Television

The TV 'Encore' ie. getting viewers to 'Sample'   Author: eNews staff and agencies | Sep 12, 2007, 15:53

I've remarked in the past about the use of repeats by TV networks to increase the 'sampling' of TV programs the Networks hold high hopes for.

Seven has done it for the likes of Desperate Housewives, City Homicide, Lost, Ten with House but it seems Nine is desperate to really make sure viewers see its new US drama Damages, which airs next Sunday at 9.30 pm.

If you live in Sydney you can watch the first episode of "Damages" five times: Sunday 9.30pm, Monday 10.30pm, Wednesday midnight, Thursday midnight and Friday 10.40pm not to mention three goes at the second episode.

The poor Melbourne viewer only gets four goes at the first episode.

But all this begs the question, when does 'sampling' become a blatant repeat because you've nothing in the tank.

For Damages we have to give Nine the benefit of the doubt, for the first ep and maybe for the second. Let's hope it succeeds first up or Nine has a real problem of what to put in those holes.

Seven tried to use the 'sampling' argument when it ran The Force after it failed on its own at 8.30 pm, after Border security at 8 pm on Monday. It then repeated the same program at 8.30 Wednesday night and claimed it was 'sampling'.

Viewers could see the holes in that argument: they hung around to watch The Force after Border Security but didn't return to watch on Wednesday night.

That move lasted one week and Seven then switched the underwhelming Las Vegas into Wednesday nights at 8.30 (it has been tried Thursdays and Sundays) where it is being slaughtered by Spicks and Specks (and House when it was on air on Ten).

Sampling should only be used by the Networks to expose a promising new program to as many viewers as possible in the first week or two. Then it should stop because it looks like a repeat the second time around and nothing sours a program, more in the eyes of viewers than quick and early repeats.

But not if you like the Simpsons. Ten blithely repeats Simpsons eps (up two hours some nights this year, usually at least one ep, sometimes three, as on Tuesday nights).

But The Simpsons is not a typical program: Ten cleverly rides the demographic wave as successive groups of younger viewers age and move through the viewing demographic, only to return in later life as nostalgic fans.

Its been downloaded, uploaded, repeated, shown on pay TV in specials that have seen every ep broadcast (on Fox) and yet it has not damaged the brand.

In contrast the Nine Network has mixed, matched, repeated CSI, CSI Miami and CSI New York to the point where fresh eps of CSI have really struggled on Sunday nights. CSI Miami and CSI New York are underachieving programs because viewers have spotted them for poor quality clones. Nine's repeated use of repeats has added to that feeling.

Viewer attitudes to CSI will be tested this Sunday night: there's a fresh ep programmed. The opposition doesn't look too strong. If it can't rate more than 1.5 million viewers, the series will be weakened and Nine will not be able to rely on it to hold up Sunday nights for much of 2008, as it has done this year.

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