News

Ratings for Monday September 28 2009

It was a big night last night with no less than five shows being fast tracked from the US making either their first or season return debuts as well as one Australian premiere in the Apprentice.

The much hyped FlashForward on Seven won the night with nearly 1.8 million tuning in and peaking at 2.1 million. The show obliterated the competition in the 8.30pm time slot with Nine’s Mentalist – also fast tracked for its season two return – coming second in the time slot but not even picking up a million viewers. It seems the lure of Flash Forward has taken much of the Mentalists audience away. As for the Vampire Diaries on GO at the same time, it did not even crack 100,000 for its first airing at 8.30. Its midnight encore managed 51,000 meaning a total of 147,000 wacthed it last night. Plus possibly many others who recorded the show.

The story would no doubt be different if the figures included recorded shows watched later. At our house for example, we recorded all three of them as we watched something else at 8.30. In many households, the decision would have been made as to watch one live and record the other. FlashForward clearly won. The new show will generally take precedence over one returning. No doubt the Mentalist would have been at 1.2 million like it used to get if recording was taken into account. This will in fact happen in the 2010 ratings year with time shifted and recorded shows being counted in to the main ratings reports.

At 9.30, Nine’s big hyped show for the week so far – the Apprentice Australia – essentially flopped taking only 692,000. The fact they also played it on GO at the same time would have killed the chance of picking up extra shares from the GO audience at that time. Meanwhile, over at Seven, the new fast tracked medical drama Mercy did surprisingly well with over a million tuning in.

Back to 8pm, and we see Sevens’ new factual hit Highway Patrol speed over fast tracked Two and a Half Men on Nine. At least the new episode of Men scored more than the repeats, but not by much. There are still repeats that do better than the new one did, but there was tough competition at the time. Then again, if Nine stick to playing ten episodes a week of the show, then viewers won’t be that fussed missing the new show knowing full well they’ll see it in repeats later on.

SBS’s Top Gear was third for the 7.30 – 8.30 hour, with ABC 4th and Rove’s 5th grader sinking further into oblivion. Time for expulsion? Good News Week did OK as always for Ten and would have saved the network from another embarrassing 4th place last night.

Overall, channel Seven easily won the night winning all time slots from 6pm. Nine was second, and Ten only just third above the ABC.

Who will win tonight? NCIS has returned in the US with massive ratings. Here, even repeats regularly rate well. Given the issues with Packed to the Rafters for the past two week, NCIS could come very close to the Rafters ratings or even exceed them. Unfortunately for Ten though, they would have to settle for second overall behind Seven as their 6pm – 8.30 Tuesday night line up is just too weak at the moment.

Timeslot Order:
7.00 1 7 H&A. 2 9 2.5 Men. 3 ABC1 News
7.30 1 7 Border Security. 2 9 2.5 Men. 3 SBS1 Top Gear. 4 ABC1 7.30 Report. 5 10 5th Grader
8.00 1 7 Highway Patrol. 2 9 2.5 Men. 3 SBS1 Top Gear. 4 ABC1 Aus Story. 5 10 5th Grader
8.30 1 7 FlashForward. 2 9 Mentalist. 3 10 Good News Week. 4 ABC1 Four Corners
9.30 1 7 Mercy. 2 10 Good News Week. 3 9 Apprentice. 4 ABC1 Ashes to Ashes
10.00 1 7 Mercy. 2 9 Apprentice. 3 10 Little Britain USA. 4 ABC1 Ashes to Ashes

Network Shares:
1 7 32.7%. 2 9-GO 25.3%. 3 10-ONE 18.2%. 4 ABC 16.2%. 5 SBS 7.6%
Channel Shares:
1 7 32.7%. 2 9 24.0%. 3 10 16.8%. 4 ABC1 14.9%. 5 SBS ONE 7.3%
6 ABC2 and GO 1.4%. 8 ONE 1.3%. 9 SBS TWO 0.3%

Top 30 Shows:
1 Flash Forward Seven 1,786,000
2 Highway Patrol Seven 1,571,000
3 Seven News Seven 1,539,000
4 Border Security-Australia’s Front Line-Mon Seven 1,480,000
5 Today Tonight Seven 1,434,000
6 Two And A Half Men-Ep2 8.00pm Fast Tracked Nine 1,312,000
7 Two And A Half Men-Ep1 7.30pm Nine 1,228,000
8 Home And Away Seven 1,227,000
9 Nine News Nine 1,188,000
10 Two And A Half Men 7pm -Rpt Nine 1,172,000
11 A Current Affair Nine 1,119,000
12 Mercy Seven 1,070,000
13 ABC News ABC1 1,053,000
14 The Mentalist Nine 988,000
15 Top Gear SBS ONE 883,000
16 Ten News At Five Ten 841,000
17 Australian Story ABC1 840,000
18 Good News Week Ten 828,000
19 Four Corners ABC1 814,000
20 Media Watch ABC1 782,000
21 7.30 Report ABC1 776,000
22 Neighbours Ten 752,000
23 Deal Or No Deal Seven 732,000
24 The Simpsons Ten 692,000
25 The Apprentice Australia Nine 692,000
26 Little Britain USA Mon Ten 680,000
27 The 7pm Project Ten 675,000
28 Hot Seat Nine 645,000
29 Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader? Ten 606,000
30 Ashes To Ashes ABC1 531,000

A few others:
Nurse Jackie Mon Ten 396,000
Momma’s Boys Seven 388,000
Bizarre ER Nine 303,000
Style By Jury Seven 234,000
High Altitude SBS ONE 228,000
Junkyard Wars ABC2 125,000
Entourage SBS ONE 109,000

Vampire Diaries 96,000

Vampire Diaries repeat 12 midnight 51,000

Raw ratings figures sourced from TV Tonight and Media Spyand are Oztam 5 city metro figures. Timeslot order is some cases will may be based on average figures over a number of time slots. Timeslot order is only offered where there is enough data available to put at least 3 networks in order at the times listed and is not offered for Friday and Saturday nights due to the varying network coverage of AFL and NRL football and the resulting alternate programming in the opposing market. Timeslot order for times that pretty well never change will no longer be shown every day – that is, times from 5pm – 7pm Monday to Friday. Timeslot times may not reflect exact times that show air due to network lateness. Here, a show starting as late as 9.45 for example will be considered as the 9.30 timeslot, if 9.30 is the time it was advertised to air. Any odd times indicated such as 8.40 are as a result of observation on at least two networks. Network shares include all extra digital channels for each network. Week so far is the cumulative network share including extra digital channels from Sunday until the day of this report. A figure shown for an individual secondary digital channel such as GO or ONE is an overall percentage share out of total viewers. For example, 9 and GO might be 26.3% together but apart they would be for example 9 24.7% and GO 1.6%. When show not shown in all cities (top 30 list): S = Sydney, B= Brisbane, M = Melbourne, A = Adelaide, P = Perth. Feel free to leave comments and let us know what you think.

Channel 10 programming for the week starting October 11

1. Australian Idol – Sunday Oct 11 7.30pm. The final 7 will take part in “Big Band” night with Harry Connick Jnr as guest judge and Mentor.

2. Rove – Sunday Oct 11, 9.30pm. More of Hamish and Andy feature. Mrs Rove – Tasma Walton is also on the show talking about her new book “Heartless”.

3. Are You Smarter Than a 5^th Grader? Mon Oct 12 7.30pm. Celebrity contestants are Merrick and Rosso.

4. Good News Week, Mon Oct 12, 8.30pm. The show will feature the exclusive announcement of the new name of the NRL (National Rugby League). The NRL has been so badly damaged by a litany of off-field scandals there are calls for the game to trade under a new name (because clearly that was the problem!). Good News Week will tell us what that will be. Also on the show the search for Miss Chiko Roll and Feather Plucking Mother Plovers – something to do with birds and Spring…

5. NCIS S7E03. Tue Oct 13 8.30pm.

6. Lie to Me S2E02. Tue Oct 13 9.30pm. Mekhi Phifer – best known for his role of Pratt in ER joins the Lightman Groups as a permanent partner.

7. NCIS:LA S1E03. Wed Oct 14 8.30pm

8. Celebrity Masterchef. Wed Oct 14 7.30pm. This weeks’ three celebs are: Anna Bligh, Eamon Sullivan and Simon Westaway.

9. Three Rivers. Wed Oct 14, 9.30pm. Premiere S1E01. Three Rivers is a medical drama that goes inside the emotionally complex lives of organ donors, the recipients and the surgeons at the pre eminent transplant hospital in the country, where every moment counts. Stars Alex O’Loughlin. Speaking of medical dramas, ER is back on 9 at 10.30 Thursdays from Oct 8. And then there is Mercy on Channel 7 Mon 9.30pm. Interestingly, there is reference to a hospital called Mercy in ER. While we are at it, Grey’s Anatomy season 6 just debuted in the US for season 6 with a double episode and was one of the highest rating shows in the US for the week. We probably won’t see that here until channel 7 airs it Feb 2010. Private Practice starts next week in the US and follows Greys Anatomy. Detour over.

10. Ten’s Thursday nights. Oct 15. 7.30 Glee. 8.30 Rush. 9.30 Burn Notice. A good night for Ten.

11. Supernatural. No word as to when the promised fat tracking of season 5 will air on Ten. All I can say is that it is not before Oct 17 unless there are late changes.

Programming subject to late change. Programming info here all courtesy Channel 10 except when other shows have been mentioned which are highlighted in other posts on Throng.

Week 39 Final Ratings Results (Sept 20-26)

By the definition of how the week is won, the 9-GO network are on top again for week 39, with 28.4% of the audience share. Channel 7 is second followed by Ten-ONE at 21.2%. For the third week in a row, however, channel 7 is actually the most watched channel with 9 second. GO is again the most watched secondary digital channel. But not even additional AFL coverage on ONE could help the channel rise above its usual position at 8th.

Obviously the AFL Grand Final is the most watched TV show of the week – and the year so far. Packed to the Rafters despite dropping 10% of its ratings share in the past two weeks mostly due to lower than usual quality store lines is still Australia’s most watched show if you exclude the AFL. Channel Seven again has 7 shows in the top 10, ABC1 has one and Ten’s only 2 shows up there are the AFL.

Nine’s top show is the NRL second final played on Saturday night in 11th spot. Technically, the first final from Friday night should have appeared in the top shows at position 19 but for some reason the reporting of its ratings were split into Syndey only and the rest of the country rather than companioning all into the one total.

Apart from the NRL, Nine’s top show is the Wednesday night episode of Two and a Half Men, followed by Sunday’s news and Getaway.

Tens top show without the AFL was NCIS repeat from Wednesday way down at position 30. ABC1 has two in the top 30 – Midsomer Murders at 7 and Yellowstone at 24. Spicks and Specks just missed out, sitting at 31.

Network Shares:
1 9-GO 28.4%. 2 7 28.1%. 3 10-ONE 21.2%. 4 ABC 17.0%. 5 SBS 5.3%
Channel Shares:
1 7 28.1%. 2 9 26.6%. 3 10 19.9%.
4 ABC1 15.5%. 5 SBS ONE 5.0%. 6 GO 1.7%.
7 ABC2 1.5%. 8 ONE 1.3%. 9 SBS TWO 0.3%

Top 30 Shows for the week:
1 TEN’S AFL FINALS 2009: GRAND FINAL ST KILDA V GEELONG Ten 2,704,000
2 PACKED TO THE RAFTERS Seven 1,766,000
3 HIGHWAY PATROL Seven 1,698,000
4 SEVEN NEWS – SUN Seven 1,512,000
5 THE 2009 GRAND FINAL PRE MATCH ENTERTAINMENT Ten 1,505,000
6 RSPCA ANIMAL RESCUE Seven 1,501,000
7 MIDSOMER MURDERS-SU ABC1 1,479,000
8 BORDER SECURITY – AUSTRALIA’S FRONT LINE Seven 1,432,000
9 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,414,000
10 LAST CHANCE SURGERY Seven 1,394,000
11 RUGBY LEAGUE FINAL SERIES PF2 (Melb vs. Bris) Nine 1,353,000
12 TWO AND A HALF MEN -WED 7.30pm Nine 1,344,000
13 THE FORCE – BEHIND THE LINE Seven 1,341,000
14 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,333,000
15 WORLD’S STRICTEST PARENTS-UK Seven 1,319,000
16 SUNDAY NIGHT Seven 1,308,000
17 SEVEN NEWS – SAT Seven 1,275,000
18 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,217,000
19 GETAWAY Nine 1,164,000
20 NINE NEWS Nine 1,162,000
21 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,158,000
22 CITY HOMICIDE-WED Seven 1,154,000
23 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,151,000
24 YELLOWSTONE-EV ABC1 1,148,000
25 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,146,000
26 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,140,000
27 60 MINUTES Nine 1,132,000
28 MONEY FOR JAM Nine 1,123,000
29 THE FOOTY SHOW Nine 1,119,000
30 NCIS WED RPT Ten 1,118,000

Raw ratings figures sourced from TV Tonight and Media Spyand are Oztam 5 city metro figures. Figures indicated for shows that air Monday to Friday are averaged out. A figure shown for an individual secondary digital channel such as GO or ONE is an overall percentage share out of total viewers. For example, 9 and GO might be 26.3% together but apart they would be for example 9 24.7% and GO 1.6%.

Ratings for Sunday September 27 2009

A very ordinary night of television considering the premieres and big debuts making their appearances on our screens this week.

Channel 7 easily won the night over all other channels without the help of a secondary digital channel. Sevens’ 6pm – 8.30pm line up blitzed all other channels, coming first in all of those time slots. After 8.30, ABC1’s extremely popular Midsomer Murders dominates. Based on ratings averages, Australian Idol was second in the 8.30 time slot,  but 7’s Bond movie Casino Royale regained the top spot for the network as the night went on.

Australian Idol picked up a few more viewers, and Rove dropped – probably due to the fact that there wasn’t really anyone major advertised to be on the show last night other than a performance from Wolfmother. Channel 9 struggled all night, with 60 Minutes fourth in its time slot. Rescue Special Ops rated same as always, but was just outrated by Idol. As for 20-1, well, despite the new look, maybe everyone has had enough of the clip show. And Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation is doing about as much as could be expected considering the episode only aired about four months ago.

Which leads me to point out this: with the networks now seemingly not trying as hard as they used to on Sundays, we are seeing the digital secondary channel shares increase as viewers look for other alternatives. Sunday was once the biggest night of TV, now it is becoming TV’s chill out zone before (most of us) go back to work on Monday. And it’s only worse next Sunday with a public holiday in NSW on the Monday and mid-school holidays everywhere else with channel 7 putting on two movies – leaving their winning line up on Sunday Night/Border/Force off for a week. With the NRL Grand Final on next Sunday, the night should be won by 9 in any case. Still, no reason why 7 can’t compete as even in the NRL states, not everyone cares about the football.

Both GO and ONE had higher than usual shares for a Sunday night. GO was up to 3.2% and ONE at 2.5%. Channel 9 without the GO share barely manages to beat ABC1. Wipeout and Big Bang Theory continue to help GO’s share grow, which should only increase further next week with their new Sunday night line up including South Park and Curb Your Enthusiasm making their debut on the GO schedule.

Timeslot order.
6.00 1 7 News. 2 9 News. 3 10 Simpsons
6.30 1 7 Sunday Night. 2 9 20-1. 3 10 Talkin’ ‘ Bout…
7.00 1 7 Sunday Night. 2 ABC1 News. 3 9 20-1
7.30 1 7 Border/Force. 2 ABC1 Yellowstone. 3 Aus Idol. 4 60 Minutes
8.30 1 ABC1 Midsomer. 2 10 Aus Idol. 3 9 Rescue Special Ops. 4 7 Casino Royal
9.30 1 ABC1 Midsomer. 2 7 Casino Royale. 3 9 CSI: Miami. 4 10 Rove
10.00 1 7 Casino Royale. 2 9 CSI: Miami. 3 10 Rove

Network Shares:
1 7 27.0%. 2 9-GO 24.4%. 3 ABC1 22.6%. 4 10-ONE 21.8%. 5 SBS 5.3%
Channel Shares:
1 7 27.0%. 2 9 21.2%. 3 ABC1 21.1%
4 10 18.3%. 5 SBS ONE 4.9%. 6 GO 3.2%
7 ONE 2.5%. 8 ABC2 1.5%. 9 SBS TWO 0.4%

Top 30 Shows:
1 Seven News 1,530,000
2 Midsomer Murders ABC1 1,487,000
3 Border Security Seven 1,428,000
4 The Force Seven 1,413,000
5 Sunday Night Seven 1,329,000
6 Nine News Nine 1,195,000
7 Yellowstone ABC1 1,098,000
8 ABC News Update ABC1 1,039,000
9 ABC News ABC1 985,000
10 Australian Idol Ten 984,000
11 60 Minutes Nine 953,000
12 Rescue Special Ops Nine 944,000
13 20-1 Nine 933,000
14 Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation Rpt Ten 838,000
15 Casino Royale Seven 766,000
16 Ten News Ten 743,000
17 CSI: Miami Nine 684,000
18 The Einstein Factor ABC1 659,000
19 Rove Ten 656,000
20 Sport Tonight Ten 583,000
21 The Jewel of the Nile Seven 512,000
22 CSI: Miami Rpt 10.30pm Nine 481,000
23 Compass ABC1 466,000
24 The Sunday Footy Show Nine 460,000
25 The Simpsons Ten 451,000
26 Who Do You Thin You Are? SBS ONE 429,000
27 Weekend Sunrise Seven 348,000
28 Von Ryan’s Express Seven 345,000
29 Californication Rpt Ten 320,000
30 Postcards Nine 319,000 M,A

A few others:
Las Vegas Seven 258,000
Wipeout GO 223,000
Big Bang Theory GO 203,000
FIA Formula One ONE 165,000
Hornblower ABC2 117,000

Raw ratings figures sourced from TV Tonight and Media Spyand are Oztam 5 city metro figures. Timeslot order is some cases will may be based on average figures over a number of time slots. Timeslot order is only offered where there is enough data available to put at least 3 networks in order at the times listed and is not offered for Friday and Saturday nights due to the varying network coverage of AFL and NRL football and the resulting alternate programming in the opposing market. Timeslot order for times that pretty well never change will no longer be shown every day – that is, times from 5pm – 7pm Monday to Friday. Timeslot times may not reflect exact times that show air due to network lateness. Here, a show starting as late as 9.45 for example will be considered as the 9.30 timeslot, if 9.30 is the time it was advertised to air. Any odd times indicated such as 8.40 are as a result of observation on at least two networks. Network shares include all extra digital channels for each network. Week so far is the cumulative network share including extra digital channels from Sunday until the day of this report. A figure shown for an individual secondary digital channel such as GO or ONE is an overall percentage share out of total viewers. For example, 9 and GO might be 26.3% together but apart they would be for example 9 24.7% and GO 1.6%. When show not shown in all cities (top 30 list): S = Sydney, B= Brisbane, M = Melbourne, A = Adelaide, P = Perth. Feel free to leave comments and let us know what you think.

Ratings for Saturday September 26 2009

The AFL Grand final took 96% of the commercial audience share in Melbourne and nationally peaked at 3.8 million viewers (5 city metro) making it the highest rating TV event of the year, just edging over the Masterchef finale back in July. Because the match is during the day though, it does not count to the network shares which are calculated based on 6pm to midnight only.

The NRL final between Melbourne and Brisbane helped Nine to the win for Saturday night leaving 10 and 7 to battle it out of second. Both of their earlier movies did OK with over 900,000 tuning in. The Grand Final post match celebration one ONE bolstered 10’s shares for the night and became the most watched program on ONE ever (as in a program shown on ONE but not on Ten). If that show was also on channel Ten – at least in Melbourne – I suspect a lot more would have been able to watch and Ten could have easily come second over Seven.

Network Shares:
1 9-GO 29.1%. 2 7 25.2%. 3 10-ONE 25.1%. 4 ABC 16.9%. 5 SBS 3.6%

Top 30 Shows.
1 AFL Grand Final St Kilda Vs Geelong Ten 2,704,000
2 AFL Grand Final Pre Match Ten 1,505,000
3 Rugby League Final Melbourne vs. Brisbane 1,353,000
4 Seven News Seven 1,275,000
5 Ten News at Five 1.074,000
6 Australia’s Funniest Home Videos Nine 1,056,000
7 Nine News Nine 1,046,000
8 ABC News ABC1 1,037,000
9 Mrs Doubtfire Ten 936,000
10 Grease Seven 932,000
11 Pretty Woman Seven 897,000
12 2009 Grand Final Preview Ten 869,000
13 Heart and Soul ABC1 784,000
14 Bill ABC1 738,000
15 Gardening Australia ABC1 706,000
16 Die Hard with A Vengeance Ten 667,000
17 ABC News Update ABC1 522,000
18 Cold Blood ABC1 522,000
19 Grand Final Day 2009 From the MCG Ten 491,000
20 Welcome to the Jungle Nine 347,000 S,M,B
21 Grand Final Day 2009 Season in Review Ten 319,000
22 Saturday Disney Seven 313,000
23 Weekend Today Nine 309,000
24 Horse Sense Seven 303,000
25 Silent Witness ABC1 300,000
26 Guide to the Good Life Seven 255,000
27 Planet Food ABC1 248,000
28 Sorority Boys Seven 246,000
29 Sydney Weekender Seven 246,000 S only
30 Footloose Seven 236,000

A few Others:
2009 Grand Final Breakfast Ten 224,000
2009 Grand Final Postmatch Review and Celebration ONE 208,000
Rockwiz SBS ONE 173,000
Finley the Fire Engine ABC2 99,000
Flintstones GO 76,000

Raw ratings figures sourced from TV Tonight and Media Spyand are Oztam 5 city metro figures. Timeslot order is some cases will may be based on average figures over a number of time slots. Timeslot order is only offered where there is enough data available to put at least 3 networks in order at the times listed and is not offered for Friday and Saturday nights due to the varying network coverage of AFL and NRL football and the resulting alternate programming in the opposing market. Timeslot order for times that pretty well never change will no longer be shown every day – that is, times from 5pm – 7pm Monday to Friday. Timeslot times may not reflect exact times that show air due to network lateness. Here, a show starting as late as 9.45 for example will be considered as the 9.30 timeslot, if 9.30 is the time it was advertised to air. Any odd times indicated such as 8.40 are as a result of observation on at least two networks. Network shares include all extra digital channels for each network. Week so far is the cumulative network share including extra digital channels from Sunday until the day of this report. A figure shown for an individual secondary digital channel such as GO or ONE is an overall percentage share out of total viewers. For example, 9 and GO might be 26.3% together but apart they would be for example 9 24.7% and GO 1.6%. When show not shown in all cities (top 30 list): S = Sydney, B= Brisbane, M = Melbourne, A = Adelaide, P = Perth. Feel free to leave comments and let us know what you think.

FOXTEL CEO Kim Williams AM, today unveiled the exciting new details of the next generation of FOXTEL.

The announcement was another history making step in the Australian television industry, with news the country’s number one subscription television provider, FOXTEL, will launch 30 additional channels this year.

Along with the new channels, will come a state-of-the-art online television service, significant technological upgrades to FOXTEL’s television guide and new channel packages, designed to provide more flexibility and better value to our customers.

FOXTEL Next Generation will launch on Sunday November 15, 2009, with the FOXTEL Download service fast-tracked to kick off free to all subscribers Thursday October 1, 2009.

Williams said: “Since the launch of digital in 2004, this is the most significant milestone in FOXTEL’s history. With FOXTEL Next Generation, a new phase of television will be created for Australian consumers. We are moving forward, adapting technology to give our subscribers the power to tailor viewing to their needs.

“FOXTEL Next Generation and the iQ Value Pack options mean every subscriber will get an iQ for free, forever changing the way they experience television.

“There are twelve new iQ Value Packs which have been designed to offer the best value for money and range of choice to meet diverse tastes, needs and price points.”

“Having an iQ, powered by Next Generation, means there are three viewing options for every television program, special event or movie – watch it live, watch it On Demand, or watch it recorded to the iQ. FOXTEL Next Generation now makes it truly possible to watch what you want, when you want and with our new FOXTEL download service, where you want.

“We continue to improve our service and expand our channel offering, we now have almost 200 channels on the FOXTEL platform providing premium programming across all genres. FOXTEL Next Generation not only offers our subscribers more viewing options, it uses technology to take the FOXTEL television experience online, which gives our service great portability, adaptability and even better value.”

FOXTEL Next Generation will deliver exciting new benefits added to FOXTEL over the coming months:

There will be 30 new channel choices including themed movie channels, new sports and documentary channels, and tailored general entertainment channels.

The 12 new channels brands are LifeStyle YOU, 13TH STREET, The Style Network, Eurosport, KidsCo, FMC, STARPICS, showtime action, showtime comedy, showtime drama, Discovery Turbo MAX and Nat Geo Wild.

FOXTEL HD+ will be home to 15 High Definition channels – including four dedicated HD sports channels and six new HD movie channels.

The 10 new HD channels are FOX SPORTS 1HD, 2HD and 3HD, FOX8 HD, W HD, MOVIE ONE HD, showcase HD, showtime action HD, showtime premiere HD, STARPICS 1HD and 2HD, and UKTV HD.

A brand new movie service with 16 dedicated movie channels tailored by genre with no advertising interruptions to any movie, ever.

FOXTEL is also introducing eight new timeshift channels, these are 111 HITS +2, Discovery Channel +2, Discovery Turbo MAX +2, LifeStyle FOOD Channel +2, LifeStyle YOU +2, SCI FI +2, showcase two and STARPICS +2.

New iQ Value packs that gives subscribers two choices – build your own package and add an iQ or take an iQ Value pack that includes an iQ for free.

Australia’s best download service, FOXTEL Download – a FREE catch-up television service for subscribers at www.foxtel.com.au/download.

A new FOXTEL Guide for iQ and updated guide for iQ2.

New search functionality with an interactive TV Guide feature called iSuggest for iQ and iQ2 subscribers.

Immediate recording details of favourite shows for iQ and iQ2 subscribers with Record Me, which sends shows straight to the iQ Planner simply by pressing the Green button on the remote during a show’s promo.

Movies On Demand – A new FOXTEL Box Office with up to 40 recent release movies to choose from at any one time.

New SKY News Local ACTIVE screens for each of Australia’s five capital cities and improved Weather ACTIVE.

www.foxtel.com.au/nextgeneration

Time for 10 to become 9.

The bottom 3 based on the popular vote:

Kim Cooper
Sabrina Batshon
Nathan Brake

Before the first ad break, Nathan was declared safe.

Following the ads, it was announced that the third elimination was:

Sabrina Batshon

Therefore, the top 9 is:

Stan Walker
Kate Cook
Nathan Brake
Scott Newnham
James Johnston
Kim Cooper
Hayley Warner
Toby Moulton
Tim Johnston

The top 9 then went on to perform in 80’s night with Ross Wilson of 80’s band Mondo Rock fame as guest judge.

Our Throng poll was a little different for the past week compared to the final result:

Complete poll results were (total votes 226):

1 Stan Walker – 53 votes
2 Nathan Brake – 29 votes
3 Scott Newnham – 28 votes
4 Kim Cooper – 27 votes
5 Hayley Warner – 24 votes
6 Sabrina Batshon – 19 votes
7 Toby Moulton – 15 votes
8 Kate Cook – 14 votes
9 Tim Johnston – 10 votes
10 James Johnston – 7 votes.

By our poll, James would have gone this week. Sabrina was 6th. Poll has been reset again. Let us know who you think will win now Sabrina is out. And also – your thoughts? Did the public vote reflect what you think should have happened? Let us know!

Click here if you can’t see the Australian Idol poll anywhere.

Ratings for Friday September 25 2009 [updated - top 30 completed]

A massive 765,000 in Sydney alone watched Parramatta win a spot in the NRL Grand Final over the Bulldogs. Combined with viewers in other states, the total watching would be 1,213,000 – which puts it at the second most watched program on TV last night after Seven News. The matched aired at a later time in the AFL states.

It’s interesting to see more people watch Bewitched than I Dream of Jeannie on GO. And hardly anyone watches My Gym Partner is a Monkey. Will be interesting to see how the movie Excalibur went last night. Not sure why a movie would not have been in wide screen though.

Nine won the night off the back of the strong figures from the NRL. Seven was a distant second. Ten landed in fourth behind the ABC again.

Network Shares:
1 9-GO 33.3%. 2 7 24.7%. 3 ABC 18.6%. 4 10-ONE 17.9%. 5 SBS 5.4%

Top 30 Shows:

1 Seven News Seven 1,248,000
2 Today Tonight Seven 1,176,000
3 Better Homes and Gardens Seven 1,146,000
4 George Gently ABC1 1,084,000
5 Home and Away Seven 1,064,000
6 Nine News Nine 1,058,000
7 Two and a Half Men -Rpt Nine 987,000 Excl S
8 A Current Affair Nine 932,000
9 ABC News ABC1 915,000
10 Ten News at Five Ten 812,000
11 Rugby League Final Bulldogs Vs Parramatta Nine 765,000 Sydney Only
12 Neighbours Ten 651,000
13 Collectors ABC1 647,000
14 Deal or No Deal Seven 597,000
15 Stateline ABC1 593,000
16 The Simpsons Ten 579,000  
17 The 7PM Project Ten 568,000
18 Hot Seat Nine 560,000
19 Two and a Half Men 7.30 Nine 536,000 M,A,P
20 Before the Game Ten 525,000
21 M*A*S*H Seven 454,000
22 Rugby League Final Bulldogs Vs Parramatta Nine 448,000 Excludes Sydney
23 The Bold and the Beautiful Ten 429,000
24 Can We Help? ABC1 420,000
25 Hueys’ Cooking Adventures Ten 417,000
26 Sunrise Seven 381,000
27 Motorway Patrol Nine 375,000 M,A,P
28 Dharma and Greg Ten 357,000
29 Seven News at 4.30 Seven 350,000
30 Click – Rpt Nine 346,000

A Few Others:

31 Antiques Roadshow Nine 333,000
32 The Andromeda Strain  Seven M,A,P
36 Today Nine 303,000
42 The Story of Playboy SBS ONE 266,000
55 Go Girls Ten 203,000
59 Inside the Bombay Railway SBS ONE 179,000
72 AFL Grand Final Parade Seven 141,000 M only
81 Junkyard Wars ABC2 124,000
99 Torchwood ABC2 93,000
108 VFL Football 2009 ABC1 79,000 M Only
120 Bewitched -Rpt GO! 64,000
127 Late Show with David Letterman Ten 58,000
130 Sports Tonight ONE 56,000
140 Triple J TV With the Doctor ABC1 51,000 excl M
141 I Dream of Jeannie – rpt GO! 51,000
214 Rage ABC1 19,000
215 The Partridge Family GO! 18,000
269 My Gym Partner is a Monkey GO! 2,000

Raw ratings figures sourced from TV Tonight and Media Spyand are Oztam 5 city metro figures. Timeslot order is some cases will may be based on average figures over a number of time slots. Timeslot order is only offered where there is enough data available to put at least 3 networks in order at the times listed and is not offered for Friday and Saturday nights due to the varying network coverage of AFL and NRL football and the resulting alternate programming in the opposing market. Timeslot order for times that pretty well never change will no longer be shown every day – that is, times from 5pm – 7pm Monday to Friday. Timeslot times may not reflect exact times that show air due to network lateness. Here, a show starting as late as 9.45 for example will be considered as the 9.30 timeslot, if 9.30 is the time it was advertised to air. Any odd times indicated such as 8.40 are as a result of observation on at least two networks. Network shares include all extra digital channels for each network. Week so far is the cumulative network share including extra digital channels from Sunday until the day of this report. A figure shown for an individual secondary digital channel such as GO or ONE is an overall percentage share out of total viewers. For example, 9 and GO might be 26.3% together but apart they would be for example 9 24.7% and GO 1.6%. When show not shown in all cities (top 30 list): S = Sydney, B= Brisbane, M = Melbourne, A = Adelaide, P = Perth. Feel free to leave comments and let us know what you think.

Channel 7′s new Thursday night line up has been revealed.

On October 1, they effectively take a week off with the Narnia Chronicles airing, but on October 8, its a completely new line up for channel 7.

At 7.30, Ghost Whisperer returns for season 5, days after it airs in the US.

At 8.30, the premiere of Beauty and the Geek Australia is on.

Then at 9.30, Amazing Race season 15 debuts. Amazing Race is also fast tracked.

The final of Worlds’ Strictest Parents on Wednesday Sept 30. So from Wedneday Oct 7 at 7.30, a second weekly episode of Border Security will be seen. That is followed by another factual series Medical Emergency. That means that from 7.30 to 8.30 Sunday to Thursday on channel 7 is all factuals. And why not? They rate so well for Seven.

Border Security is also on Monday Sept 28 at 7.30, followed by Highway Patrol.

From Monday Oct 5, the regular Monday night will be 7.30 Highway Patrol then Destroyed in Seconds.

Programming info from TV Tonight and Media Spy

[Updated] Here’s how channel 7 is looking for the biggest week in TV since the first week of the ratings year in February.

1. Monday Sept 28, 8.30pm. After months of advertising and sneak peaks, Flash Forward is finally here. The show centres around the premise of every body in the human race losing 2 minutes and 17 seconds out of their life. Each person sees a glimpse of their lives six months from now. When they wake up, everyone is left wondering if what they saw will actually happen.

2. Monday Sept 28, 9.30pm. Mercy is on. Mercy is a new medical drama centred around 3 nurses who navigate the daily traumas and personal dramas inside the hospital and out.

3. Still on Mondays, Boston Legal will no longer be shown from Sept 28. At 10.30, a 6 part NBC reality series called Momma’s Boys will air. Following that at 11.30 will be Style by Jury.

4. Tuesday Sept 29 – late. At 10.30, following All Saints is My Shocking Story, followed by a repeat of Scrubs at 11.30.

5. Wednesdays. City Homicide’s new home is Wednesday night at 8.30. That is followed by Criminal Minds at 9.30 which is being promoted as a “sexy new timeslot”. At 10.30 programs are Family Guy, followed by American Dad at 11 then Louis Theroux at 11.30.

6. 7.30pm Factuals. Here is the summary:

Sundays: Border Security then The Force: Behind the Line
Mondays: from Oct 5: Highway Patrol then Destroyed in Seconds
Tuesdays: RSPCA Animal Rescue then Last Chance Surgery.
Wednesdays: from Oct 7: Border Security then Medical Emergency

7. 7HD [updated]. Although you won’t see them in all TV guides, 7HD is currently playing movies at varying times most likely in an attempt to bring in some extra ratings for the network just like what GO is currently doing for 9. Check EPGs and internet guides for movies regularly as they seem to change a number of times before airing!!! To avoid embarrassment, I’m not listing them anymore. I note last night (Friday Sept 25) they actaully advertised a 7HD movie during Deal or No Deal yet the movie was not listed in any of the advanced guides I use to compile posts like these.

When 7HD began on Oct 15 2007, one of the channels’ original objectives was to show movies at least 3 times a week. Is this a hint of what is to come? A movie based new channel? Maybe, maybe not.  No announcement right now, but if the new channel is to start on Oct 4, today should be the day to release the details to the media. Or 7 might opt to advertise on their own network first. Stay tuned.

8. Thursdays. October 1: Movie – The Narnia Chronicles. No Gary Unmarried at 7.30 anymore.

And from Thursday Oct 8, the line up is:

7.30 Ghost Whisperer fast tracked season 5.

8.30 Beuaty and the Geek Australia

9.30 Amazing Race season 15 fast tracked.

Some information here from Tv Tonight and Media Spy. Programming subject to late change.