Smallville

Cameron Diaz to film Man vs Wild episode

Following the news Jake Gyllenhaal had filmed an episode of Man vs Wild with Bear Grylls, it’s been announced that Cameron Diaz will film an episode also. Grylls confirmed in a recent interview: “She’s agreed to it, which is great. So we’re going to do it in due course.”

Guest stars confirmed for new Gervais comedy

Sting, Steve Carell and Johnny Depp have all been officially confirmed to appear in Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant’s new comedy series Life’s Too Short. The trio will appear in cameo roles on the sitcom that centres on the life of dwarf actor Warwick Davis.

Project Runway guest judges announced

Kim Kardashian, Christina Ricci, Zoe Saldana and Malin Akerman have all been confirmed to make guest judging appearances on the new season of Project Runway. 

Smallville actor jailed

A former Smallville and ER actor has been sentenced to one year in prison for his role in a drug ring. Sam Jones III pleaded guilty to conspiracy to sell large quantities of the painkiller Oxycodone.

Connelly to direct Entourage episode

Entourage actor Kevin Connolly will step behind the camera to direct the penultimate episode of the comedy/drama series this year. Connolly, who play Eric Murphy, has directed a previous episode of the series as well as well as a film.

Berry returning to TV?

Reports are suggesting that actress Halle Berry will feature in a new TV project called Higher Learning. Berry’s last regular TV role was back in 1991.

Smallville actress joins pilot

Smallville actress Erica Durance has signed on to feature in a new pilot described as a “sexy, fast-paced drama”. Durance featured on Smallville as Lois lane.

Heroes actress lands Dexter role

Heroes actress Brea Grant has signed on for a role in the sixth season of Dexter. Grant has landed a recurring role in the series alongside new additions Mos Def, Colin Hanks and Billy Brown.

On Sunday nights on ELEVEN, at 7.30pm from April 17, America’s Next Top model fills the timeslot about to be vacated by New Zealand’s Next Top Model after its April 10 finale. It starts with cycle 7 – which aired on FOX8 a few years ago.

On Mondays April 18, Supernatural continues into its 6^th season with new episodes. On Saturday April 30, at 10.30pm, 90210 reaches new episodes never before screened in Australia.

Other shows continuing with new episodes on ELEVEN include: Neighbours, Smallville, Raising Hope, The Office, Nurse Jackie, The Cleveland Show, Stargate Universe (new to ELEVEN) and So You Think You Can Dance USA.

Movies on ELEVEN include The Beach on Sunday April 17, Mr Brooks on Saturday April 23, Buffy The Vampire Slayer on Sunday April 24 and Juno on Saturday April 30. ELEVEN’s movies start at 8.30pm.

 

TV guide for ELEVEN, updated March 11th, 2011

90210 on Saturday nights (why not afternoons), after the 8.30pm movie, from April 2.

Prime time (see end of post for day time and late night / early morning regular programming):

Sundays
6.00 Family Ties
6.30 Everybody Loves Raymond
7.00 Everybody Loves Raymond
7.30 New Zealands Next Top Model – Cycle 2
8.30 movie
10.30 Smallville S8
11.30 Smallville S8
12.30 Sabrina then usual overnight programming

Monday – Friday 6.00 – 7.30pm
6.00 Sabrina the Teenage Witch. 6.25 Couch Time
6.30 Neighbours
7.00 Everybody Love Raymond

Mondays
7.30 Futurama
8.00 Futurama
8.30 Supernatural NEW S5
9.30 Dexter S4
10.30 The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson

Tuesdays
7.30 The Simpsons
8.00 Futurama
8.30 Raising Hope
9.00 The Office NEW
9.30 Nurse Jackie S2
10.05 Californication NEW S4
10.40 The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson

Wednesdays
7.30 The All New Simpsons
8.00 Futurama New
8.30 The Simpsons
9.00 The Cleveland Show
9.30 Bob’s Burgers
10.00 King of the Hill
10.30 The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson

Thursdays
7.30 The Simpsons
8.00 The Simpsons
8.30 Stargate Universe
9.30 Star Trek – Next Generation
10.30 The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson

Fridays
7.30 So You Think You Can Dance (US)
9.20 Sex and the City
10.30 The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson

Saturdays
6.00 Family Ties
6.30 Everybody Loves Raymond
7.00 Everybody Loves Raymond
7.30 Frasier
8.00 Everybody Loves Raymond
8.30 Movie
10.30 Angel March 12, 19, 26.
10.30 90210 from Sat April 2.
11.30 Cheers, Rosanne then usual overnight programming

Daily: Late night / early morning
11.30pm Cheers
12.00am Rosanne
12.30 Sabrina the Teenage Witch
1.00 Mork and Mindy
1.30 Happy Days
2.00 The Love Boat
3.00 Diagnosis Murder
4.00 Touched by an Angel
5.00 7th Heaven

Daily: Mornings and day time
6.00am Jag
7.00 Macgyver
8.00 The Brady Bunch
8.30 Weekdays Neighbours encore from previous weeknight
8.30 Everybody Loves Raymond Sat and Sun
9.00 Touched by an Angel
10.00 7th Heaven
11.00 The Love Boat
12.00pm Diagnosis Murder
1.00 Jag
2.00 Macgyver
3.00 Cheers
3.30 Rosanne. 3.55 Couch Time
4.00 Family Ties
4.30 Mork and Mindy. 4.55 Couch Time
5.00 Happy Days
5.30 The Brady Bunch. 5.55 Couch Time

Programming subject to change.

Just as I was praising ELEVEN for having one of the most stable schedules out of any of the commercial TV channels, they have made some changes affecting weekday afternoons and Sunday nights.

From this Sunday February 27, Smallville will move to 10.30pm and Angel is out of the schedule. At 8.30 will be the movie You, Me and Dupree.

With ELEVEN now adding movies to Sunday nights, there are movies on five out of six of the commercial digital multichannels.

From Monday Feb 28, Family Ties and Sabrina the Teenage Witch will swap timeslots.

Sabrina will move to 6pm, Family Ties to 4pm. At this stage, the late night replays remain as scheduled.

 

Looking at the ratings figures for Sunday night, there is little that stands out above the million mark – in fact, only seven shows made it above a million, with Seven News on 1.3 million the highest.

Long gone, it appears, are the days when Sunday night, as one of the big viewing nights on free to air TV, where shows would easily push the 1.5 million mark or higher. The night now with the highest rating shows seems to be Tuesday with Packed to the Rafters and NCIS drawing the big numbers.

Using 8.30 Sunday Feb 13 as an example, Bones only just past 1 million, ABC1 was second in the timeslot with 883,000 watching Poirot, then Ten’s Hawaii Five-O at 827,000 and Nine’s The Mentalist fourth in the timeslot at just 809,000.

Perhaps the problem with 8.30 is there are too many crime procedurals at the same time which have to share the numbers. Hawaii Five-O debuted two weeks ago, Bones returned last week, and The Mentalist last night. Many may have skipped passed the Mentalist in particular, either assuming it was a repeat or not noticing it was on a new night. The Mentalist was not exactly a stand out episode either – afterall, it was the fourth in the season, and not meant to be a season opener (QLD and WA saw that episode last week).

If you look at the digital channels, there are many more viewers to be found. On GO!, the 8.30pm episode of the Big Bang Theory drew 270,000, The Middle at 9pm 152,000. Escape to the Country on 7WO 240,000, the movie Gone in 60 Seconds on 7mate 249,000. On GEM, the encore of Tell Them Lucifer was Here was watched by 107,000. Not a digital multi-channel, but always rating the same as one, SBS ONE’s Dateline drew 149,000 viewers.

With those channels alone, 1,015,000 viewers can be found. And that is before you add ELEVEN (Smallville was below 100,000), ONE HD (movie – Year of the Dogs), ABC2, ABC3, ABC News 24 and SBS TWO – all these channels combined would represent around 180,000 viewers (estimated using shares).

If you then look at how many were watching each network at 8.30, a different picture emerges. Seven is way out in front, with a combined audience of 1,498,000. Nine second with 1,186,000 (8.30-9.00), then Ten around the 950,000 mark, while ABC combined may have been more like 910,000.

The total network numbers are more like what you used to see shows pull on Sunday nights.

Yes, figures are down for the most watched shows on just about any given night now, but the people are still there. It is just that they are now spread over more channels.

This, in effect, redefines what should be considered successful in the multi channel environment. It used to be 1,000,000 as the bench mark, now, with around 25% of viewers watching digital channels, 750,000 looks like it should be the new 1,000,000.

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.

Updated November 9, 2010

The US ratings season 2010/11 started on Monday Sept 20, 2010.

Here is the Throng guide to what shows are starting when in the US and when they might be likely to be seen in Australia.

The list of shows is presented with the date they premiere or return in the US, followed by if or when we are likely to see them in Australia, in alphabetical order.

30 Rock – US Thur Sept 23. New season on Seven, 10.30pm, Thur Oct 21.

90210 – US Mon Sept 13. Will be shown on Eleven in 2011, but we have a lot of catching up to do.

America’s Next Top Model – US Wed Sept 8. FOX8, 7.30pm, Tuesday October 19, 2010

American Dad – US Sunday Oct 3. Expect to see it on 7mate, after we catch up with old episodes not yet shown. American Dad (first run eps, but still S6) on 7mate Wednesday nights 9pm from Sept 29. 

Blue Bloods – Ten in 2011.

Bones – US Thur Sept 23 – Seven currently airing repeats. New Bones on Seven from Sunday, October 18. Last new ep Sun Nov 7. Only showed four of them.

Brothers and Sisters – US Sun Sept 26. Seven in 2011, most likely back to Monday nights after Desperate Housewives.

Castle – US Mon Sept 20. Seven in 2011. They chose not to run the new episodes for now.

Chase – US Mon Sept 20. Part of Nine’s line up still to come in 2010. Yet to see promos though.

Chuck – US Mon Sept 20. Last season still showing on FOX8. New season in 2011 sometime, although FOX8 are notoriously slow to put it on. No chance of a fast track here, but possibly the new season will just carry on once the current ends.

Community – US Wed Sept 22. GO say they plan to fast track. Possibly late Sept or October.

Cougar Town – US Wed Sept 22. Unlikely to be seen on Seven until summer, if at all. Possibly will go to 7TWO.

Criminal Minds – US Wed Sept 22. CONFIRMED for Monday Oct 25 at 8.30pm. Last new ep Mon Nov 15.

CSI - US Thur Sept 23. New season premires on Nine Thursday October 21, 9.30pm.

CSI: Miami - US Sun Oct 3. On Nine from Mon Oct 25, 9.30pm

CSI: NY – US Fri Sept 24. Will be seen on Nine, but not likely to be fast tracked.

Dexter - US Sun Sept 26. New season on Showcase November 2010.

Desperate Housewives – US Sun Sept 26. Seven in 2011. Probably back to Monday nights as always. No surprises there!

Fringe - US Thur Sept 23. On GO Wed Nov 11, 9.30pm.

Glee - US Tue Sept 21. SUPER Fast Tracked to Ten Wed Sept 22, 7.30pm. With the time difference, that is hours after it airs in the US. However – the Comm Games break will see us fall two weeks behind the US. Last new ep Mon Nov 22.

Gossip Girl S5 – US Mon Sept 13. FOX8 Dec 2010. S3 on GO Mon Sept 13, 10.30pm

Grey’s Anatomy - US Thur Sept 23. Seven in 2011. No fast tracking likely.

Hawaii 5-O - US Mon Sept 20. Will be on Ten in 2011. Part of the 2011 line up. Rating very well in US.

Hellcats – US Wed Sept 8. Premiered on GO, Mon Sept 13, 7.30pm.

House - US Mon Sept 20. Fast Tracked to Ten Wed Sept 22, 8.30pm. Two week break for Comm Games sees us fall behind be 2 weeks.

How I Met Your Mother – US Mon Sept 20. New season not till 2011 now. There are still repeats on Seven as well as 7mate.

Human Target - US Fri Oct 1. First season currently on GO, Wednesday nights – and now off GO. Seeing S2 then I would say is unlikely. Returns to GO Wed Oct 20, 8.30pm

Law and Order: SVU - US Wed Sept 22. Possible for Ten after the Commonwealth Games, but more likely not to be seen until 2011. Ten are playing repeats of SVU after the Games.

Law and Order LA – US Tue Sept 28. Will be seen on Seven (!), but not likely to be fast tracked. So maybe not until 2011.

Lie to Me – US Brought forward to Mon Oct 4. WAS Wed Nov 10. Possible fast track for Ten after the Commonwealth Games. Lie to Me season 3 brought forward due to Lone Star being axed.

Medium – US Fri Sept 24. Returns to Ten 9.30pm Sunday October 17. And off from Oct 31.

Mike and Molly - US Mon Sept 20. Not until 2011

Modern Family – US Wed Sept 22. New season premieres on Ten 7pm Sunday October 17, 2010

NCIS & NCIS:LA – US Tue Sept 21. New NCIS after the Commonwealth Games, Tue Oct 19. NCIS: LA will still play in repeats though. Last new ep Tue Nov 23.

Nikita – US Thur Sept 9. ON GO 9.30 Thur Oct 28.

Parenthood - US Tue Sept 14. Seven will contuinue into season 2 when season 1 finishes in November. Last new eps for 2010 8.30pm Tue Nov 23.

Private Practice – US Thur Sept 23. Seven in 2011, together with Grey’s Anatomy – as they do every year.

Raising Hope – US Tue Sept 21. Ten Wed Nov 17 8pm. Continues Nov 24 8pm.

Rules of Engagement - US Mon Sept 20. Doesn’t do too well for Ten, so not likely to see any more of it until either summer or on Eleven in 2011.

Smallville – US Fri Sept 24. Eleven in 2011. Also some catching up to do before we get to this new season.

S**t! My Dad Says – US Thur Sept 23. Not until 2011 now.

Stargate Universe – US Tue Sept 28. SciFi channel will fast track new season – premieres Friday October 1, 8.30pm. Free to air will see previous season in 2011 on Eleven.

Supernatural – US Thur Sept 23. Although we have some catching up to do, this show is planned to air on Ten’s new channel Eleven in 2011. Unlikely to be seen sooner.

Survivor Nicaragua – US Wed Sept 15. Returned to Tuesday nights from Sept 28 at 9pm on Nine. Start time has drifted back towards 10pm though.

The Amazing Race S17 - US Sun Sept 26. On Seven 8.30pm Thursday September 30. Moved to 7.30 Thursdays from Thur Oct 7th.

The Apprentice – US Thur Sept 16. FOX8 Wed Oct 20, 8.30pm.

The Big Bang Theory – US Thur Sept 23. New season starts on Nine, 8.30pm Wed Oct 20.

The Cleveland Show – US Sun Sept 26. Possible for Ten over summer, or Eleven in 2011.

The Defenders – US Wed Sept 22. Ten in 2011.

The Event – US Mon Sept 20. Seven Mondays, 8.30pm. Encores 7mate Thursdays 10.30pm. Moves to 10.30 Mondays from Oct 25. Week off Nov 8. Back Nov 15. Due to break in US.

The Good Wife - US Tue Sept 28. New night – S2 Wednesdays on Ten, after Glee, from Wed Oct 20, 2010.

The Mentalist – US Thur Sept 23. Confirmed on Nine from October 25, 8.30pm. No more new episodes after Nov 8, until 2011.

The Middle – US Wed Sept 22. New eps on GO, 8.30pm Sundays from Nov 7.

The Office – US Thur Sept 23. Possible for Ten over summer. More likely on Eleven in 2011.

The Simpsons - US Sunday Sept 26. New season, ep 1 on Ten, 6.30pm, Friday October 15, 2010. New simpsons continues on Ten on Fridays from Nov 19, also Nov 26.

The Vampire Diaries – US Thur Sept 9. Premiered on GO, Mon Sept 13, 8.30pm. Continues on Monday nights but there is a break coming up Nov 22 and 29 due to break in US. Back (I assume) Dec 6.

The Whole Truth – US Wed Sept 22. Nine in 2011.

Two and a Half Men – US Mon Sept 20. Confirmed for Nine for Oct 18. No more new episodes after Nov 8.

Undercover Boss – US Sun Sept 26. Season 2 premieres on Ten Monday Sept 27, 7.30pm. Hours after US airing. But no further eps to be shown for now, due to Australian version airing 8.30pm Mondays, from Oct 18.

Undercovers – US Wed Sept 22. Another one part of Nine’s 2010 shows but not known if it will air in 2010 or not. Like many of these Nine acquisitions, whether they are rushed to air or not will depend on how they perform in the US. THIS HAS BEEN AXED – so if Nine keep the rights, expect it on GO or GEM.

V – US Jan 2011. GO plan to fast track – so possibly on air soon after the US date.

Note: I have not yet included new shows where the Australian network the show is likely to air on is not yet known. These I will add as I find out, and hopefully keep up to date.

Some of these titles include: Lone Star, Running Wild, The Cape, Detroit 1-8-7, Better With You, The Defenders, Outsourced (possibly one for Seven), School Pride, Outlaw, and No Ordinary Family.

If you there is something left out that you know about, or have questions about any of the content, please let us know.

Fast tracking score sheet (0-7 days after US air date):

Australian ratings for 2010 ends November 27. Pretty well everything new, fast tracked or semi fast tracked after that date on the main channels will either go into repeats or disappear until 2011. Therefore, all networks revert to having 0 fast track points after that date with the exception of Survivor and Amazing Race, possibly the Event will continue on Seven due to low ratings.

Ten – 0. Comm Games sees Ten lose their fast track points.
GO! – 2. Hellcats and The Vampire Diaries
Seven - 2. The Event and The Amazing Race S17

Semi-fast tracked (between 7 and 30 days after US air date):

Nine 5 – Survivor Nicaragua, CSI, CSI: Miami, Two and a Half Men and Big Bang Theory. Note Mentalist now outside what I would consider fast tracked. Also Fringe on GO outside of what I consider fast tracked.
Ten 4 – The Good Wife, Glee, House, NCIS – all starting or back in the week after the Comm Games, from Sunday Oct 17. Note – I won’t count new Simpsons, as it looks like the new ep on Friday Oct 15 is a one off, and not regular programming.
Seven 1 – 30 Rock. Criminal Minds misses out as it is more than 30 days after US air date. Bones now gone into repeats from Nov 14 – so no more points there.

Here I’ll define Fast Tracking as airing within 7 days of US date. I’ll have a second category for semi-fast tracked if shows air between 7 days and 1 month of the US air date. Anything beyond a month I would consider not to be fast tracked. The networks may see it differently, but to me, the less than seven days rules is most appropriate as it means we see an episode of a show before the US sees the next one. Whereas, after 7 days, we end up episodes behind, which means it is easy to see spoilers across the internet.

Updated as at Nov 9.

ELEVEN will be the new and unrivalled destination for fun and bold programming with particular appeal to the ‘distinctly youthful’ market.

In addition, Network Ten Pty Limited (Network Ten) and CBS Studios International (CBS) today announced the proposed formation of a joint venture, ElevenCo Pty Limited (ElevenCo), which will provide content to ELEVEN. Network Ten will hold 66 2/3 per cent equity in ElevenCo, with CBS Studios Inc. holding a 33 1/3 per cent share.

ELEVEN will be unequalled in the Australian free-to-air market in presenting an exciting line-up of demographically-targeted international content with all-new episodes of Futurama, The Cleveland Show, Supernatural, Stargate, Dexter, Smallville, The Office, Nurse Jackie, 90210 and more.

ELEVEN will also become the exclusive free-to-air home of the iconic The Simpsons. In addition, as part of the proposed arrangements, ELEVEN will be able to draw upon more than 70,000 hours of content from CBS’s vast program library, including Everybody Loves Raymond, Sex and the City, JAG, Frasier, Judging Amy, Happy Days and MacGyver, to name a few.

ELEVEN will be broadcast 24 hours a day in standard definition (SD) digital transmission on channel 11, and is planned to commence broadcasting in early 2011. As part of the arrangement to form the proposed joint venture, CBS has agreed to extend its existing long-term output deal with Network Ten.

Network Ten CEO Grant Blackley said: “CBS Studios is a leading producer of quality programming for the global marketplace. In addition to its successful pipeline of content to the CBS network, which has been the lead network in the US for the last 8 out of 10 years, CBS produces content for the youth-targeted network, the CW. Our established output deal with CBS has been long and fruitful, delivering hits such as NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles, Rules of Engagement, Medium, The Good Wife and the much-anticipated Hawaii Five-0 to Australian audiences.”

“Importantly, the joint venture will ensure long term continuity of this prolific US content pipeline, underpinning the sustainability of ELEVEN and also delivering continued supply of high quality international programming for TEN,” Mr Blackley said.

“We are delighted to be deepening and extending this relationship with such a well respected and like-minded partner in CBS, as we bring ELEVEN to market,” he said.
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“ELEVEN will deliver a distinct destination for Australian consumers and advertisers. The channel’s ‘distinctly youthful’ focus will be well suited to fostering a strong level of online community and social media engagement, and the format will provide opportunities for a high level of sponsor integration – such as segment and program hostings – delivered in ways that will resonate with ELEVEN’s audience,” Mr Blackley said.

CBS Studios International President, Armando Nuñez, said: “This new venture is an extension of our international strategy to match CBS’s globally popular content with best-in-class partners – for both establishing new ventures, as well as licensing our shows.”

Added Nuñez: “It is a partnership that expands an already terrific relationship with Network Ten, a leading player in this important television market, while establishing more opportunities for CBS’s world-class content to serve audiences and advertisers across Australia.” The proposed joint venture is subject to approval by FIRB in accordance with the usual obligations associated with investment by overseas investors in Australian media-related activities.

About CBS Studios International

CBS Studios International is the leading supplier of programming to the international television marketplace, licensing to over 200 markets and more than 30 languages across multiple media platforms. CBS Studios International also exports a diverse line-up of formats for local production around the world and participates in international channel ventures. The division distributes content from CBS Television Studios, CBS Television Distribution, SHOWTIME, CBS News, CBS Films and a library of more than 70,000 hours of programming. CBS Studios International is a division of CBS Corporation.