Gone: Hell's Kitchen?

It wasn't on last night, it's on next week, but the week after (June 12) Hell's Kitchen will be replaced by a rerun of Comedy Inc.

So it probably means the show is pulled permanently. Goodbye Gordon F*kn' Ramsay (he was the swearer, not me).

It's getting hard to keep up with Nine's amendments.

And there are more changes from Nine which will flip the planned Antiques Roadshow / Bargain Hunt hour at 5-6pm next week to the same shows in reverse. Bargain Hunt picks up from Series 4 with host Tim Wonnacott.

The switch means National Nine News will now have AR as its lead in. Certainly a point of difference to Deal or no Deal.

Oh and Two and a Half Men is back -sort of.

There will be a repeat screening of "Can You Feel My Finger" episode at 11:30pm on Saturday June 16. It's a Series 1 episode, and we were briefly in Series 3 when Nine pulled the sitcom off air this month.

UPDATE 5 / 6: Hell's Kitchen no longer on tonight. Replaced with Comedy Inc already. Read more...

BB: Works special dropped.

TEN's planned Big Brother special "The Works" scheduled for next Wednesday has been dropped.

The behind-the-scenes look will be replaced by a 1 hour edition of the daily BB, currently without any extra title, and a Simpsons repeat at 8pm.

Big Brother Watch.
Read more...

Nine Adelaide sold to WIN

Channel Nine Adelaide, owned by Southern Cross Media has been sold to WIN Television.

The $105m deal is conditional on regulatory approvals.

PBL owns the east coast Nine stable of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

Source: The Age. Read more...

Seven joins TiVo for 2008

UPDATED: Seven Media has joined with TiVo to bring the popular hardware to Australian and NZ homes in 2008.

TiVo products allow viewers to record programmes on timeshift, similar to Foxtel's IQ, but with the added internet connectability. Although it doesn't allow ad-skipping, it does allow an ad fast-forward facility.

Early word is that Free TV Australia has agreed to a uniform Electronic Programme Guide, which is interesting given Nine has been suing IceTV over the very same matter.

But despite its sexy appeal TiVo has been challenged in the US by other hardware which had allowed ad-skipping. Its penetration in the US is actually about 30-40% market share of a total DVR market.

The joint venture with TiVo certainly empowers Seven with a hardware group while Nine / PBL is embedded with Foxtel. So what about other players in the hardware game?

Foxtel is fighting back hard already, trumpeting its own IQ which will have been in the market for 3 years by the time TiVO arrives. Seven Media, who will be making TiVo available "at a fraction" of the price of the IQ is aimed at the 75% of homes without Foxtel.

Press Release:

Seven Media Group, one of Australia’s leading integrated media companies, and TiVo Inc. (Nasdaq: TIVO), the creator of and a leader in digital video recorders, today announced that Seven will be bringing TiVo to Australia in 2008. Under the mutually-exclusive agreement, Seven Media Group will lead the creation of the digital platform to enable TiVo’s digital video recorder and service, including the award-winning TiVo user interface. The platform will be available for use by other broadcasters and broadband content owners to create a compelling, interactive, free to air digital terrestrial television offering. The TiVo® Service will be available across Australia and will include internationally recognized TiVo features like SeasonPass™ recordings and WishList® searches and allow users to access broadband content on their TV. Through its new partnership with TiVo, Seven will deploy TiVo’s leading interactive advertising capabilities to develop new integrated interactive advertising strategies for their very substantial number of broadcast advertisers.

“Every night, the vast majority of Australians turn to free to air broadcasters for their television entertainment. The Australian television market is on the cusp of a significant migration to digital television that will greatly expand the choices available on free-to-air television ” said Tom Rogers, President and CEO of TiVo. “We are excited to play a key role in driving this transition by partnering with the top television network in the country to establish Seven’s leadership of this transformation.”

Added Rogers, “This new partnership with Seven will utilize TiVo’s content search and discovery features, TiVo’s powerful advertising capabilities and broadband video straight to the TV set. This relationship demonstrates our ability to deploy the TiVo service on the digital terrestrial, or DVB-T standard, which has now been globally adopted and will represent more than 100 million homes by 2009. It demonstrates the opportunities TiVo has to work with leading broadcasters who have substantial marketing clout to drive TiVo DVR penetration by adopting our hardware and software approaches to this globally important standard.”

Chief Executive Officer of Seven Media Group, Mr. David Leckie said, “This association unites the strengths of free to air television and TiVo to deliver new digital services to the Australian consumer. Free-to-Air television is well positioned in Australia to benefit from the TiVo service in offering viewers the chance to easily find and automatically record the programming they want,
schedule their viewing time and vastly extend their overall television viewing experience.”


“Through TiVo, Seven will leverage our broadcast television and publishing businesses, deliver new advertising and marketing solutions, and expand our presence in new communications platforms, as we work in partnership with Yahoo!7 and Engin. As a broadcaster, we are uniquely positioned to promote DVRs while simultaneously defining the future of television advertising.”

A number of major media organizations have expressed interest in participating on the platform.

Engin will play a pivotal role in distribution and support of TiVo in Australia. Seven and Engin are finalizing distribution arrangements with other partners. Further announcements of these arrangements are expected in the coming weeks.

The companies expect TiVo products and services to be launched in the first half of 2008. Financial terms were not disclosed. For more information and to keep up-to-date with developments of TiVo in Australia, go to www.mytivo.com.au
Read more...

Wed May 30

[ABC/8:00pm] New Inventors. Saving Water Special. It's impossible to ignore the fact that Australia is in the middle of a severe water crisis. So this week, The New Inventors will dive into the world of water-saving to look at how Australian inventors are taking action to conserve this precious resource. We also re-visit previous water-saving inventions to see where they have ended up. Plus, we'll expose "The Water Diaries" kept by host James O'Loghlin and the panel to find out who is the most conservative when it comes to water usage. James O'Loghlin and the Saving Water Special panellists have kept "Water Diaries" for 1 week and on tonight's show, we'll reveal who was the wisest water user. Was it host James O'Loghlin, science journalist and environmentalist Bernie Hobbs, inventor and architect Sally Dominguez, or agricultural scientist Chris Russell?
[ABC/8:30pm] Spicks And Specks. 100th Episode! Joining Adam Hills this week are Wilbur Wilde, Antoinette Halloran, Hamish Blake and Amanda Keller.
[ABC/9:00 pm] The Chaser's War On Everything. George W. Bush waged a war on terror, but only The Chaser has the courage to wage a War On Everything.
[ABC/9:30 pm] The Robinsons. Pam sets Ed up with Connie, a friend's daughter whom Ed has known since he was young. Connie is a complete pain in the arse and the date is a disaster. CAST: Martin Freeman, Hugh Bonneville.
[ABC/10:00 pm] At The Movies'My Blueberry Nights'- directed by Wong Kar Wai, including interviews with Jude Law and Norah Jones. 'Sicko' - the new controversial doco by Michael Moore.'No Country for Old Men'- new Coen brothers film starring Javier Bardem and Josh Brolin.'To Each His Own Cinema" - includes interview with Roman Polanski.

[Seven/7:30pm] Last Chance Learners.
[Seven/8:30pm] Heroes. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN 'PARASITE' Time is running out, with the election and NYC's destruction looming, Nathan has a disturbing face-to-face meeting with the shadowy Linderman. Hiro's attempt to steal the sword steers him into a grim new direction. Suresh makes a breakthrough on 'the list' - at great cost. Isaac creates his most terrible painting yet, while a new 'hero' makes an illusive debut. Guest starring ERIC ROBERTS and MALCOLM MCDOWELL.
[Seven/9:30pm] Prison Break. WASH. Michael, Lincoln, and Sara finally hear the proof that can set Lincoln free, but they'll need another ally on the inside to get the truth heard. T-Bag seeks psychiatric help, and to secure his family's safety. C-Note must make the ultimate sacrifice. [Seven/10:30pm] 24. 2:00 A.M. - 3:00 A.M. Jack's guilt over Audrey's catatonic state weighs on him as Cheng prepares to launch attacks of his own. Guest starring RICK SCHRODER.

[Ten/7:30pm] The Biggest Loser Special – Engaged Couples. Rpt.
[Ten/8:30pm] House. "Needle In A Haystack" House and his staff must deal with a teenage gypsy boy suffering from inexplicable respiratory distress; however House has bigger issues on his mind.
[Ten/9:30pm] Medium. "We Had A Dream" Guest: Eric Stoltz.

[SBS/7:30pm] Vasili's Garden - A fresh and thoroughly entertaining gardening program with a little bit of piano accordion and a lot of information. Each week, real-life gardening guru Vasili Kanidiadis starts off pruning, trimming and spraying in his own garden, before visiting a special garden or two. He’s there to solve problems - providing seasonal tips and advice - as well as to explore the obsessions of each garden’s creator. He will fire viewers’ culinary senses as he regularly introduces viewers to his mum, Eleni Kaniadis, who will share traditional Greek recipes using home grown ingredients. (From Australia, in English) (Documentary Series) G CC [SBS/8:00pm] Short Stories - Nathan's Story - The story of two brothers - one short, one tall - who are forced to re-examine their relationship following the sudden death of both their parents. (Commissioned by SBSi, in English) (Documentary Series) PG

[Nine/7:30pm] McLeod’s Daughters.
[Nine/8:30pm] Cold Case. “Knuckle Up.”
[Nine/9:30pm] Without a Trace. “Fade-Away.”

[Movie Extra/9:30pm] Movie: WalMart: the High Cost of Low Price (US 2005). Read more...

Silverman for NBC job

Producer Ben Silverman is in line for a top job at NBC, which has caused current exec Kevin Reilly to exit the network, despite signing a multi-year deal only weeks ago.

Silverman is responsible for bringing The Office and Ugly Betty to American television, along with The Biggest Loser and other shows under his Reveille production banner.

What is most interesting is that Silverman has the American version of Kath and Kim for the US too.

His appointment would be a significant boost to the show's fortunes, which are still under development.

TEN also has a deal with Reveille in Australia, but didn't win Betty when it was distributed by Buena Vista.
Read more...