Airdate: Who Wants to be a Millionaire?

Reports today that the return of Who Wants to be a Millionaire is set for Monday October 22.

The show is taking over from Temptation in the 7pm timeslot. Ed Phillips' game show is hardly faring that poorly, and with numbers down for 1 vs 100 (due in part to poor lead-ins), it's an unusual programming move.

Given the show is returning at such a late stage of the year, one would have to presume this is a programming experiment by the heads at Nine. There will be about one month of the ratings season left to play. If it doesn't work it would logically peter out at year's end. If it does work, it gives Nine some ideas for 2008. Temptation, which is said to return, could move to a timeslot prior to the 6pm News.

But what do you think? Are you ready for Eddie five nights a week?

Source: Daily Telegraph (Media Spy).
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Chaser case adjourned

As expected the case against The Chaser cast and crew over their APEC stunt has been adjourned until December.

An ABC statement follows:

Today ABC lawyers, with the consent of the Police Prosecutor, appeared in the Downing Centre Local Court and sought and obtained orders from the Court adjourning the cases involving the eleven members of The Chaser’s War on Everything cast and crew for alleged breaches of the APEC Meeting (Police Powers) Act 2007.

No pleas were required to be entered by any defendant and in the case of each defendant, bail was dispensed with.

The matter was adjourned until 5 December 2007. Read more...

US TV Ratings

Now the first week of official Fall ratings are over, I'm adding US TV Ratings to this blog, as a reference point for how some of your favourite shows are faring in the land of television.

Nielsen only officially allows publication of the Top 20.

Week ending Oct 15 - 21 2007
1 CSI 21,219,000
2 Dancing W/The Stars 19,403,000
3 Fox Mlb Alcs Game 7(S) 19,154,000
4 Grey's Anatomy 18,035,000
5 Desperate Housewives 18,214,000
6 NCIS 17,550,000
7 Dancing W/Stars Result 17,304,000
8 CSI: Miami 15,592,000
9 Criminal Minds 15,028,000
10 Samantha Who? 14,424,000
11 Survivor: China 14,026,000
12 CSI NY 13,994,000
13 Extreme Makeover 13,725,000
14 Two And A Half Men 13,693,000
15 NBC Sunday Night Football 13,290,000
16 Fox Mlb Alcs Game 7-Pre(S) 13,319,000
17 Fox Mlb Alcs Game 5(S) 13,101,000
18 The OT 12,644,000
19 Law And Order: SVU 12,508,000
20 Fox Mlb Alcs Game 4(S) 12,367,000


Week ending Oct 8 - 14 2007
1. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation 19,794,000
2. Dancing With the Stars (Mon.) 19,623,000
3. Grey's Anatomy 19,036,000
4. Desperate Housewives 18,892,000
5. House 18,033,000
6. 60 Minutes 17,227,000
7. Dancing With the Stars (Tue.) 16,362,000
8. NCIS 16,357,000
9. Criminal Minds 14,554,000
10. CSI: Miami14,452,000
11. Survivor: China 14,222,000
12. Cold Case 13,876,000
13. Without a Trace 13,616,000
14. CSI: NY 13,431,000
15. Two and a Half Men 13,016,000
16. Deal or No Deal 12,575,000
17. Brothers & Sisters 12,514,000
18. Private Practice 12,420,000
19. Law & Order: SVU 12,303,000
20. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 12,227,000


Week ending Oct 1 - 7 2007
1. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation 20,970,000
2. Dancing with the Stars – Monday 20,210,000
3. Grey’s Anatomy 18,510,000
4. Sunday Night Football 18,300,000
5. Desperate Housewives 17,820,000
6. House 17,440,000
7. NCIS 16,420,000
8. Dancing with the Stars – Tuesday 15,900,000
9. CSI: Miami 14,720,000
10. Criminal Minds 14,560,000
11. Without A Trace 14,200,000
12. Sunday Afternoon Football 14,190,000
13. Survivor: China 14,140,000
14. Pushing Daisies 13,030,000
15. Cold Case 13,020,000
16. CSI: NY 12,690,000
17. Private Practice 12,450,000
18. Heroes 11,960,000
19. Brothers & Sisters 11,910,000
20. Law & Order: SVU 11,622,000

Week ending Sept 24 - 30 2007.

1. CSI 25,220,000
2. Dancing W/The Stars 21,247,000
3. Grey's Anatomy 20,926,000
4. Desperate Housewives 19,317,000
5. Dancing W/Stars Sp 18,505,000
6. House 18,307,000
7. Heroes 16,972,000*
8. Dancing W/Stars Result 16,811,000
9. Without A Trace 16,676,000
10. CSI: Miami 15,078,000
11. NBC Sunday Night Football 15,013,000
12. Private Practice 14,406,000
13. Extreme Makeover 14,250,000
14. Survivor: China 14,145,000
15. Bionic Woman 13,910,000
16. NCIS 13,894,000
17. Cold Case 13,705,000
18. Two And A Half Men 13,582,000
19. Brothers & Sisters 12,832,000
20. 60 Minutes 12,823,000

* includes repeat screening as per new Nielsen ruling.

See also: Practice makes perfect, so far...
Ratings Archive.

This section updates mid-week.
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Euro sports deal for Foxtel

Foxtel will offer its first "add-on" channel provided by a separate supplier, having signed the Irish-based Setanta Sports network.

Previously only screening in Aussie pubs, the sports channel will offer Euro sports including the Six Nations games, Scottish FA Cup, Celtic League plus South American soccer.

Under an agreement approved by the ACCC, viewers who want the channel will need to deal directly with Setanta, at an additional rate of $14.95 a month. But it is a third-party arrangement the Seven Network is unhappy about, and court proceedings on a longer and more involved dispute between the two networks will continue this month.

Setanta will also be available on Austar in November.

Source: The Australian. Read more...

Everybody gotta cut loose

Well, you wanted it so here it is, Kath and Kel on Dancing with the Stars. As the top couple of the Jazzy B Dance Troupe from Bonbeach, these two did everything from the El Paso Doble to Footloose to a bit of the Tango. Naturally they scored a standing ovation from the audience. And then, the judges got in on the act... sort of....



Clip goes for 9.30 minutes.

Whichever Producer decided the judges should mark them as genuine contestants was a miscalculation, and it left a somewhat disappointing note to an otherwise hilarious appearance. They really should have just enthused (as Sonia Kruger did) and left the comedy to the two experts. Can we see the Darren Hayes' Insatiable routine next time? Read more...

TEN's Tuesdays: hit Repeat.

This is a photo of I Love Lucy, generally regarded as the most repeated show in television history. It's also an hilarious episode with Lucy wreaking havoc on an assembly line. I thought of it when looking over TEN's upcoming Tuesday programming.

Now that new episodes of Numb3rs have ended, TEN has an assembly line of repeat television as its mainstay prime time viewing. From 7pm - 10:30pm it is now wall to wall repeat TV: Futurama, The Simpsons (2 eps), NCIS and Numb3rs.

It's not until we reach TEN Late News with Sports Tonight that we actually arrive at anything first-run since Neighbours at 6:30pm. It's as if TEN has given up the Tuesday fight to Dancing with the Stars. Even Nine hasn't completely relinquished that battle.

In fairness, TEN has a host of new shows on Wednesdays with brand new eps of House and Life (so new they have only aired in the US) and Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? On Mondays they will soon add new Supernatural.

But a whole night of repeats? It isn't even summer yet, guys! What are we getting then? I Love Lucy?

Hmm.... on second thoughts, that isn't such a bad idea. Read more...