‘Six days is not too long to wait’: Ten programming chief defends X-Files delay
Network Ten’s programming boss Beverley McGarvey has defended the decision to delay the broadcast of the highly anticipated new series of The X-Files, as the three main networks prepare to unleash a slew of new content ahead of the start of the official ratings season.
Ten is first cab off the rank launching I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here on Sunday, before showing the first of the new six-part series of The X-Files.
However McGarvey dismissed piracy concerns relating to the decision to delay the broadcast of the show by six days telling Mumbrella: “I don’t think it is unreasonable to ask people to wait six days. It’s free, it’s not like it is on an SVOD service it is free-to-air television.
“It launched in the US in a way that we would have had to launch it here on Monday night, the eve of Australia Day. It’s not a great night for television when people are out having a bit of a party before Australia Day, we were not going to play it on Australia Day and then the rest of the week is still holiday season.
Two points: The X-Files has a hyphen in its name. And Mulder and Scully need to investigate Channel Ten because they are delusional if they think people haven’t turned to piracy.
Says it all really, corporation pushing a PR story about what we think, who would have thought twitter/facebook/reddit (gasp) the internet was in real time???
If I was Nine, I’d be happy with 500K for the Habibs…if this isn’t the turkey of 2016 I’d be surprised. And as for TEN and the X-Files, granted they want to find it an audience but that shouldn’t preclude them from broadcasting the first episode and then following it up quickly with express eps from the US the day its broadcast – Monday’s and Tuesday’s have always been a wasteland for TEN in prime time and the X Files might bring some viewers in on those traditionally quiet nights. Looking forward to Sunday night – let the ratings games begin.
The X-files is ten years too late already, another week won’t make much of a difference
Channel 10 obviously hasn’t given much credence to the issues around the likes of Game of Thrones or Breaking Bad which saw Foxtel fast-track them to avoid being cannibalised by piracy. Or the high level of take-up for streaming services where people were able to watch an entire season of House of Cards in one go.
As a commercial broadcaster, you’d think their advertising clients would be majorly pissed at such a flippant disregard for the changed landscape of ‘television’ (that word alone being a misnomer nowadays). But these are the same people who thought that streaming services wouldn’t go anywhere “because, Australia!”
Should not have been redone. Should have been buried. those two actors have not gone on to greater and better things so they come back to this.
Personally, I think ten years would be too soon. But i like the novelty factor in a TV exec saying “learn some patience people” -I’d love to see stats on how that worked for them.
“people don’t watch telly on Straya day” has good qualities too. Presumably we don’t go shopping, or wash, or drive cars, we’re all so frantically busy firing up the barbeque. all day and all night. in our special straya day aprons you sold us which say “don’t watch TV today its un-australian” or something.
What is it about being told “six days is not too long to wait….” that makes me think of a parent telling me I had to eat my greens/veggies to earn ice-cream.
This tone from Ten def activates my inner spoilt brat.!
What is it about being told “six days is not too long to wait…” that reminds me of a parent telling me I had to eat my greens/veggies to earn ice-cream?
This tone from Ten def activates my inner spoilt brat!
Apart from the obvious nonsense about ‘only six days, they won’t pirate it’, being behind the US also annoys fans because it means they can’t take part in all the social media stuff coinciding with it for fear of spoilers. Ten are missing out on being in the mix of all that global hype because “straya day”. Short sighted nongs.
“six days is not too long to wait”
I know our internet speed sucks, but six-days-sucks?
It’s called “spoilers”, Beverley. If you’ve ever used social media you’d understand.
“McGarvey said she did not believe a significant number of consumers would seek to pirate the content”
In 6 days, the truth will be out there.
If it rates below expectations, BitTorrent (or Hulu) will have proved her wrong.
And besides as TEN only broadcasts in SD, those who want to watch in HD have no doubt already seen it minus ads and on-screen branding.
If anyone needed evidence that traditional TV networks were on a road to nowhere, this is it.
It’s not just Ten – they are all just totally clueless about their audiences and in denial.
“six days is not too long to wait”
It won’t happen overnight but it *will* happen!
I’m not a TV buyer, but “launching off the back of “I’m a celeb…” doesn’t sound right. Surely the X-files audience is a completely different set of people?
I will happily watch the shows that Foxtel fast tracks from the US and sit through the adverts if they are on in a reasonable timeframe after they show in the US (Hours – not days!).
6 days wait = Streaming it online, no advertising revenue for you and me not having to sit through 40,0000 adverts each episode.
That Habibs show looks like a bargain and twice the price. Can. Not. Wait.
I wasn’t planning to pirate the X-Files, but after being told by Bev that 6 days isn’t too long to wait, I now will.
It’s an event series that has a hepa of hype behind it, so needs to run as close to the US TX as possible…but is it a surprise that the FTA’s are still stuck in the past?
I downloaded it.
Six minutes is too long for some people to wait for something they really want to see. Semantics about the difference between FTA, PFV and piracy don’t mean anything to them. People will pay for content — iTunes proved that by being a success despite the existence of torrenting software — but they want it when they want it. ANd a significant number of people want to see shows — especially cult shows — as soon as they are released. The people at Ten really should understand it. It’s one thing to say they’ve made a decision to delay it, which is their right, but it’s naive to think that at least some would-be viewers aren’t going to steal it first.
I cannot believe that people in the advertising / media biz who scream if their ideas are copied, openly admit to pirating.
Shame on you.
If I was a boss at Ten, I’d be very worried and very embarrassed that this guy was in charge of programming.
X-Files is an established show with an established audience. I have already seen the first 2 episodes and plenty of my friends have seen it too – in fact, one of my friends even had an X-Files themed viewing party the night to came out and about 30 people all crowded around the tv to watch it. These are fans of that show and this is the excitement and loyal viewership that Channel 10 have lost by deciding instead to sit around with their thumbs up their arses
After reading that line up of shows on the commercial networks I bought more Netflix shares.
I’ll be downloading episodes 3 and 4 tonight just so I don’t get hit with advertising for “I’m a ‘celebrity'”. The amount that all the FTA push their own shows shows that there are not enough companies willing to advertise to fill the advertising slots up. And then the blanket pushing makes me remember why I do obtain my shows else where.
The “new” line ups on all the FTA stations truly make me wonder why I bother to have an aerial on my house now days.
“I’ll be downloading episodes 3 and 4 tonight just so I don’t get hit with advertising for “I’m a ‘celebrity’”
Isn’t that a ripper of a comment from someone I assume as they read this website, is in advertising! What the hell do you think PAYS to make the shows you blatantly pirate!
Ten doesn’t pay to make The X-Files, though, they just pay to air it. Screw FTA television. The whole model is falling apart, and the dinosaurs running it are willfully blind to changing viewing habits. Stuff ’em.
@David Hague: I will willing watch a reasonable amount of ads. 5 minutes of ads for 5 minutes of show is not reasonable; sometimes the saying that ‘less is more” applies. Too many ads in one go, you lose me. Too many ads of the same thing, you lose me. To me that works with all advertising.
I stopped purchasing newspapers on Saturday when the price increase, the news/article content dropped, and the advertising increased.
I find the advertising for “I’m a ‘celebrity’” offensive, and as I’m also a consumer, I’m not silly enough to keep hanging around to watch it. Again, another case of too much is too much. Too much reality TV is too much.
Oh Beverley – goes to show how out of touch you are. If its more than 24 hours (and that’s generous) people and particularly those who are die hard fans of a show, are going to download it.
Who needs TV when there is piracy. And to all the pirates out there… who needs piracy when there is FREE streaming services with all the content in the world. Everyone in media land is flipping delusional. The TIMES HAVE CHANGED PEOPLE! Give people what they want and when they want it, and occasionally show them a brilliant ad for the service.