2012 – The year in TV
In this roundup from the Encore and Mumbrella Annual, we look back at the year in television.
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James Warburton starts at Ten 10 months after he was appointed to the role.
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The summer non-ratings period comes to an end in February kicking things off with the battle of the bulge as Nine and Ten go head-to-head with their weight-loss shows. Ten’s established format, The Biggest Loser, ultimately triumphs as Nine is forced to move their offering, Excess Baggage, to digital channel GO! after abysmal ratings.
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The cast of Revenge
Seven wins the first week of ratings thanks to American drama Revenge, which was heavily promoted during Seven’s Summer of Tennis. It premieres with a whopping 2.06m viewers.
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Brad Lyons and Angus Ross step up at Seven to take on the roles of head of production and head of programming respectively after Tim Worner was appointed CEO of the network at the end of 2012. Worner’s role is effectively split in two with Lyons and Ross focusing on their areas of speciality.
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Kevin Rudd’s resignation as foreign minister prompts Ten to bring forward the debut of its new breakfast program, Breakfast. The premiere is watched by few and Oztam figures report that no-one tuned in at all in Melbourne during a 15-minute segment of the show. In just a couple of months, Breakfast loses its executive producer, one of its hosts and has gained a small number of viewers delivering 50,000 at best, a stark comparison to Today and Sunrise which generally battle it out around 300,000 to 400,000.
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In March, a trailer for a TV series called The Shire leaks online. Ten confirms the dramality will air later in the year and negative press around the show means the premiere is hotly anticipated. Although it debuts with 941,000 viewers in July, it finishes the series with barely 200,000 viewers two months later.
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Foxtel’s Brian Walsh
Foxtel’s director of television Brian Walsh tells Encore in March that the subscription network has commissioned a re-imagining of 1970s series Prisoner but it will not be until November that the cast is announced and production commences in Melbourne.
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In April, Nine’s singing show The Voice makes its debut smashing ratings predictions with a peak audience of 2.9m viewers. The show continues to rate well above the 2m mark throughout the series guaranteeing a return in 2013 although a new line-up of judges is expected after the departure of Keith Urban to American Idol.
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Nine finds itself in the middle of a media shit-storm over its Olympics coverage as viewers turn to Facebook to vent their frustrations as coverage focuses purely on events Australians are competing in with a schedule heavy on swimming.
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Ten’s post Olympic line-up falls to pieces when their new ‘shiny floor’ format Everybody Dance Now is boned after failing to draw an audience in August. It is on the air for only two weeks.
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After 16 years at Ten, chief programming officer David Mott leaves the network. Rumours abound as to his replacement. Beverley McGarvey steps in as acting chief programming officer before being permanently appointed to the role in October.
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Big Brother returns to Australian television after a four year hiatus. The premiere draws an audience of 1.6m. The finale in November, when winner Benjamin Norris scores $250,000, manages to draw an audience of 1.47m viewers. It is expected to return to Nine in 2013.
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In July, SBS announces its first drama commission in three years. Better Man, starring Bryan Brown, Claudia Karvan and David Wenham, tells the story of convicted drug trafficker Van Nguyen, who was executed in Singapore in 2005.
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In October, a disappointing set of full financial year results for Ten sees them ask for voluntary redundancies while Nine narrowly avoids receivership when an 11th-hour deal is struck to save the debt-riddled company.
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Nine’s Tom Malone
Tom Malone, executive producer of Nine’s Today show, moves to Sixty Minutes. He is replaced by outgoing editor of Sydney’s The Sunday Telegraph, Neil Breen.
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Shine CEO Carl Fennessy returns to Australia after a stint at the company’s US headquarters. MD Matt Campbell is laid off to make way for his return.
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Seven axes Australia’s Got Talent. Nine snaps up the format which it is expected to air in 2013.
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In November, Ten axes Breakfast. The final episode airs on November 30.
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This list first appeared in the Encore and Mumbrella Annual available in the App store and Google Play.
Really… SBS launching NITV didn’t make the list? Wow!
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“1970s series Prisoner”??? really??? 1970s???