Neighbours

Last night, January 11, was the first night new digital channel ELEVEN was on air. It also signalled the 2011 return for Neighbours, exclusively on the new channel, and in the same 6.30pm timeslot as usual.

Neighbours was watched by 254,000 viewers last night – below half of the numbers the show was pulling on Ten late in 2010, and way below the highs of 800,000 or so of time gone by.

Even though 75% of all people have access to digital TV, the figure of 75% does not translate proportionally over to the digital channels. This figure is based on the fact that the households in question have at least ONE TV that is able to receive digital free to air TV channels.

As many houses these days have two, three, four or more TV’s, the number of TV’s overall that can receive digital free to air would be more like 30% or so.

That being said, 254,000 is not that bad for Neighbours on ELEVEN, especially on a night dominated by extended news coverage on all the main commercial channels. At 254,000, Neighbours was the most watched show on ELEVEN for its opening day, and ranked fourth overall in the 6.30 – 7.00pm timeslot, behind Nine, Seven and Ten. Shamwari on ABC1 was 5^th at 239,000, World News Australia on SBS ONE 6^th with 141,000.

While the future of Neighbours is secure for years to come, thanks to international agreements, 254,000 watching in Australia will be a concern. That figure will increase with the addition of time shift figures, as well as those watching the only repeat at 8.30am, but perhaps Ten should consider playing catch up episodes on the weekend either on Ten or ELEVEN to help re-build the audience.

At 11am*, January 11, 2011, Australia’s 15^th free to air digital** channel ELEVEN launched.

The promo loop – now indicating times when shows would be on – gave way, at the last minute, for a 60 second countdown, culminating in an ELEVEN fireworks display.

Then, in a send up of the start of television in 1956, the guys from Couch Time – Labby and Stav – welcomed us to ELEVEN in a black and white scene. That gave way for the Couch Time Set where they talked further about the new channel and what would be on.

A few minutes later, the Australian premiere of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson began, with an introduction announcing that the show was being seen for the first time in Australia on ELEVEN.

ELEVEN’s first ad was for Neighbours. First commercial ad was for Snickers, followed by Vodafone.

ELEVEN is on digital channel 11, 131 for those who have Foxtel Cable. Regional 55 (SC10 eastern state areas).

* 11am local time – so those not on AEDT may see this before they can it on see ELEVEN itself!

** Excluding Community TV.

Less than 24 hours to go until we have ELEVEN on the air.

Just how well is it going to do in ratings?

Many believe ELEVEN will make a big splash and top all other digital channels in shares. Possibly putting GO! off its perch as the number one digital channel in Australia. Others find the line up devoid of content with little to offer.

With the return of many shows dumped from Ten – like Supernatural, The Office, The Cleveland Show, Nurse Jackie, Californication, as well as New Simpsons, Stargate Universe and Dexter, there is plenty of first run content (note some of these shows will be repeats initially until they pass the episodes already played on Ten).

Unfortunately though, it is not first run content that grabs the viewers on digital channels. One of the reasons why GO is so successful, is not because of its first run content – but because it loads the schedule with high rating favourites like The Big Bang Theory and Top Gear, as well as movie after movie from the extensive library that the Nine network seems to have. GO are notorious in bumping first run content for movies, repeats or random Big Bang Theory marathons.

7TWO have built their success on classic British sitcoms and lifestyle programming. The few first run shows 7TWO does have draw nowhere near the viewers the classics do. 7mate has strength in How I Met Your Mother, Family Guy, American Dad, Gene Simmons, to name a few. Gene Simmons is new, the rest are not (not during summer anyway).

GEM’s direction and recent ratings success is thanks mostly to movies – many of which are actually in HD. Repeats of the Mentalist help, Law and Order as well. The Nine network have become quite good at using movies to prop up digital channel ratings. It seems to work well for them, even though some movies are repeated within a month between two of their channels. Movies help keep an audience in one place for longer, therefore helping increase a channel’s shares.

All digital channels have enjoyed a major boost during summer, thanks to less competition from the main channels.

So where will ELEVEN fit in? Where will the viewers come from?

ELEVEN is expected to impact GO and 7mate the most – the two channels with the biggest target demographic overlap with ELEVEN. Having the Simpsons on at 7.30 Mon – Thur should do well for ELEVEN, Futurama at 8pm as well. But come Wednesday night, animation on ELEVEN goes head to head with animation on 7mate. New Simpsons at 8.30 Wednesday could well be up against new Family Guy on 7mate after summer. Wednesday night in summer is so far is one of 7mate’s best nights. It is also the night most likely to cause viewing and recording conflicts.

Looking at other nights, Thursdays with Stargate Universe will most likely be a weak night for ELEVEN, Fridays are also not likely to do too well – I‘d be surprised if So You Think You Can Dance US will attract big numbers. Saturday night, filled with two hours of what were GO shows as well with Get Smart and Hogan’s Heroes could be a surprise success as the audience is certainly there for classics, but how long before we have had enough of the same stuff all the time?

Looking at Sunday nights, I don’t expect Cycle two of New Zealand’s Next Top Model to set the ratings world on fire, and Smallville should draw some of the fans back who have been waiting for it. Monday – and Dexter could end up one of the most watched shows on ELEVEN, while Supernatural could do well at 8.30.

With ELEVEN offering no repeats of prime time new content programming, viewers will be faced with choices to make, and I think many shows on ELEVEN will rate a lot lower than they should as a result. Hopefully people will start choosing to watch something new and different over repeats of the same stuff on other channels.

Sadly though, it is the repeat content driving the success of the multi channels at the moment. All of them, though, will suffer declines in viewers as soon as new content is back on the main channels for 2011.

Based on summer ratings shares, I think ELEVEN will enter the ratings race with nightly shares between 2 and 3%. Some nights may peak over 4%, the weekly average is likely to be around the 2.5% mark.

In an interview with TV Tonight, Network Ten programmer David Mott has stated that he is committed to the ELEVEN schedule and will let the audience grow. This should mean that we do not see erratic schedule changes to ELEVEN and that the program should remain consistent even as we head into the 2011 ratings season.

ELEVEN will find its place amongst the other four general entertainment channels and the five of them will battle it out for spots in the top five digital channels of each night.

On Wednesday, we will know how ELEVEN’s first night faired.

Counting down the days until ELEVEN? Well, so are the guys at TEN! Here’s their latest release:

HELLO ELEVEN! Australia’s newest free-to-air digital channel launches in less than four days and we’re just a little bit excited….

As well as being the exclusive new home of the much-loved Neighbours and everyone’s fave animated series, all new The Simpsons, ELEVEN is bursting with brand new episodes of some cracking new US content, including Dexter, Futurama, The Office, Nurse Jackie, Californication, Supernatural, Smallville, and 90210.

Want more? You got it. ELEVEN will also have access to a huge library of classic shows, thanks to our friends at CBS. Think Everybody loves Raymond, Frasier, JAG, Judging Amy, Happy Days and MacGyver, all on ELEVEN.

Network Ten Chief Programming Officer David Mott said: “We are proud to be able to deliver a new free-to-air channel to Australian viewers that has a solid breadth of standalone programs. ELEVEN is bright, bubbly and entertaining and we believe it will be a hit with viewers.”

ELEVEN kicks off proceedings at 11am on Tuesday, January 11, with a very special episode of CBS hit show The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, which will continue to be a permanent fixture in the late night line-up on ELEVEN.

And here is the prime time TV guide for ELEVEN as a spreadsheet. This suggests commitment to their schedule, beyond ratings related last minute changes we see on other digital channels.

Christmas is done for another year, New Years’ has come and gone and we are deep in the middle of summer as far as TV is concerned – the part of the year where the free to air programming hits its lowest point for the year. In fact, the New Year’s weekend marks the half way point of summer TV.

Now as we move into January 2011, its just over a month until ratings season and therefore (hopefully) decent programming returns to free to air TV while Pay TV has a number of new shows premiering or returning throughout January.

There’ll be more competition in the free to air space with the launch of new channel ELEVEN at 11am on Tuesday January 11, 2011. When ELEVEN goes to air next week, the 2011 return of Neighbours will be seen at 6.30pm weeknights, starting from Tuesday Jan 11. There will be an extra episode on Friday to make up for the one not aired on Monday.

The first show on ELEVEN will be the Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Shows on the first night include The Simpsons at 7.30, Futurama, The Office and Nurse Jackie and Californication. The Cleveland Show, new Simpsons, Stargate Universe, 90210 and the American So You Think You Can Dance are amongst prime time viewing on the new channel for the rest of the week.

Pay TV has the new season of American Idol on FOX8 from Jan 19, as well as new Idol rival Live to Dance from Jan 20 featuring Paula Abdul as one of the judges, and Andrew G as host. DJ reality series the Stafford Brothers gets underway on FOX8 on Jan 21. New Chuck comes to FOX8 on a new night – Sundays from Jan 23 while new supernatural series The Gates premieres Mon Jan 24 on FOX8.

The third season of Come Dine with Me Australia will be on Lifestyle from Mon Jan 17 at 8.30pm and new Top Chef starts on Arena Jan 10. Meanwhile, the UK version of Junior Masterchef is on Lifestyle Food from Jan 3.

Awards season kicks off in January, with the Critics Choice Awards playing Jan 15 on Starpics, followed by the Golden Globes on Jan 17 on FOX8. Both will be seen in HD on their respective HD channels. Two weeks later, is the Screen Actors Guild Awards, followed by BAFTA’s in Feb, then the big one – the Oscars – seen here Feb 28 – which is already being promoted as exclusively live in HD on Starpics 1HD. Even if Nine do show the ceremony live this year, it will not be in HD unless they simulcast on GEM – which I dare say is not likely.

On Seven, its just two weeks of repeats, New Zealand factuals and general summer programming to go before the Australian Open takes over the schedule, culminating in the Men’s Final on the night of Sunday Jan 30. Leading up to then is the Brisbane international, The Kooyong Classic and the Medibank International from Sydney, before the Australian Open kicks off on Monday Jan 17. Ten also have some tennis, with the Hopman Cup from Perth airing live on ONE HD late afternoon, into the evenings as well as Ten later at night. The final is on Sat Jan 8 on both ONE HD and Ten from 6pm eastern.

While tennis takes over Seven, Nine has plenty of Cricket with the final Ashes Test his week in Sydney, the Commonwealth Bank one Day series, and KFC Twenty/20′s. On Jan 16, you can even see the women’s Twenty/20 on ABC1.

Shows returning to GO! in January include new seasons of V and Fringe on Jan 19, new Hellcats Jan 24 and The Vampire Diaries Jan 31. The InBetweeners is back with new episodes Jan 13.

Home and Away for 2011 returns Jan 24 at 7pm. Then, after the tennis on Seven, expect to see returns of Desperate Housewives, Brothers and Sisters, Packed to the Rafters, my Kitchen Rules as well as the premiere of the new series Conviction Kitchen.

Going up against Seven will be Nine with new episodes of Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, The Mentalist as well as new shows like Ben Elton live from Planet Earth, Mike and Molloy and Sh*t My Dad Says. All in Feb, as well as the most daring Underbelly productions yet…. We’ve all seen the 2011 ads…

Ten will kick of the ratings year with Biggest Loser Families – already in lengthy sneak peeks, with new episodes of Glee, Undercover Boss, The Good Wife, House, Burn Notice as well as new shows like Hawaii Five-O and Blue Bloods. Like most years, Ten will most likely start new episodes of most of their shows a week before ratings begins, so expect a new line up on Ten from Sunday Jan 30 – not too long to wait now!

The big news for Ten though for 2011 is the new News line up. 6pm with George Negus starts Mon Jan 24, followed by the new local 6.30pm bulletins. In NSW, Sandra Sully will be the host. Ten already have extensive promotions about the new News line up – which, when you include the 7pm Project amounts to two and a half hours of news and news related discussion every night.

Ratings for 2011 officially kicks off Sunday Feb 6, while the Easter non-ratings break runs from April 17-30. The Logies are set to go off on May 1, 2011, while that Royal Wedding is a few days earlier on April 29. One Justin Bieber is touring Australia then as well – hotly tipped to perform at the Logies.

The AFL season for 2011 starts Thur March 24, with the Grand Final on Saturday October 1, 2011. After last year’s drawn Grand Final, the AFL chose not to change the rules, so in the event of another draw, there will be another replay a week later.

The NRL season for 2011 starts with round 1 Fri March 11, with the Grand Final on Sunday October 2. The annual City Vs County match will be on Fri May 6, while the three State of Origins for 2011 are Wed May 25, June 15 and July 6.

At the risk of wishing the year away too quickly already, ratings for 2011 ends on Sat Nov 26. Christmas will be on a Sunday, and New Years Eve the last Saturday for the year. That makes 2011 a 53 week year as far as TV (and business) weeks go – this has to happen every 5-6 years as each year starts one day later (or two when a leap year is involved), and a year is actually 52 weeks and 1 day long (or two in a leap year) – otherwise week 52 and then week 1 that follows would get earlier each year. Week 1 for 2011 was the week including Sun Dec 26 – Jan 1, week 1 for 2012 will be the week including Jan 1 – Jan 7, 2012.

That’s the summary of January 2011 and a brief look into the rest of 2011 for now. In 2011, we’ll keep you posted with all the TV news, programming information, programming amendments and general TV related stuff as stories and information comes to hand.

Sassier, sexier, and with explosive storylines in store for 2011, Neighbours is back, and ELEVEN wants it all to itself.

Snatching it back from channel TEN, the bosses at ELEVEN have decided to play Neighbours first and exclusively on the channels launch day, Tuesday 11th, January 2011.

Then, each weekday from 6.30pm, Neighbours will settle into its new home.

New Year. New start. New Neighbours.

UPDATED.

Neighbours returns Jan 11, 2011 on new digital channel Eleven only. Not Jan 3 on Ten.

At this stage, there are NO plans for Neighbours to air on Ten as well either simulcast or at any other time.

Following is the now incorrect text from the original post:

Neighbours will only be off for two weeks. It returns to Ten at 6.30pm, Monday January 3, 2011.

On Tuesday January 11, 2011, new channel Eleven launches. Neighbours will be seen on Eleven at 6.30pm weeknights from that night on.

But to help educate viewers about the move to Eleven, Neighbours will remain on Ten as well as Eleven until Friday January 21.

Then, from Monday January 24, Neighbours will be exclusively on Eleven only.

On Ten, at 6.30pm Monday January 24, the new 6pm news programming kicks off, with George Negus at 6pm and state based local news services at 6.30pm.

So – just how will Eleven do in the ratings?

As both Seven and Nine have surged ahead with their multi-channel platforms, Ten have been somewhat left behind. ONE HD shares sit around the 1% mark. 7TWO and GO regularly enjoy shares of up to 5% and beyond. 7mate sometimes not far behind – around the 3% mark, GEM usually between 2-3%. Added to primary channel shares of 20% or more, the Seven and Nine networks end up with network shares almost double that of Ten.

Eleven, as a general entertainment channel should bring similar figures to what GO does for Nine. While GO aims for 16-39’s mostly, Eleven is looking to capture 13-29’s as its core audience and promises a lot of first run content. The amount of first run content on digital channels tends to be quite low as the networks fill schedules with repeats and shows they believe will rate well, rather than taking risks.

Ten have indicated that the channel will be its own brand and will not confuse the matter by having Eleven with the same shows that Ten has – Nine and GO share many titles, Nine and GEM also double up on shows (although using GEM to air Nine content in HD is not a bad idea) while Seven and 7mate share a number of shows as well.

If programmed well, promoted well, and left to develop as a new brand, Eleven should help bring the Ten network back into what has become a two horse ratings race between Seven and Nine. Add to that Ten’s new evening news strategy, as well as some bold new titles for 2011 and returning hits like Masterchef, we could finally see a year with three networks running to win the ratings.

It is now only five weeks to the day before Ten’s new digital channel Eleven launches on January 11, 2011. Eleven will be the 15^th free to air digital channel, excluding community channels, and Ten’s third channel. Seven and Nine have had their three channels since late September.

But with five weeks to go, there is still no official announcement from Southern Cross Ten in relation to whether the regionals will be able to see Eleven at the same time as their capital city counterparts will. It is believed that Southern Cross are working towards delivering the channel but are not able to commit yet to the same start date of January 11. Their plan is to “hopefully” have Eleven on the air at the same time.

If Eleven is not able to launch in regional areas at the same time, these areas will be left behind with shows like Neighbours moving exclusively to Eleven in 2011. Southern Cross may have to consider airing Neighbours catch up episodes in this event so that fans do not miss out. Either that or they will all be directed to watch catch up episodes online – there are still a lot of people who do not like to watch their TV online.

Last month, the government announced a $34 million package over four years to help regional TV networks roll out extra digital channels. Since then, nothing has been heard from any of the regional networks about roll out into many areas of Australia that do not yet have existing digital channels. Southern Cross in particular, when Ten launched Eleven, raised concerns of the profitability of the channel and that they would have to weigh out if it was in the best interests of their share holders to carry the new digital channel.

Meanwhile, there is not yet an agreement in place for the retransmission of Eleven on Foxtel. Cable subscribers will most likely receive Eleven on channel 131, but satellite may be left behind. Foxtel satellite currently retransmits 7TWO and GO, as well as all ABC and SBS channels, but not 7mate, GEM and ONE. A limited number of cable subscribers do receive 7mate, GEM and ONE via Foxtel.

Eleven launches January 11, 2011 in metro areas only. The first program guide for the channel should be released just prior to Christmas.

 Some info from TV Tonight.

6.30pm FRIday, December 3 on Ten

Despite declan’s ultimatum, Rebecca commits to re- newing her marriage vows in order to protect her son. Still in the dark, declan can’t believe she’s staying with Paul, while Michael is hurt and confused by her public declaration of love. When she tries to explain, Michael retreats, conceding it’s all too complicated for him. Rebecca’s devastated. noticing the toll his blackmail is taking on her, Paul swallows his pride and offers Rebecca a break.