News

Ratings Monday October 26 2009

Two and a Half Men dominates for another Monday night but Seven News ends up as most watched show for the night. At 8pm, Destroyed in Seconds takes out top spot while Flashforward only just holds out as being the top show at 8.30 over the Mentalist by just a few people. That’s despite the fact that the Mentalist last night was a repeat due to the show not airing in the US last week. It rated pretty much the same as a new episode so either most people did not know it was a repeat or those that did still chose the Mentalist over Flashforward given that Flashforward dropped so much last night. A new episode of the Mentalist most likely would have won, but this is the problem with fast tracking – if it is not on in the US for a week, then it won’t be on here either.

At 9.30, Seven replaced Mercy with new episodes of Criminal Minds. The way Flashforward is going, Criminal Minds will soon beat it in the ratings and perhaps this move to put Criminal Minds on Monday nights is in anticipation for a future timeslot swap with Flashforward should Flashforward fall further in ratings. And thus would begin Flashforwards’ journey to later and later time slots like what happened to Lost and Heroes – both of which were similar genres and started out as successful 8.30pm shows.

Jamie Oliver on Ten failed to impress with the show barely pulling 700,000. Overall, Ten did not do too well last night with their top show being Good News Week at 884,000. Little Britain finished its series at just over 517,000. Next week Nurse Jackie moves to 10pm.

And with Criminal Minds doing so well for Seven, the people to watch it had to come from somewhere. Nine’s Apprentice lost out – after winning its time slot last week – it was third for its first half hour this week, and second after 10pm.

Timeslot Order
6.00 1 7 News. 2 9 News. 3 10 Simpsons
6.30 1 7 TT. 2 9 ACA. 3 10 Neighbours
7.00 1 9 2.5 Men. 2 7 H&A. 3 ABC1 News. 4 10 7pm
7.30 1 9 2.5 Men. 2 7 Hwy Patrol. 3 SBS ONE Top Gear. 4 10 Jamies. 5 ABC1 7.30 Report
8.00 1 7 Destroyed. 2 9 Big Bang. 3 ABC1 Aus Story. 4 SBS ONE Top Gear. 5 10 Jamies
8.30 1 7 Flashforward. 2 9 Mentalist. 3 10 Good News Week. 4 ABC1 Four Corners / Media Watch
9.30 1 7 Criminal Minds. 2 10 Good News Week. 3 9 Apprentice
10.00 1 7 Criminal Minds. 2 9 Apprentice.  3 10 Little Britain USA

Network Shares:
1 7 29.0%. 2 9-GO 27.9%. 3 10-ONE 18.3%. 4 ABC 16.2%. 5 SBS 8.5%
Channel Shares:
1 7 29.0%. 2 9 25.9%. 3 10 17.6%. 4 ABC1 14.7%. 5 SBS ONE 8.3%.
6 GO 2.0%. 7 ABC2 1.5%. 8 ONE 0.7%. 9 SBS TWO 0.3%
Channel Shares Modified*:
1 7 27.9%. 2 9 24.9%. 3 10 16.9%. 4 ABC1 14.1%. 5 SBS ONE 8.0%.
6 GO 3.6%. 7 ABC2 1.5%. 8 ONE 1.3%. 9 SBS TWO 0.5%

Top 30 Shows:
1 Seven News Seven 1,501,000
2 Two and a Half Men New 7.30 Nine 1,438,000
3 Destroyed in Seconds Seven 1,300,000
4 Highway Patrol Seven 1,294,000
5 Today Tonight Seven 1,278,000
6 A Current Affair Nine 1,259,000
7 Two and a Half Men 7pm Nine 1,253,000
8 Home and Away Seven 1,191,000
9 Flashforward Seven 1,189,000
10 Mentalist Rpt Nine 1,185,000
11 Nine News Nine 1,160,000
12 Big Bang Theory Nine 1,131,000
13 Criminal Minds Seven 1,127,000
14 Australian Story ABC1 967,000
15 ABC News ABC1 959,000
16 Good News Week Ten 884,000
17 Ten News Ten 873,000
18 Media Watch ABC1 821,000
19 Four Corners ABC1 819,000
20 Top Gear SBS ONE 781,000
21 Neighbours Ten 753,000
22 The Apprentice Australia Nine 747,000
23 The Simpsons Ten 732,000
24 Deal or no Deal Seven 729,000
25 Jamie’s American Road Trip Ten 704,000
26 7.30 Report ABC1 699,000
27 The 7pm Project Ten 698,000
28 The Bold and the Beautiful Ten 550,000
29 Hot Seat Nine 546,000
30 Little Britain USA Ten 517,000

A few others:
Man Vs Wild SBS ONE 514,000
Ashes to Ashes ABC1 508,000
Mercy Seven 456,000
Nurse Jackie Ten 332,000
Skins SBS ONE 147,000
Junkyard Wars ABC2 139,000
Vampire Diaries GO 70,000

*Channel shares modified: If we use the assumption that 53% of all households have digital TV (as recently reported in the media) and that the sample of viewers who have people meters that go towards generating the ratings for TV shows are an accurate cross section of the overall population therefore meaning that 53% of these people also have access to digital channels and then remove the 47% who cannot get the digital channels leaving only those that do, and re-calculate the channel shares based ONLY on these people who have access to the digital channels, we can see what the channel shares really are for these people who have access to all the digital channels without having the free to air shares bolstered by those who do not have digital at all. In other words, channel shares for digital households without consideration for analogue only. It must be pointed out though that these figures may also be influenced by the fact that GO and ONE are not available on subscription TV for all subscribers and that would also affect the real outcome. Therefore the resulting digital figures are only estimations based on pro rata data using 53% as the basis of digital households.

Raw ratings figures sourced from TV Tonight and Media Spy and 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 generally not offered on nights where there is varience between network programming in different markets due to the complexity of comparing city to city ratings. Timeslot order for times that rarely 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. Ratings figures are prelimnary figures and are based on the assumption that the shows listed aired at their advertised times. Shows that run late may realistically rate slightly higher or lower than the preliminary figures shown. Where possible and when known, in the case of major overruns of 30 minutes or more or where a show is changed at the last minute, commentary will be added to indicate how the ratings may be affected or the new information detailed. Network shares include all extra digital channels for each network. The break up into shares for all the digital channels are not always available at the time of posting this report, and generally are not available at all for Friday and Saturday night reports. Where possible, any missing information will be added later. Ratings posts for Friday and Saturday nights may not be posted until the following Monday morning, usually by 11am Sydney time. When show not shown in all 5 cities (top 30 list): S = Sydney, B= Brisbane, M = Melbourne, A = Adelaide, P = Perth.

Week 43 Final Free to Air Ratings (Oct 18-24)

The week was won by channel Seven but officially the Nine network which includes GO wins another week. Just one more week before 7TWO starts which should see Seven as a network take back the wins they have been losing to Nine recently. 7TWO is likely to rate just as well, if not better than GO. 7TWO ratings however will remain combined with Seven until November 22 meaning that for 3 weeks, Seven’s shoes will appear to be ratings higher than they really are.

Again Seven has seven shows in the top 10, with Nine having two – both Two and a Half Men and Ten one – NCIS. Nine’s Tribute to Done Lane is that networks’ third highest show for the week while Getaway comes in fourth followed by the Mentalist and Big Bang Theory.

Ten’s top raters are NCIS, then Celebrity Masterchef and Australian Idol in third.

Network Shares:
1 9-GO 27.9%. 2 7 26.9%. 3 10-ONE 21.0%. 4 ABC 18.7%. 5 SBS 5.5%
Channel Shares:
1 7 26.9%. 2 9 25.3%. 3 10 19.6%. 4 ABC1 17.3%. 5 SBS ONE 5.2%
6 GO 2.6%. Eq 7 ONE & ABC2 1.4%. 9 SBS TWO 0.3%
Channel Shares Modified*:
1 7 25.6%. 2 9 24.1%. 3 10 18.7%. 4 ABC1 16.5%. 5 SBS ONE 4.9%
6 GO 4.7%. Eq 7 ONE and ABC2 2.5%. 9 SBS TWO 0.5%

Top 30 Shows:
1 PACKED TO THE RAFTERS Seven 1,701,000
2 THE FORCE Seven 1,542,000
3 TWO AND A HALF MEN – MONDAY Nine 1,436,000
4 BORDER SECURITY Seven 1,435,000
5 SEVEN NEWS – SUNDAY Seven 1,386,000
6 RSPCA ANIMAL RESCUE Seven 1,352,000
7 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,348,000
8 NCIS Ten 1,347,000
9 HIGHWAY PATROL Seven 1,347,000
10 TWO AND A HALF MEN – WEDNESDAY Nine 1,308,000
11 FLASHFORWARD Seven 1,292,000
12 DESTROYED IN SECONDS Seven 1,282,000
13 CELEBRITY MASTERCHEF AUSTRALIA Ten 1,279,000
14 LAST CHANCE SURGERY Seven 1,278,000
15 MIDSOMER MURDERS ABC1 1,274,000
16 A TRIBUTE TO DON LANE Nine 1,265,000
17 SEVEN NEWS – MONDAY-FRIDAY Seven 1,261,000
18 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,221,000
19 GETAWAY Nine 1,210,000
20 THE MENTALIST Nine 1,185,000
21 THE BIG BANG THEORY Nine 1,184,000
22 SUNDAY NIGHT Seven 1,175,000
23 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC1 1,160,000
24 THE 39 STEPS ABC1 1,147,000
25 TWO AND A HALF MEN – DAILY Nine 1,141,000
26 TWO AND A HALF MEN – FRIDAY Nine 1,139,000
27 BONES Seven 1,136,000
28 20 TO 1 –TUESDAY Nine 1,126,000
29 NINE NEWS – SUNDAY Nine 1,117,000
30 AUSTRALIAN IDOL Ten 1,068,000

*Channel shares modified: If we use the assumption that 53% of all households have digital TV (as recently reported in the media) and that the sample of viewers who have people meters that go towards generating the ratings for TV shows are an accurate cross section of the overall population therefore meaning that 53% of these people also have access to digital channels and then remove the 47% who cannot get the digital channels leaving only those that do, and re-calculate the channel shares based ONLY on these people who have access to the digital channels, we can see what the channel shares really are for these people who have access to all the digital channels without having the free to air shares bolstered by those who do not have digital at all. In other words, channel shares for digital households without consideration for analogue only. It must be pointed out though that these figures may also be influenced by the fact that GO and ONE are not available on subscription TV for all subscribers and that would also affect the real outcome. Therefore the resulting digital figures are only estimations based on pro rata data using 53% as the basis of digital households.

Raw ratings figures sourced from TV Tonight and Media Spy and are Oztam 5 city metro figures. Network shares include all extra digital channels for each network. The break up into shares for all the digital channels are not always available at the time of posting this report, and generally are not available at all for Friday and Saturday night reports. Where possible, any missing information will be added later. Ratings posts for Friday and Saturday nights may not be posted until the following Monday morning, usually by 11am Sydney time. When show not shown in all 5 cities (top 30 list): S = Sydney, B= Brisbane, M = Melbourne, A = Adelaide, P = Perth.

Nine are at it again. Promoting shows as season finales or new seasons when in fact they are not.

Last night, Nine advertised CSI: Miami as being the season finale for the Miami franchise. The episode was called Target Specific and is actually episode 19 of season 7. CSI: Miami season 7 actually has 25 episodes which means there are really another six to go before the real and of season 7 at episode 25.

CSI: Miami has not been rating too well for Nine – usually around 750,000 or so – which is not as high as the Las Vegas CSI usually pulls, but not really too bad for a 9.30 time slot. Nine have moved CSI: Miami around a number of different time slots and so far, Sunday night has brought the show its best ratings this year.

The fact they have called episode 19 as a season finale suggests that they have no plans to air episodes again this year – not even once the ratings period finish November 28. Expect a return in 2010 maybe.

There is a complication though – CSI: Miami season 8 is already underway in the US. Nin are showing CSI (Las Vegas) on Thursday nights, fast tracked. Episode 7 of season 8 of CSI: Miami is a cross over episode with CSI. In the US, the two episodes show within the same week. The way things are going here, we will only see the CSI episode mid November without being able to see the cross over episode of CSI: Miami.

By not continuing to show CSI: Miami, Nine will be behind by a total of 11 episodes. 5 new episodes have already aired in the US of season 8.

Misleading the viewers with season finales and season returns seems to be happening more often, Nine recently promoted Moonlight as a new season despite the fact that they took it off air mid season earlier and have now continued showing episodes from where they left off. Seven did the same with Heroes last year. Moonlight currently airs on Nine on Tuesdays at 10.30pm and GO on Thursdays 8.30pm. 7TWO will premiere the new season of Heroes at 8.30 November 4.

With both Rescue Special Ops and CSI: Miami now gone from the Sunday lime up on Nine, next Sunday sees Nine showing a movie called XIII Conspiracy. At this stage, November 8 is scheduled as TBA. Maybe Nine will see out the year with movies on Sunday nights or it could be the night that fast tracked episodes of V are shown. We’ll find out soon enough.

Ratings Sunday October 25 2009

Channel Seven won the night over channel Nine but the Nine network wins with the huge GO share added. Seven wins timeslots from 6.30 – 9.30. At 6pm, Nine news won over Seven News.

Australian Idol passes the million mark, but 60 Minutes scrapes in second at 7.30. The season finale of Rescue Special Ops is also only just above a million.

Roves’ 60 guests in 60 minutes helps the show to a win for the 9.30 timeslot. CSI: Miami which Nine announced as the season finale despite the fact there are still another 6 episodes to go in the shows’ 7th season remained behind Rove and Castle.

Next Sunday we see the first night of 7TWO but ratings for 7TWO will be combined with Seven shows for a further three weeks until they are separated out from November 22. This will mean Seven’s shows will appear to rate higher than they really do – like what happened with GO in its first two weeks back in August.

Timeslot Order:
6.00 1 9 News. 2 7 News. 3 10 Simpsons
6.30 1 7 Sunday Night. 2 9 20-1. 3 10 Your Gen
7.00 1 7 Sunday Night. 2 9 20-1. 3 ABC1 News
7.30 1 7 Border / Force. 2 9 60 Minutes. 3 10 Idol
8.30 1 7 Bones. 2 9 Rescue Special Ops. 3 10 Idol
9.30 1 10 Rove. 2 7 Castle. 3 9 CSI: Miami

Network Shares:
1 9-GO 29.4%. 2 7 27.4%. 3 10-ONE 22.0%. 4 ABC 15.0%. 5 SBS 6.1%
Channel Shares:
1 7 27.4%. 2 9 25.1%. 3 10 20.8%. 4 ABC1 14.5%. 5 SBS ONE 5.8%
6 GO 4.3%. 7 ONE 1.2%. 8 ABC2 0.5%. 9 SBS TWO 0.3%
Channel Shares Modified*:
1 7 26.0%. 2 9 23.8%. 3 10 19.7%. 4 ABC1 13.7%. 5 GO 7.7%
6 SBS ONE 5.5%. 7 ONE 2.1%. 8 ABC2 0.9%. 9 SBS TWO 0.5%

Top 30 Shows:
1 The Force – Behind The Line Seven 1,438,000
2 Border Security-Australia’s Front Line Seven 1,346,000
3 Nine News Sunday Nine 1,330,000
4 Seven News – Sun Seven 1,246,000
5 Bones Seven 1,193,000
6 Sunday Night Seven 1,141,000
7 Rescue Special Ops Nine 1,058,000
8 60 Minutes Nine 1,030,000
9 Australian Idol Ten 1,003,000
10 20 To 1 -Sun Nine 979,000
11 ABCNews-Su ABC1 935,000
12 Rove Ten 852,000
13 Castle Seven 825,000
14 Ganges ABC1 813,000
15 CSli: Miami Nine 787,000
16 Wuthering Heights ABC1 769,000
17 ABC News Up-Date ABC1 727,000
18 Seven’s V8 Supercars Round 11: Goldcoast-Race 2 D2 Seven 717,000 210
19 Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation Sun Rpt Ten 681,000
20 Seven’s V8 Supercars Round 11: Goldcoast-Prerace Entertainment Seven 640,000
21 The Einstein Factor ABC1 632,000
22 Ten News At Five Sun Ten 630,000
23 CSI: Miami-Rpt Nine 514,000
24 The Simpsons Sun Ten 505,000
25 Who Do You Think You Are? SBS ONE 477,000
26 Seven’s V8 Supercars Round 11: Goldcoast-Race 1 D2 Seven 470,000
27 Sports Tonight Sun Ten 448,000
28 Weekend Sunrise Seven 402,000
29 Postcards Nine 378,000 M.P
30 Las Vegas Seven 347,000

A Few Others:
Californication Sun Rpt Ten 333,000
Wipeout Go! 310,000
Compass ABC1 274,000
Dateline SBS ONE 195,000
Insiders ABC1 190,000
Sunday Arts ABC1 155,000
Video Hits Sun Ten 141,000
The Big Bang Theory Go! 135,000
MotoGP Ten 134,000
MotoGP One 93,000
Weeds Go! 76,000

*Channel shares modified: If we use the assumption that 53% of all households have digital TV (as recently reported in the media) and that the sample of viewers who have people meters that go towards generating the ratings for TV shows are an accurate cross section of the overall population therefore meaning that 53% of these people also have access to digital channels and then remove the 47% who cannot get the digital channels leaving only those that do, and re-calculate the channel shares based ONLY on these people who have access to the digital channels, we can see what the channel shares really are for these people who have access to all the digital channels without having the free to air shares bolstered by those who do not have digital at all. In other words, channel shares for digital households without consideration for analogue only. It must be pointed out though that these figures may also be influenced by the fact that GO and ONE are not available on subscription TV for all subscribers and that would also affect the real outcome. Therefore the resulting digital figures are only estimations based on pro rata data using 53% as the basis of digital households.

Raw ratings figures sourced from TV Tonight and Media Spy and 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 generally not offered on nights where there is varience between network programming in different markets due to the complexity of comparing city to city ratings. Timeslot order for times that rarely 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. Ratings figures are prelimnary figures and are based on the assumption that the shows listed aired at their advertised times. Shows that run late may realistically rate slightly higher or lower than the preliminary figures shown. Where possible and when known, in the case of major overruns of 30 minutes or more or where a show is changed at the last minute, commentary will be added to indicate how the ratings may be affected or the new information detailed. Network shares include all extra digital channels for each network. The break up into shares for all the digital channels are not always available at the time of posting this report, and generally are not available at all for Friday and Saturday night reports. Where possible, any missing information will be added later. Ratings posts for Friday and Saturday nights may not be posted until the following Monday morning, usually by 11am Sydney time. When show not shown in all 5 cities (top 30 list): S = Sydney, B= Brisbane, M = Melbourne, A = Adelaide, P = Perth.

Rescue Special Ops to return to Nine in 2010.

According to Nine last night, at the end of the finale of the first season of Rescue Special Ops, Nine promoted the fact that the show would return for a second season in 2010. That is despite criticism that the show has unoriginal story lines, has often been referred to by some as a direct copy to Ten’s Rush and that the show has barely managed to attract a million viewers a week.

The conclusion of the first season set the stage for storylines to continue into the second season.

We learnt that station manager Michelle is pregnant. But the baby could be Dean’s and not her partner Detective Ian Johnson’s after Dean and Michelle had sex in her office a few episodes earlier.

Dean’s love for Lara grew to the point where he asked her not to marry Hamish in the last episode. Dean ended up rescuing Lara from the stalker resulting in Lara missing out on her wedding to her fiance Hamish. Despite that, Lara and Hamish set off on their honeymoon. Will they return and get married or will Lara be influenced by Dean?

And then there is Heidi – without a love interest until now. She is seen going out with Jordan at the end of the show but during the show agreed that Dean’s brother Chase could be her “back up” – the one she ends up with if still single at 30.

As for Vince, after not being able to fix up his relationship with his ex, the story is left open for him to find a love interest elsewhere.

ABC TV is strengthening its commitment to the Arts in 2010, with the launch of a new digital arts gateway that is set to become the premiere online space for the arts throughout the country; a restyled arts program, ART NATION; and host of commissioned series, documentaries and specials to premiere throughout the year.

Director of Television Kim Dalton says the new arts strategy positions ABC TV to fully engage audiences with the arts. “As more and more Australians rely on the internet for news and entertainment, ABC TV is responding by consolidating our arts presence in those spaces. This multi-platform approach to our arts coverage ensures we can utilise the full resources of ABC to provide the most comprehensive arts coverage in Australia, and give audiences more choice in how they consume that content.”

Officially launching today as part of the REVEALING THE ARTS conference, abc.net.au/arts will link communities of artists and arts audiences with one another. All arts programs and stories from ABC TV, News, Radio and Online will be available as video or audio podcasts to provide the most up-to-date national and international coverage. A weekly newsletter will point people to the site’s new features and stories.

The Arts Gateway will include video and photo blogs of artists and reporters worldwide.  22 genres will be covered through the Arts Gateway and it will be the natural home of a range of arts communities and the gateway to ABC TV’s artist-related initiatives such as Artpost, iArts and ABC2 Live Presents and also ABC Pool.  

It will offer daily news about Australian and international art stories and reviews and the Events Diary will cover a comprehensive array performance, exhibitions and festivals from around metropolitan, regional and rural Australia. 

Rolling out over the next few months will be an online exhibition space which can be individually curated by users. The Arts Gateway will also soon feature Arts on the Map – an initiative of The Australia Council for the Arts – which accesses information and stories from 185 arts organisations across the nation through Google Earth. Users will be able to search the site by artform and by state, and create their own flying tours.   Arts on the Map is also available www.australiacouncil.gov.au.

“We applaud the ABC for offering new digital platforms for our artists,” said Kathy Keele, CEO for the Australia Council for the Arts. “The ABC shares with us the priority in this digital era of finding new opportunities for new audiences to access and participate in the creative experience.”

Complementing abc.net.au/arts is the new weekly magazine program, ART NATION. The half-hour program will contain news, reviews, performance, features and interviews. A key component of the program is showcasing the work that has premiered on the Arts Gateway and sent in from artists from around the country. This weekly program will run for the full year without the traditional break for sport in September.

In addition, 2010 will see the premiere of a range of arts programs including BUSH SLAM  – a six-part series hosted by Greig Pickhaver, which follows a poetry slam competition throughout regional Australia: ABC2 LIVE PRESENTS – which will kick off with Opera Australia’s extraordinary commission,  BLISS, a collaboration with Peter Carey, Brett Dean and Neil Armfield;  ART AND SOUL – a three-part Indigenous art series hosted by Hetti Perkins from the award-winning director of Samson and Delilah, Warwick Thornton: THE MATILDA CANDIDATE – a documentary that explores the theme of Australia’s famous song:  RUDELY INTERRUPTED – a rock-doco that follows the band Rudely Interrupted on their first world tour:  and RE-ENCHANTMENT – an interactive broadband project that explores why fairy tales continue to entertain adult audiences. 

Renowned Australian documentary filmmaker Bob Connelly returns to the ABC with MAKING MUSIC, following High School students over 18 months as they prepare for classical music concert at the Opera House: LOST FOR WORDS (working title) tracks acclaimed Pitjantjatjara actor, Trevor Jamieson, as he sets out to bring his hit stage show Ngapartji Ngapartji home to the remote community of Ernabella: SHADOWPLAY features photographer Anton Corbijn and his celebrity portrait subjects such as Bono, Wim Wenders, Michael Stipe, The Killers and Depeche Mode: and INDONESIA CALLING, a feature length documentary, focuses on the making of Joris Ivens’ 1945 film “Indonesia Calling”. 

Continuing in 2010 will be regular arts programs At the Movies, First Tuesday Book Club and Jennifer Byrne Presents.

The 10pm arts slot, ARTSCAPE continues with an exciting line up including SALT – a half-hour award winning documentary following photo artist Murray Fredericks on a solo pilgrimage to Lake Eyre: special coverage of the Brisbane Asia Pacific Arts Triennial presented by Andrew Frost; A THOUSAND DIFFERENT ANGLES, a documentary portrait about the life and work of extraordinary abstract sculptor Inge King; the ARTISTS AT WORK format continues with a profile on contemporary painter Ben Quilty; THE ART OF WALKING presented by celebrated novelist and cultural provocateur Will Self; and a second series of the award winning three part series ANATOMY exploring art practice, the body and sex. 

Other highlights for the ABC1 schedule will be the eight-part series, SIMON SCHAMA’S POWER OF ART, on some of history’s most famous artists; ANNIE LEIBOVITZ: LIFE THROUGH A LENS a feature-length bio-pic directed by her younger sister, Barbara; BAROQUE written and presented by Waldemar Januszczak, this three-part series explores the importance and impact of this art movement as it travelled from Catholic Rome to Protestant London:  and INFINITE SPACE; THE ARCHITECTURE OF JOHN LAUTNER  which looks at the work of American architect  whose dream was to create ‘architecture that has no beginning and no end’. 

Head of Arts and Entertainment, Amanda Duthie says the new strategy will offer the arts community exciting ways to reach audiences. “We continue to develop and commission an eclectic range of programs featuring art in all its forms and this year’s schedule will inspire, delight and amaze. The interplay between ART NATION and the Arts Gateway means artists can upload their work –be it video, animation, still images or other formats – to the site and we can feature the best of this on the television program.”

abc.net.au/arts has been developed with the support of the Australia Council for the Arts which continues to work with ABC TV on fostering creative partnerships with arts organisations around Australia.

Claudia Karvan will star alongside British actor/comedian Matt King and Rodger Corser in the new drama series, Spirited, for FOXTEL’s W channel.

Shooting commences this week in Sydney on the eight episode series, which is a blackly funny exploration of love, death and life with King playing the ghost of a dead English rock star who appears in the new home of Karvan’s character.

Karvan is both a star and producer of Spirited, again working alongside John Edwards and Jacquelin Perske, her fellow co-creators and producers of the breakthrough subscription television drama Love My Way.

“I think Spirited is like The Ghost and Mrs Muir meets The Odd Couple, it’s playful, romantic and a little absurd,” she said. “We’ve got a wonderfully talented cast together and we’re happy to be the first cab off the rank in the W channel’s plans for original drama.”

The AFI, TV WEEK Logie and ASTRA Award winning Karvan plays Suzy Darling, a dentist who has moved so single-mindedly through life that she has not stopped to smell the roses. When she walks away from what has become a loveless marriage and moves into an old apartment block Suzy encounters the ghost of ‘80s rock star Henry Mallet, played by King.

King is known for his performance as Super Hans in the BAFTA-winning British sitcom Peep Show and also played many roles, including Elton John, in the sketch series Star Stories. His film credits include Inkheart, alongside Brendan Fraser, Paul Bettany and Helen Mirren, Guy Ritchie’s Rocknrolla, with Jeremy Piven and Gerard Butler and Bronson, which won Best Film at the Sydney Film Festival this year. He is also the writer and producer of a sitcom series, Whites, which will star Alan Davies when it goes into production next year for BBC2.

Corser (Underbelly, Rush, Home and Away, Last Man Standing) plays Steve Darling, Suzy’s husband of 15 years and the father of their two children.

Other core cast members include Belinda Bromilow (Packed To The Rafter’s Libby) as Suzy’s sister Jonquil, Louis Fowler as Suzy and Steve’s son Elvis, 13, and Charlie Hancock as their daughter Verity, 8.

Spirited is based on an original idea of Perske’s which she and Karvan have developed into the series they are producing with Edwards for Southern Star and with Kim Vecera as executive producer for FOXTEL.

The series has been written by Perske, Ian Meadows, Tony McNamara, Jessica Redenbach and Marieke Hardy and will be directed by Jessica Hobbs, Jonathan Teplitzky and Daniel Nettheim.

Spirited will premiere on FOXTEL’s W channel in March 2010.

Time to decide the Top 5 as we see how Australia voted in Australian Idol after stage and screen night last week.

Hayley Warner, Toby Moulton and Nathan Brake were all declared safe, leaving the bottom three as:

Kate Cook
Stan Walker
James Johnston

Before the first ad break, James was declared safe.

Following the ads, it was announced that the sixth elimination was (and thus the one in seventh place in Idol 2009):

Kate Cook.

After an emotion hug between Kate and Stan, footage of Kate’s Idol experience so far was shown, and concluded with Kate saying that she’ll travel the country “and sing me heart out!”

Therefore, the top 5 is:

Stan Walker
Nathan Brake
Hayley Warner
Toby Moulton
James Johnston

Top 5 went on to perform two songs of their own choice, after visiting their home towns during the week and seeing family they have missed for the past three months.

Throng poll results:

We asked this week who you thought should leave Australian Idol this week.

Complete poll results were (total votes 181):

1 Kate Cook – 74 votes
2 Hayley Warner – 40 votes
3 Toby Moulton – 21 votes
4 Stan Walker – 18 votes
Eq 5 James Johnston and Nathan Brake – 14 votes

By far Kate Cook had the most votes as to who should be eliminated this week from Australian Idol – which ended up being the final result. James and Nathan received the least number of votes.

This week, again we will ask who you think should be eliminated – so let us know what you think. If you can’t see the poll on screen somewhere, please click here.

AND – you can vote for real for Australian Idol all week now – with voting lines now closing at Midnight (EDST) Friday night. Vote for the performance you liked the most.

Voting details – SMS their name to 191010 or call:
For JAMES 1902 555561
TOBY 1902 555562
NATHAN  1902 555563
HAYLEY 1902 555564
STAN 1902 555565

Next week is Top 4 on November 1. Then Top 3 November 8. Final 2 Nov 15. The Australian Idol Finale is on November 22. Not long to go now!

Ratings Saturday October 24 2009

With six shows in the top 10 for Saturday night as well as the number one show, ABC wins the night with over 25% of the share. Seven is second, Nine third and Ten again a distant 4th.

Now we know that fewer people watch free to air TV on the weekends – which is a combination of both fewer people being home and the fact that weekend TV tends to be lower quality than weekdays – but surely the fact that the ABC are top network for the night should cause some alarm to the three commercial networks given that the ABC technically is not motivated by ratings success the same way the commercial networks are in the sense that it is ratings success that earns them money.

This week has seen generally lower numbers than usual on many nights – a combination of warmer weather in several cities and daylight saving in those that have it.

Network Shares:
1 ABC 25.4%. 2 7 24.9%. 3 9-GO 24.8%. 4 10-ONE 17.2%. 5 SBS 7.7%

Top 30 Shows:
1 Hope Springs ABC1 1,043,000
2 Seven News – Sat Seven 1,042,000
3 Nine News Saturday Nine 1,010,000
4 Australia’s Funniest Home Videos Nine 992,000
5 Bill ABC1 979,000
6 ABC News-Sa ABC1 954,000
7 ABC News Up-Date ABC1 954,000
8 Taggart ABC1 883,000 256,000
9 Gardening Australia ABC1 715,000
10 Yours, Mine And Ours-Rpt Nine 713,000
11 Ten News At Five Sat Ten 618,000
12 What Lies Beneath Ten 481,000
13 Sports Tonight Sat Ten 471,000
14 Silent Witness Rpt ABC1 465,000
15 M-Bridge To Terabithia Seven 454,000 M,A,P
16 M-Toy Story Seven 415,000 S,B
17 David Attenborough’s Tiger-Hunted Majesty Nine 414,000 NOT A
18 Flicka Ten 402,000
19 The Simpsons Sat Ten 394,000
20 M-ToyStory2 Seven 377,000 S,B
21 Seven’s V8 Supercars Round 11: Gold coast-Race 2 D1 Seven 358,000
22 Weekend Today-Saturday Nine 349,000
23 M-Ella Enchanted Seven 343,000 M,A,P
24 Hey Hey Reunion-Rpt Nine 335,000
25 Mythbusters: Young Scientist Special SBSONE 311,000
26 M-The Peacemaker Seven 310,000
27 Nine’s Horse Racing Nine 304,000
28 Minuscule ABC1 294,000
29 Iron Chef SBS ONE 259,000
30 Rockwiz SBS ONE 255,000

A Few Others:
Dexter Sat Ten 216,000
Seven’s V8 Supercars Round 11: Gold Coast-Race 1 D1 Seven 212,000
H2O-Just Add Water Rpt Ten 124,000
Totally Wild Rpt Ten 110,000
Video Hits Sat Ten 108,000
Elmo’s World ABC2 105,000
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE TWENTY20 CRICKET 2009 – FINAL ONE 104,000
Pearlie Ten 96,000
POKO ABC2 95,000
Hogan’s Heroes Go! 94,000
THE FLINTSTONES GO! 90,000
The Jetsons Go! 56,000
Dance Your Ass Off Go! 52,000  
M-THE HUMAN FACTOR-EV ABC2 45,000
UNIT ONE RPT SBS TWO 29,000

Raw ratings figures sourced from TV Tonight and Media Spy and 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 generally not offered on nights where there is varience between network programming in different markets due to the complexity of comparing city to city ratings. Timeslot order for times that rarely 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. Ratings figures are prelimnary figures and are based on the assumption that the shows listed aired at their advertised times. Shows that run late may realistically rate slightly higher or lower than the preliminary figures shown. Where possible and when known, in the case of major overruns of 30 minutes or more or where a show is changed at the last minute, commentary will be added to indicate how the ratings may be affected or the new information detailed. Network shares include all extra digital channels for each network. The break up into shares for all the digital channels are not always available at the time of posting this report, and generally are not available at all for Friday and Saturday night reports. Where possible, any missing information will be added later. Ratings posts for Friday and Saturday nights may not be posted until the following Monday morning, usually by 11am Sydney time. When show not shown in all 5 cities (top 30 list): S = Sydney, B= Brisbane, M = Melbourne, A = Adelaide, P = Perth.

Ratings for Friday October 23 2009

The return of Midsomer Murders (albeit old episodes) to ABC1 helps the national broadcaster to a healthy 23.2% share of the night almost doubling the share for Ten.

At 7pm, Home and Away and Two and a Half Men are locked together at just under a million with ABC News not far behind. But the 7pm Project falls to another low, ratings below half a million.

In a night that was one of Ten’s worst for a while, only one show on Ten rated above half a million and that was Ten News at Five. From then on, it was all down hill. Neighbours was second at 520,000. Ten’s 8.30 movie Election was a distant 4th in its time slot. Ten should re-design the night from the ground up. They were doing better with Simpsons repeats and law and Order on Friday nights.

Bond did it for Seven, rating above Da Vinci but both were well and truly outdone by Midsomer Murders. At 5.30, Nine’s Hot Seat was above Seven’s Deal or No Deal but only by 6,000.

Network Shares:
1 7 29.1% 2 9-GO 28.9%. 3 ABC 23.2%. 4 10-ONE 14.7%. 5 SBS 4.5%

Top 30 Shows:
1 Better Homes and Gardens Seven 1,348,000
2 Midsomer Murders ABC1 1,274,000
3 Today Tonight Seven 1,149,000
4 Two and a Half Men 7.30 Nine 1,139,000
5 Seven News Seven 1,128,000
6 Nine News Nine 1,000,000
7 Home and Away Seven 996,000
8 Two and a Half Men 7pm Nine 996,000
9 ABC News ABC1 919,000
10 A Current Affair Nine 912,000
11 Collectors ABC1 817,000
12 Motorway Patrol Nine 779,000
13 The World Is Not Enough Seven 744,000
14 The Da Vinci Code Nine 712,000
15 Stateline ABC1 686,000
16 Ten News at Five Ten 655,000
17 Hot Seat Nine 565,000
18 Deal or no Deal Seven 560,000
19 Neighbours Ten 520,000
20 The Simpsons Ten 498,000
21 The 7pm Project Ten 493,000
22 The Spearman Experiment Ten 488,000
23 MASH Seven 448,000
24 Election Ten 446,000
25 The Bold and the Beautiful Ten 434,000
26 Can We Help? ABC1 410,000
27 Sunrise Seven 385,000
28 Air Crash Investigations Seven 343,000
29 Huey’s Cooking Adventures Ten 342,000
30 Antiques Roadshow Nine 331,000

A few others:
Today Nine 312,000
Go Girls Ten 245,000
The Bisexual Revolution SBS ONE 134,000
Torchwood ABC2 117,000
The Nanny GO 81,000

Raw ratings figures sourced from TV Tonight and Media Spy and 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 generally not offered on nights where there is varience between network programming in different markets due to the complexity of comparing city to city ratings. Timeslot order for times that rarely 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. Ratings figures are prelimnary figures and are based on the assumption that the shows listed aired at their advertised times. Shows that run late may realistically rate slightly higher or lower than the preliminary figures shown. Where possible and when known, in the case of major overruns of 30 minutes or more or where a show is changed at the last minute, commentary will be added to indicate how the ratings may be affected or the new information detailed. Network shares include all extra digital channels for each network. The break up into shares for all the digital channels are not always available at the time of posting this report, and generally are not available at all for Friday and Saturday night reports. Where possible, any missing information will be added later. Ratings posts for Friday and Saturday nights may not be posted until the following Monday morning, usually by 11am Sydney time. When show not shown in all 5 cities (top 30 list): S = Sydney, B= Brisbane, M = Melbourne, A = Adelaide, P = Perth. Note channel shares not usually available for Friday and Saturday nights.