Ten banks on nostalgia, older viewers in prime-time ratings push
Network Ten once pitched itself as the young, hip, network. Now it’s pitching for those with ageing hips – resurrecting Deal or No Deal and Wheel of Fortune in prime time after struggling to cut through in the evening ratings.
The network, which is owned by New York-headquartered entertainment conglomerate Paramount, has brought back Family Feud host Grant Denyer to anchor the rebooted Deal or No Deal, and British television personality Graham Norton to host the new Wheel of Fortune.
Network Ten has brought back Gladiators, as well as Deal or No Deal and Wheel of Fortune.
It is a tacit acknowledgement that younger viewers are harder to reach, having fled – especially in prime time – to streaming platforms like Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video.
Deal or No Deal aired in Australia from 2003 to 2013 on the Seven Network, and will return in 2024 at 6pm. Wheel of Fortune was once a stalwart of the Aussie late afternoon – also on Seven – between 1981 and 2006.
At 6pm each weekday, Seven and the Nine Network battle for viewers of their flagship news bulletins. Ten wants to offer a compelling alternative, Beverley McGarvey, Paramount’s chief content officer, said.
“I’d say 100 per cent for Deal and Wheel. Deal is going in at 6pm, we are absolutely trying to play to older audiences. But Deal is a really accessible show in the way that Family Feud was,” she added. “We’re really trying to appeal to family audiences but acknowledging that at that time of the evening, people who watch free to air TV often tend to be more mature.”
Wheel of Fortune will air next year at 7.30pm for an hour. The two game shows were part of a suite of programming announcements unveiled by Paramount at its annual presentation this week known as
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