Hey Hey Its Saturday

Hey Hey host Daryl Somers addressed his fans on Facebook this week, saying that the show will not return in the first half of the year and that it may be shelved for good.

Somers wrote that talks with Nine had been disrupted by the holiday season and that the news is “not good for Hey Hey It’s Saturday.”

He wrote: “There is a chance of something happening in the second half of the year but sadly nothing definitive. And if we did return it would probably not be on a Saturday as according to Nine the “economics” don’t stack up: not enough people watching TV generally on a weekend compared to mid week viewing, therefore revenue verses the cost of mounting a two hour variety show like ours does not work. They can make more profit with a cheaper program.

“This is the business of television, no sentiment or viewer loyalty comes into it I’m afraid.  I have made the point that we were never given a chance to consolidate either in our midweek slot or on Saturdays. Both seasons were interrupted by Rugby coverage and even though Nine agreed our figures were strong against the juggernaut of MasterChef and indeed extended our first season by 3 eps. , the Farmer Wants a Wife replaced us in the lead up to the Commonwealth Games.

“I believe had we been left on the Weds, beyond the MasterChef season, we would have attracted a significant percentage of their audience to consolidate our position but we’ll never know the answer to that question. And besides we all enjoyed the return of the show to Saturdays.”

Somers concluded by thanking those that had stuck by the show over the years and for voting for them in the TV Week Logies Awards this year.

Channel Nine is expected to announce the axing of Hey Hey It’s Saturday within the next few days.

It is believed that the network has decided to not bring back the entertainment show for a second season following a poor showing on its return to Australian screens this year.

One of the show’s regulars, Red Symons said the feeling is all too familiar.

“We’ve been axed before, though, so I’m used to the feeling,” he said.

A spokesperson for Nine said yesterday that the network is still discussing various projects with Hey hey producers SomersCarroll.

The return of Hey Hey this year was buoyed by the fact that the first of their two specials in 2009 drew over 2.16 million viewers. However the show failed to prove as popular as first imagined, settling around the 800,000 mark after a return to the Saturday night slot.

Source: News.com.au

Daryl, any news from the boys upstairs if we are back in 2011 yet?

Afraid not, Ossie.

The last Hey Hey it’s Saturday airs Sat Nov 27, 7.30pm – 11 years since it was originally axed in 1999.

The idea of bringing Hey Hey back was originally sparked by a Facebook group of fans. In 2009, the two one off specials scored huge audience figures in excess of two million which promted the Nine network to commission the show for 20 episodes in 2010.

Hey Hey It’s Saturday for 2010 premiered on April 14 – a Wednesday. The first show did well, over 1.2 million tuned in. The second one was down, and as the weeks went by, it settled into average figures of around 800,000 viewers.

Opinions were many and varied about the Hey Hey revival – but mostly favoured that the format had had its day and was now out of date. Apart from references to Facebook and Twitter, you could easily have been mistaken for thinking you were watching Hey Hey as it was back in the 90’s.

The segments were the same – Plucka Duck, Red faces, Funny Photos, etc. The cartoonist was there. Sound effects were the same. The set very similar. Daryl still talked and talked. The show always finished late.

I for one enjoyed Hey Hey in the 80’s and 90’s, and enjoyed the reunion specials in 2009 – but honestly – that is where it should have been left. A few reunion specials every now and then would draw the numbers. But the weekly show in 2010 was just way too much of the same every week – and did not fit well into Wednesday night viewing. The few I watched I had recorded and ended up watching on the weekend. Outside of Melbourne, numbers were very soft to say the least.

Some will blame putting Hey Hey against Masterchef which was on the same time most of the Wednesday nights as a reason why Hey Hey could not rate well on Wednesday night. But, if Hey Hey had stood the test of time, and people liked what was on offer, the numbers would have come. Masterchef was on six nights a week, Hey Hey just the one.

Even though the last seven episodes moved back to where it should be – on Saturday night – the figures have remained low. Yes, fewer people watch TV on Saturday nights, and there are so many options on the digital channels, but considering the cost of each hour of Hey Hey to make, it’s a bad deal for Nine.

So what now? Hey Hey will almost certainly not be back in 2011 unless for a one off special. It would probably be better to hold off on any specials until 2012 or later in any case, as a special in 2011 will be too soon after the 20 shows we just had in 2010.

If Daryl Somers really wants to get back into putting variety onto TV – and I do agree we should have more variety shows – then how about coming up with a new idea? What about a condensed contemporary version of Hey Hey? It’d have to be called something else though and contain new segments. A one hour show – perhaps presented like a cross between Rove Live, Hey Hey and a late night US talk show like Letterman or Leno might work – once a week on a Saturday night. Just a thought.

It may also be time for Daryl Somers to retire gracefully knowing he has done the best he could to keep Hey Hey alive into another decade. Afterall – it did start in the 70’s. Not too many shows around that have that sort of history.

Fresh from their 18-month residency at the Imperial Palace in Las Vegas, HUMAN NATURE will headline a colossal season final of Hey Hey It’s Saturday tomorrow night at 7.30pm on Channel Nine.

The original boy band, who have had 17 Top 40 singles across their 21-year career, will perform a medley of Viva Las Vegas and A Little Less Conversation from their Vegas: Songs from Sin City album.

MEGAN WASHINGTON, who earlier this month collected two ARIA Awards for Best Female Artist and Breakthrough Artist, will treat viewers to her incredibly catchy tune, Cement, from the Top 5 album, I Believe You Liar.

Australian R & B songstress JESSICA MAUBOY will sing her current smash-hit single, Saturday Night, from her latest CD, Get ‘Em Girls.

Country music sensation TROY CASSAR-DALEY will team up with THE McCLYMONTS for a toe-tapping performance of Ain’t Gonna Change For You.

It will be a battle of comic wits when AKMAL SALEH, PETER ROWSTHORN and SHANE BOURNE go head-to-head in Joking Off.

JO BETH TAYLOR and LIVINIA NIXON will add a feminine touch to the Red Faces judging panel.

OSSIE OSTRICH will bring us the final installment of Wot Cheezes Me Orf for 2010.

STEVE VIZARD will front up for a round of Celebrity Head.

Plus you won’t want to miss a massive finale to the show featuring Daryl with the entire cast and a few surprise guests.

HEY HEY IT’S SATURDAY: Tomorrow night at 7.30pm on Channel Nine

Daryl Somers has hinted at the possibility that Hey Hey could finish for good sooner than expected.

The host of the Channel Nine show has admitted that this Saturday’s episode could well be the last.

The entertainment show has been slipping in the ratings despite its return to its traditional weekend timeslot.

“It is all in the lap of the gods,” Somers said.

“I believe we are delivering a really good show but I don’t think it has had a chance to consolidate.

“I think we have had the rough end of the pineapple this year.

“I think there is good reason (to continue in 2011) but if it is too costly and has to go, then I guess one has to say ‘OK, we had a delightful run’.

Channel Nine is yet to discuss the future of the show with Somers.

Source: News.com.au

Aussie pop outfit AMY MEREDITH will open another fun-packed, monster episode of Hey Hey It’s Saturday tomorrow night at 7.30pm on Channel Nine.

The Sydney quintet will treat viewers to their latest single, Faded White Dress, from their Top 10 album, Restless.

The home-grown theme will continue when hip-hop dance troupe JUSTICE CREW perform their debut single, And Then We Dance, especially adapted for Hey Hey.

Everyone’s favourite children’s entertainers and one of Australia’s biggest exports, THE WIGGLES, will showcase a potential new member of their team in a big surprise for Daryl. And RUSSELL GILBERT will pay tribute to our skivvy-wearing national treasures in a way that only he can.

Academy Award winner ADAM ELLIOT will announce the winner of The John West Canned Film Festival, which has garnered the most incredibly creative response in years.

Radio personality JO STANLEY will swap her microphone for scorecards when she lines up on the judging panel of Red Faces.

You’ll be amazed at the awesome talent of violinist SALLY COOPER, taking centre stage with the Hey Hey It’s Saturday orchestra.

OSSIE OSTRICH has collected some very Phunny Photos, plus a Ducati riding SUZE RAYMOND is back from her whirlwind overseas mission to launch the new and exciting Harry Potter computer game.

All this and oh, so much more.

HEY HEY IT’S SATURDAY: Tomorrow night at 7.30pm on Channel Nine

SHORT STACK, arguably the hottest things on the Australian pop scene at the moment, will perform their new single, We Dance to a Different Disco, Honey, live on Hey Hey it’s Saturday tonight.

The trio will sing for a special audience of 300 die-hard fans, many of whom had petitioned Hey Hey to feature their idols.

Child prodigy, 12 year-old STRAALEN McCALLUM will treat viewers to his pitch perfect voice when he delivers the uplifting Smile from his debut album, A Little Faith.

McCallum, the youngest act ever signed to Sony Music, will be accompanied by a full orchestra in the Hey Hey studio for his first TV performance of a career destined for greatness.

German rockabilly outfit THE BASEBALLS, who have enjoyed massive chart success throughout Europe, will perform their quirky take on Rihanna’s 2007 global smash hit, Umbrella.

Daryl Somers crosses live to Italy to chat with SUZE RAYMOND who is on a whirlwind trip to Europe on special assignment for Hey Hey.

There’ll also be the regular Hey Hey segments Celebrity Head, Ad Nauseam, Red Faces and Plucka Duck.
Plus we present the latest entries from the John West Canned Film Festival.

HEY HEY IT’S SATURDAY: Tonight on Nine. 7.30pm Melb, Adel, Perth. 9.15 Bris. 10.15 Syd.

Seven, I see your premiere movies for the last weekend of ratings, and I raise you…

Not to be outdone by Seven, Nine have scheduled two premiere movies for Friday November 26.

First is the free to air premiere of Fred Claus which plays from 7.30pm. That is followed by You Don’t Mess with the Zohan, featuring Adam Sandler at 9.55pm – another free to air first. Then, at 12.15am is Kings of the Beach.

Then, on Saturday November 27, the final Hey Hey is on from 7.30pm, following Australia’s Funniest Home Videos Grand Final. The final Hey Hey gets an extra 10 minutes, with its finishing time now adjusted to 9.40 (we all know it will go on longer!).

The premiere special event Lights, Camera, Party – Television City Celebrates airs from 9.40pm Sat Nov 27. Bert Newton and Eddie McGuire lead an all-star line up celebrating Nine’s Richmond Studios, the heart of Australian television for over fifty years.

Some changes to the final week of ratings for Seven.

Wednesday Nov 24, at 7.30pm, will be a one hour premiere special of The Zoo.

Looks like Seven will try and go out of the ratings year with a bang with three free to air movie premieres over the final weekend for the ratings year.

At 8.30pm, Friday Nov 26, after the final Better Homes and Gardens for the year, is the FTA premiere of the fourth Indiana Jones movie – Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of The Crystal Skull. That is followed by Disturbia at 11.05pm.

On Saturday, Nov 27, at 6.30pm is the family movie FTA premiere of Wall-E. That is followed by The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian at 8.40pm – also a FTA premiere.

Saturday November 27 is also the same night that Nine will air the final Hey Hey It’s Saturday for the year – and perhaps forever – which will be followed by Nine’s GTV party special – Lights, Camera, Party! - which celebrates the last night of Nine using the Television City Studios at GTV9 in Richmond, Melbourne. During summer, Nine moves studios to Docklands, offices to Bourke St.

Should be a big night – expect a lot of clips of times gone by.

Although, chances are, that Nine will make a number of amendments to programming for week 48, here is the first iteration of what will be on Nine in the final week of ratings of 2010.

On Sunday November 21, at 6.30pm, is The Enforcers, followed by Hot Pursuit at 7pm. At 7.30pm that night is the Twenty20 All Stars cricket. This means, that the last 60 Minutes for the year will actually be on November 14 at 7.30pm, unless they air an episode on Nov 28 – which is unlikely seeing that is then non-ratings.

At this stage, there will again be NO new episodes of Two and a Men and The Mentalist on Monday November 22. Combined with the repeats on Nov 15, that means the last new episodes for 2010 of both these shows will be this Monday November 8. New CSI: Miami continues at 9.30pm, with new True CSI at 10.30pm on Monday Nov 22.

On Tuesday November 23, there is no Top Gear Australia either – that means the last episode we‘ll see of the show this year is on November 9 at 7.30pm. At 7.30, is a new UK Top Gear, followed by Richard Hammond’s Invisible Worlds at 8.30pm. Survivor remains at 10pm with Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares at 11pm.

Wednesday November 24 has the final of The Block 2010, where the couple whose apartment sell for the highest price in the auction will be announced as the winner of the series. New Big Bang Theory follows at 9pm – which will most likely be the last of the new episodes seen here until 2011 – with new RPA at 9.30.

On Thursday, November 25, it appears that Getaway is off, replaced by Two and a Half Men, while most of the night is TBA – although I’d expect CSI to remain at 8.30pm. Expect some changes there later – maybe…

UPDATED: Shane Warne’s new Cricket Show – Warne’s World premieres Thur Nov 25 at 9.30pm on Nine. It is described by many as being the cricket version of the Footy Show.

Finally, Saturday November 27, at 7.30 is the final of Hey Hey its Saturday for 2010. It’s unlikely the show will return for anything but one off specials from next year on, if at all.

All of this programming is subject to change.