How Channels 7, Nine and Ten survived a rollercoaster 2015 with big hits such as 800 Words and duds like The Verdict

THE year 2015 was a rollercoaster for the Aussie commercial TV networks. Now is the time to look back at how the channels fared and grade them.

THE year 2015 was a rollercoaster for the Aussie commercial TV networks. All of a sudden they were faced with a massive challenge from new streaming services including Presto and Netflix as well as Foxtel. Now is the time to look back at how Channels Seven, Nine and Ten fared and grade them on their year — the good, the bad, and the ugly.

CHANNEL 7: GRADE B+

Reine Donehue of South Australia's Restaurant Revolution.

WHAT WENT WRONG

I remember being mighty depressed after going to Channel 7’s 2015 program up-fronts late last year. There was an air of smugness as Seven told advertisers and media to get set for more of the same. House Rules had been a ratings winner so Seven would double up and screen two series this year. My Kitchen Rules was on fire so they would launch another cooking-based show — Restaurant Revolution. Time for a wake-up call. Seven’s most ambitious series, the multi-million dollar Australia: The Story of Us, was a misfire — hobbled by its jingoistic tone and way dodgy special effects. House Rules was cruelled by Nine spoiler Reno Rumble and that proposed second series was quickly shelved. Worse was to come. Restaurant Revolution was an utter debacle — quickly replaced by cat videos. All of a sudden, the network was staring into the abyss.

Family ... the stars of 800 Words — Melina Vidler, Erik Thompson and Jack Anthony.

WHAT WENT RIGHT

Seven responded by launching Super September with a rollout that included new Aussie drama 800 Words and miniseries Peter Allen: Not the Boy Next Door (which Seven had originally planned to screen in early 2016). Both were big hits. The X Factor was solid. Seven also axed Million Dollar Minute and replaced it with The Chase Australia. Finally it had an early evening show to pressure Nine’s Hot Seat. By year’s end, Seven was back on track and could still claim to be Australia’s number one network overall.

Doubles ... Molly Meldrum with Samuel Johnson, star of the new Seven mini-series Molly. Picture. Andrew Tauber

WHAT IS NEXT

Seven has a guaranteed hit with its Molly miniseries which will screen in February. It will be interesting to see whether My Kitchen Rules remains a juggernaut. I’m already over those ‘duck’s nuts’ promos. I’m genuinely excited about the new Jessica Mauboy music-drama The Secret Daughter. A major commercial TV show with an indigenous lead is a welcome step forward. The new Rebecca Gibney drama Wanted looks very Thelma and Louise but that’s no bad thing. Seven is also rolling out two dating shows — Kiss Bang Love and First Dates. I can’t help thinking they’ve jumped on the bandwagon a year too late.

CHANNEL 9: GRADE B

Shaky start ... Bevan (Harry Greenwood) and Tolly (Kodi Smit-McPhee) in Gallipoli. Picture: Ben King.

WHAT WENT WRONG

Channel 9 got off to a shaky start. Its Gallipoli miniseries, billed as event television, didn’t resonate with audiences. It didn’t help matters that Nine pushed the start time back to anywhere between 8.40pm and 9pm. Nine made a major miscalculation when viewers of The Block Triple Threat were forced to endure nearly three weeks of eliminations before the true competition started. Ratings slumped more than 20 per cent compared to 2014’s Fans v Faves. Then Nine and Seven got caught in a copycat war with Reno Rumble going up against House Rules and The Hotplate against Restaurant Revolution — and no-one was the winner. The Hotplate was the centre of a bitter legal dispute — deemed by Seven to be too much of a My Kitchen Rules knock-off. Nine reportedly toyed with the idea of doing Celebrity Big Brother but decided instead on another series of Celebrity Apprentice. Big mistake. Worst of all was The Verdict, a dismal shout-fest, hosted by Karl Stefanovic, that left audiences cold.

Success ... Mandy McElhinney as Gina Rinehart in Nine's House of Hancock. Picture: Effi Cohen

WHAT WENT RIGHT

The House of Hancock, with Mandy McElhinney playing Gina Rinehart, was a rollicking treat. No wonder it grabbed massive ratings. Nine took a chance on Married at First Sight and it paid off big time. The ‘social experiment’ in which couples met for the first time at the altar, was an immediate hit. The Voice came back with renewed energy thanks to new mentor Jessie J. Love Child and House Husbands both performed strongly. The most recent series of The Block, set at an octagonal-shaped former hotel, got stripped back to basics and was all the better for it. Ratings improved. A Current Affair was rock solid at 7pm. At year’s end Nine introduced New digital channel 9 Life and it immediately grabbed audience share.

Comedy ... Here Come The Habibs! stars Sam Alhaje as Toufic and Rob Shehadie as Jahesh. Pic supplied: Nine.

WHAT IS NEXT

Nine looks set to have a make-or-break 2016. It has lost the rights to one of its programming staples — repeats of The Big Bang Theory. It has abandoned US shows. Instead it is banking on a raft of new Aussie content including The House of Bond, Daryl Somers-hosted hypnotism show You’re Back in the Room, a revived Australia’s Got Talent, and comedy Here Come the Habibs. There will be two series of Married at First Sight and The Farmer Wants a Wife is back. There will only be one series of The Block.

CHANNEL 10: GRADE A-

Strained ... The Biggest Loser: Families seems to be running out of puff.

WHAT WENT WRONG

Ten relies more than Seven and Nine on its bank of US dramas and they were a mixed bag in 2015. Empire is the highest rated new drama in America but couldn’t buy a viewer here and is on digital channel Eleven. So are American Horror Story: Hotel and Scream Queens. NCIS: New Orleans and CSI: Cyber stiffed. The critics love The Good Wife and Homeland but audiences are ambivalent. NCIS, NCIS: LA and Madam Secretary pull decent, but not spectacular, numbers. Ten was hoping it could have a MasterChef-style renaissance with The Biggest Loser: Families but the weight loss show looks to have run out of puff. Wonderland outstayed its welcome and has finally been axed. Ten lacked a quality Australian drama.

Dream team ... Chris Brown and Julia Morris on I'm A Celebrity ... Get Me Out Of Here!

WHAT WENT RIGHT

Ten launched five new shows in 2015 — I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here!, The Great Australian Spelling Bee, Gogglebox, The Bachelorette, and The Shark Tank — and they all worked. That is a mighty impressive achievement. The Bachelor scored its best-ever ratings as Sam Wood found love with Snezana Markoski. Getting jilted Sam Frost to be The Bachelorette was a master stroke. The Bachelorette rated even better than The Bachelor and both shows stormed social media. Ten’s faith in Have You Been Paying Attention? finally paid off. The Working Dog comedy is must-watch Monday viewing. MasterChef Australia cooked up even more viewers — amazing for a show in its seventh season. Family Feud, with Grant Denyer, is a popular alternative to Seven and Nine’s news services.

Firm favourite ... audiences couldn’t get enough of Offspring.

WHAT IS NEXT

With so much working for Ten, 2016 is about building on strong foundations. The return of Offspring has fans mighty excited. Ten scored a coup when it landed Jessica Marais drama Wrong Girl. Chrissie Swan and Ahn Do will host family reunion show Long Lost Families. Big things are expected from the Brock biopic, with Matthew Le Nevez as Aussie motor racing legend Peter Brock. The return of The X-Files has geeks in a lather. Tens’ biggest gamble comes towards the end of 2106 when it is set to resurrect Australian Survivor.