Grey's Anatomy Season 9 Fast-Tracked to Australian TV

Grey's Anatomy Returns To Australian TV Oct 2, 2012

Australia's Seven Network will fast track the new Season of Grey's Anatomy to screen approximately five days after the United States premiere. In a bid to attract ratings for the long running medical drama which has declined in ratings in Australia over the years.

Meredith Grey is an attending; fans can't wait to see that

For a long time in Australia most new US shows are not shown here until after the non-ratings summer period is over; however this neglect has affected the ratings of many top rating US shows. Internet video piracy is another issue that affects the ratings of some shows. Many viewers choose to watch their favourite US programs online or download the episodes; which are usually available online once the episode has screened in the US. This affects ratings in a big way; as most viewers will choose to watch something new. 



The Nine Network actually bucked this trend when it decided to fast-track new Person of Interest to Sunday nights in October last year. This experiment was a success with America's most watched drama rating very well. Given the timeslot which was sometimes 10.30pm; particularly when they slotted it after Alcatraz on a Monday; it rated in the several hundred thousands in total viewers, even repeat episodes were rating at 500,000. Can Grey's Anatomy do that well. Given that it's the Seven network; then it's possible, however Grey's is in it's ninth season so perhaps not. Give it a decent timeslot and show new episodes when the US does, and yes; it could reach the million mark again.








This strategy could really work well if the Australian networks keep to the same schedule as the US. Five days is okay; but ideally showing the most recent Grey's Anatomy episode as soon as possible would be better and it is possible. Scheduling the show on Sunday might work. Pay TV have been fast tracking US and UK shows for years. Seven's new drama Smash was fast-tracked via pay TV, so what is currently being shown on the Seven network are technically repeats for some Australian viewers. But now this show has Grey's Anatomy as it's lead in at 10.45 so the numbers for this timeslot may be really good. This week Smash rated over 500,000 given that it started late at 9.51pm. 

Leaked photo from the set of Grey's, Season 9; not sure what's going on here.

Given the popularity of Grey's Anatomy in Australia, it is likely if Seven give the show a decent timeslot it will rate well. However, this is unlikely given XFactor Australia is dominating programming for the next eight weeks. Sadly Free to Air TV networks in Australia do not respect their viewers; and they push and shove programs all over the place without advising viewers of these changes and this is yet another reason why programs do not rate. My guess is if Grey's Anatomy picks up 500,000 viewers nationwide every week in the 
9.30-9.45 timeslot, then it is likely Seven will be happy with this and hopefully fast-track Season 10 of Grey's Anatomy if ABC renew for a 10th season. All of this will ride on whether Seven stay within the United States ABC schedule for Grey's Anatomy Season 9. If not; viewers like me will get pissed off and either watch online, live stream or download episodes and the money that the Seven network have paid to fast-track these new shows will have been in vain.


What is not clear is why the Seven network are not showing Grey's Anatomy on a Thursday night in it's usual timeslot given that we are currently getting a double dose of Criminal Minds on that night. Seven have also advertised that Scandal is coming soon, which is made by the same people who make Grey's Anatomy, however this show went to air in the US in April/May so it really would not be considered fast-tracking. I wonder where Seven will schedule this show? Is it just a teaser for next year?  Stay tuned I guess.

Patrick Dempsey (Derek Shepherd) leaked this one; McSteamy's not looking good here

The difficulty in predicting whether this is a smart move by Seven will be told by the numbers. For a nine season old show that was a hit in it's early years; it could go either way. Grey's Anatomy still has a huge following in the US; totalling 8-10 million viewers most weeks during Season 8; so it's likely it will do well. Seven have also opted to fast-track Once Upon A Time which is about to premiere it's second season in the US. I would need to research the numbers but I believe it was very popular with the advertising demographic TV networks are targeting. Either way Grey's Anatomy has a strong following in Australia, the hope is that network Seven treat the show and the show's fans with the respect it and they deserve. 

Watch Grey's Anatomy Season 9 premiere on Seven; Tuesday 2 October 2012 at 9.45pm. And stay tuned for my review which will be posted soon after the episode goes to air.



To read more about Grey's Anatomy, Please visit me at: http://janelle-coulton.suite101.com


Copyright © 2012 Janelle Coulton