Media Releases

Network Ten - Idol Hits The High Notes Again!   Author: Network Ten | Aug 30, 2006, 12:16

Australian Idol is enjoying its best ratings since the landmark 2004 series.

Audiences to the 2006 audition shows averaged 1.55m viewers, while an average 1.43m are watching the semi-finals; that's 3.9% and 22.3%, respectively, ahead of Idol last year.

Crucially, Australian Idol is not just winning its target 16-39 demographic – with commercial shares of 50% or more – but is also clearly winning in 25-54.

Every Monday night episode this year has also won its timeslot in total people.

TEN's chief programming officer, David Mott, said: "The strategy to turbo-charge the early weeks of the show, and strip the semi-finals, has clearly paid off.

"We're delighted to have launched Idol so strongly and especially proud to see it become a true multi-media format, demonstrated by the fact that website traffic has soared this year, and the program is more interactive than ever.

"I would like to thank the producers, FremantleMedia Australia, judges, hosts and contestants and the TEN team for injecting so much fresh energy and excitement into this proven format." Page views to australianidol.bigpond.com.au are up 70% on last year, while unique users have jumped more than 100%.

The video portion of the site accounts for around 20% of total page views, while there is extremely strong community interaction with the My Idol (forum) section, delivering approximately half of the website's traffic.

Greg Beness, executive producer of Australian Idol for FremantleMedia Australia said: "This year we’ve made a large number of small changes that together have helped us both tighten the format and refresh the viewer’s experience.

"The heart of the show is the quality of the young talent we find and the strength of the format is our ability to share and involve viewers in the journey that we take them on. We are rapt at how Australia has embraced the show this year." Georgie Nichols, general manager media at Telstra strategic marketing, said: "This year Telstra is bringing Idol fans closer to the action than ever before with video highlights on mobiles, content on demand on the web, and Telstra Street Idol - which is already uncovering a goldmine of otherwise hidden talent around the country.

"Our integrated sponsorship ticks the boxes in terms of brand alignment, integration and target audience participation, and the refreshed Idol format and subsequent strength of ratings are contributing to a very strong start for our 2006 sponsorship." Australian Idol's stellar season adds to a spectacular ratings year in which TEN has gained significant audience share and thousands in every major demographic.

TEN has successfully launched eight new hit Australian programs this year – far surpassing its rivals' success rates – including: The Biggest Loser, Thank God You're Here, Bondi Rescue, The Wedge, Honey We're Killing the Kids, David Tench Tonight, Real Stories and 9am with David and Kim.

For 2006 to date, TEN is second in the 16-54 demographic - ahead of Nine and within one share point of Seven - and is first in the US benchmark 18-49 demographic.

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