Stations to run new shows earlier

12Aug07

Source: The Spy Report

Australian viewers will be able to see top programs from the United States including House, Heroes and the controversial new series Californication within days of their American airings from next month.

Changing media use and Internet downloads have forced the hand of Australian free-to-air networks to hold off airing new episodes for five months as per normal at this time of year.

While new TV series air from September in the States, they are delayed in Australia until February when the next ratings season begins. But due to a huge jump in Internet downloads and general web chatter about programs, most of which have weekly cliff-hangers, have forced Australian networks to change their tactics.

While it means local fans will see the latest episodes within days or weeks of US viewers, the move also carries risks for Australian networks.

The Nine and Ten networks have tried the idea, with Jericho, The OC and Survivor airing in line with the States, but Seven will up the ante and will screen off-the-satellite episodes of Heroes and Prison Break from next month. Both started out as monster hits in February with more than 2 million viewers months after airing in the US – but shed half their audiences as audiences saught to find out what was in store on the Internet.

Figures reveal both were the most downloaded shows in Australia this year, and Seven is experimenting by airing them so quickly.

Ten has gone further and will air Life, about a policeman wrongly sentenced for a crime he didn’t commit, and Californication, starring David Duchovny as a sex-addicted novelist and contains extreme language, nudity and attitude, from late next month.

But the risk is both of Ten’s shows have not yet been aired in the US and could be axed within weeks of what is the US’s new season. Ten will also broadcast fresh episodes of sure fire hit House to boost its end of year ratings.

Both networks series will break during summer non-ratings period and return in February. But the downside is that both will have first-half year holes in their schedules next year when the series would otherwise air.

“There are certain shows which have such a global buzz that audiences are connected to and we have to dip our toe in the water this way to see what happens,” a Seven spokesman told The Daily Telegraph.

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