Television

Ten streamlines Australian Idol in 2006   Author: eNews staff and agencies | Apr 5, 2006, 12:44

Idol will cut back in order to move ahead

The Ten Network has pared costs in Australian Idol to try and make sure it's a profitable operation after the failure of the 2005 version.

Ten says last year's Idol was a success, and any program that gets more than a million people is, but it wasn't as successful as Ten had sold advertisers.

Audiences were off more than 30% across the series, with the finals down more than 40% and as a result Ten found itself having to make up the shortfall in ratings with a lot of bonus advertising.

This year Ten has found advertisers less than enthusiastic to come into Idol at premium rates. Ten says around four sponsors have been signed up, but the real story is that these deals have been done on rates lower than last year.

Hence the move to cut costs and try and lift revenues by maximising the lower cost base. (In contrast Ten has sold Big Brother at a premium to last year, and the AFL: no doubt helped by the Swans premiership and the big audiences for the final in Sydney, and expectations of more this year).

The cost cuts in Idol have involved shortening it to just 11 weeks, concentrating the auditions, even though more areas will be visited with potentially more performers to appear because the upper limit on the age group has been lifted to 30.

That will help lower costs in a funny way: having more mature and more experienced signers will make it a bit easier to judge the first round auditions than having to deal with more inexperienced performers under 25.

The higher age limit is also designed to try and lift the age demographic slightly to increase the program's appeal to sponsors.

Fremantle and Ten have been working on the cost cutting for this year's series.

Another cost cut will see the finals concentrated into a much shorter period, a week in late November. That will mean less studio and production and a greater publicity impact.

Ten and its associates are trying to stimulate interest in Idol auditions by running a half hour program next Sunday night (the first night of Easter 'non-ratings'.

"As the auditions for Idol 2006 kick off, Australian Idol: Off The Record takes a closer look at the phenomenon that is Idol, the stars it has produced and the behind-the-scenes players that have made it the most prestigious singing competition in the country."

"Idol 2006 is giving young Australian performers from Townsville to Perth, Alice Springs to Hobart, Mt Isa to Albury, the chance to audition. The opportunity for the next group of young Australian performers to get their foot in the door of the Australian music industry is moments away."

Hobart auditions have already been held: they are much quicker, in and out affairs aimed at keeping costs low.

Next Sunday night’s show comes at the start of the Easter non-ratings period, but for Ten it’s a critical time to attract the attention of viewers in its demographic and possible performers.

The 11 week season for Idol will hopefully mean more publicity for a lower cost, and a more dynamic Idol series.

After the success of The Biggest Loser this year, Ten understands what has to be done.

Idol last year was overblown, an attempt to try and out do the enormously successful Idol at the end of 2004.

It learned a lesson with Idol last year and with the crude way it tarted up Big brother last year. While the audience followed, public complaints didn’t and Ten is on probation with the regulators this year.

But that tackiness is why advertisers have re-signed with Ten for BB at a premium.

It’s an awful trade-off.

Ten won’t take the second series of TBL down that route, nor will it push Idol TBL is attracting a lot of support from young viewers, from 12 upwards, especially among girls. That can be good, but it means the content of the program has to be watched closely.

………………………………

Tuesday night naturally saw Seven win thanks to Dancing With The Stars with more than 2.1 million. Seven won with a 36.1% share from Nine with 25.9%, Ten with 20.8% (Ten won the 16 to 39 demo), the ABC with 12.8% and SBS with 4.6%.

The Biggest Loser with 1.410 million viewers had its biggest audience so far last night. That’s in the league of regular Big brother episodes: and it wasn’t an elimination episode.

Viewing was boosted last night by the end of daylight saving: Bert’s Family feud saw its audience jump to 633,000, a high, but Deal or No Deal averaged 897,000 and Ten news at Five averaged 968,000 (and topped the million mark in the last hour)

- Add the eNews XML file to your RSS newsreader and be the first to know.