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Ryan Ginns has edged out fellow finalists Travis Lunardi and Skye Wheatley-Young to take out 2014's Big Brother. Courtesy Channel 9
- news.com.au
- 27 Nov 2014
- Entertainment
Block rockers ... Darren and Deanne from The Block Glasshouse. Source: Supplied
THE 2014 TV ratings year is done and dusted — and here are the 10 top lessons that executives from the Aussie TV networks should have learned.
1. VIEWERS WON’T WATCH SECOND-RATE SHOWS
Sounds obvious, but it’s true. The final month of ratings was chock-full of duds including Big Brother, The Big Adventure, and Beauty and the Geek. Viewers caught on quickly that these show’s weren’t particularly good — and avoided them like the plague.
Big dud ... Winner Ryan was happy, but not enough viewers means Big Brother is unlikely to return in 2015. Source: Supplied
2. WE’RE STILL NOT TIRED OF COOKING AND RENOVATION SHOWS
If anyone thought that viewers would get sick of renovation and cooking shows in 2014 they were in for a shock. My Kitchen Rules, two series of The Block (Fans v Faves and Glasshouse), MasterChef and House Rules all smashed the ratings. No wonder Seven has commissioned two series of House Rules next year, as well as new cooking/renovation show Restaurant Revolution.
3. BUT TALENT SHOWS ARE IN TROUBLE
Has Australia run out of talent? Nine paid big money to sign Kylie Minogue and Will.i.am but that didn’t stop The Voice from being off key in 2014. The finale of Nine’s talent show got half last year’s viewers. Winner Anja Nissen flopped on the charts. Seven’s The X Factor also had a sizeable audience drop. The Voice Kids started strongly but quickly faltered and won’t be back. Nine has already promised a major overhaul of The Voice for 2015.
4. AUSSIE VIEWERS LOVE NOSTALGIA
Seven’s miniseries INXS: Never Tear Us Apart was one of the year’s biggest hits. Around 2 million viewers lapped up Luke Arnold’s portrait of rocker Michael Hutchence with Samantha Jade as Kylie Minogue. The ABC grabbed one million viewers-plus for Countdown: Do Yourself a Favour. Those figures bode well for Ten’s upcoming miniseries on Aussie race car legend Peter Brock.
Nostalgia rules ... Luke Arnold as Michael Hutchence in INXS: Never Tear Us Apart Source: Supplied
5. OLDER VIEWERS COUNT
TV networks will tell you viewers aged 55 plus aren’t of interest to them, or to advertisers. They only want cashed-up younger viewers. It’s a shortsighted policy. It is the oldies that helped boost the ratings of all of 2014’s biggest hits. Seven couldn’t have staked its claim to be the top rating network of 2014 if it wasn’t for its sizeable older audience. It is time that audience — more loyal to shows than younger viewers — got some respect.
6. NO AUSSIE DRAMA IS SAFE
A Place to Call Home was one of the year’s top rating dramas with around 1.1 million viewers across the five capital cities, but that didn’t stop Seven from axing it. Thankfully Foxtel commissioned a third series. Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries is the ABC’s most popular drama but it took over a year to get a third series greenlit. Offspring is Ten’s top drama but there is still no word on series six. High production costs and too much catch-up viewing is hurting. New contemporary dramas The Code, Secrets & Lies, and Party Tricks all stiffed.
Nobody is safe ... Even the popular Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries starring Essie Davis. Source: Supplied
7. THE LOGIES IS ON THE ROPES
Remember when the Logie Awards telecast was a must-watch event, one of the highest rating shows of the year? Not anymore. This year’s telecast tanked with just 962,000 viewers (the Red Carpet scored 974,000) — soundly beaten by My Kitchen Rules (1.912 million) and Modern Family: Australia (1.049 million). Nine has a mighty challenge getting this back on track in 2015.
8. IT IS POSSIBLE TO TURN A SHOW AROUND
Last year’s MasterChef Australia was such a dud that critics wondered whether how much longer it could last. Ten promised this year’s show would get back to basics — and it delivered in spades. Judges Matt Preston, George Calombaris and Gary Mehigan were back to their best, clearly energised by the standard of the contestants. Ratings increased around 20 per cent. Ten is hoping it can do the same to The Biggest Loser in 2015.
Back in form ... MasterChef's Matt Preston. Source: News Corp Australia
9. VIEWERS WILL PUNISH SHOWS THAT DON’T STICK TO A CONSISENT TIME SLOT
Even the most rabid Big Brother fan would have had trouble keeping track of the various start times on Nine this year. The Sonia Kruger-hosted reality show went from 7.30pm to 8pm to 8.30pm, 8.40pm and beyond across different nights. The same thing happened to The Big Adventure which Seven bounced around like a yoyo. Homeland was a victim on Ten. Angry viewers switched off.
10. DON’T IGNORE THE DIGITAL CHANNELS
The most internationally acclaimed Aussie show of recent times, Josh Thomas’s Please Like Me, screens on ABC2. Paul Fenech took Bogan Hunters to 7 Mate and scored a hit. Locally-produced sketch comedy series Kinne, also on 7 Mate, won over the critics. The networks are taking chances — and they are paying off.
They do ... Please Like Me’s Josh Thomas. Source: Supplied
