Why Australian TV Networks Hold Back Your Favourite Overseas Shows
"Why doesn't every TV network just fast-track everything, always?", wonder Australian TV viewers. Good question. We got some answers.
We used to have to wait for everything. In fact, until relatively recently, when it came to blockbuster American pop cultural phenomena, Australia was practically a backwater.
Pre-broadband (and yes, pre-piracy), Australia’s cultural gatekeepers were happy to hold back Hollywood film franchises, hit albums, and television series. Friends debuted to much buzz in the US in 1994, but was held back from airing in Australia until 1996. A few years before that, Network Ten warehoused The Simpsons: it began its storied run late in 1989 in the US, but only hit Australian screens in 1991.
That logic now appears positively old-fashioned. For most of us, a daily online diet encompassing pop culture websites (like the one you’re currently reading) instantly alerts us to television series around the world that are earning even a modicum of heat. We want them, and we want them now.
Although they were slow off the mark, Australian television programmers have started to catch up, and the way television shows are launched has evolved. Some programs — like Game Of Thrones, Homeland and Breaking Bad — air here within hours of their US broadcast. But others — like Seven’s Revenge or Downton Abbey — are still being almost dogmatically held over for more than six months.
For Aussie programmers, the question has become: to fast-track or not to fast-track? To fans, it may seem a no-brainer, but it’s not as simple as it may appear.
–
Why we wait
According to the networks themselves, a significant issue is access to material to promote and market a new series. For those who have not already heard about, say, Masters Of Sex online, there’s an obvious need to generate awareness about the program before it launches.
According to two TV executives I spoke to, American networks and studios are often reluctant to share promotional material and advanced copies of episodes until they first air in the US, due to security and piracy concerns. Another issue is that, even though they have the rights, Australian networks are held captive to the whims of US scheduling. It is difficult to pre-empt American networks, who can change the order they air some series (particularly sitcoms) or put them on sudden hiatus (see: Parks and Recreation, The Mindy Project).
“We are often not exactly sure how the US networks will broadcast a series,” explains Nine’s director of programming, Andrew Backwell. “They often play a number of episodes, then take a break, then play some more. This makes it difficult to consistently schedule the series in a regular slot in Australia.”
–
Slow and steady improvement
Both in film and television, overseas markets such as Australia are now far more important to studio bottom lines than they used to be, which is why ABC1 controller Brendan Dahill believes things have slightly improved in regard to overseas communication. He suggests there’s a growing willingness by international broadcasters to work with local networks and, at the very least, inform them when shows will begin airing. For the ABC, this is more common with British broadcasters — who they deal with more frequently — than US networks.
But for those who prefer Mad Men to, say, Australia’s Got Talent, Dahill has a message: you’re in the minority. With Australian content often more popular with local audiences on free-to-air, Aussie networks need to assess first whether an international show is suitable and if the overseas network’s plans mesh with theirs. In many cases, there may not be space for more overseas content in Aussie primetime schedules.
Of the top 20 best rating regular series on air this year, 16 were Australian. Four were overseas dramas: two were fast-tracked (The Blacklist and New Tricks), while the other two were not (Downton Abbey and Revenge).
“Fast tracking is much more effective for a returning, much-loved series like Doctor Who, where the (show) is known and demand is there,” Dahill says. “It is really hard to establish brand new programming brands… Broadchurch was unknown to Australian viewers, and it was only after it started rating massively in the UK that the demand was there. In planning terms, that is a bit too late for us to simply crash it into our schedule.”
–
Winners and losers
While The Blacklist was a massive hit for Seven, its other fast-tracked series, Marvel’s Agents Of Shield, faded quickly. Leaving the buzzy political drama Scandal off air for a year is one of several reasons the show struggled to build a local audience.
Network Ten has been perhaps the most aggressive free-to-air fast-tracker. Competitors quietly suggest that this may be out of necessity: the network lacks popular local franchises and has endured low primetime ratings. (When asked to comment this week by Junkee, Ten’s programming department politely declined). The Stephen King thriller Under The Dome, which was fast-tracked by Ten mid-year, worked well. But Sleepy Hollow, a big US hit that was also fast-tracked, flopped badly. Returning series such as New Girl, NCIS and Modern Family are posting solid but unspectacular numbers.
Over the past few months, Nine fast-tracked Rebel Wilson’s Super Fun Night and Toni Collette’s Hostages — neither have been particularly impressive. Meanwhile, the network’s also held back on new series such as the Chuck Lorre sitcom Mom (starring Anna Faris and Allison Janney), the sci-fi thriller Almost Human, and holdover Arrow. It is, however, airing current season episodes of The Mentalist and Person Of Interest over summer.
So how does the network pick whether a show is fast-tracked or held back?
“It depends on our scheduling requirements and our programming strategy,” Nine’s Backwell says, adding that he takes into strong account whether Nine will be able to market the series sufficiently. “We may want to launch new content on-air around October (the start of the US season) or hold it for the start of our survey period in February. We often only have one or two episodes before we fast-track a new series, so have limited time and material to promote and market it.”
Ross Crowley, the Director of Programming and Channels at Foxtel, says some series are simply more appropriate to be screened uninterrupted. “US networks often space their series over some 40 weeks to work around sports pre-emptions,” he says. “So some shows are better suited to being held for a period and played out without any gaps.”
Interestingly, both Nine and Foxtel dismiss the risk of a new fast-tracked show being cancelled as it comes to air.
“If a show is however getting good buzz in the US, it may help to fast-track it so you capitalise on the good publicity,” Backwell says.
“We’ve taken series we strongly suspected would be cancelled knowing that Australian viewers would prefer to be along for the ride,” adds Crowley.
–
Pirates gonna pirate
Surprisingly, Nine’s Backwell rejects the much-touted impact of piracy in rushing something to air. “I don’t believe illegal downloads have a huge impact on the potential success of a program in Australia,” he says. “I’d really prefer it not to happen, but I think the numbers are pretty limited depending on the series.”
The story is different, though, on the pay TV platform, Foxtel. Australians are voracious downloaders, yes, but we’re also relatively discerning. It’s not The X Factor or CSI that we seem to be pirating in big numbers. Rather, it’s the stuff Foxtel is attempting to entice us to pay a subscription fee for and watch on their platform.
The network’s Showcase channel has exclusive first-run access to shows such as Game Of Thrones, Breaking Bad, Sons Of Anarchy, Mad Men and Girls — all of which have proven to be massive torrent bait to Australians. These shows still rate well, relatively speaking: this week’s Sons Of Anarchy episode had 51,000 viewers nationally, a solid figure for a premium subscription network.
“Obviously, piracy is a huge issue for the producers and their international partners (like us) in continuing to fund new productions,” Foxtel’s Crowley says. “Piracy in Australia is among the worst in the ‘western’ world, and the numbers appear to be similar regardless of whether we run the shows express or episodes are available externally on electronic sell-through platforms like iTunes.”
–
FOMO is real
Our lack of ‘legal’ access to Netflix has not stopped an estimated 20,000 Aussies from signing up to the service. If, as rumoured, Netflix arrives here by conventional means next year, fast-tracking will only increase.
Although Netflix airs ‘older’ seasons of shows, the sheer size of its catalogue will prove enticing, not to mention the extraordinary library of films it holds. In the US, along with YouTube, Netflix is responsible for half of all internet traffic.
Already, we have seen Foxtel and Nine emulate the American streaming giant. Having purchased the rights from Netflix, Foxtel was quick to put all of the episodes of both House Of Cards and Orange Is The New Black on its iPad app, Foxtel Go. Both Nine and Ten are heading down similar paths with their own apps.
This is all well and fine, but here’s the thing: our appetite for seeing our favourite shows fast-tracked is most often derived from social media. The ABC’s Dahill rates social media — both in terms of encouraging FOMO and the danger of it revealing spoilers — as being as relevant as piracy when it comes to fast-tracking. “For hyper-serialised drama that builds to a conclusion, you don’t want the audience to have their experience ruined by finding out what happens in the wrong way,” he says.
Anybody who watched Breaking Bad and Homeland this year can relate. Unless you’re okay with the inevitable discovery of spoilers in your social media feeds, fast-tracking is your best friend — if only to ensure your enforced internet blackout remains brief, and leads us not into the temptation of the illegal download.
–
Andrew Murfett is a Melbourne-born writer and editor based in Miami. He has written for The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, The West Australian, Faster Louder, Crikey, and AAP. You can read more musings at @amurfett