stevew Posted October 20, 2008 Posted October 20, 2008 Foxtel to launch Channel 111 in pre-emptive strike Michael Bodey | October 20, 2008 FOXTEL will launch another library entertainment channel in a pre-emptive strike against the coming free-to-air TV multi-channels. The move, however, will be a competitive blow to one of its own. On November 1, the Foxtel Owned and Operated group will switch on the new subscription TV channel, 111 HITS, pitched squarely at the lucrative advertiser-friendly 25-54 demographic. It will program US hits primarily from the Warner Bros, Disney and 20th Century Fox studios. These will include Friends, Will & Grace, Ally McBeal, The Wonder Years, That 70s Show, ER, Murphy Brown, Alf, Lost, 24 and Baywatch. The channel further defines the recent demographic changes to a number of Foxtel's owned and operated channels, such as FOX8, W, Arena and FOX Classics. It also pre-empts any "catalogue" programming the three commercial free-to-air networks might have planned for their coming standard definition digital channels. The station's position on the subscription TV program guide, 111, lands it among general entertainment of Fox8 (108), the Seven (107) and Ten (110) networks. "Collectively, our ambition is to take audience away from the free-to-airs," Foxtel executive director of television and marketing Brian Walsh said. "If anything, this will take audiences away from the three commercials." But it also competes directly with subscription TV channel TV1, jointly owned by Hollywood's Universal, Sony and Paramount studios. 111 HITS is believed to have been developed under the "TV Land" title, a similarly themed catalogue channel on US pay-TV owned by MTV Networks, a division of Viacom, which owns the Paramount studio. Mr Walsh played down any suggestion that the creation of 111 Hits was a sleight against TV1. "We think there's a gap in the market for a contemporary hits channel," he said. "TV1 has done a terrific job over the years but they've gone more contemporary with their own commissioned content." The Warner Bros studio had been assessing the merit of establishing its own channels in Australia, as it had done successfully in parts of Asia. This new channel came from those discussions, Mr Walsh said. "They agreed the best use of their products was to spread it across demographics and channels on our platform rather than aggregate them on their own," he said. The basis of 111 HITS' programming will be the Warner library, Hollywood's biggest. Nevertheless, Warner programs that fit other demographics will remain on other channels. For instance, Gossip Girl will stay on youth-skewing FOX8, The Closer and Cold Case on female-skewing W and Curb Your Enthusiasm on the Comedy channel. Mr Walsh said one of 111 HITS' major strengths against the free-to-airs was assured programming. "It will be great to have a channel that shows programs consistently and reliably," he said. "We promise a dedicated schedule that won't change." For instance, the schedule from 6.30pm each weeknight begins with Murphy Brown, The King of Queens, That 70s Show, Dharma & Greg, Friends and Will & Grace. And Nine's major US hit this year, Two and a Half Men, will screen five nights a week (at the same time) in 2009. Mr Walsh said last week's MIPCOM TV fair in Cannes delivered some strong format buys for his platform. "For us, it was a very strong market," he said. Among Foxtel's purchases were the self-explanatory program from the creators of Ice Road Truckers, America's Toughest Jobs; talent show format, The Ultimate School Musical; and a new weekly game show franchise that Mr Walsh described as "The Bourne Identity meets 24", The Phone. "There are still strong formats out there -- you just have to dig around," he said.
DrP Posted October 20, 2008 Posted October 20, 2008 The channel number - 111 - also refers to the number of programs that they are going to repeat on it after having worn their welcome out on other channels.
loony Posted October 20, 2008 Posted October 20, 2008 These will include Friends, Will & Grace, Ally McBeal, The Wonder Years, That 70s Show, ER, Murphy Brown, Alf, Lost, 24 and Baywatch. Sounds like another channel i wont watch. Lost and 24 are the only ones in that list i would watch if i hadnt already seen them. I think on one of the 111 AD's they show Malcolm on the middle, hasnt this already been aired on other foxtel channels?
BamBBBam Posted October 20, 2008 Posted October 20, 2008 hasnt this already been aired on other foxtel channels? you could say that about almost any show on this new channel..
MattWinter Posted October 20, 2008 Posted October 20, 2008 It's not a 'new' channel - they are really just splitting up their existing channels. There are still plenty of shows that don't have a good timeslot, so I say bring it on! Malcolm in the middle has been shown on the Comedy Channel (which I don't subscribe too) so I'll be glad for it to be on one of the basic channels - hopefully it gets a decent timeslot.
xxxxxx Posted October 20, 2008 Posted October 20, 2008 hahahahahahahaha ""Collectively, our ambition is to take audience away from the free-to-airs," Foxtel executive director of television and marketing Brian Walsh said. "If anything, this will take audiences away from the three commercials." If and Imean IF the FTA's get their act together and TIVO etc then its Foxtel that is going to have the problem. Sure new subscribers will love Foxtel but like the others above they will just destroy the channel like they have with the others. Buy 2 or 3 season of a show thats been going for 10 or 15 or 20 years and then just repeat the shi#t out of them. Personally I am keeping Foxtel till next year just to see what the FTA's offer. I dont have movies now as cheaper to rent DVD's. Got rid of Platinum etc. Have Basic plus one of those extras packages. At the moment watch probably 50/50 with Foxtel/FTA's. Well time will tell.
the_wonderchild Posted October 20, 2008 Posted October 20, 2008 (edited) ALF!! ahahahha.......i couldn't believe i noticed that one as well. Edited October 20, 2008 by the_wonderchild
BroadbanD Posted October 21, 2008 Posted October 21, 2008 The channel number - 111 - also refers to the number of programs that they are going to repeat on it after having worn their welcome out on other channels. or they will repeat 1 episode 111 times this year.
sulrich Posted October 21, 2008 Posted October 21, 2008 Wasting Sat bandwidth, without adding any new content seems like a ginormous waste of time to me. Seems like they are shuffling deckchairs on the titanic? Less repeats, more new (and up to date content) will bring viewership to Foxtel, not using smoke and mirrors with 'new channels'. Cheers Steve
sydmos Posted October 21, 2008 Posted October 21, 2008 Wasting Sat bandwidth, without adding any new content seems like a ginormous waste of time to me. Seems like they are shuffling deckchairs on the titanic?Less repeats, more new (and up to date content) will bring viewership to Foxtel, not using smoke and mirrors with 'new channels'. Cheers Steve Yep. New subscribers wont notice the difference but long term subscribers will have seen shows jump from one channel to the next to the next. Hopefully the FTA's will have the brains to buy extra content and show some different and/or new shows.
MattWinter Posted October 21, 2008 Posted October 21, 2008 Wasting Sat bandwidth, without adding any new content seems like a ginormous waste of time to me. Seems like they are shuffling deckchairs on the titanic?Less repeats, more new (and up to date content) will bring viewership to Foxtel, not using smoke and mirrors with 'new channels'. Cheers Steve I disagree. Okay, it would be better if foxtel launched new channels with a lot of new content, but there are still plenty of shows on foxtel that don't have good timeslots, and aren't shown enough. Take Lost, only shown at 3am in the morning. Or That 70s show, which can only be fit in at 4:30 in the afternoon. Foxtel should have enough channels, so that you can watch whatever show you like at some decent timeslot (either daily or weekly).
DrP Posted October 21, 2008 Posted October 21, 2008 Lost ran at 'normal' times on FOX8 the first few times it ran. Then, as with other repeated;y re-run shows, it started moving around the schedule.. no doubt to allow people that couldn't watch it during 'normal' times to see it... and to pad out the program lineup too. The same with That '70s Show. Foxtel's IQ is the answer to programs being run at 'inconvenient' times which would explain Foxtel's plan to migrate everyone to some form of PVR.
MattWinter Posted October 22, 2008 Posted October 22, 2008 Lost ran at 'normal' times on FOX8 the first few times it ran. Then, as with other repeated;y re-run shows, it started moving around the schedule.. no doubt to allow people that couldn't watch it during 'normal' times to see it... and to pad out the program lineup too. The same with That '70s Show.Foxtel's IQ is the answer to programs being run at 'inconvenient' times which would explain Foxtel's plan to migrate everyone to some form of PVR. The Foxtel IQ is handy, but I still think it's best for Foxtel to have as many channels as possible, and to spread out the shows that they have across as many channels as possible, so that you always have more shows to choose from, and more shows can be given good timeslots. Of course it's even more important for Foxtel to get new programming, but there's nothing wrong with showing plenty of repeats as well.
DrP Posted October 22, 2008 Posted October 22, 2008 but there's nothing wrong with showing plenty of repeats as well. IMO there is something very very wrong when the same shows are repeatedly literally continually. In the case of some shows not even the entire set of seasons is run. Very Very Very Wrong!
MattWinter Posted October 22, 2008 Posted October 22, 2008 IMO there is something very very wrong when the same shows are repeatedly literally continually. In the case of some shows not even the entire set of seasons is run. Very Very Very Wrong! That's certainly true - with every show, they should start at the start of season 1, go right through the series until the end, and then start again (like they do with Family Guy/Futurama on FOX8). They also should stop advertising repeats as "new" when they've been shown on other channels. I don't mind the concept of "repeat channels" like 111 though - I think that's always going to be part of pay-tv.
xxxxxx Posted October 22, 2008 Posted October 22, 2008 The Foxtel IQ is handy, but I still think it's best for Foxtel to have as many channels as possible, and to spread out the shows that they have across as many channels as possible, so that you always have more shows to choose from, and more shows can be given good timeslots.Of course it's even more important for Foxtel to get new programming, but there's nothing wrong with showing plenty of repeats as well. Totally disagree Matt with "nothing wrong with showing plenty of repeats as well". Sure a new subscriber and even those that have had it for a few years wont notice all the repeats but hands up those that are sick and tired of shows like The Nanny, Hogans Heroes, Bonanza, Charmed, Star Treks, Stargates that have been on the same time on the same channel. The Star Treks have been on cycle since day 1. I have lost count how many times they have been on Sunday night and now wow on Sat night. Ab Fab,Allo Allo,Are you Being Served got repeated senseless on UKTV then off they went. And now where are they ? Comedy Channel. But tonite on Fox Classics they had ad for show starting on Nov 03 ..................drum roll...................... Lost in Space ! at least its been off for a few years so may have forgotten some of the shows. Funny its a Sci Fi show and could replace some of those Star Trek/Stargates before they burn them out but maybe it has to do with rights or whatever. Everyone understands there has to be repeats but surely not to the level Foxtel gives us. Agree with Dr P how with some shows that have been going for 10 or 15 or 30 years in some cases they just have a few years worth and just repeat to death. Not a problem if they repeated the shows at other times and put on an extra few years worth. But am interested in what the FTA's have up their sleeves for next year to compete. Maybe nothing worthwhile and maybe they will something to surprise us.
MattWinter Posted October 22, 2008 Posted October 22, 2008 What I'm saying, is that I'd rather Foxtel have 100 channels, with shows repeated a lot, than have just 1 channel with much more variety. If you get sick of something repeating over and over, watch something else on a different channel. When you think about it, if every TV show in existence had a decent daily timeslot on a Foxtel channel, you wouldn't get sick of the same shows being repeated on the same channel every day for years... because there would be so many channels that you could watch a different channel each night. My whole argument is that the repeats are not the problem, the problem is the lack of new content.
sydmos Posted October 22, 2008 Posted October 22, 2008 What I'm saying, is that I'd rather Foxtel have 100 channels, with shows repeated a lot, than have just 1 channel with much more variety. If you get sick of something repeating over and over, watch something else on a different channel. When you think about it, if every TV show in existence had a decent daily timeslot on a Foxtel channel, you wouldn't get sick of the same shows being repeated on the same channel every day for years... because there would be so many channels that you could watch a different channel each night. My whole argument is that the repeats are not the problem, the problem is the lack of new content. but Matt if they spend more $'s for extra channels whats the difference in just buying new content ? It really is the same thing and the same thing we are all after - newer content ! I think Foxtels problem is they just dont have the brains to move shows around and thats what p*sses off people eg like others have posted are those shows like Star Trek every Sunday night since the beginning of time. Not to mention a heap of shows on TV1 or Sat arvo on Fox Classics , Fox8 , Comedy. eg if they showed the Star Treks from first episode to the last on Sunday nights then moved them to say another time during the day then another day say at 1am in the morning but they dont. The series will finish and they just start it again from episode one. There are lots of shows that do this. As another poster mentioned there are good examples of this happening from Star Treks/The Nanny/Hogans Heroes/Seinfeld/Frasier and sure it would be happening on other channels they I dont watch or have. I think most people have a regular viewing pattern so wouldnt it be great to watch a series from beginning to end and then the next week they show another series from beginning to end etc. Rotate them at different times not same time same channel.
xxxxxx Posted October 22, 2008 Posted October 22, 2008 What I'm saying, is that I'd rather Foxtel have 100 channels, with shows repeated a lot, than have just 1 channel with much more variety. If you get sick of something repeating over and over, watch something else on a different channel. When you think about it, if every TV show in existence had a decent daily timeslot on a Foxtel channel, you wouldn't get sick of the same shows being repeated on the same channel every day for years... because there would be so many channels that you could watch a different channel each night. My whole argument is that the repeats are not the problem, the problem is the lack of new content. You have to factor in Matt that those extra stations would cost money. I would rather that money be spent on extra content for the channels we already have. Looking at what channels there are on overseas cable/sat companies we dont have too many we are missing out. Just cut back on the level of repeats on current channels and slot in the new content into current channels.
re-boot Posted October 23, 2008 Posted October 23, 2008 But tonite on Fox Classics they had ad for show starting on Nov 03 ..................drum roll...................... Lost in Space ! Awesome! I'll gladly watch this. Bring back Nick at Nite I say! They played all the classic sci-fi shows. Space 1999 rocked
xxxxxx Posted October 23, 2008 Posted October 23, 2008 Awesome! I'll gladly watch this. Bring back Nick at Nite I say! They played all the classic sci-fi shows. Space 1999 rocked Yep I will be watching it as well as in the early days it was quite good then lost the plot when Dr Smith ran around screaming all the time. And yep Space 1999. I have been hoping for other shows we havent seen for awhile now - Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Time Tunnel, Superman, Jet Jackson , any b-grade Sci Fi movies etc.
rhysxanthis Posted October 23, 2008 Posted October 23, 2008 Rotate them at different times not same time same channel. Same bat time, same bat channel! Sorry, i couldn't resist :lol:
marco1968 Posted October 23, 2008 Posted October 23, 2008 If you flick over to 111 now, there is a heap of advertising in the lead up to 1/11. Cheers Marco
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