This was published 12 years ago
The definition of decline
Karl Quinn asks if the ABC can claw back its Wednesday night dominance.
By Karl Quinn
TELL me why we don't like Wednesdays. That's something long-term viewers of the ABC might well be wondering, given the fall away of audiences on what was once the broadcaster's most popular night.
The decline in viewers for Andrew Denton's Randling only focuses attention on what is a broader issue. A cluster of other shows have performed disappointingly on Wednesdays recently. Not that the ABC cares about the ratings, of course, but if it did it might have reason to be concerned.
Andrew Denton's Randling took a sharp hit after its debut attracted 857,000 viewers.
Precisely how concerned is revealed by a Green Guide analysis of OzTam figures for Wednesday nights in the key viewing period of mid-April to late May over the past six years. It shows that the ABC's prime-time audience has fallen dramatically, from a 16.1 per cent share of Wednesday prime-time in 2007 (when there was only one ABC TV channel) to just 8.7 per cent for ABC1 and 12 per cent overall for the suite of ABC channels, in 2012.
In 2007, the ABC averaged 851,000 viewers across the peak viewing period of 6pm to 10.30pm at this time of year. To put that in context, Channel Nine was the leading network with an average of 1.24 million viewers and the total audience (all figures are for the five mainland capitals and from 2010 include consolidated viewing) was 4.42 million.
In 2008, the ABC average dropped to 770,000. The following year it was steady at 774,000, but thanks to the new digital multichannels its overall audience lifted to 814,000.
But in 2010, the average audience on ABC1 at this time of year dropped to 586,000 (the all-ABC average was 685,000) before rising in 2011 to 650,000 (826,000 overall).
This year, the average on the main channel (to last week) is just 492,000 and the total across all ABC channels 683,000.
This comes as the total audience for free-to-air television has risen to 4.69 million.
Clearly, the fluctuations are substantial and multichannelling has had a draining effect on the audience for the main channel, but is there something else at play? Has the magic finally faded from the ABC's light-entertainment approach on Wednesday nights?
Randling had a healthy 857,000 viewers in its debut week, a figure that rose to 981,000 with consolidated viewing. In week two, though, it pulled only 620,000, with a smaller bump to 674,000. Last week, Randling drew just 485,000 (consolidated figures are released tomorrow). Contrast that with the Wednesday night slot from previous years and the fall away is blindingly apparent: Spicks and Specks landed about 1.3 million in May 2008 and The New Inventors just below 1 million (the latter's audience dropped alarmingly over the following years); a year later Spicks remained as strong, with The Gruen Transfer at about the 1.2 million mark.
Brendan Dahill, controller of ABC1, tells Green Guide the performance of Randling should be understood within a broader context of the evolving free-to-air offering.
''The media landscape has changed dramatically,'' he says.
''It is hard to launch any new show at this time, so we need to be patient … The audience needs time to find new shows and be comfortable with them. We need time to assess them as well.''
(A problem: Randling's 27-episode season is in the can, so there's little chance of fine-tuning to alay viewer concerns.)
Dahill adds Spicks' February 2005 debut had an average of just 669,000 viewers. By the time it ended, the ABC had arguably become over-dependent on it as the anchor of Wednesdays. It also may have erred in giving people so long to wean themselves off the habit, announcing the series was coming to an end in May 2011 but not screening the last episode until November.
Nothing it has thrown at the slot has held the audience to the same degree. The ABC has been struggling since. At some point, it will get the mix right or try something else - or accept the audience has moved elsewhere. Dahill hasn't given up the fight. ''Inevitably we have to refresh our schedules. If we don't try new programs, we'll be criticised for playing it safe."
ABC midweek blues
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
7pm News 1.08m
7.30pm 7.30 Report 778,000
8pm The New Inventors 668,000
8.30pm Spicks and Specks 1.07m
9pm Lowdown 594,000
9.30pm Psychoville 361,000
10pm At the Movies 283,000
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
7pm ABC News 1.03m
7.30pm 7.30 590,000
8pm The New Inventors 458,000
8.30pm Spicks and Specks 1.17m
9pm Angry Boys (debut) 1.37m
9.30pm Hungry Beast 584,000
10pm At the Movies 357,000
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
7pm ABC News 961,000
7.30pm 7.30 687,000
8pm Wild Life at the Zoo 538,000
8.30pm Randling 491,000
9pm Laid 262,000
9.30pm Agony Aunts 332,000
10pm At the Movies 289,000