM (Rpt) Seven 1,553,000 343,000 562,000 284,000 169,000 194,000
2 CSI Nine 1,390,000 371,000 441,000 236,000 170,000 171,000
3 MY NAME IS EARL Seven 1,382,000 334,000 510,000 235,000 136,000 167,000
4 AUSTRALIAN IDOL Ten 1,361,000 415,000 382,000 231,000 155,000 177,000
5 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,265,000 326,000 416,000 251,000 161,000 110,000
6 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,264,000 256,000 376,000 305,000 152,000 175,000
7 ABC NEWS-SUN ABC 1,232,000 331,000 392,000 242,000 132,000 136,000
8 ROVE Ten 1,212,000 338,000 394,000 160,000 153,000 167,000
9 60 MINUTES Nine 1,123,000 282,000 335,000 221,000 132,000 153,000
10 CSI: NY Nine 1,113,000 271,000 376,000 179,000 146,000 141,000
12 NATIONAL BINGO NIGHT Seven 1,002,000 194,000 290,000 209,000 143,000 166,000
13 SINGING BEE Nine 996,000 225,000 384,000 191,000 110,000 86,000
14 CAPTAIN COOK: OBSESSION AND DISCOVERY ABC 944,000 303,000 260,000 160,000 122,000 99,000
20 PANDEMIC (included only so we can use this pic of Tiffani Amber Theissen) Seven 724,000 219,000 221,000 109,000 70,000 104,000
22 COMPASS ABC 691,000 221,000 242,000 74,000 82,000 73,000
24 ABOUT A BOY RPT (but tell us if you'd prefer we use a pic of Hugh Grant) Ten 619,000 181,000 237,000 48,000 88,000 66,000

Political discussion was way down on the national agenda last week. TV news programs drew smaller audiences than usual -- unless you count The Chaser. In the mainland capitals, the "great" health debate (for which Tony Abbott turned up late) attracted only 86,000 and 15,000 in repeat, while the "great" treasurers' debate drew 85,000 and 35,000 in repeat. It was almost as if Australian televiewers were actively avoiding all mention of the campaign.

What they wanted instead was a laugh. With 1.27 million, the ABC's new comedy The Librarians held onto the audience built by Summer Heights High while Spicks and Specks pulled 1.33 million. Channel Seven's repeat of a Kath and Kim episode originally shown on the ABC managed 1.52 million. And Shaun Micalleff's new satire vehicle, Newstopia, was the number nine most watched show on SBS, with 257,000.

Seven averaged 28.9 per cent of the prime time audience, with Nine on 25.6, Ten on 22.1, ABC on 18.1 and SBS on 5.3.
What Australia watched, week ending Saturday November 3
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 DANCING WITH THE STARS Seven 1,837,000 581,000 568,000 280,000 180,000 228,000
2 BORDER SECURITY Seven 1,677,000 460,000 456,000 335,000 174,000 252,000
3 CITY HOMICIDE Seven 1,583,000 419,000 496,000 255,000 197,000 215,000
4 KATH & KIM (Rpt) Seven 1,517,000 326,000 519,000 313,000 163,000 197,000
5 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,483,000 470,000 467,000 204,000 144,000 198,000
6 CSI Nine 1,451,000 411,000 379,000 284,000 171,000 206,000
7 THE CHASER'S WAR ON EVERYTHING ABC 1,424,000 456,000 413,000 218,000 178,000 158,000
8 HOUSE Ten 1,390,000 390,000 371,000 240,000 177,000 213,000
9 AUSTRALIAN IDOL Ten 1,386,000 409,000 420,000 206,000 165,000 185,000
10 NEW TRICKS ABC 1,376,000 347,000 445,000 259,000 157,000 168,000
11 NATIONAL BINGO NIGHT Seven 1,370,000 277,000 395,000 317,000 169,000 211,000
12 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,356,000 317,000 371,000 337,000 142,000 189,000
13 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC 1,327,000 362,000 395,000 259,000 157,000 154,000
14 60 MINUTES Nine 1,307,000 354,000 380,000 266,000 140,000 167,000
15 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,300,000 339,000 348,000 252,000 163,000 199,000
16 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,275,000 373,000 357,000 246,000 126,000 173,000
17 THE LIBRARIANS ABC 1,275,000 412,000 374,000 183,000 144,000 162,000
18 MEDICAL EMERGENCY-WED Seven 1,271,000 332,000 408,000 256,000 134,000 140,000
19 MISSING PERSONS UNIT Nine 1,258,000 334,000 434,000 215,000 131,000 144,000
20 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,257,000 329,000 371,000 255,000 105,000 196,000
21 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,226,000 335,000 339,000 218,000 152,000 183,000
22 MY NAME IS EARL Seven 1,220,000 281,000 419,000 221,000 128,000 170,000
23 GHOST WHISPERER Seven 1,216,000 341,000 357,000 220,000 120,000 179,000
24 AUSTRALIAN IDOL LIVE VERDICT Ten 1,211,000 354,000 361,000 222,000 126,000 148,000
25 COLD CASE Nine 1,198,000 383,000 358,000 206,000 122,000 129,000
26 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,182,000 416,000 321,000 164,000 106,000 175,000
27 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,150,000 328,000 367,000 208,000 159,000 89,000
28 CSI: NY Nine 1,143,000 323,000 304,000 191,000 159,000 166,000
29 NINE NEWS Nine 1,142,000 333,000 339,000 254,000 129,000 88,000
30 THE FARMER WANTS A WIFE Nine 1,141,000 329,000 352,000 225,000 102,000 133,000
31 M-FANTASTIC FOUR Seven 1,132,000 341,000 349,000 169,000 126,000 146,000
32 ABC NEWS-SAT ABC 1,126,000 300,000 367,000 198,000 122,000 139,000
33 CRIMINAL MINDS Seven 1,116,000 306,000 309,000 191,000 174,000 137,000
34 SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE Ten 1,111,000 311,000 338,000 178,000 149,000 135,000
35 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,106,000 314,000 337,000 241,000 115,000 99,000
36 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Nine 1,078,000 289,000 367,000 189,000 148,000 85,000
37 THE SIMPSONS TUES EP 1 Ten 1,076,000 267,000 364,000 169,000 133,000 142,000
38 THE 21ST ANNUAL ARIA MUSIC AWARDS Ten 1,071,000 330,000 378,000 146,000 104,000 112,000
39 ABC NEWS ABC 1,069,000 299,000 320,000 202,000 119,000 130,000
40 THE SIMPSONS TUES EP 2 Ten 1,063,000 268,000 358,000 163,000 136,000 138,000
41 20 TO 1 Nine 1,053,000 280,000 339,000 189,000 113,000 131,000
42 REBUS ABC 1,045,000 284,000 332,000 175,000 132,000 122,000
43 ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 5TH GRADER? Ten 1,042,000 262,000 364,000 152,000 111,000 154,000
44 NCIS RPT Ten 1,042,000 258,000 344,000 154,000 133,000 152,000
45 ENOUGH ROPE WITH ANDREW DENTON ABC 1,041,000 311,000 328,000 185,000 96,000 121,000
46 BIONIC WOMAN Seven 1,026,000 274,000 324,000 176,000 111,000 142,000
47 CHILD IN A MILLION Seven 1,014,000 287,000 285,000 206,000 114,000 123,000
48 THE GIFT Nine 1,010,000 267,000 326,000 157,000 138,000 122,000
49 TWO WEEKS NOTICE -RPT Nine 1,008,000 360,000 340,000 134,000 88,000 86,000
50 TEMPTATION Nine 1,006,000 279,000 314,000 194,000 110,000 109,000
(OzTAM mainland capitals)

by David Dale in The Tribal Mind at 09:32 AM
Comments (65)

Friday, November 9, 2007

The box office: Arty flicks flops

This edition of the blog is now a heritage item -- worth studying but no longer current. For the latest media trends, go to ttp://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare
Angelina Jolie's attempt to go arty and serious with A Mighty Heart has failed to capture the imaginations of Australian moviegoers, making just $981,000 in three weeks. But it could end up beating her husband's attempt to do the same with The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, which made only $314,000 in its first week. Our photo shows the couple arriving this week at the premiere of Beowulf, in which Jolie plays the mother of the monster Grendel. She's nude, but a cartoon.

Australians returned to the word-of-mouth favourite Death at a Funeral, a smart British comedy that bounced back to No.1 after four weeks in cinemas, earning $1.8 million over the week, for a total of $7.1 million. It's going to be The Full Monty of this decade -- a little engine that goes and goes.

But the attempted renaissance of Beatlemania and psychedelia, Across the Universe, managed just $243,000 in its first week on 51 screens. With takings like that, you'd swear it was an Australian movie, but it's actually American (made by Julie Taymor, who directed the musical of The Lion King on Broadway). Word of mouth will bring it to the top next week, writes the baby boomer member of the editorial team. The Gen Y member chuckles sardonically.

The Bourne Ultimatum is about to drop out of the chart with takings of $21.6 m in 10 weeks. To see where it falls among our highest grossing films of all time, go to The films Australia loved.

We welcome your comments.

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.This edition of the blog is now a heritage item -- worth studying but no longer current. For the latest media trends, go to ttp://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare

in The Tribal Mind at 01:08 AM
Comments (6)

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

The Tribal Mind: Less is more, or vice versa

This edition of the blog is now a heritage item -- worth studying but no longer current. For the latest media trends, go to ttp://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare
by David Dale
ENOUGH of the year has elapsed for us to be able to give a definitive answer to the question of most concern to networks, advertisers and sociologists: are Australians watching more television or less television? The answer is Yes.

It's all very confusing because it depends on what kind of TV you're talking about and what year you set as your benchmark. Compared with last year, we watched 1 per cent less television this year; compared with 2001, we watched 4 per cent more television. If you mean free-to-air television, we watched 4 per cent less than last year and 9 per cent less than 2001. If you mean pay TV, we watched 14 per cent more than last year and 109 per cent more than in 2001
.
If you want to talk about individual channels, the picture becomes even fuzzier. Channel Nine is down 21 per cent on its 2001 audience. Channel Seven, which is supposed to be the big success story, can boast about being up by 10 per cent on its 2003 audience but it won't tell you it's down by 4 per cent on its 2001 audience and down 2 per cent on last year's audience.

The ABC, which has started talking about ratings a lot more this year because it regularly has at least two shows in the week's top 10, is up by 2 per cent on last year's audience but down 9 per cent on its 2003 audience.

This is a nightmare for media analysts who seek precision, so let's escape from percentages and look at numbers, which seem more real. In 2001, an average of 1,801,000 people in the mainland capitals watched TV at some point in the day; in 2007, an average of 1,874, 000 watched at some point in the day. That looks good for the network moguls, doesn't it? They can keep charging big bucks for placing commercials. But remember that since 2001 the population of the mainland capitals has risen from 11.7 million to 12.4 million, so TV is not exactly growing with its potential audience.

The only obvious boomer over this decade is pay TV, which has more than doubled its audience. The average number of people who watch something on pay TV each day is 413,000 (up from 198,000 in 2001), while the average number who tune in to Seven is 420,000 and the average for the ABC is 223,000.

However, viewers use pay TV in a quite different way from the way they use free to air, as demonstrated by its most-watched programs this year:
1. Soccer: AFC Asian Cup, Australia v Japan, FoxSports2 (419,000);
2. Cricket: Chappell-Hadlee Trophy, Aus v NZ, FoxSports2 (415,000);
3. Parkinson: Shane Warne interview, UKTV (405,000);
4. Soccer: Asian Cup, Aus v Oman, FoxSports2 (345,000);
5. NRL: Roosters v Rabbitohs, FoxSports1 (332,000);
6. AFL: Essendon v Richmond, FoxSports2 (328,000);
7. NRL: Dragons v Rabbitohs FoxSports3 (323,000);
8. NRL: Sea Eagles v Storm FoxSports3 (317,000);
9. Movie: High School Musical 2 Disney Channel (314,000);
10. NRL Cowboys v Storm FoxSports3 (311,000).

We might as well stop there, because every remaining program in the pay top 50 is a sporting event, with NRL forming the vast majority of entries. Next week we'll try to figure out why, with help from any explanations you care to offer, below.

by David Dale in The Tribal Mind at 10:12 AM
Comments (10)

Sunday, November 4, 2007

WHO WE ARE: Disgraced Businessman Day and other festivities

For the latest media trends, go to ttp://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare
A weekly column about Australia, by David Dale, published in The Sun-Herald, 4/11/2007
National Sickie Day and National Disgraced Businessman Day were two useful suggestions sent in by readers last week after this column wondered which classically Australian phenomena should be celebrated with a special date. I'd been inspired by the introduction of a National Thong Day (October 24) and suggested we could extend the principle to National Loud Shirt Day (honouring the right of fathers to embarrass their offspring at barbecues), National Amoxycillin Day (honouring our most prescribed antibiotic) and National Chiko Roll Day, honouring our (sadly vanishing) contribution to fast food culture.

A reader who wished to be known as Bill Steamshovel reckoned that on Disgraced Businessman Day, "we could pay homage to the greats of the 80s like Alan Bond and Christopher Skase, whilst also giving thanks that we have a new generation pitching in with the likes of Rodney Adler".

Scott nominated "National Lookamoi Day - the one day where it is acceptable for people to quote/mimic Kath and Kim and get away with it -- for a donation of $1 per annoying line."

And "G" thought that on Sickie Day, "we could all phone in a lame excuse for why we can't come to work as we sound as ill as humanely possible while heading to the beach or the cricket or a long weekend up the coast!"

Clearly we're on a roll. Speaking of which, how about National Dung Beetle Day? You may think we're afflicted by flies at the moment but it would be far worse without the tireless efforts of the little creatures who break up the mounds of cow and sheep manure where flies do most of their breeding. The CSIRO has been spreading a specially bred superbeetle around the countryside and future generations should perform the Great Australian Salute in its honour.

The inventiveness of the CSIRO will also be remembered on ...

National Trouser Crease Day. In 1957, Dr Arthur Farnsworth from the Division of Textile Industry developed a permanent press woollen pants process called Siroset, which conquered the world.

National Counterfeit-proof Banknote Day. The polymer plastic printing technology developed in the 1980s has been sold to the central banks of 23 countries.

National Clever Clover Day. This is not honouring Sydney's Lord Mayor but a plant which aerates and fertilises the soil for vegetable growers.

National Bunny Slaughter Day. This would recognise the development of strains of myxomatosis and calicivirus to control a pest introduced in 1859 by an idiot Englishman who wanted Australia to be more like "home".

National Castration Day. This may be harder to sell to the populace, but it's as important as the earlier revelations. According to The Dictionary of Australian Inventions and Discoveries, "Surgical castration (the removal of the testicles of a male animal) and spaying (the removal of the ovaries of a female animal) of sheep and cattle is traumatic and costly in terms of lost production. A consortium of CSIRO, Peptide Technology Ltd and Arthur Webster Pty Ltd is developing an injectable vaccine which has the same effect as surgical neutering."

Good old Aussie know-how at its pinnacle. We'd love to hear more suggestions.

by David Dale in Who We Are at 10:45 AM
Comments (11)

The ratings race: Week 44

This edition of the blog is now a heritage item -- worth studying but no longer current. For the latest media trends, go to ttp://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare

The daily media report by David Dale, updated 10am Sunday
What Australia watched on Saturday ...
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 NEW TRICKS ABC 1,376,000 347,000 445,000 259,000 157,000 168,000
2 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,257,000 329,000 371,000 255,000 105,000 196,000
3 ABC NEWS-SAT ABC 1,126,000 300,000 367,000 198,000 122,000 139,000
4 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Nine 1,078,000 289,000 367,000 189,000 148,000 85,000
5 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEO SHOW Nine 1,002,000 287,000 290,000 202,000 119,000 104,000
6 M-ALADDIN Seven 880,000 211,000 285,000 169,000 101,000 113,000
7 ELECTION ANNOUNCEMENT: THE COALITION ABC 861,000 241,000 292,000 140,000 79,000 109,000
8 JUDGE JOHN DEED Seven 819,000 211,000 244,000 146,000 111,000 106,000
9 POLAR EXPRESS Nine 818,000 271,000 236,000 148,000 80,000 83,000
10 STAR WARS I - THE PHANTOM MENACE RPT Ten 803,000 190,000 262,000 141,000 97,000 113,000
11 The BILL ABC 773,000 215,000 247,000 141,000 73,000 97,000
12 GARDENING AUSTRALIA ABC 727,000 197,000 228,000 146,000 80,000 75,000
13 TEN NEWS AT FIVE SAT Ten 698,000 171,000 173,000 126,000 91,000 138,000
14 DEADLIEST CATCH Ten 603,000 144,000 167,000 124,000 83,000 86,000
15 CHARLIES ANGELS: FULL THROTTLE -RPT Nine 587,000 180,000 188,000 98,000 63,000 58,000
23 THE SIDESHOW WITH PAUL MCDERMOTT ABC 374,000 87,000 134,000 61,000 35,000 57,000
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)

What Australia watched, Friday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,182,000 416,000 321,000 164,000 106,000 175,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,164,000 304,000 307,000 227,000 150,000 176,000
3 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,128,000 382,000 291,000 188,000 96,000 170,000
4 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,068,000 318,000 318,000 232,000 104,000 96,000
5 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,050,000 290,000 284,000 194,000 132,000 151,000
6 REBUS ABC 1,045,000 284,000 332,000 175,000 132,000 122,000
7 NINE NEWS Nine 1,032,000 323,000 298,000 222,000 113,000 76,000
8 ABC NEWS ABC 1,002,000 305,000 267,000 188,000 130,000 113,000
9 AIRLINE Nine 910,000 239,000 284,000 177,000 104,000 106,000
10 TEMPTATION Nine 885,000 243,000 256,000 188,000 103,000 95,000
11 AIRPORT -RPT Nine 838,000 207,000 255,000 182,000 76,000 118,000
12 ROSE AND MALONEY ABC 834,000 222,000 263,000 144,000 107,000 97,000
13 COLLECTORS ABC 830,000 230,000 232,000 180,000 112,000 76,000
14 IN GOOD COMPANY Nine 751,000 221,000 221,000 144,000 65,000 100,000
15 FRIDAY NIGHT DOWNLOAD Ten 748,000 222,000 203,000 121,000 103,000 98,000
18 M-SEABISCUIT Seven 704,000 236,000 211,000 89,000 78,000 90,000
20 M - THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE Ten 663,000 168,000 196,000 132,000 85,000 83,000
51 SEVEN'S V8 SUPERCARS ROUND 12: BAHRAIN INTERNATIONAL D1 Seven 226,000 61,000 67,000 36,000 40,000 22,000

What Australia watched, Thursday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 MISSING PERSONS UNIT Nine 1,252,000 333,000 433,000 215,000 128,000 143,000
2 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,238,000 327,000 367,000 255,000 131,000 158,000
3 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,234,000 319,000 325,000 238,000 151,000 201,000
4 GHOST WHISPERER Seven 1,216,000 341,000 357,000 220,000 120,000 179,000
5 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,151,000 336,000 299,000 193,000 141,000 182,000
6 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,127,000 297,000 360,000 243,000 137,000 90,000
7 NATIONAL NINE NEWS Nine 1,115,000 308,000 350,000 236,000 138,000 82,000
8 SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE Ten 1,109,000 310,000 338,000 178,000 149,000 134,000
9 TEMPTATION Nine 1,049,000 281,000 342,000 202,000 116,000 109,000
10 ABC NEWS ABC 1,040,000 305,000 284,000 197,000 111,000 143,000
11 THE GIFT Nine 1,033,000 272,000 333,000 164,000 141,000 123,000
12 BIONIC WOMAN Seven 1,026,000 274,000 324,000 176,000 111,000 142,000
13 TEN POUND POMS ABC 975,000 283,000 273,000 194,000 106,000 119,000
14 GETAWAY Nine 962,000 246,000 317,000 206,000 85,000 108,000
15 HEROES Seven 937,000 272,000 294,000 155,000 93,000 124,000

What Australia watched, Wednesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 THE CHASER'S WAR ON EVERYTHING ABC 1,423,000 455,000 412,000 220,000 178,000 157,000
2 HOUSE Ten 1,399,000 393,000 372,000 242,000 178,000 214,000
3 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC 1,315,000 358,000 392,000 256,000 156,000 153,000
4 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,300,000 353,000 342,000 233,000 161,000 211,000
5 THE LIBRARIANS ABC 1,292,000 417,000 380,000 185,000 146,000 163,000
6 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,281,000 372,000 362,000 255,000 126,000 165,000
7 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,280,000 343,000 372,000 234,000 155,000 176,000
8 MEDICAL EMERGENCY Seven 1,271,000 332,000 408,000 256,000 134,000 140,000
9 COLD CASE Nine 1,210,000 388,000 364,000 209,000 118,000 131,000
10 NINE NEWS Nine 1,128,000 331,000 334,000 260,000 119,000 84,000
11 THE FARMER WANTS A WIFE Nine 1,121,000 320,000 345,000 222,000 102,000 132,000
12 ABC NEWS ABC 1,058,000 272,000 362,000 171,000 118,000 136,000
13 ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 5TH GRADER? Ten 1,044,000 263,000 363,000 153,000 111,000 154,000
17 7.30 REPORT ABC 874,000 246,000 265,000 170,000 86,000 107,000
21 LIFE Ten 759,000 205,000 222,000 126,000 98,000 108,000
23 CRIMINAL MINDS-WED Seven 731,000 214,000 239,000 108,000 77,000 93,000
28 LAS VEGAS Seven 547,000 165,000 172,000 97,000 53,000 60,000
48 NEWSTOPIA SBS 254,000 60,000 105,000 34,000 25,000 30,000

What Australia watched, Tuesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 DANCING WITH THE STARS Seven 1,837,000 581,000 568,000 280,000 180,000 228,000
2 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,483,000 470,000 467,000 204,000 144,000 198,000
3 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,381,000 359,000 381,000 257,000 189,000 194,000
4 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,349,000 411,000 375,000 258,000 135,000 169,000
5 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,325,000 365,000 361,000 208,000 187,000 204,000
6 NINE NEWS Nine 1,185,000 335,000 359,000 272,000 127,000 92,000
7 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,178,000 334,000 371,000 252,000 118,000 103,000
8 ABC NEWS ABC 1,110,000 303,000 331,000 228,000 114,000 134,000
9 THE SIMPSONS TUES EP 1 Ten 1,076,000 267,000 364,000 169,000 133,000 142,000
10 THE SIMPSONS TUES EP 2 Ten 1,063,000 268,000 358,000 163,000 136,000 138,000
11 TEMPTATION Nine 1,058,000 285,000 344,000 200,000 113,000 117,000
12 20 TO 1 Nine 1,049,000 280,000 339,000 189,000 111,000 131,000
13 NCIS RPT Ten 1,042,000 258,000 344,000 154,000 133,000 152,000
14 CRIME INVESTIGATION AUSTRALIA Nine 877,000 252,000 276,000 123,000 115,000 112,000
29 THE SOPRANOS Nine 510,000 160,000 186,000 44,000 72,000 48,000
36 SUNRISE Seven 390,000 126,000 85,000 89,000 42,000 48,000

What Australia watched, Monday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 BORDER SECURITY Seven 1,677,000 460,000 456,000 335,000 174,000 252,000
2 CITY HOMICIDE Seven 1,583,000 419,000 496,000 255,000 197,000 215,000
3 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,424,000 360,000 385,000 303,000 166,000 210,000
4 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,391,000 373,000 394,000 278,000 141,000 205,000
5 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,326,000 340,000 379,000 258,000 146,000 202,000
6 NINE NEWS Nine 1,227,000 366,000 353,000 277,000 127,000 104,000
7 AUSTRALIAN IDOL - LIVE VERDICT Ten 1,171,000 340,000 351,000 215,000 122,000 143,000
8 ABC NEWS ABC 1,133,000 309,000 355,000 224,000 123,000 123,000
9 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,131,000 306,000 335,000 254,000 118,000 118,000
10 CRIMINAL MINDS Seven 1,116,000 306,000 309,000 191,000 174,000 137,000
11 ENOUGH ROPE WITH ANDREW DENTON ABC 1,041,000 311,000 328,000 185,000 96,000 121,000
12 TWO WEEKS NOTICE -RPT Nine 1,009,000 356,000 342,000 135,000 89,000 87,000
13 WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE Nine 994,000 248,000 358,000 168,000 107,000 114,000
14 THE FORCE Seven 936,000 474,000 176,000 285,000
15 SUPERNATURAL Ten 925,000 240,000 260,000 185,000 117,000 123,000

What Australia watched, Sunday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 KATH & KIM (R) Seven 1,530,000 319,000 506,000 331,000 167,000 208,000
2 CSI Nine 1,457,000 414,000 380,000 286,000 172,000 206,000
3 AUSTRALIAN IDOL Ten 1,387,000 410,000 421,000 206,000 165,000 185,000
4 NATIONAL BINGO NIGHT Seven 1,342,000 273,000 385,000 312,000 166,000 207,000
5 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,333,000 314,000 359,000 333,000 141,000 187,000
6 MY NAME IS EARL Seven 1,309,000 293,000 448,000 249,000 142,000 177,000
7 60 MINUTES Nine 1,295,000 348,000 379,000 263,000 138,000 167,000
8 M-FANTASTIC FOUR Seven 1,180,000 348,000 370,000 179,000 129,000 153,000
9 ABC NEWS-SUN ABC 1,171,000 365,000 305,000 240,000 145,000 116,000
10 CSI: NY Nine 1,152,000 326,000 307,000 193,000 160,000 166,000
11 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,150,000 328,000 368,000 208,000 158,000 88,000
12 THE 21ST ANNUAL ARIA MUSIC AWARDS Ten 1,121,000 343,000 397,000 156,000 108,000 117,000
13 ARIA RED CARPET Ten 956,000 215,000 316,000 171,000 128,000 126,000
14 CAPTAIN COOK: OBSESSION AND DISCOVERY ABC 938,000 336,000 228,000 161,000 103,000 110,000
15 SINGING BEE Nine 911,000 267,000 325,000 136,000 92,000 91,000
16 RAIN SHADOW ABC 826,000 244,000 269,000 110,000 101,000 102,000

After smashing a national stereotype last week, by proving they were more interested in politics than gambling (the election debate totalled 700,000 more viewers in the mainland capitals than National Bingo Night), Australians maintained their cutting-edge approach to entertaining themselves. They revived Australian crime drama by watching City Homicide on Monday, brutally voted the long-suffering Jessica Rowe off Dancing With The Stars on Tuesday, and revelled in the savage satire of The Chaser and Summer Heights High on Wednesday.

But their thirst for challenge was not enough to make them stick with the musical dramedy that was Viva Laughlin. Despite (or because of?) a sleazy publicity campaign and an appearance by icon High Jackman, VL could draw only 833,000 viewers to Channel Nine, which promptly bumped the second (and final) episode to a 10.30pm timeslot tonight. Ironically, sheer curiosity might provide the audience it lacked for its opening.

Channel Seven won the week, averaging 28.9 per cent of the prime time audience, with Nine on 25.3 per cent, Ten on 22.6, ABC on 17.9 and SBS on 5.4.

What Australia watched, week ending October 27
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 BORDER SECURITY Seven 1,857,000 455,000 552,000 382,000 201,000 268,000
2 THE FORCE Seven 1,759,000 437,000 496,000 348,000 192,000 285,000
3 DANCING WITH THE STARS Seven 1,756,000 599,000 486,000 280,000 159,000 233,000
4 THE CHASER'S WAR ON EVERYTHING ABC 1,637,000 534,000 513,000 236,000 165,000 189,000
5 CITY HOMICIDE Seven 1,570,000 423,000 495,000 288,000 161,000 203,000
6 NATIONAL BINGO NIGHT Seven 1,558,000 352,000 446,000 336,000 190,000 233,000
7 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC 1,545,000 449,000 515,000 253,000 162,000 166,000
8 SUMMER HEIGHTS HIGH ABC 1,482,000 473,000 501,000 184,000 138,000 187,000
9 HOUSE Ten 1,482,000 447,000 440,000 217,000 192,000 185,000
10 KATH & KIM - SERIES 1 Seven 1,465,000 353,000 451,000 304,000 166,000 193,000
11 SEVEN NEWS - SUNDAY Seven 1,455,000 375,000 366,000 331,000 167,000 216,000
12 SEVEN NEWS - MONDAY-FRIDAY Seven 1,429,000 391,000 380,000 264,000 172,000 222,000
13 60 MINUTES Nine 1,426,000 424,000 459,000 274,000 122,000 147,000
14 AUSTRALIAN IDOL - SUNDAY Ten 1,381,000 402,000 420,000 212,000 158,000 190,000
15 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,370,000 387,000 382,000 271,000 134,000 196,000
16 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,364,000 380,000 388,000 236,000 155,000 206,000
17 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,338,000 414,000 429,000 194,000 136,000 165,000
18 NEW TRICKS ABC 1,328,000 354,000 367,000 238,000 185,000 183,000
19 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,313,000 481,000 339,000 201,000 131,000 161,000
20 SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE 3 Ten 1,308,000 335,000 446,000 201,000 163,000 163,000
21 MEDICAL EMERGENCY Seven 1,241,000 294,000 372,000 271,000 131,000 172,000
22 MISSING PERSONS UNIT Nine 1,239,000 345,000 396,000 206,000 124,000 168,000
23 ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 5TH GRADER? Ten 1,227,000 334,000 424,000 146,000 160,000 162,000
24 NINE NEWS - SUNDAY Nine 1,207,000 313,000 430,000 213,000 157,000 94,000
25 THE SIMPSONS - 7:30PM TUESDAY Ten 1,195,000 243,000 471,000 196,000 155,000 129,000
26 NCIS Ten 1,193,000 302,000 385,000 184,000 151,000 172,000
27 NINE NEWS - MONDAY-FRIDAY Nine 1,189,000 327,000 390,000 227,000 138,000 108,000
28 ABC NEWS - SUNDAY ABC 1,183,000 374,000 396,000 177,000 83,000 153,000
29 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,181,000 314,000 275,000 243,000 143,000 207,000
30 CRIMINAL MINDS Seven 1,178,000 343,000 370,000 210,000 118,000 137,000
31 THE SIMPSONS - 8:00PM TUESDAY Ten 1,177,000 246,000 461,000 185,000 154,000 131,000
32 THE FARMER WANTS A WIFE Nine 1,148,000 336,000 365,000 209,000 104,000 133,000
33 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,148,000 333,000 363,000 219,000 127,000 106,000
34 AUSTRALIAN IDOL - THE LIVE VERDICT Ten 1,145,000 336,000 339,000 198,000 125,000 147,000
35 CHILD IN A MILLION Seven 1,145,000 257,000 342,000 263,000 121,000 162,000
36 GHOST WHISPERER Seven 1,128,000 292,000 343,000 219,000 113,000 161,000
37 ABC NEWS - MONDAY-FRIDAY ABC 1,109,000 343,000 356,000 172,000 117,000 119,000
38 WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE Nine 1,088,000 290,000 407,000 163,000 116,000 112,000
39 COLD CASE Nine 1,085,000 300,000 338,000 212,000 109,000 127,000
40 THE GIFT Nine 1,078,000 305,000 334,000 155,000 134,000 150,000
41 ABC NEWS - SATURDAY ABC 1,070,000 327,000 272,000 198,000 147,000 127,000
42 NINE NEWS - SATURDAY Nine 1,064,000 270,000 325,000 206,000 148,000 115,000
43 REBUS ABC 1,064,000 263,000 377,000 146,000 144,000 133,000
44 TEMPTATION Nine 1,062,000 304,000 338,000 191,000 109,000 119,000
45 BIONIC WOMAN Seven 1,059,000 283,000 311,000 213,000 122,000 131,000
46 GETAWAY Nine 1,059,000 280,000 360,000 184,000 100,000 136,000
47 ENOUGH ROPE WITH ANDREW DENTON ABC 1,040,000 291,000 367,000 125,000 115,000 143,000
48 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEO SHOW Nine 1,040,000 305,000 292,000 169,000 137,000 137,000
49 THANK GOD YOU'RE HERE 2 Ten 1,030,000 242,000 325,000 188,000 131,000 143,000
50 ROVE Ten 1,005,000 255,000 380,000 153,000 107,000 110,000
51 SUPERNATURAL Ten 992,000 267,000 306,000 177,000 121,000 120,000
52 THE NEW INVENTORS ABC 992,000 335,000 302,000 168,000 88,000 98,000
53 WITHOUT A TRACE Nine 949,000 317,000 255,000 140,000 124,000 113,000
54 HEROES Seven 934,000 255,000 319,000 159,000 94,000 107,000
55 AIRLINE Nine 923,000 219,000 272,000 203,000 103,000 126,000
56 AUSTRALIA VOTES 2007: THE LEADERS' DEBATE ABC 907,000 289,000 276,000 165,000 83,000 94,000
(OzTAM)

David Dale is the author of Who We Are -- A snapshot of Australia today (Allen and Unwin). This edition of the blog is now a heritage item -- worth studying but no longer current. For the latest media trends, go to ttp://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare

by David Dale in The Tribal Mind at 09:12 AM
Comments (91)

Friday, November 2, 2007

The Box Office: Horror sells

This edition of the blog is now a heritage item -- worth studying but no longer current. For the latest media trends, go to ttp://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare

Sickening sadism is what Australians want at the flicks right now, with jokes about death a close second. Saw IV, the trequel to a scary series devised by a couple of Aussie boys, sold $2.4 million worth of tickets in its first week, just beating Britain's Death at a Funeral, which has totalled $5.4 million in three weeks.

What we don't want is tragic tales of journalists murdered by religious fundamentalists, even if they star Angelina Jolie, so A Mighty Heart is about to drop out of the chart with a mere $806,000 in two weeks. We also have no interest in feminist working-class comedies, so Waitress (pictured) managed just $276,000 in its first week.

Good Luck Chuck came in third (after Saw and Funeral) with $1.1m, followed by George Clooney's Michael Clayton (total $1.8 m in two weeks) and John Travolta's Hairspray (total $15.7m in 7 weeks).

by David Dale in The Tribal Mind at 06:14 PM

The Tribal Mind: Slow life in the fast lane

by David Dale
This is the land of the short attention span. When it comes to entertaining themselves, Australians want it all and they want it now. Cinema and television were never going to be enough. We had to have videos, then DVDs, then Pay TV, then the internet, then iPods, then stuff we could watch on our mobile phones.

Somehow mainstream television managed to survive this accumulation of new distractions, with audiences dropping by less than two per cent a year over this decade. That was until 2007, when the networks finally decided they had a problem that needed to be fixed. They gave their solution a name which sounds perfectly suited to the land of the short attention span: fast-tracking. But so far, fast-tracking seems to be slowing down the recovery of mainstream TV.

Before this year, the networks were in the habit of buying programs from America and showing them at least six months after they were shown over there. This only became a serious irritant in 2004, when Channel Nine dragged out the ending of our all time favourite sitcom, Friends. Viewers were furious, but there was nothing they could do about it at the time.

Then broadband started to spread across the land, and with it the capacity to download TV episodes which American viewers had helpfully recorded in their computers. This coincided with the revival of the serial as the fashionable form of TV drama. Viewers desperate to know what happened next in programs such as Lost and Heroes no longer had to wait on the whim of Channel Seven. They could just download them.

Lost opened with an audience above two million, and after 12 months was registering just above a million. Same story with Heroes. The best theory on where those viewers went was online.

Channel Ten noticed the problem late last year, and started running episodes of the new science fiction series Jericho within a day of their showing in America. This year Seven and Nine have jumped on the fast train. These are the key programs being shown within days of their American airings ...

Heroes (7) opened its latest season with 1.2 million and last week was down to 934,000. Bionic Woman (7) opened with 1.6 million, and last week was down to 1.0 million. Without A Trace (9) was getting audiences above 1.3 million two years ago. Last week it got 949,000.

Californication (10) opened with close to 1 million and got 674,000 last week. Prison Break (7) was drawing more than a million viewers in its first season and last week was down to 728,000.

Among the fast-tracked shows, only House is holding its audience -- consistently around 1.5 million. Of course, there are good reasons for some of the declines. Californication removed most of the nudity and black humour after its second episode and the writers gave David Duchovny a boring girlfriend in an apparent attempt to humanise him. Jaime Sommers (the Bionic Woman) is proving to be clumsy and whiney, and not at all the commanding type we'd expected. Heroes has too much talk and not enough action. The plot twists in Prison Break are becoming absurd.

But so far, we have to say that fast tracking does not look like the quick fix the networks were hoping for. They're going to have to find another way to hold onto their audiences -- like buying and making better programs.

What do you reckon?

by David Dale in The Tribal Mind at 12:24 AM
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