Hey, Australia – Where’s all the scripted TV?
The end of ratings season last weekend revealed a shocking fact: Aussies love watching sport.
The 16 most-watched shows across free-to-air television during 2023 were all sporting matches.
There were various Matildas and non-Matildas soccer games; the AFL Finals; the pre-game part where former players predict what’s about to happen; the post-game part where trophies are held aloft and breathless players gasp out platitudes; three State of Origins; and the NRL Finals… in no particular order.
Goes to Deadloch which was on Amazon Prime but was airing on a weekly schedule and I did find people were watching it weekly. I had friends and family who would message to ask if I was watching the night the next ep became available and most of us were. The streamers can still do appointment viewing, the benefit for them is even when the appointment is over people who missed it can join in.
None of the scripted stuff is on the top 50, because most of it is on streaming and they don’t include streaming in the ratings apparently to hide that fact the free to air is failing and aussies actually hate reality shows. We can expect ALOT more local scripted drama when the streamers have to follow the sam quotas that free to air has had to follow for years. Which, the free to air channel’s don’t have the money anymore to make actual scripted shows compared to the streamers, which is why garbage reality TV is all they can put out. I hope in the future that the quotas can make a rule to force the free to air networks to make scripted shows instead of reality trash