Television In Australia...An open letter to CBS America for programming changes in Australia.

A week can be a long time in television so I am glad I waited before publishing the rest of this post. This post is kind of an open letter to the US television giant CBS who took over local Australian television station channel 10 last year in September 2017. 

I am appealing for a better deal for Australian fans of the fabulous CBS US made television shows. 

Note...Since I wrote this blog this morning CBS seem to have done a back flip over the number of Supernatural episodes available to Australian viewers digitally. There are now only 4 episodes available through iTunes and 2 episodes available through Google Play. 

It seems Australians won't be able to watch any new Supernatural digitally until they are shown on free-to-air TV. I am certainly glad I didn't pay my money for the full season and the number of episodes available in the US and Canada. I won't be watching the current season or buying any digital content until the release of the Supernatural Season 13 on DVD usually around September. 

Dear CBS America...

I am a fan of many television series from CBS including Supernatural, The Big Bang Theory, Hawaii Five-0 and Scorpion. I also watch other US produced television shows including The X-Files and Once Upon a Time.

I stopped watching Australian television in the traditional format years ago. I haven't watched any content, not even the news on an Australian television station at a set time with commercials for years with the exception being the Australian rugby union team the Wallabies' test matches. I find watching television in it's traditional means totally frustrating and discouraging. I therefore buy all of my content on DVD or digitally or occasionally watch catch-up TV on the Internet.

Despite the development of catch-up TV for fans to watch television shows when they can after the original screening with few commercials on the Internet, legal action by Internet Service Providers and pay television stations to prevent and discourage Australian piracy and the purchase of free-to-air television station Channel 10 by US television giant CBS things are not much better.

After the take over by CBS of Channel 10 there was considerable discussion about the future of television in Australia. In an article titled "From reality to sports: What a CBS-owned Channel 10 may look like." by Miranda Wade published on 9 September, 2017 by nine.com.au the opposition television station she writes about what the future of television in Australia may look like after the take over.

The article writes about the focus on Australian made content and the regulations for Australian content..."Currently, commercial free-to-air television licensees are required to broadcast an annual minimum of 55 percent of Australian programming between 6 am and midnight on their primary channel. They are also required to provide at least 1,460 hours of Australian programming on their non-primary channels, which for Ten include Eleven and One..."

One media analyst states in the article..."Regardless of the point system, the only programs to produce mega ratings are Aussie. There are no American programs that produce mega ratings. There may be formats we licence from America like The Voice or The Bachelor, that are produced here, so the large bulk of the money is here." (Since the publication of this article the US television show The Good Doctor has had been the exception).

When CBS took over channel 10 I had hopes for fans like me of your US television shows in the delivery of content we had to wait so long for. While I wish all those involved in creating Australian television content all the best I find watching Australian made television and the way it is delivered with advertising totally torturous whether it be news, current affairs, reality television or drama.

Free-to-air television stations including channel 10 continue to treat their viewers and the fans of US made shows with absolute contempt unless they watch Australian made shows. Initially television stations suck viewers and fans in by screening the first six or seven episodes of popular US television shows a couple of days after they have been screened in the US.

As the Christmas holidays arrive Australians are fed a diet of repeated old episodes. Fans like me of a television show tend to have all the seasons on DVD or digitally so I don't watch these. New episodes that are screened in the US are saved for the Australian ratings months well into the new year. Of course none of these television shows ever make the ratings as the real fans have moved on with the current US season through pirated content available from a range of sources.

For those fans who do the right thing and buy a whole season digitally in Australia the wait for content is not as easy and can be long and torturous. For example, CBS produced television show The Big Bang Theory. Consumer's displeasure at the long wait for content to be released is expressed in the comments sections of online sites like Google Play. Online content is not available until after the episode has been screened in Australia either by free-to-air or pay TV stations.

For fans of the popular US drama Supernatural Australians were left high and dry when the current season began in the US. Neither free-to-air or pay TV began screening the new season until about a week ago. Two episodes are being televised at a time and they are available on the station's catch up TV site.

The Supernatural fandom is extensive, complex and extremely diverse. There are huge fandoms in both English and non-English speaking countries. Australian fans with contacts made through social media and connecting in person by attending Supernatural conventions both here and overseas have access to pirated copies of the current episodes soon after the screening in the US.

Since the screening of the current Supernatural season in the US I have regularly checked digital online sites for information hoping that if the current season had been screened on pay-TV then it would be available online. But no such luck until now. Since the current season of Supernatural began on free-to-air TV, online sites like Google Play and ITunes seem to have released all the current episodes now available to US fans.

With the purchase of channel 10 by CBS I am wondering why Australian Supernatural fans and fans of other shows have been treated this way? As producers of content have they not learnt anything from all the current research done about Australians and piracy? A large number of fans have no choice but to access pirated content. That Australian fans given the choice would rather buy current content than watch pirated content.

Supernatural is produced by The CW Television which is a joint venture between CBS Corporation and Warner Brother's Entertainment. So there is no conflict of interest over content screening on channel 10. So why the current change of heart?

I am more sure that this change of heart has nothing to do with piracy than the creation of a new spin off series and needs Australian fan's support. CBS announced last year they were creating a Supernatural spin off series Wayward Sisters. Again to the best of my knowledge Australian fans were left out of the loop for the beginning of this new series. The episode is available legally online along with the rest of the current season.

The Big Bang Theory is another CBS produced television show where fans are given a bad deal. Six episodes have currently been seen on free-to-air TV in Australia. For fans of television shows like The Big Bang Theory who bought the latest season digitally they have received the first six episodes but nothing more. If fans paid for the full season of content CBS have their money for the whole season but have yet to release the content.

The current US season of The Big Bang Theory is moving right along after the Christmas break and Australian fans have been left high and dry. After checking the Channel Nine catch up TV section the television station that screens the show content has been removed and there is no sign of when TBBT is going to return. Repeat episodes flood the current station programming. It is understandable that CBS would want their own produced content put on their own station. So please can you make up you mind where you are going to put it and screen it.

Another CBS television I love is Hawaii-Five-0. The first six episodes have been released on iTunes. The television show is not returning to Australian screens until 10 February for ratings. In the meantime the season rolls along in the US and Australian fans are left to follow on social media sites and wait for content to be delivered.

There are fans like me who don't participate in the fandom, do not have those contacts and are not prepared to watch piracy and risk their computer safety by logging on to dubious live screening sources on YouTube. Some fans are happy watching episode promos, read transcripts and watch fan vids of episodes available through YouTube and fan sites. Frankly it is not a great way for television stations like CBS to reward international fans who loyally watch their shows and buy seasons either digitally or on DVD for years.

Australian Pay TV channel Foxtel who is currently screening the new season of the popular The X-Files recognised this and made the episodes available on iTunes the following day. The whole series cost me as much as a trip to the movies and I didn't have to waste my time or Internet data looking at clips posted on YouTube. I bought the whole season 11 and to be honest I am as happy as a pig in mud.

In a survey by Choice magazine of 1046 people found "...50% of pirates said that their main reason for pirating was price, and 41 % said it was because they wanted specific content sooner than available in Australia...most consumers 55 % try to use legal sources first, before searching out pirated copies of content...people who pirate at least monthly are more likely to pay for content through iTunes or Apple TV subscription..." These findings were reflected in the ABS Census in 2011. The problem with television in Australia is research shows there are many viewers and fans would be discouraged from watching pirated content if they could buy content legally online soon after the screening in the US.

So CBS research shows if you screened your television shows soon after airing in the US would give pirates a run for their money and secure the loyalty of your viewers boosting ratings and buy content. I look forward to an improvement in the delivery television in Australia ASAP.

Yours sincerely

Liz Smith

References

Creative Content Australia 'Screen Piracy. Facts, Fallacies and FAQs' published at creativecontentaustralia.org.au in 2017.

Ford, M & Hall, L. 2017, 'Australia's biggest telcos ordered to block international pirate websites by Federal Court.' published at mobile.abc.net.au on 18 August, 2017.

Hickman, A. 2017. 'Ten CEO: 'CBS Ownership give us confidence to in more local content' published at adnews.com.au on 14 November, 2017.

Kollimorgen, K. 2014. 'CHOICE content piracy survey shows most pirates are willing to pay' published at choice.com.au on 9 December, 2014.

Ward, M. 2017. 'From reality to sports: What a CBS-owned Channel 10 may look like.' published at finance.nine.com.au on 9 September, 2017.

Wikipedia, 2017, 'Supernatural' published at en.m.wikipedia.org on 23 January, 2018.

Some of the DVDs in my collection...