GO!99

This is where Throng used to maintain an up to date TV Guide for GO! After running the guide for two years, we decided to leave it be as there are enough internet TV guides out there that also provide an accurate TV Guide for GO! (and all the other channels), subject to amendments.

For GO! programming details, visit the GO! website www.gochannel.com.au or your favourite internet guides such as ICE TV, Yahoo, and www.yourtv.com.au. Sometimes, they even put last minute programing changes on their GO! Facebook page: www.facebook.com/gochannel

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Enjoy!

Updated October 11, 2011

We now have our first look at what programming on 9’s new digital channel GO will be like, thanks to Media Week. Essentially, the programming is based around themed nights and aimed towards viewers different from the main channel so as not to impact too much on its ratings.

Here’s the summary.

Sunday nights – sitcoms and movies. With 9’s Sunday night movies to end from next Sunday, and 10 only airing movies for a few weeks until Rove returns on August 23, GO! will be the only channel on free to air to offer movies on Sunday nights.

Monday nights – feature reality shows such as Dog the Bounty Hunter and Bad Lads Army – this show is like Ladette to Lady but for guys, and has been on MTV.

Tuesday nights – also reality, with shows including Survivor – a show 9 has left out of its main channel for far too long much to the disgust of Survivor fans. In fact, Survivor would most likely rate better than some of the shows currently on 9. Also on Tuesday nights will be the Bachelor and the Bachelorette.

Wednesday Nights is Sci Fi night. 10HD used to offer a Sci Fi night in the days before ONE HD. GO!’s sci fi night will include the Sarah Conner Chronicles and Fringe.

Thursday Nights – will be mostly dramas such as Gossip Girl and the Hills.

Friday and Saturday nights – will see shows like CSI air and possibly other shows that aim for a slightly older audience while the main core demographic of GO! are out.

Day time programming will see classic shows like Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, the Flintstones, Jestsons and more. Also day time will feature repeats of the previous nights prime time shows. This is quite similar to what 9HD are doing now.

In October, GO will premiere the Vampire Diaries. Shows that do not do well on 9’s main channel will end up on GO. In fact, so far, a lot of the programming for GO is essentially axed shows from 9, or new seasons of shows they have not put on air again so far.

Hopefully, Go will offer alternative programming to some of Free to Airs worst times for choice which include 9-11am weekday mornings, and 1-4am over night when all main free to air commercials show infomercials. Based on reports so far, GO has a lot to offer, moreso than 9 itself for most.

The 9 network are hoping this new channel will attract 4% of the free to air TV audience share. If it succeeds in doing so, and channel 9 itself continues to perform poorly, we could see the 9 network winning ratings based on combined figures of the two channels together. Ten already has this situation with ONE, but ONE so far only contributes a relatively small percentage to 10’s share.

GO starts on Sunday August 9, and will be seriously launched in October. It probably won’t be until October that we see the new channel performing at its best.

So what about the rest of Australia and GO!99?

WIN have announced that they will take on 9’s new digital channel GO on channel 80. Whether that includes ALL of WIN’s regional viewing area is not clear so far at this point. And then there is the confusion resulting from the fact that 80 is currently WIN HD. Does that mean WIN get GO in HD? I’d have to say no, based on the fact that it is a standard definition channel for 9, and the HD factor will depend on how 9 handle their 9HD channel and its breakaways – if there even will be any – once GO launches.

As for NBN, I would expect a situation not too unlike the recent delay that ONE HD incurred in coming to SC10 almost 4 months after the 24 hour sports channel debuted in the 5 main capital cities. Reason for this is the fact that NB do not currently and never have carried any of 9’s break away HD content and have even recently stated that they had no plans to carry any of 9’s secondary channels at any time in the future.

This position may of course change in the lead up to the launch of GO! But until there is official announcement from NBN, this somewhat negative view will remain.

And what of Tasmania? The half WIN / half Southern Cross owned channel have only just decided to take on ONE HD. Maybe GO could be the 2^nd SD channel?

We await the details.

Nine’s new digital channel GO is set to launch on Sunday August 9, 2009 at a time yet to be announced.

The channel will be aiming at the 14 -39 year old demographic and will include shows such as Gossip Girl, The Hills, Fringe, Eleventh Hour, Terminator – the Sarah Conner Chronicles, Weeds, The Wire, Survivor, The Bachelor, Sienfeld, and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Gordon Ramsey will return to our free to air screens with Kitchen Nightmares as well as other much loved channel 9 shows like CSI. And no doubt, as seen in 9’s current 9HD breakaways, shows like I Dream of Jeannie and Bewitched will get a look in.

To the relief of many fans of shows axed on 9, GO!99 is looking like a repository of the numerous axed shows left incomplete from 9’s main channel from 9’s typically harsh axe chopping shows that do not perform with little or no notice.

While many of the shows on GO can already be seen on Foxtel, the new channel offers a chance for those without subscription TV the chance to sample these shows and hopefully they will not be treated the same way such shows are treated on the main channel.

Without the ratings pressure and advertising demands of the main channel, we should see programming on GO be relatively stable, and it could well be 9’s opportunity to start picking up market share it is losing on its main channel – mostly due to poor programming decisions, last minute programming changes and out of schedule programming.

GO!99 is channel 9’s opportunity to win viewers back who are deserting 9 losing faith in their poor programming decisions. Now, one would hope, that if a show you get into fails on 9, then you’ll see it on GO!99.

It will be very interesting to see what the programming will be like. So many questions needing answers – for example – will the channel run 24 hours a day? Even 9 itself is really only 21 or 22 hours a day once you take out time for overnight infomercials. Will there be encores or catch up episodes of main 9 shows there as well? Most importantly though, will 99 be immuned to the bombardment of Two and a Half Men and 20-1 seen on the main channel?

And perhaps the biggest question of all – what becomes of 9HD?

In my opinion, 9HD should be set up as per the following: If a show on 9’s main channel is available in HD, then it should be shown 9n 9HD. If a show on GO!99 is available in HD at the same time a show on 9 main is NOT available in HD, then 9HD should show the GO!99 show in HD. That means the HD channel would show HD content most of the time. I suspect that the current 9HD breakaways will all become part of GO!99 regular programming. In particular, this means that Ellen, The View and ET during the day – all of which are made in HD can be shown in HD again while 99 shows what 9HD was doing during the day.

GO!99 will be available on digital channel 99 in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. WIN owned channel 9 in Perth and Adelaide will also offer GO! For the rest of Australia, see the next post!