Post by Inside Australian Idol on Feb 8, 2004 1:16:17 GMT 10
Testing time for TV
By Darren Devlyn
February 07, 2004
THE war to win the hearts of TV lovers begins tomorrow - and viewers are in the box seat.
The start of the official ratings season triggers a feast of new shows, old favourites, grand finales, and fierce competition between commercial networks Nine, Seven and Ten.
Reality programs will be the main ammunition on the TV battleground, backed by drama and comedy. And the axe will fall swiftly on unsuccessful shows as the channels slug it out for a slice of the $2.5 billion advertising dollar.
Off-screen, bullets have already being fired.
Seven, desperate to recover from a shocking 2003, has poached from Nine Molly Meldrum (to judge on Popstars Live), Steve Oemcke (for Wheel of Fortune) and Geoff Cox (to host a new travel show).
The ABC's Tony Squires and Rebecca Wilson have also defected to front 110% Tony Squires for Seven.
After 12 years at the top of the ratings tree, Nine is adopting a steady-as-she-goes approach. Friends, Sex and the City and Frasier fans are stockpiling tissues as they prepare to farewell their favourite characters.
Nine will also pin its ratings hopes on solid performances from homemade McLeod's Daughters and Stingers, along with The Footy Show, Who Wants to be a Millionaire and Backyard Blitz.
Channel 9's Melbourne programming manager, Len Downs, is also optimistic that the second series of last year's huge hit The Block will be a major success.
Ten, in a ploy to gain an early edge on competitors, launched one of its big hopes for 2004, The HotHouse, on Monday.
Not to be outdone, Nine brought back heavyweights Friends, Malcolm in the Middle, ER and Getaway before the start of ratings.
The launch of The HotHouse, which guarantees the biggest prize (a $2 million house on Bribie Island) in Australian TV history, was less than impressive and it trails Frasier and Home And Away unofficially.
But Ten's programming chief, David Mott, said there was no cause for panic.
"There were people who thought Australian Idol was a train wreck at the start, too," Mr Mott said.
Ten will maintain focus on the 16-39 age group. Big Brother 4 and Australian Idol II will come later in the year. Apart from The HotHouse, Ten is also banking heavily on The Resort, (a reality show hosted by Jon Stevens) and a revamped The Secret Life of Us, both to hit the screen in the next fortnight.
Also certain to intensify network rivalries is that Ten has two hits on its hands that should have been Seven's.
Last year, Seven let Queer Eye For the Straight Guy slip through its fingers. And Sensing Murder, hosted by Rebecca Gibney and a hit on Seven in 2003, will be on Ten in 2004.
Seven chiefs are plotting a 2004 ratings resurgence with an unprecedented 17 new home-grown programs.
Heading the list will be the Curtis Stone-hosted show My Restaurant Rules, which starts next week and features five couples competing to set up their own restaurant.
Launching on Seven in the next three weeks are Popstars Live, The Simple Life, My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance, What Not to Wear Australia, 110% Tony Squires, along with series three of 24 and the hot new series Las Vegas, starring James Caan.
Seven is revamping All Saints, Blue Heelers and its lifestyle shows.
Seven's Olympic Games coverage in August should deliver a big audience.
Herald Sun
entertainment.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4459,8607736%255E10431%255E%255Enbv,00.html
By Darren Devlyn
February 07, 2004
THE war to win the hearts of TV lovers begins tomorrow - and viewers are in the box seat.
The start of the official ratings season triggers a feast of new shows, old favourites, grand finales, and fierce competition between commercial networks Nine, Seven and Ten.
Reality programs will be the main ammunition on the TV battleground, backed by drama and comedy. And the axe will fall swiftly on unsuccessful shows as the channels slug it out for a slice of the $2.5 billion advertising dollar.
Off-screen, bullets have already being fired.
Seven, desperate to recover from a shocking 2003, has poached from Nine Molly Meldrum (to judge on Popstars Live), Steve Oemcke (for Wheel of Fortune) and Geoff Cox (to host a new travel show).
The ABC's Tony Squires and Rebecca Wilson have also defected to front 110% Tony Squires for Seven.
After 12 years at the top of the ratings tree, Nine is adopting a steady-as-she-goes approach. Friends, Sex and the City and Frasier fans are stockpiling tissues as they prepare to farewell their favourite characters.
Nine will also pin its ratings hopes on solid performances from homemade McLeod's Daughters and Stingers, along with The Footy Show, Who Wants to be a Millionaire and Backyard Blitz.
Channel 9's Melbourne programming manager, Len Downs, is also optimistic that the second series of last year's huge hit The Block will be a major success.
Ten, in a ploy to gain an early edge on competitors, launched one of its big hopes for 2004, The HotHouse, on Monday.
Not to be outdone, Nine brought back heavyweights Friends, Malcolm in the Middle, ER and Getaway before the start of ratings.
The launch of The HotHouse, which guarantees the biggest prize (a $2 million house on Bribie Island) in Australian TV history, was less than impressive and it trails Frasier and Home And Away unofficially.
But Ten's programming chief, David Mott, said there was no cause for panic.
"There were people who thought Australian Idol was a train wreck at the start, too," Mr Mott said.
Ten will maintain focus on the 16-39 age group. Big Brother 4 and Australian Idol II will come later in the year. Apart from The HotHouse, Ten is also banking heavily on The Resort, (a reality show hosted by Jon Stevens) and a revamped The Secret Life of Us, both to hit the screen in the next fortnight.
Also certain to intensify network rivalries is that Ten has two hits on its hands that should have been Seven's.
Last year, Seven let Queer Eye For the Straight Guy slip through its fingers. And Sensing Murder, hosted by Rebecca Gibney and a hit on Seven in 2003, will be on Ten in 2004.
Seven chiefs are plotting a 2004 ratings resurgence with an unprecedented 17 new home-grown programs.
Heading the list will be the Curtis Stone-hosted show My Restaurant Rules, which starts next week and features five couples competing to set up their own restaurant.
Launching on Seven in the next three weeks are Popstars Live, The Simple Life, My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance, What Not to Wear Australia, 110% Tony Squires, along with series three of 24 and the hot new series Las Vegas, starring James Caan.
Seven is revamping All Saints, Blue Heelers and its lifestyle shows.
Seven's Olympic Games coverage in August should deliver a big audience.
Herald Sun
entertainment.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4459,8607736%255E10431%255E%255Enbv,00.html