Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Monday, September 16th, 2024

Major streamers are more likely to be the first place viewers turn to watch TV

Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Monday, September 16th, 2024:

IT'S THE SOFT LAUNCH OF THE NEW FALL PRIMETIME BROADCAST TV SCHEDULE
While things don't really start to kick in until next week, the first handful of Fall TV season and series premieres roll out this week. It's a strange time, because the process feels so divorced from everything that is happening in the rest of television and streaming. If you don't watch much linear TV, you might not much of a sense of what is coming and whether you should watch it. I've certainly not seen much in the way of out-of-the-box marketing and PR.

FWIW, here are this week's new broadcast television premieres. I'll have a more in-depth look at the new shows next week:

Tuesday, September 17th:
Dancing With The Stars Season Thirty-Three Premiere (ABC)
High Potential Series Premiere (ABC)

Wednesday, September 18th:
Survivor Season Forty-Seven Premiere (CBS)
The Golden Bachelorette (ABC)

Friday, September 20th:
20/20 Season Forty-Seven Premiere (ABC)

Saturday, September 21st:
48 Hours Season Premiere (CBS)

HUB RESEARCH: MAJOR STREAMERS ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE THE FIRST PLACE VIEWERS TURN TO WATCH TV
Hub Research just released a new study which provides a lot of insight into viewing behavior, both on linear TV as well as streaming.

Key findings from Hub’s annual “Decoding the Default” study include:

Major SVODs combined now surpass live TV as the "first place to turn to watch.” While headlines continue to proclaim the death march of cable, live TV (via cable, vMVPD or antenna) is still a default destination for 38% of viewers:

Netflix is the top SVOD default, on par with cable TV as a "first stop" to watch. 26% of respondents said Netflix is the first place they turn to when they want to watch something, on par with the 26% of viewers who say traditional cable (excluding vMVPD and antenna) is their default source:

Different kinds of content anchor viewers to SVODs, live TV and FAST services. 42% of viewers who default to a major SVOD say that "favorite shows" connect them to that service.  In contrast, live programming (sports, news) continues to make traditional cable a default source, while those who default to a free ad-supported (FAST) service say that "variety" is the big draw:

Loyalty to SVODs is notably stronger compared to traditional MVPD sources. Default usage helps stickiness, but only so much: when viewers are asked to choose a service to drop, live TV from MVPD does not hold up as well as streaming services.  Even among devoted cable viewers who say it is their "first choice" for viewing, they are less loyal to that service (24% say they will drop), compared to SVOD "default" users (3%-13%):

AUSTRALIAN TV HAS AN ORIGINALITY PROBLEM
Dan Barrett's "Always Be Watching" newsletter is a great way to keep up on what is going on in the Australian corner of the television and streaming world and among the things he wrote about today was the marked lack of originality right now in Australian TV. 

In its upfront presentation for Australia, Paramount+ announced it had ordered an Australian version of the hit UK format Ghosts. But as Barrett notes, there are a lot of examples of shows being reworked for the Australian market:

What strikes me as odd about the idea of Paramount creating local versions of international shows is that it seems like small thinking. NCIS: Sydney gets a pass because it is the sort of show which can (and already has) find an audience overseas. Viewers would check out an NCIS: Sydney in the same way that there’s one set in Hawaii. There’s a value add-component: The thing you like PLUS an additional exotic element.

Can the same be said for Ghosts as IP? Viewers are more likely to just watch their local Ghosts rather than travel with the show - comedy is a bit more culturally specific (and note that the US Ghosts never really got much buy-in from Australian audiences… it felt very, very American in flavour).

Why aren’t they using the much smaller Australian market as an opportunity to establish new IP and test out ideas? When I look at the local commissions, almost all of it is regurgitated international formats.

“New” shows for 2025 include Ghosts Australia, a local version of Impractical Jokers, yet another effort at a local Big Brother (seriously, enough already with this f**king tired format - show some imagination), returns for The Dog House Australia, Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly Australia, Australian Survivor, House Hunters Australia, I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here (Australia), The Amazing Race Australia, Deal or No Deal Australia, Gogglebox Australia, Taskmaster Australia, Masterchef Australia, and Shark Tank Australia.

ODDS AND SODS
* Season five of Below Deck Sailing Yacht premieres Monday, October 7th on Bravo.

* BET+ has renewed The Impact: Atlanta for a third season.

* Alison Roman’s Home Movies series (formerly available only on her YouTube channel) will make their television premiere Wednesday, October 2nd on the Tastemade streaming channel.

WHAT'S NEW TONIGHT AND TOMORROW

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 16TH:
* Antiques Roadshow Season Premiere (PBS)
* Candice Renoir (Acorn TV)
* Celebrity Family Feud Season Finale (ABC)
* CoComelon (Netflix)
* Grave Torture (Netflix)
* Great Escapes With Morgan Freeman Season Finale (History)
* Halloween Baking Championship Season Premiere (Food)
* History's Greatest Escapes With Morgan Freeman Season Two Finale (History)
* I Love A Mama's Boy Season Premiere (TLC)
* TMZ Investigates: Matthew Perry & The Secret Celebrity Drug Ring (Fox)

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17TH:
* American Masters And Voces: Julia Alvarez: A Life Remembered (PBS)
* American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez (FX)
* Body Cam Season Premiere (Investigation Discovery)
* Caught In The Act: Unfaithful Season Premiere (MTV)
* Child Star (Hulu)
* Culinary Class Wars Series Premiere (Netflix)
* Dancing With The Stars Season Thirty-Three Premiere (ABC)
* Deon Cole: OK, Mister (Netflix)
* Exposed: Naked Crimes Season Premiere (Investigation Discovery)
* High Potential Series Premiere (ABC)
* Live From the Other Side With Tyler Henry Series Premiere (Netflix)
* Missing (Netflix)
* Nothin' But a Good Time: The Uncensored Story Of '80s Hair Metal (Paramount+)
* Road Rage Season Premiere (Investigation Discovery)
* Sin City Tow Season Premiere (Discovery)
* Stopping The Steal (HBO)
* World's Most Notorious Killers Series Premiere (Peacock)

SEE YOU ON TUESDAY!