The Vampire Diaries

Tonight’s sudden programming change on GO! that saw the Vampire Diaries dumped at the last minute for a movie has been slammed by disgruntled fans online.

The GO! Facebook page has been inundated by complaints, many of which include fans asking where they can find Vampire Diaries online rather than relying on GO!

The sudden programming changes form GO! No doubt come as a direct result of the channel no longer achieving the leading channel shares in ratings it once received.

There is so little new content now on GO!, and that new content there is, fails to attract viewers.

Why?

Probably because the viewers simply have no faith in the channel in maintaining a regular schedule keeping their favourite shows on.

GO! now rely far too heavily on Two and a Half Men – which this week replaced the Seinfeld 6pm double four nights a week. They also continues to air multiple episodes of The Big Bang Theory on two channels.

Meanwhile, the new look ONE is hitting channel shares over 3%, Masterchef is lifting Ten above Nine, and ELEVEN remains a consistent performer – all helping the Ten network achieve overall shares above that of the Nine network.

And Nine, GEM and GO! slide further down in channel shares.

Erratic programming is not the answer.

Nine need stability, and they need it now.

Viewers should be able to know what they are going to see on any channel, on any given night. Lucky dip programming simply will not work in the long term.

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/gochannel/posts/10150181196262963

Embarrassing programming changes from GEM.

The last minute changes keep coming out of the Nine network. Not only do they change the entire night on GO!, but they also change GEM as well – replacing Embarrassing Bodies with Embarrassing Teenage Bodies at 9.30pm Thursday – now I know by the time I post this, the change has already happened, but it also applies to next Thursday May 19 as well. At least it is the same kind of show, but still, same day changes are just ridiculous.

GO! throw out your TV guides.

And, while on the subject, as already revealed in the TV Guide for GO!, GO! dumped Vampire Diaries tonight in favour for movies. No word yet what will happen next Thursday, but I seriously suggest the Nine network are in panic mode big time. The new look ONE is pulling good numbers, Masterchef is propping up Ten, and as a result, Nine are dropping to third in the ratings battle on many weeknights. Seriously, Nine, erratic programming won’t help you one bit. Has it ever in the past? Other than a random night here and there? Rant over… back to the subject of the day’s amendments – oh .. And guess who…

Nine still the one for programming changes.

Nine have changed their weekend encores. In Their Footsteps will encore at 2pm Sunday May 15 in NSW and QLD instead of BIG. Between the Lines will have another encore at 3pm Sunday May 15 in all markets.

Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club. 7TWO 7.30pm and 9.30pm.

Two of the all time classic 80’s movies, together in one night, both featuring Molly Ringwald.

Sixteen candles:

Samantha’s life is going downhill fast. The 15-year-old has a crush on the most popular boy in school, and the geekiest boy in school has a crush on her. Her sister’s getting married, and with all the excitement, the rest of her family forgets her birthday. Add all this to a pair of horrendously embarrassing grandparents and a foreign exchange student named Long Duc Dong, and you have the makings of a hilarious journey into young womanhood.

The Breakfast Club:

Trapped in a day-long Saturday detention in a Chicago high school library are five kids with nothing in common. At first the disparate group clash, but during the course of the day they begin to bond and find a common enemy in their annoying principal.

AFL: Brisbane Vs St Kilda. Seven 7.30pm VIC, 8.30pm Bris, SA, WA, 11.20pm in Sydney, 7.30pm on 7mate NSW & QLD regional

With no AFL played on Good Friday, Friday night football moves to Thursday night for the first game of round 5 of the AFL premiership season.

The Saints have had the edge over the Lions recently, winning by three goals in the last two clashes. Brisbane won’t have Brendan Fevola, who kicked four goals against the Saints last time, but the Lions are never a walkover at the Gabba.

The Vampire Diaries. GO!, 8.30pm

Back for the rest of season 2 after a lengthy break, airing two weeks after it did in the US. “Know Thy Enemy”.

Isobel arrives unexpectedly and kidnaps Alaric and Elena. Meanwhile, Bonnie tries to increase her powers by harnessing the energy of former witches who were sacrificed, and Katherine steals the moonstone that is the key to the vampire-werewolf curse.

Super Factories: UPS. 7mate, 9.30pm

A free to air first – looking at the largest, most efficient and high-tech automated delivery system on the planet – UPS who deliver over four billion packages per year. Airs in HD.

Massive changes to the schedules of both Nine and GO! have come through overnight.

Part 2.

GO!

Saturday April 16

The usual Saturday night encore of Survivor Redemption Island this weekend will air from 10.40pm, replacing the movie Universal Soldier: The Return. Logan’s Run now starts at 12.30am.

Tuesday April 19.

Survivor has moved – just as we caught up to the US – no episode airs during this week. Now on Tuesday, is the Big Bang Theory at 7.30pm S2E20, followed by a Mike & Molly repeat S1E6 at 8pm. Another Big Bang remains at 8.30pm S2E21, followed by another Mike & molly repeat S1E7 at 9pm.

Thursday April 21.

Vampire Diaries fans – mark this date!

Finally it is back. The Vampire Diaries returns at 8.30pm on GO. New to Thursday nights.

7.30 – 8.30 has changed as well – with Mike & Molly S1E8 at 7.30pm, The Middle at 8pm. The movie has now changed to The House Bunny instead of a movie called GO after 9.30pm.

Monday April 25.

The early Monday night movies are gone. Seinfeld and The Nanny air at 6.30 and 7.00pm respectively.

At 7.30pm, a new series of Wipeout, called Winter Wipeout – the winter version of the show which features Spinning Ski Lift, Snowplow Sweeper and Big Balls with a new twist, the Snow-tivator.

A Top Gear repeat slots into 8.30pm, followed by Adults only Two and a Half Men at 9.30pm, The InBetweeners at 10pm, more Two and a Half Men at 10.30.

Tuesday April 26.

Totally new night on GO as well as Nine.

7.30 The Big Bang Theory, 8.00 Mike & Molly.

At 8.30 the new timeslot for Survivor Redemption Island. Just as we caught up, the show ends up falling back another week behind the US.

And finally – at 9.30pm – is new episodes of Nikita. It returns in a double. Can’t wait.

Thursday April 28.

The Vampire Diaries continues at 8.30pm, the 9.30 movie has changed to Bewitched.

And just as I posted programming amendments for the day – thinking nothing from Nine for once, here comes one from Nine for GO! for TONIGHT – yep – TONIGHT.

Titled “Urgent last minute programming change”, programming tonight on GO! Is completely changed from 9pm, with an extra The Big Bang Theory at 9pm, then not one, not two, not even three or four, but FIVE Adults Only Two and a Half Men episodes in a row from 9.30pm till Midnight.

The five Two and a Half Mens hail from seasons five and six, while $#*! My Dad Says is out – can’t even survive a stable timeslot on GO! and the movie Pineapple Express is also out – well, it was only on a few months ago anyway.

GO! have famously made a number of these super urgent last minute programming changes in its one and a half year history. Some of them are so last minute, that many EPGs do not keep up so people, unless reading websites like this one, have NO IDEA what is on GO! Some TV websites no longer report GO! TV changes as there are so many. 

Yet they continue to do it. It only works because so many people now decide what to watch on TV at the last minute.

But these sorts of changes are an insult to many fans holding out for episodes of new content like The Vampire Diaries, Hellcats, Pretty Little Liars, Fringe, Nikita… the list goes on.

And the list of timeslots where we see The Big Bang Theory and Two and a Half men over Nine and GO just increases further. Tonight’s last minute change is a further three hours of these shows, on top of the multiple timeslots they already occupy.

Maybe Nine are trying to impress Charlie Sheen?

Winning?

I think not.

So what do GO! do when movies are not doing as well as they would like?

Fill up some of the time with The Big Bang Theory.

Last Monday (Feb 21), with a movie at 7.30pm, GO! managed a channel share of just 1.9%. Considering the share averages around 4% usually, 1.9% is disastrous.

Honestly, outside of school holidays and with so much competition now, did they seriously think movies on a Monday evening will do them any ratings favours?

Next Monday (Feb 28), instead of the movie Bring it on, Total Wipeout UK moves into 7.30. This is the first episode of season 4, and is first run content. Bring it on will air on a weekend soon.

Following Total Wipeout, at 8.30pm, is two episodes of The Big Bang Theory.

Vampire Diaries remains at 9.30, with the movie Cellular following instead of Two and a Half Men.

Now GO appear to be ditching the Monday night movie, why not give fans what they want – The Vampire Diaries at 8.30pm, not 9.30pm? Wouldn’t be too hard to do that now… many on the GO Facebook page ask why they have to wait for 9.30 for their weekly Vampire fix.

Yes, 8.30 Monday is a clash with Supernatural on ELEVEN, but how many actually watch both? And besides – it’s easy to record one and watch the other now anyway.

The Vampire Diaries is off during March due to a break in the US. Maybe when it returns, the timeslot could be reconsidered.

Boardwalk Empire wins at SAGs

Boardwalk Empire has continued its success in awards season by picking up two awards at yesterday’s Screen Actors Guild Awardsfor Outstanding Ensemble, Drama Series and for Outstanding Male Actor in a Drama for Steve Buscemi. Modern Family claimed Outstanding Ensemble, Comedy Series while Betty White was honoured for her role in comedy series Hot In Cleveland.

Directors Guild honours Boardwalk Empire, Modern Family

Boardwalk Empire and Modern Family have also proved successful at the recent Directors Guild Awards by claiming the top prizes for drama and comedy. Boardwalk Empire scooped the Outstanding Directorial Achievement in a Dramatic Series award while Modern Family took the same award for comedy.

Piers Morgan’s ratings drop by 75%

Piers Morgan has seen his ratings drop by 75% for his new CNN talkshow in the US, after drawing only 498,000 viewers for the latest episode. Piers Morgan Tonight peaked on January 17 with 2.1 million during his interview with Oprah Winfrey but dropped substantially for his chat with Kardashian sisters, Kim and Kourtney.

Vampire Diaries actor to guest on CSI: NY

Vampire Diaries actor Taylor Kinney will join CSI: NY for a guest role later in the show’s current season. Kinney, who played Mason on The Vampire Diaries, has also appeared in Bones.

Modern Family leads SAG nominations

Modern Family leads the list of TV nominations for the 17th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, picking up four nods. The sitcom has been recognised for Outstanding Performance By An Ensemble In A Comedy Series alongside individual nominations for Ed O’Neill, Sofia Vergara and Ty Burrell. Mad Men, Glee, Dexter and 30 Rock all picked up three nominations for the January 30 awards.

Parents group slams sexualisation of minors on TV

A parents group in the US has criticised the representation of teenage sexuality on TV shows coming out of the US. The Parents Television Council have targeted the likes of The Vampire Diaries, The Big Bang Theory, Glee and Two and A Half Men as being the leading contributors to the sexualisation of underage females. The group says: “TV executives have made it their business to profit off of programmes that depict teen girls blissfully being sexualised by casual partners… Clearly there are inherent dangers in having a cultural milieu that accepts and encourages this sexual contradiction of encouraging underage girls to look sexy, yet realising they know very little about what it means to be sexual.”

Alba to produce new comedy pilot

Jessica Alba has signed on to produce a new comedy pilot for American network CBS which has the working title of The Mother of All Something. Alba is named as a “non-writing producer” on the pilot which will centre on a Canadian blogger and tweeter.

Coro Street to move home

The set of Coronation Street is set to be completely rebuilt with ITV announcing plans recently to create a brand new production complex that will improve the quality of the show. The Manchester-based production will move to a new home at Salford Quays which is also home to a huge BBC development.

 VS

GO! have released their program guide for the week starting January 9, 2011 that therefore covers January 11, the day of the launch of Ten’s new channel Eleven.

In a schedule that is screaming for amendments as January 11 draws closer, there are large chunks of TBA’s on the night of January 11 and also most of January 12 as well. There are chunks of programming that utilise episodes of The Big Bang Theory and The Middle, while a number of new shows return that week.

On Monday January 10, there will be a new episode of Hellcats at 7.30pm, followed by new Pretty Little Liars. New Hellcats is being promoted on GO now, as is The Vampire Diaries which won’t return until Mon Jan 31 as the next new episode of The Vampire Diaries in not even seen in the US until Jan 27.

On Wednesday January 12, the premiere of season 2 of V comes to GO. It airs at 8.30pm. On Thursday, new The Inbetweeners is scheduled to air at 9pm.

 Full details in the GO Guide.

The first TV guide for Eleven is expected to be released close to Christmas. Only then will we have an idea of what will be on Eleven each night, and it will prompt GO to fill in the blanks on their schedule for that week as well as tweak the guide so as to reduce any effect Eleven may have on the GO audience. The demographics of both channels have a huge overlap.

Meanwhile, 7TWO and 7mate schedules for that week (based on highlights anyway) appear much the same as usual. While the launch of Eleven is not likely to affect 7TWO, there may be changes to some 7mate programming to keep viewers on their channel. A possible 7mate Thursday night revamp is likely, with the finale of Stargate Atlantis airing Thur Jan 13.

GO! are at it again mixing up their schedule like a summer cocktail.

This time, the victims are Tuesday and Thursday nights. Both nights now have endured their third change – and its only the third week of summer TV we are about to head into. I have already detailed these changes in the GO! Guide, so you can click here to see what they have done now.

I felt it time though to comment (again) on the number of Two and a Half Men episodes lurking around the schedules of GO and Nine at the moment – some of them are in timeslots that simply don’t make sense.

If you are a fan of the show, there are almost too many episodes to keep up with – and then you risk catching that one that you have seen more than any other at the times when you eventually catch up with the show. The same can be said about The Big Bang Theory although the number of instances of Big Bang have reduced now.

For me, “that” episode of Big Bang that I end up seeing more than any other is when that 15 year old genious gets on Sheldon’s nerves. Having not seen all the episodes yet, I do try and catch Big Bang but – even though I am privy to programming information from Nine and GO – struggle to keep up with when it is on, and what episodes I should be watching and on what channel. Then there is the issue of conflicts when they move nights (although this is nowhere near as bad a problem in summer as it was during ratings season).

Why not play them all, from the start, in order, two episodes a week, in the same timeslot* until they catch up to the last new ones aired? Stable programming and routines are the key to maintaining and building a show’s audience and loyalty. Yes, Big Bang rates well, but imagine how well it could do if on at the same time every week on the same night? Nine or GO? Not both.

Which brings me back to Two and a Half Men.

Two and a Half Men is on 7pm weeknights on Nine until Funniest Home Videos takes over from Dec 21. It is also on at 7.30pm Monday and 7.30pm Wednesday. When Warnie is not on, it also appears at 8.40 and 9.10 Thursday. That’s 9 times in one week on Nine alone.

Then there is GO. 7.30 Sunday, 8.00 Sunday, 10.30 Monday (will come back to this one in a minute…), now 11.30pm Tuesday as well. And there is even one on at 11.30pm Wed Dec 22 as well.

4 or 5 times a week on GO. 9 on Nine. 13 in total. If that is not overkill, what is? No wonder ratings for actual episodes are now sliding.

Now – back to 10.30pm Monday for Two and a Half Men. What are they thinking with that one? In between Pretty Little Liars and Gossip Girl? Every time is see that Two and a Half Men is after Pretty Little Liars I struggle to understand the logic! GO would have a perfect Monday night for the audience that are into shows like Vampire Diaries, Pretty Little Liars and Gossip Girl if they didn’t interrupt the night with Two and a Half Men.

Correct me if I am wrong, but the typical audience for Two and a Half Men is NOTHING like the typical audience for Pretty Little Liars, Gossip Girl and The Vampire Diaries?

Surely that Two and a Half Men on Monday night does not really need to be there. It is the same episode they play on Nine at 7.30pm in any case. Or maybe move it to 11.30, and have Gossip Girl at 10.30. It just seems soooo out of place.

* The Comedy Channel is playing The Big Bang Theory from the start at 6.30pm Sundays in double episodes. That is followed by Modern Family from the start. Both started from Dec 5.