The Sun-Herald

The Tribal Mind: How we've changed -- or have we?

To learn how Australia became addicted to caffeine, go to Who We Are.

by David Dale
AUSTRALIA has made an enormous evolutionary leap over the past ten years, and we should be proud of the way we've matured into sophisticated, discerning consumers.

That's one theory, anyway. Cleaning out a mouldy filing cabinet last weekend, I came across a way to test if the claim is true -- a fat document, sent out to journalists exactly ten years ago, with these words on the cover: "RATINGS REPORT - NINE SHINES IN 1999". It's Channel Nine's 60 page analysis of trends in television at the end of the 90s. I can say with absolute confidence that Nine will not be sending out a report anything like it this year.

Since we're only a week away from the end of the 2009 ratings period, it's possible to find some illuminating differences between the way we were and the way we are. Check out these ratings charts, and see if you agree with the comparisons I make afterwards...

The most watched non-sporting programs of 1999:
1 Hey Hey It's Saturday, final (9) 2.71 million
2 Friends (9) 2.59m
3 Sunday night movie - The Castle (9) 2.46m
4 Who Wants To Be A Millionaire special (9) 2.23m
5 Jesse (9) 2.21m
6 Getaway special - The Orient Express (9) 2.17m
7 The Logies, hosted by Andrew Denton (9) 2.13m
8 John Farnham's 50th birthday (9) 2.12m
9 Walking With Dinosaurs (ABC) 2.08m
10 SeaChange (ABC) 2.07m
11 The Best and Worst of Royalty (9) 2.03m
12 Sunday night movie - Mission Impossible (10) 2.00m
13 This is Your Life (9) 1.98m
14 Blue Heelers (7) 1.98m
15 Sunday night movie - Dating The Enemy (7) 1.97m
(Nielsen, mainland capitals)

The most watched non-sporting programs of 2009:
1 MasterChef Australia - Winner Announced (10) 3.74 million
2 Hey Hey Reunion part two (9) 2.31m
3 Hey Hey Reunion part one (9) 2.17m
4 Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities (9) 2.13m
5 The Biggest Loser: Winner Announced (10) 2.10m
6 Packed to the Rafters (7) 1.90m
7 MasterChef challenge (10) 1.74m
8 The Logies, hosted by Gretel Killeen (9) 1.65m
9 Seven news Sunday (7) 1.61m
10 Talkin' 'bout Your Generation (10) 1.60m
11 Dancing With The Stars grand final (7) 1.57m
12 Thank God You're Here (7) 1.52m
13 World's Strictest Parents (7) 1.51m
14 Seven news weekdays (7) 1.50m
15 Border Security (7) 1.50m.
(OzTAM, mainland capitals)

We watch a lot less commercial TV these days. Instead, we watch more ABC (its two stations averaged 17.1 per cent of the prime time audience this year - up from 14.7 per cent in 99). We watch more Pay TV (28 per cent of homes are subscribers now, up from 10 per cent in 99). And Australians under 40 spend more hours a week on the internet (which barely existed in 99) than on the box.

We are much more diverse in our tastes. Back when the population was 19 million, it was usual for a hit series to hold more than 2 million viewers in the mainland capitals, week after week. Now, with the population above 22 million, the networks crack champagne if a show tops 1.5 million. Thisyear, the only series that united us was Underbelly. Back then, we united around Friends, Jesse, Walking With Dinosaurs, SeaChange, This Is Your Life and Blue Heelers.

We've come to prefer our own sense of humour. The favourite comedies in 99 were the US-made Friends, Jesse, Ally McBeal and The Drew Carey Show. This year the top comedies were Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation, Thank God You're Here and Two and a Half Men.

Movies don't work any more on TV. That's because 85 per cent of homes now have DVD players (up from 8 per cent back then). This year the top rating movie, Night at the Museum, drew 1.5 million viewers. In 99, seven movies attracted more than 1.8 million. They included The Castle, Dating The Enemy and Babe (which suggests Australians liked their own stories more than they do now).

And Mission Impossible, which drew 2 million viewers in 99, starred Tom Cruise, who was the national in-law at the time.

Channel Nine has gone down the plughole of history. In the 1999 document, Nine's Program Director, John Stephens, is quoted thus: "The network will not be resting on its laurels in year 2000. There will be greater emphasis on improving our winning performance with the lucrative 16-39 demographic and at the same time retaining Nine's loyal and valued 40-plus audience. I think Nine can look forward to an exceptional start to the new century."

By the mid Noughties, Stephens was working for Channel Seven, as was Nine's managing director David Leckie. In 99, Nine averaged 32.8 per cent of the prime time audience, while Seven averaged 29.4. This year Seven and 7TWO averaged 27.9 per cent while Nine and GO! averaged 26.6. Channel Ten has risen from 19.5 per cent then to 22.5 per cent now. SBS is up from 3.1 to 5.9.

Daryl Somers and Shaun Micalleff are stayers. Back then, Micallef was the love interest in SeaChange. Now he's the agent provocateur in Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation. Daryl Somers still does Hey Hey It's Saturday.

Go to Comments to discuss how else we've changed in ten years.

David Dale is the author of The Little Book of Australia -- A snapshot of who we are (Allen and Unwin). For daily updates on Australian attitudes, bookmark blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.