Guest post: Time for Nine to start winning back viewers’ trust
In the week that Nine broadcast the ratings turkeys of Dance Your Ass Off and Australia’s Perfect Couple, former staffer Adam Paull says in this guest posting that it is time for the network to start apologising to viewers.
For decades, Channel Nine enjoyed a relationship with the Australian people that the Seven and 0/10 networks could only dream about. 
When capital city dwelling members of the Australian public turned their televisions on, practically all of them automatically tuned it to Nine – not because they had the best shows (although more often than not, they did) but because of the trust and the affection for the brand that had built up since they first flicked the switch in 1956. Nine’s logo was one of the most recognised and trusted brands in the land.
In the mid-nineties things began to change. A pay-television platform was introduced, and although it struggled for a decade, it changed the landscape dramatically. The “ethnic” channel, SBS, changed focus and became a serious threat for eye-balls, Channel Seven and even the ABC started to get their act together, and we saw the rise of other distractions like DVDs, game consoles and of course, the Internet.
Nine’s reaction to these threats was to laugh it off. They were after all a ratings juggernaut and the feeling around management circles was that nothing could touch them. There were even “Maintain the Arrogance” stickers produced as a joke for the news division.
Channel 9 deserves everything they get. For years they screwed with us. Now they can sit at the bottom of the tree and explain to advertisers how their shit station no longer has the clout it once had. Kerry Packer must be rolling in his grave. Over and over again.
Having spent plenty of time in the Nine newsroom in Sydney this is no surprise to me at all.
The arrogance of the network back then is only matched by the amount of crap they peddle as TV content now – although sadly 20 to 1 repeats still somehow pull over 1 million viewers now.
They’ve lost potential huge and loyal audiences from cult shows like The West Wing and The Sopranos but lost them after failing to give them a steady timeslot (11pm? Midnight? What a joke) and on-air promos. These shows have become huge via DVD sales and even bigger via download. At least 7 & 10 fast-tracked some of these shows to take the sting out of the download community.
In their defence being owned by an equity group is the worst possible outcome – after all, if you can turn a profit by making cheap shows and importing even cheaper crap, who cares?
Finally the shit is starting to stick to channel 9 for its abhorrent programming schedule. About fu*king time!
I really did used to watch channel nine more than nay other station. Now, it’s hard to remember when I last stopped there in my channel surf. Nothing keeps me there….
It’s just so odd, because it was a reliable giant… now it’s a big yawn. There was a time when a show the nature of dance your ass off might have been pulled mid show and someone would have some explaining to do… now, good taste is replaced by poor ratings.
Find some good taste and you’ll fin your viewers…
I really did used to watch channel nine more than any other station. Now, it’s hard to remember when I last stopped there in my channel surf. Nothing keeps me there….
It’s just so odd, because it was a reliable giant… now it’s a big yawn. There was a time when a show the nature of ‘dance your ass off’ might have been pulled mid show by KP and someone would have some explaining to do… now, the ‘good taste’ reason is replaced by ‘poor ratings’ excuses.
Find some good taste and you’ll find your viewers…
I used to think of Nine as the “flagship” of the Aussie TV stations, but I haven’t felt that way for quite some time. I don’t need grovelling, to me, that kind of thing is what caused my current feelings about the station. Just put something good on and be done with it.
Wolfie!
As a West Wing fan who finally cracked it with channel Nine and bought the DVDs I totally agree with your post.
Nine was once the leader in television entertainment now it looks at what works on Channels Seven and Ten and presents poor imitations. When it does have a success, like Gordon Ramsay or Two and a Half Men, it milks it dry.
At least the Foxtel channels see value in hit drama series and sitcoms – why Nine never bought 30 Rock and settled for that stinking Dance Your Ass Off is anyone’s guess. The programmers should be sacked.
The TV viewer has been treated with great contempt by Channel 9, over the past decade. And, dare I say it is happening with the other free to airs, but they did not have as much to loose.
I must congratulate Adam Paul on such an accurate summary.
May we all now collectively hold our breath, and wait for Channel 9 to enact on some of Adam’s suggestions.
Ch 9 news is a complete joke. That supposed re-enactment last night with the old lady was the most idiotic I have ever seen, in fact the whole bulletin was pathetic.
What is going on, how could anyone watch that and then be expected to accept the Sport with Tony Jones (another joke)
Bye Ch9 your in BIG trouble
They’d win viewers if they went back to starting their advertised programs at the ADVERTISED TIME!
Ciao
Alan
I think it was the West Wing that tipped us over the edge of trying to watch TV shows on TV. If you really like a show, just buy it on DVD. Saves all that chasing around random timeslots and missing episodes, or getting dudded with a repeat when you expected a new episode.
Not that nine’s the only offender. Bloody channel ten is probably worse on the “run past timeslot” stakes; not to mention their “promote a plot twist that doesn’t exist in the show but we fabricated with clever editing” promos. Or their “thrash a promo to death and back until you never want to watch the show or hear the song again” promos.
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We used to watch CH9 more than any other …..not any more apart from CSI ( Vegas & it is hardly worth it now without Grissom ) there is nothing on 9 we watch
Just when you think their programs can’t get any worse they do
To quote the late Kerry Packer “Get that shit off the air…”
And how about the British Open golf? On day two, at 11.30pm, Nine shows 1 hour of highlights from DAY ONE. For the first time ever it was not live – and denying other free-to-airs the rights at the same time. They have no shame at all. I cannot imagine Kerry Packer putting up with what they pass for programming nowadays, Underbelly’s magnificent breasts notwithstanding.