Have US TV series lost their appeal on RTE 2?

zeebre12 · 01-01-2017 11:14pm #1

Why do RTE bother with US TV anymore? New series of top US shows are on at all hours in the morning where no one would watch them like Hawaii 5-0 at 2.25, Rookie Blue at 1.20 and Shameless at 12.20? Have they lost their appeal? Even top shows like Gotham are on at all hours. They cant be that cheap to acquire?

Cantona's Collars · 01-01-2017 11:17pm

zeebre12 wrote: »

Why do RTE bother with US TV anymore? New series of top US shows are on at all hours in the morning where no one would watch them like Hawaii 5-0 at 2.25, Rookie Blue at 1.20 and Shameless at 12.20? Have they lost their appeal? Even top shows like Gotham are on at all hours. They cant be that cheap to acquire?

Prime time shows on other channels yet the insomniac slot on RTE. They prefer to show banal stuff or constant talk/current affairs shows every night talking about the same stuff ad nauseam.
No wonder people download or stream shows.

Atlantic Dawn · 01-01-2017 11:19pm

They buy them so TV3 can't, it's a bloody scandalous use of licence payers money, at the same time they put repeats of Mrs Brownes Boys and Eamon & Bridget on prime time slots.

Elmo · 01-01-2017 11:28pm

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

They buy them so TV3 can't, it's a bloody scandalous use of licence payers money, at the same time they put repeats of Mrs Brownes Boys and Eamon & Bridget on prime time slots.

TV3 have never gone after the same shows as RTÉ so that incorrect.

zeebre12 · 01-01-2017 11:32pm

If US shows dont rate well anymore, why waste tax payers money? Its not like they have new home produced series in primetime, its all mostly repeats then after 12 come new US series. Also you never really see promos for new US tv series much anymore? I suppose gone are the days of Lost, Friends and Desperate Housewives. Have they lost their appeal or is it just RTE? (If so is this the same in other countries?)

political analyst · 01-01-2017 11:35pm

Elmo wrote: »

TV3 have never gone after the same shows as RTÉ so that incorrect.

Why is that?

The Parish priest · 01-01-2017 11:37pm

Because of Netflix etc, they just don't get the viewers anymore, I agree tho that there is no point of rte showing them at 3am.tLong gone are the days when rte 2 was getting 500k viewers every Tuesday night for desperate housewives.

political analyst · 02-01-2017 1:17am

zeebre12 wrote: »

If US shows dont rate well anymore, why waste tax payers money? Its not like they have new home produced series in primetime, its all mostly repeats then after 12 come new US series. Also you never really see promos for new US tv series much anymore? I suppose gone are the days of Lost, Friends and Desperate Housewives. Have they lost their appeal or is it just RTE? (If so is this the same in other countries?)

It's possible that RTÉ uses only commercial revenue to purchase the rights to foreign programmes.

Elmo · 02-01-2017 7:32pm

US TV hasn't gone out of fashion for RTE or any other broadcaster. It has been the case for the last 15 or more years for RTE to broadcast programmes after midnight on RTE2.

TV3 had previously come out to say that RTE bought up package of programmes to prevent them buying them, RTE claim that TV3 have never bid on any packages that RTE have bought. Indeed, TG4 seem to be able to buy US packages of programmes with little interference from either TV3 or RTE.

RTE cannot claim that TV shows don't do well in their prime time schedule, mainly because so many have never featured as part of that schedule.

Gotham can be taken as a show that didn't rate well for RTE2 but with such low viewing figure on the channel over the last few years it has to be consider a sucess for the channel. It was eventually moved to late night, but it took them at least a year to find that late night spot or the series. Long after Channel 5 had shown series 2 and after you could binge on Netflix, IMO RTE's own fault.

On the other had RTE mismanaged The Good Wife, it clearly rated well even when it aired months after More4. The Good Wife was push around RTE ONE's schedule, even though it could have taken the place of Irish Drama's on Sunday night when they weren't being broadcast, instead RTE opted for a lifestyle programme. The same can be said for BBC programmes like Silk and Happy Valley both of which would have worked well for RTE one's Sunday night schedule.

RTE spend 25million in 2015 on imports and just 20million on Drama (10million of which goes to Fair City). Yes a waste because RTE don't know how to market these shows, and their inability to get boxsets for their player.

The Parish priest · 02-01-2017 7:39pm

I would love to know how rte spend so much money on fair city, the sets look like cardboard and the cast have been wearing the clothes for years

Elmo · 02-01-2017 7:49pm

The Parish priest wrote: »

I would love to know how rte spend so much money on fair city, the sets look like cardboard and the cast have been wearing the clothes for years

realistically Fair City is on a tight budget. It works out at around 48,000 euro per episode, but you are right Fair City producer need to consider a few new sets. Fair City is run on a day to day production budget that means new sets are a luxury.

newacc2015 · 02-01-2017 8:01pm

RTE 2 has always shown amazing shows at ridiculous times. AFAIK they used to show Mad Men at around 1.30am on a Monday night. I can't see the point of spending a small fortune on an Emmy winning show and airing it at a time no one will watch it

IMO I say RTE is afraid that they won't be seen supporting Irish TV if they only gave primetime slots to American produced shows. You have ridiculous TDs every few years calling for x amount of radio airtime to be given to Irish made music.

The fact is too I wouldn't call the viewership of RTE to be the most intelligent. I can't imagine a majority of the viewership of RTE being able to wrap their head around a show like the Sopranos or the Wire that requires some level of intelligence. They would rather watch a show like Miss Browne boys that doesn't require them to engage their brain in any form

I don't buy the netflix argument or streaming, as a lot of the country doesn't have internet good enough to stream. I just think most people will watch whatever is on RTE whether it be an Emmy winning show or the 45th airing of a Father Ted episode.

Elmo · 02-01-2017 8:17pm

newacc2015 wrote: »

IMO I say RTE is afraid that they won't be seen supporting Irish TV if they only gave primetime slots to American produced shows. You have ridiculous TDs every few years calling for x amount of radio airtime to be given to Irish made music.

This could actually work for both the indo and public broadcasters.

The fact is too I wouldn't call the viewership of RTE to be the most intelligent. I can't imagine a majority of the viewership of RTE being able to wrap their head around a show like the Sopranos or the Wire that requires some level of intelligence. They would rather watch a show like Miss Browne boys that doesn't require them to engage their brain in any form

Seriously this is an audience that was able to get to grips with ER and The Practice, not much of a jump to The Wire, which TG4 aired. not saying either ER or the Practice come close to The Wire that's another argument. The level of intelligence of an audience isn't an argument considering that RTE have a second channel. And even if the intelligence is low it must be much lower for TV3 audiences!

An Ciarraioch · 02-01-2017 11:41pm

I presume the creation of Sky Atlantic plays a role here also - when RTE Two was in its prime, it boasted about showing the first episodes of US series a few days before the UK channels, but with Sky getting exclusive rights to the major series, Montrose is largely left with the dregs.

medoc · 03-01-2017 12:23am

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

They buy them so TV3 can't, it's a bloody scandalous use of licence payers money, at the same time they put repeats of Mrs Brownes Boys and Eamon & Bridget on prime time slots.

They might come as part of a package deal with studios/distributors etc. It's a scandalous waste of scheduling to put on any repeats in prime time and these first run shows in a graveyard slot.

Rjd2 · 03-01-2017 12:33am

newacc2015 wrote: »

RTE 2 has always shown amazing shows at ridiculous times. AFAIK they used to show Mad Men at around 1.30am on a Monday night. I can't see the point of spending a small fortune on an Emmy winning show and airing it at a time no one will watch it

IMO I say RTE is afraid that they won't be seen supporting Irish TV if they only gave primetime slots to American produced shows. You have ridiculous TDs every few years calling for x amount of radio airtime to be given to Irish made music.

The fact is too I wouldn't call the viewership of RTE to be the most intelligent. I can't imagine a majority of the viewership of RTE being able to wrap their head around a show like the Sopranos or the Wire that requires some level of intelligence. They would rather watch a show like Miss Browne boys that doesn't require them to engage their brain in any form

I don't buy the netflix argument or streaming, as a lot of the country doesn't have internet good enough to stream. I just think most people will watch whatever is on RTE whether it be an Emmy winning show or the 45th airing of a Father Ted episode.

I could be wrong here, but pretty sure they aired The Soprano's towards the end at least not to long after it was aired in America.

Used to go out Thursday evening at nine or ten and most certainly was not hidden away.

Its a long time ago, but bar a few stupid trailers, they showed the Sopranos plenty of respect.

topmanamillion · 03-01-2017 12:43am

Any American TV series that RTE shows late night is almost always 6 months after its USA air date.
I suspect the length they wait to show them also decreases the amount RTE pays for them.
The Walking Dead, The Americans, Vikings etc.
Any fans of these shows have already seen them long before RTE get around to using them as late night filler.

The prevalance of things like online streaming and on demand TV has exploded in the last 5-10 years. Making comparisons with Lost, Friends and Desprate Housewives irrelevant.

Elmo · 03-01-2017 4:57pm

topmanamillion wrote: »

Any American TV series that RTE shows late night is almost always 6 months after its USA air date.
I suspect the length they wait to show them also decreases the amount RTE pays for them.
The Walking Dead, The Americans, Vikings etc.
Any fans of these shows have already seen them long before RTE get around to using them as late night filler.

The prevalance of things like online streaming and on demand TV has exploded in the last 5-10 years. Making comparisons with Lost, Friends and Desprate Housewives irrelevant.

It is a major problem but even with LOST and DH RTE were forced to insure that they got shows the next day, due to downloading and Sky/Channel 4.

RTE used to hold off on US programming so that they didn't have to take breaks like the US so they would have a full 22 weeks e.g. Grey's has double eps starting, though one of the worst US series in history.

RTE, TV3 and TG4 (all broadcasters) should insist that the old model of distribution has died. They need to be able to have a boxset on their players until at least the beginning of the following season of any show, along with the ablity of air programmes as US/UK stations.

e.g. UTV Ireland and now TV3 have the rights to Poldark but the BBC have the right held from other broadcasters until 18months after airing on BBC ONE. ITV Studio should have been told that this type of system is unsustainable.

Occono · 06-01-2017 3:35am

Elmo wrote: »

It is a major problem but even with LOST and DH RTE were forced to insure that they got shows the next day, due to downloading and Sky/Channel 4.

RTE used to hold off on US programming so that they didn't have to take breaks like the US so they would have a full 22 weeks e.g. Grey's has double eps starting, though one of the worst US series in history.

RTE, TV3 and TG4 (all broadcasters) should insist that the old model of distribution has died. They need to be able to have a boxset on their players until at least the beginning of the following season of any show, along with the ablity of air programmes as US/UK stations.

e.g. UTV Ireland and now TV3 have the rights to Poldark but the BBC have the right held from other broadcasters until 18months after airing on BBC ONE. ITV Studio should have been told that this type of system is unsustainable.

Netflix does have Poldark Season 1. https://www.netflix.com/title/80070050

Elmo · 06-01-2017 5:45pm

Occono wrote: »

Netflix does have Poldark Season 1. https://www.netflix.com/title/80070050

See this is the issue for TV3 if they hold the rights, they've been sold for 18months after BBC while Netflix get them now. Must check up if this is the case for TV3's ITV Studios programming.

Qs · 06-01-2017 5:52pm

medoc wrote: »

They might come as part of a package deal with studios/distributors etc. It's a scandalous waste of scheduling to put on any repeats in prime time and these first run shows in a graveyard slot.

I don't know if its still the case but thats definitely the way it was done years ago. I knew a person who worked acquiring these rights for RTE and if you bought Friends you took 4/5 other shows from NBC too. IIRC at the time RTE were buying the rights to sell on the shows around Europe too. That was 15ish years ago so my memories could be off and it could have changed.

Elmo · 06-01-2017 6:39pm

Qs wrote: »

I don't know if its still the case but thats definitely the way it was done years ago. I knew a person who worked acquiring these rights for RTE and if you bought Friends you took 4/5 other shows from NBC too. IIRC at the time RTE were buying the rights to sell on the shows around Europe too. That was 15ish years ago so my memories could be off and it could have changed.

I doubt that RTE could buy Distribution rights. But yes RTE buy packages of shows unlike in bigger countries where they can purchase on a show by show bases e.g. Sky buying Lost at a million per episode. If you remember Sex and the Cities run on TV3 you might also remember their mid-week movie which was generally bad lifetime movies, this was due to the package, RTE refused to buy because of the package films surrounding the rights, which they say they regretted.

political analyst · 06-01-2017 6:50pm

Blue Bloods has been moved to Tuesday nights at 10:15 on RTÉ 1.

topmanamillion · 06-01-2017 8:19pm

political analyst wrote: »

Blue Bloods has been moved to Tuesday nights at 10:15 on RTÉ 1.

Surprised it got such a prime time slot.Its a meandering procedural cop drama just like the countless other US meandering procedural cop dramas.

political analyst · 06-01-2017 10:13pm

topmanamillion wrote: »

Surprised it got such a prime time slot.Its a meandering procedural cop drama just like the countless other US meandering procedural cop dramas.

But the difference here is that the protagonists are Irish-Americans. I suspect that's the reason RTÉ is showing it (Not to mention the fact that Sky Atlantic, which has the exclusive rights to it in the UK, isn't available to cable subscribers in the Republic (or, for that matter, the UK)).

brick man · 06-01-2017 10:39pm

topmanamillion wrote:

Surprised it got such a prime time slot.Its a meandering procedural cop drama just like the countless other US meandering procedural cop dramas.

What's even more silly is that over on RTE2 is Grey's anatomy . where is the sense in having two us dramas at same time approx. beggars belief

political analyst · 07-01-2017 12:01am

brick man wrote: »

What's even more silly is that over on RTE2 is Grey's anatomy . where is the sense in having two us dramas at same time approx. beggars belief

As far as I'm concerned, Grey's Anatomy is unadulterated sentimental claptrap.

Oh, by the way, there is the timeshift channel for RTÉ 1's evening schedule.

brick man · 07-01-2017 12:50am

political analyst wrote:

Oh, by the way, there is the timeshift channel for RTÃ‰ 1's evening schedule.

That's not the point at all RTE 1 & 2 should not be showing the same type programming at the same time in prime time . would it not make more sense to have Tommy tiernan on Tuesday night on 1 put blue blood on Thursday when 2 is showing home produced stuff, that would be proper scheduling and choice for the viewer

political analyst · 07-01-2017 1:03am

brick man wrote: »

That's not the point at all RTE 1 & 2 should not be showing the same type programming at the same time in prime time . would it not make more sense to have Tommy tiernan on Tuesday night on 1 put blue blood on Thursday when 2 is showing home produced stuff, that would be proper scheduling and choice for the viewer

How do you know that Blue Bloods and Grey's Anatomy are not scheduled against each other in the US?

Blue Bloods is a CBS show. Grey's Anatomy is an ABC show.

There's a world of difference between "Doctor MacDreamy" and Detective Danny Reagan (a Dirty Harry-type character).

Vic_08 · 07-01-2017 4:05am

zeebre12 wrote: »

Why do RTE bother with US TV anymore? New series of top US shows are on at all hours in the morning where no one would watch them like Hawaii 5-0 at 2.25, Rookie Blue at 1.20 and Shameless at 12.20? Have they lost their appeal? Even top shows like Gotham are on at all hours. They cant be that cheap to acquire?

None of those are new series.

Shameless and Hawaii 5-0 are a series behind US and Sky for the latter, Rookie Blue was cancelled in 2015 and the series RTE are currently showing is the second last one from 2014.

Elmo · 07-01-2017 4:47am

Vic_08 wrote: »

None of those are new series.

Shameless and Hawaii 5-0 are a series behind US and Sky for the latter, Rookie Blue was cancelled in 2015 and the series RTE are currently showing is the second last one from 2014.

Yes but why buy them, they are new to audience that don't have Sky.

Have US TV series lost their appeal on RTE 2?

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