A timely reminder for Eddie. If
Eddie McGuire and his purse strings nursemaids needed a reminder why programs
like Sunday (and to a lesser extent, Business Sunday) matter, they got it yesterday. This
story on the AWB shareholding of Government ministers, as reported by AAP, is the sort that programs like Sunday (as well as The 7.30 Report and Four Corners)
do so well. These sort of stories are now in short supply in Australian TV
and many at the Nine Network fear they will become all too rare given
the cuts in resources to programs like Sunday and Business Sunday. 60 Minutes has virtually vanished from the hard investigative story; only
touching on “hidden camera stuff” in foreign meat works and ignoring big
domestic issues. On the ABC, Four Corners, 7.30 Report and Lateline have
been doing hard work in this area, but in
commercial TV, Sunday leads the way – adding lustre to the sagging
prestige of the
Nine Network. – Glenn Dyer

Another weekly win
for Seven. Seven wins the week again, as expected, even though Nine won Friday
night and then easily beat the competition on Saturday. Seven
won the week 30.0% to 27.3%, 22.3% for Ten and 15.4%
for the ABC. SBS finished with 5.0%. The AFL
and NRL helped Nine on Friday, while on Saturday, Nine won with the News (finishing
second to Seven News nationally and in Sydney), Funniest Home Videos
and the movie Dinotopia. This
week Nine believes it will win with the Commonwealth Games
broadcast from Thursday following Wednesday night’s opening ceremony.
Nine
hopes the Games will boost the underperforming Today show, the 6pm News and A
Current Affair. – Glenn Dyer

Creativity set to return at The Age. The
Age has a “post Games strategy” for its dormant Creative and Media section, according to
senior deputy editor Paul Ramadge. The
Age launched the section last year. It appeared on
Mondays and was described covering “the nexus between creativity and business”.
In practice it was an odd amalgam of media analysis and stories about Victorians
doing clever and creative things. Creative
and Media disappeared over summer, and has yet to reappear. The rumour at
The Age is that it has gone for good, but Ramadge told Crikey: “So far this
year – a Commonwealth Games year – we have given a higher
priority to news specials and the Games. For
example, Howard’s 10th anniversary. We remain wedded to the Creative & Media concept and we have
a post-Games strategy.” – Margaret Simons (who used to write
for Creative and Media)

Last night’s TV
ratings

The Winners Sunday night and it was again Nine narrowly from Seven.
Nine’s 6 pm News. boosted by rugby league in Sydney and Brisbane, was the most
watched program with 1.413 million Seven News was second with 1.355 million,
Where Are They Now on Seven was third with 1.337 million. Nine’s CSI was next
with 1.309 million, 60 Minutes with 1.247 million and Ghost Whisperer on Seven
with 1.237 million. Then CSI Miami with 1.074 million Clever, up over a million
(1.058 million) and Life in the Undergrowth (final episode, ABC) was 10th with
1.058 million. Nine will be happy with Clever recovering the million mark, but
it is still under its opening of 1.156 million a month
ago.
The Losers Losers? Law and Order, SVU (890,000) and Criminal Intent
(776,000) Not so much losers for Ten but underperformers last night. Australia’s
Brainiest Olympian on Ten also wasn’t up to recent form, falling under a million
to 916,000 for the episode on Brainiest Olympians. Tonight on Temptation
a couple of the contestants are competing in an attempt to boost
ratings and get some Games spirit going Yawwwnnn! The rugby league
averaged 244,000 in Sydney (two Brisbane teams are not interesting, and
yet Souths and Easts would have attracted more viewers here. Can’t Nine
split the games into separate markets?) and 283,000 in Brisbane
News & CA Nine had its best Sunday night for some weeks (no ODI
cricket to help) with the return of the Sunday afternoon league. Wins in
Brisbane and Adelaide besides Sydney and Melbourne. But a big loss in Perth, as
usual. 60 Minutes won because of a big audience margin in Perth and a smaller
one in Brisbane, made up for losses in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide to Ghost
Whisperer on Seven. That will not make the lot at tick tick happy! ABC News
averaged 999,000. Ten News at Five averaged 665,000.
The Stats Nine with 29.3% (28.8%) from Seven with 28.9% (27.9%),
Ten with 20.1% (20.7%) the ABC with 18.5% (18.9%) and SBS with 3.2%
(3.7%).
Glenn Dyer’s comments A small but solid win for Nine. Seven would have
been happy with the pick up in share, but then Nine also gained. Ten was down
and the ABC as well, but both would be sort of happy. It was one of those
nights. Tonight, Seven with Desperate Housewives and Commander in Chief plus the
News and Today Tonight. Nine’s 20 to 1 should do well. Will another stunt series
on Temptation tempt viewers back? But the star turn tonight will
be the Bono special on Andrew Denton’s Enough Rope at 9.30pm. It’s being
recorded today without an audience. It could embarrass Seven and Nine in its
timeslot. The “special” with Billy Connolly a couple of weeks ago did. The
Denton mob secured the interview last Thursday and by Friday the ABC had
re-jigged the schedule and organised promotions. For Bono, anything. There’s a
collection of people on Nine, Seven, Ten and the ABC who will be watching
tonight and fuming that their programs, producers and networks couldn’t nail
down this interview. Gee TV can be fun at times. A real
bloodsport!