Almost the end of the (Canal) Road

Nine have more or less boned Canal Road… well as close to a boning as possible without being boned, instead, bumped. Spending months and months of production, advertising dollars and publicity on the new medico-legal drama thriller it has been removed after only two weeks from 9:30 until 10:30 affectively righting off the show this year.

It seems a surprise premature move by Nine who have acted swiftly after only two outings. Admittedly the show did drop 300 000 viewers and has the best lead in from Underbelly but the sure deserved a few more weeks to develop an audience.

It’s replacement, Hell’s Kitchen – more Ramsay. Now he is cooking the ratings on Tuesday’s, Wednesday’s and Thursday’s and if the show keeps on returning big numbers then Nine could keep this pattern going all year as the show can easily be repeated.

When Ramsay twice a week wasn’t enough… Nine are gambling on there chef and the current ‘it’ program but are they over-exposing Ramsay?

I hope this decision doesn’t backfire for Nine because they are hedging a lot of bets on Ramsay and when the season’s finish and they broadcast other shows – will anyone be watching?

My Kid’s A Star was deservedly removed to midday Saturday effectively another ‘bone’ but it’s replacement for this week only is two new episodes of Two and Half Men and from next week it’s Search & Rescue with Fire 000.

So what will Nine do when Underbelly wraps up?

McLeod’s Daughters maybe?

So far Nine have gambled with Moment of Truth, Monster House, My Kid’s A Star, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Power of 10, Cashmere Mafia and Canal Road but all have failed.

On the flipside Underbelly has been a success, Ramsay has performed very well for Nine. Sea Patrol, Getaway, The Footy Show and CSI have also been strong and now Australia’s Funniest Home Videos and 60 Minutes are again on the up.

While Two and A Half Men, Royal Flying Doctor Service, David Attenbrough’s Life in Cold Blood and Animal Emergency have surprisingly been somewhat successful, developing consistent audiences.

David Gyngell said that Nine were going to gamble this year and try things, they are and should be commended for creating new shows but they are not hitting the mark. With 7 failures there have been sprinkles of success but to bump Canal Road after only two weeks when the network persisted with Moment of Truth for so long is a tragedy to Australian drama.

Corey Worthington on Big Brother 08:

I DON’T THINK SO


I must say I have never been a fan of Big Brother but this year the producers are promising a rejuvenated show with a confronting cast.

One of the rumours that has been circulating is Corey Worthington will be an intruder.

Why are Channel Ten giving this gimp airtime?

And why I am wasting my time blogging about Corey

The best way for us to get rid of Corey is to act with our remotes and turn off Big Brother.

Don’t give Corey any satisfaction of being popular and let’s all help this kid go away

Seven regains the momentum

Week 9 of the 2008 television ratings has seen Seven win the week quite comfortably but no guarantees this momentum will carry into Week 10.

Seven 29.0%
Nine 27.6%
Ten 22.0%
ABC 16.2%
SBS 5.3%

OzTAM

As it stands Seven leads the ratings race, winning 5 weeks to Nine’s 3 with one tie between the networks.

RSPCA Animail Rescue and repeats of Border Security where equally the most popular shows in Australia last week.

The final of It Takes Two, the Underbelly mother’s interview on Today Tonight and key episodes of Grey’s Anatomy, Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters have Seven the edge. Seven News and Today Tonight continue to maintain a healthy lead over Nine whilst The Real Sea Change returned impressive numbers with next to no competition from Nine’s My Kid’s A Star.

Nine’s Moment of Truth and My Kid’s A Star are starting to bleed and costed Nine last week. They can longer afford to carry these underperforming shows which has all ready seen Moment of Truth replaced by new episodes of 20 to 1.

This week could be a whole different ball game with Ten concluding So You Think You Can Dance tonight, launching Big Brother tomorrow at 7 and the finale of The Biggest Loser on Thursday night meaning they could potentially win three nights this week. If only new episodes of Thank God You’re Here were produced followed by House on Wednesday you’d give Ten a good chance at winning the week on top of Bondi Rescue’s success on Tuesday.

Ten could still win Week 10, if not they will steal viewers from Nine and Seven forcing a very close week amongst the three commercial networks

Nine no longer the 'National' 'Channel'

I noted earlier this year that Nine had dropped the word 'Channel' from their promo's which now state something like...

"All New, David Attenbrough's Life In Cold Blood, Monday, 7:30 on NINE"

Nine always use to promote themselves as 'Channel NINE' not 'NINE'.

Now the news team have dropped the word 'National' from the reporter's sign-off which sounds something like...

"Peter Harvey, Nine News".

Subtle changes that Seven made years ago when the stopped calling their news service 'Seven Nightly News' instead just 'Seven News'.

Despite saying 'Nine News', the bug's still read 'National Nine News' like above

Why Bother?: 08

The Footy Show did a hilarious 'anti-ad' of Channel Ten's promotion for Big Brother 2008. Paridying Kyle 'Vyle' Sandil;ands and Jackie 'Bimb'-O

Have a look for yourself, it's a crack up!

Australian Kangaroos Rugby League ANZAC test

On Sunday night the Australian selectors will announce the Australian team for the ANZAC test against New Zealand. A few difficult decisions will need to be made between now and then as positions are still undecided because too many players are in good form.

Fullback

Billy Slater (Melbourne/QLD). The Melbourne fullback has been the standout player of the NRL in 2008 and deserves the spot. Incumbent Brett Stewart (Manly/NSW) will feel unlucky to miss out but Slater cannot be overlooked. There are no bad fullbacks in the game with Luke Patten (Bulldogs/NSW), Karmichael Hunt (Broncos/QLD), Anthony Minichello (Roosters/NSW), Ben Hornby (Dragons/NSW) and Matt Bowen (Cowboys/QLD) more than capable of playing.

Wingers

Greg Inglis (Melbourne/QLD) and Israel Folau (Melbourne/QLD). Combining with Slater, the Kangaroos should have an all Melbourne-Queensland back three more than capable of mauling the Kiwi’s. Despite both Inglis and Folau playing out of position, there inclusion is a must. Other wing contenders could be Jarryd Hayne (Eels/NSW) and Eric Grothe (Eels/NSW) but their club’s form will dampen their chances.

Centres

Mark Gasnier (Dragons/NSW) and Justin Hodges (Broncos/QLD). Gasnier and Hodges pick themselves and that is why Folau and Inglis move to the wing. If Gasnier or Hodges were unavailable then Inglis or Folau would move from wing to centre with Hayne or Grothe coming into the side. The only other possible centre option is Jamie Lyon (Eagles/NSW).

Five-Eighth

Darren Lockyer (Broncos/QLD). He is the best player in the NRL still but if there is a fitness cloud then Braith Anasta (Roosters/NSW) is the next best option, in career best form.

Halfback

Jonathan Thurston (Cowboys/QLD). Thurston is back to his best and is the best Number 7 in the game. Scott Prince (Titans/QLD) would not look out of place if Thurston was unavailable.

Props

Willie Mason (Roosters/NSW) and Petero Civoniceva (Panthers/QLD). Difficult position to choose as there is a lot of talent in the NRL but Mason has had a brilliant season since moving to the Roosters and Civoniceva carries the Panthers on his back, both deserving of selection. Other props include Luke Bailey (Titans/NSW) if fit or Brett White (Storm/NSW), Antonio Kaufusi (Storm/QLD).

Hooker

Cameron Smith (Storm/QLD). The incumbent Australian captain should retain his position despite Danny Buderus (Knights/NSW) in very good form, Smith has done nothing wrong and is making the dummy half position his.

Second-Row

Anthony Tupou (Roosters/NSW) and Ryan Hoffman (Storm/NSW). There are a number of second-rowers but Tupou and Hoffman are the leading second rowers in the NRL. Michael Crocker (Storm/QLD), Nathan Hindmarsh (Eels/NSW), Luke O’Donnell (Cowboys/NSW), Andrew Ryan (Bulldogs/NSW), Paul Gallen (Sharks/NSW) and Anthony Laffranchi (Titans/NSW) are more than capable of representing Australia but there are only two positions although some bench spots are still up for grabs.

Lock

Dallas Johnson (Storm/QLD). The form Number 13 and specialised 13, Johnson deserves his position in the side. Greg Bird (Sharks/NSW) is also a contender.

Interchange
Greg Bird, Nathan Hindmarsh, Anthony Laffranchi, Kurt Gidley (Knights/NSW). If Lockyer plays then the selectors will need to select a pivot to cover a potential injury. This bench is versatile and can accommodate many changes with Bird capable of playing five-eighth, lock or second row. Gidley playing anywhere in the backline or hooker and Laffranchi and Hindmarsh are dominating forwards that can slot into the second row or prop position. This bench is balanced and gives the Australian team many options. Although there is not a specialised prop on the interchange, I think the forward pack can accommodate this versatility.

TEAM:

1. Billy Slater
2. Israel Folau
3. Mark Gasnier
4. Justin Hodges
5. Greg Inglis
6. Darren Lockyer ©
7. Jonathan Thurston
8. Willie Mason
9. Cameron Smith
10. Petero Civoniceva
11. Anthony Tupou
12. Ryan Hoffman
13. Dallas Johnson
BENCH
14. Greg Bird
15. Nathan Hindmarsh
16. Anthony Laffranchi
17. Kurt Gidley


QLD: 9
NSW:8

Storm: 6
Broncos: 2
Roosters: 2
Dragons: 1
Cowboys: 1
Panthers: 1
Sharks: 1
Eels: 1
Titans: 1
Knights: 1

Canal (Wrong) Road

The (not-so) Next BIG Australian Drama

Last night Canal Road bombed.

In only it’s second week with the best lead-in from Underbelly, the new Nine drama, Canal Road, touted as the “next BIG Australian drama” is not living up to its expectation.

Failing to retain last weeks mediocre debut of 1.2 million, this week dropped 250 000 viewers to be placed as the 20th most popular show of the night.

Underbelly, despite not being broadcast in Victoria has been a runaway success not only for the public interest but complimented by clever casting and equally impressive production.

As for Canal Road, the plot is complicated and the set looks cheap. Paul Leyden as lead is difficult to resonate with a bunch of other characters whose positions are still unknown.

I think Nine new that Canal Road was not going to be a huge success as the late timeslot for debut gave this some indication. It is a shame really as there is not much competition from the other commercial networks and Underbelly is the shows lead-in.

If the show had remained around the million then Nine would have possibly shifted Canal Road to the 8:30pm slot when Underbelly wraps up in two weeks.

Now Nine are faced with the headache of Underbelly ending, Canal Road not firing and Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares finishing.

Nine will be banking on the other Ramsay’s series, Hell’s Kitchen to fill the void left by Kitchen Nightmares but this has previously aired for Nine and failed.

Of more concern is My Kid’s A Star which will surely be sent to the chopping block this week after returning terrible figures of 659,000 placing the program as number 4, thrashed by RSPCA: Animal Rescue and The Real Sea Change which had more than double Nine’s audience between 7:30-8:30.

Still My Kid’s A Star was not quite as bad as the last episode of Power of 10 (543 000) but not as good as Nine’s other ailing stock, Moment of Truth which on Tuesday returned only 716, 000 viewers.

Search & Rescue, Fire 000 or possibly the yet to be announced final series of McLeod’s Daughters may be rushed into the schedule sooner than expected.

Missing Person’s Unit or possibly a re-worked Australia’s Most Wanted could have been brought back as a lead into Underbelly because Nine is struggling on Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s in this key slot.

What would I do in a post Underbelly/Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares season Monday-Thursday (assuming Friday-Sunday stays similar)… here is a suggestion

MONDAY
7:30 – David Attenbrough’s Life in Cold Blood
8:30 – Sea Patrol
9:30 – Cold Case

TUESDAY
7:30 – 20 to 1
8:30 – Hell’s Kitchen
9:30 – Hotel Babylon

WEDNESDAY
7:30 – The Famer Wants a Wife
8:30 – McLeod’s Daughters
9:30 – Canal Road

THURSDAY
7:30 – Getaway
8:30 – Missing Persons Unit
9:30 The Footy Show

Rationale:

Monday’s are OK at the moment but Life in Cold Blood is winding up so what will replace it? I would have partnered Search & Rescue with Sea Patrol as it appears to me to be a logical lead-in. I assume this would be only a half hour show so Fire 000 and 7:30 followed by Search and Rescue and Sea Patrol.

Tuesday’s have seen 20 to 1 return figures over 1 million which is positive and Hell’s Kitchen will probably work off the back of Kitchen Nightmare’s success. Remember there is also no Dancing With the Stars, yet but Australia’s Got Talent which rated last year, may decrease on a new day, new time and All Saints returns to 8:30 which has been hovering around the million, so it’s a good test. Hotel Babylon second series is hilarious and quirky and should be given time during ratings season, come on Nine give it a go… after Hell’s who knows… they are both British!

Wednesday has been Underbelly but now Nine must prepare for life after… I think Farmer Wants A Wife may not be produced yet so despite my schedueling placing it at 7:30 then it is probably unrealistic but coupling that with McLeod’s could be a winner. McLeod’s should go out with a bang and be given an 8:30 run but loyal viewers and Nine will probably maintain its 7:30 slot although Blue Heelers was moved around by Seven with its final series airing on Saturday’s. McLeod’s still has some weekday prime time left in it and I am putting a little faith in Canal Road and hoping this Aussie drama gets its full season before doing an Alice and being shifted to 10.30.

Thursday’s seem to be Nine’s night with Getaway, RPA/Ramsay’s/MPU and The Footy Show so why change it.

I expect Moment of Truth and My Kid’s A Star to be removed within the next week. Ugly Betty has been earmarked by Seven for Wednesday’s so this should hurry up the process.

It may be stalled but because what else has Nine got in the cupboard that won’t flop?

Domestic Blitz perhaps…or time to wake Eddie McGuire from hibernation... a chat show with Ray Martin didn't seem like such a bad idea now...

The Clock is still ticking

Nine wins Sunday

Despite the negative publicity 60 Minutes has been last nights most popular show with 1.7 million viewers nationally.

Gordon Ramsay fever may have something to do with that as Nine’s newest successes was a major story on 60 Minutes which helped Nine win Sunday night.

60 Minutes has come under fire since Peter Overton’s story about an Adelaide marriage involving father and daughter subsequently being played out across radio and television which has seen viewers return in droves, up by 500 000 viewers since March.

Sunday night is the most competitive night on television with all three commercial networks boasting strong and aggressive schedules. Nine defeated Seven by only 0.2% and Ten were also right in it.

Nine 28.4%
Seven 28.2%
Ten 24.1%

Despite having the 60 Minutes lead-in Grey’s Anatomy (1.3 million) and Brothers & Sisters (984, 000) beat CSI (1.2 million) and Without A Trace (932 000). As noted by the op-inion yesterday, Seven had launched quite an aggressive marketing campaign, building up the importance of this week for a number of their shows.

So You Think You Can Dance continued to rate as the fifth highest rating show of the night with 1.5 million viewers, The Biggest Loser (1.3 million) and Rove held an audience of just over the 1 million mark.

The top 16 shows of Sunday had over 900 000 viewers each and were scheduled between 6-10:30pm across the three commercial networks with all top 5 Australian produced shows.

East of Everything which was one of the ABC’s most anticipated dramas of 2008 is struggling against Rove, CSI and Grey’s only capturing an audience of 717 000.

It is good to see the emphasis of Sunday night television across all the networks but it’s ashame that every night is not as competitive. Tuesday’s appear to always be Seven’s at the moment and Thursday’s Nine. With huge Sunday night audiences across all three commercial networks, perhaps they should translate some of this success to other nights.

What Australia watched, Sunday, April 20

1 60 Minutes Nine 1,732,000
2 Seven News - Sun Seven 1,682,000
3 Gladiators Seven 1,560,000
4 National Nine News Sunday Nine 1,520,000
5 So You Think You Can Dance Australia TEN 1,466,000
6 Grey's Anatomy Seven 1,347,000
7 The Biggest Loser TEN 1,315,000
8 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Nine 1,205,000
9 Animal Emergency Nine 1,147,000
10 RFDS: Royal Flying Doctor Service Nine 1,093,000
11 ABC News-Su ABC 1,086,000
12 Rove TEN 1,004,000
13 Police Files - Unlocked Seven 998,000
14 Brothers & Sisters Seven 984,000
15 My Name Is Earl Seven 962,000
16 Without A Trace Nine 932,000
17 Ten News At Five Sun TEN 810,000
18 Robin Hood ABC 775,000
19 The Einstein Factor ABC 722,000
20 East Of Everything ABC 717,000

Figures courtesy of Oztam

Nine’s back on top

Amidst the drama and continued negative publicity about failed programms and ‘bonings’, Channel Nine have bounced back and won Week 8 of the official ratings in 2008.

Nine 28.2%
Seven 27.4%
Ten 22.2%

Figures from www.tvtonight.com.au

As the ratings now stand, its Seven with 4 wins, Nine with 3 and a week that was a dead tie by Nine. Mediaspy.org reports that Nine is overall ahead by 0.1% in 2008.

60 Minutes bounced back last week with a healthy victory, David Attenbrough’s Life In Cold Blood repaired some of the Monday night damage done by The Power of 10. Sea Patrol held their audience. Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares rated highly on both Tuesday and Thursday nights while Canal Road debuted with over one million viewers following Underbelly.

Seven have today launched an aggressive and clever advertising campaign in the Sydney papers showing images of key moments in Grey’s Anatomy, Brothers & Sisters, Desperate Housewives as well as the final of It Takes Two on Tuesday night.

Whilst ratings this week for Seven saw Gladiators head downwards as well as Brothers & Sisters, Dirty Sexy Money and Wednesday’s with James Bond films and disastrous Thursday’s.

It could be closer this week with some key moments in Seven’s programs but Nine seem to be gaining momentum.

Things could be mixed up even more with the announcement and publicity in today’s Sunday Telegraph that the Tim Campbell hosted, Million Dollar Wheel is set to debut on Nine next month as an alternative to Seven’s Deal or No Deal.

If Nine are able to capture the news lead-in it is believed this will translate into higher figures for the news bulletin and A Current Affair.

Bring on Week 9!

What’s with 60 Minutes?

In today’s Sunday Telegraph, George Negus criticised his former employer Channel Nine for its news and current affairs, particularly 60 Minutes.

Negus was an original member of 60 Minutes along with Ray Martin and Ian Leslie in 1979. He has voiced concern of the mis-reported story by Peter Overton last week about a father marrying his daughter.

This comes after recent questioning of the show’s credibility with stories about Lisa McCune when the next night Nine debuted Sea Patrol 2 and tonight a story about David Attenbrough and tomorrow night a brand new David Attenbrough series, ‘Life In Cold Blood’ debuts on the network… coincidence?

Adding further fuel, 60 Minutes reporter, Liam Bartlett reportedly blasted the show to other staffers after Eddie McGuire's story on Sam Newman’s cancer scare, claiming it wasn’t a story.

Overton’s handling was brought to a head this week when 2GB Morning’s host, Ray Hadley criticised the reporter for his story and today’s item in the Telegraph has Negus seething.

60 Minutes has suffered in ratings, formerly attracting well over two million viewers and constantly winning Sunday night’s to now bouncing around the 1.2-1.4 million mark and being beaten by shows such as So You Think You Can Dance (Ten) and Kath & Kim (Seven).

Stories are no longer as ‘cutting-edge’ or investigative as they were, focusing on a lot of documentary pieces and celebrity interviews.

Seven and the ‘Adam Boland Effect’ on their news and current affairs formula has changed the landscape for news programming with Nine stuck in a hybrid somewhere between its old hard news to this info-tainment genre than Seven are using to win over viewers.

When Richard Carlton passed away and occasional reporter Martin left 60 Minutes, so did a lot of experience. ABC trained reporters and stemming back through Jana Wendt, Ellen Fanning, Mike Munro, Jeff McMullen, Jennifer Byrne, Charles Wooley and briefly, Paul Barry.

These reporters had experience and credibility that made 60 Minutes. Now Overton and Bartlett are still relatively inexperienced with Tara Brown and the experienced Liz Hayes. They are all fine journalists but need another more experienced, accredited reporter to join the team.

Ben Fordham has filed stories for the show before but is still too raw. A name such as Stan Grant who has worked for CNN, ABC, Seven and SBS has credibility and would add some much needed experience to 60 Minutes.

Moreover the program needs to decide where it is placed as either a hard news, cutting edge, investigative-quality news program or a weekend tabloid, current affairs show?

I’m hoping for the first option and I think there is still a place on Australian commercial television for such a show.