Ratings Down

Apart from the second Eviction show, which made changes after viewers complaints about the format of the first week, BB has failed to reach the 1m viewer mark throughout the week.

The total number of viewers being down on last year isn't that much of a problem because every year experiences fewer total TV watchers, as internet and DVD take over the market.

But the percentage of viewers in ten's target demographic of 18-49 year olds (or more specifically 16-39s), is also a worry this year. BB is getting just over 30% of the viewers in the target audience.

New program Big Mouth is scoring just over 600,000 viewers, but a smaller audience is probably what that show needs given its adult content which could be in danger of being banned again if kids started tuning in.

FNL is still doing well with over 900,000 on a Friday night.

Even the second installment of Carson Crashes didn't live up part 1, which saw the highest viewership since the Launch Night. This week it was on against the State of Origin match.

The question has to be, why doesn't ten move the Daily Shows to 7:30pm? Most of ten's target audience are over watching Home & Away at 7:00. Seven and Nine generally start their programming for older audiences at 7:30, which would be the perfect time for ten to snatch most of the kids. If ten is sticking with its timeslot of 7:00 just to try and combat H&A, it is very noble, but stupid.

The Neighbours lead-in is also detracting from BB's audience as Neighbours's audience weakens.

We can't blame Gretel's absence because she was never around for the Daily Shows. Maybe the removal of Live Nominations (which always rated surprisingly well) has had an effect. Or maybe the lack of a live streaming component like UpLate has alienated viewers who now only get to see edited down teenage-oriented storylines via the DS.

Regardless of this, BB is still a cheap show to produce, and once sponsors are locked in for a season, ESS has made the money they need. The only effect the low ratings will have on BB is its chances on getting picked up for a 9th season, or the amount of advertising revenue they will make if the 9th season goes ahead.