15 replies to this topic

[TV King]

Looks like SBS is going to establish a new weekly Chinese Mandarin language news and current affairs show for an early November start date. They're currently hiring bilingual videojournalists.

Will we see other languages getting their own show? Like Chinese Cantonese, Italian and Greek?

[Timothy]

I suspect the reason why they are producing a show in Mandarin but not other languages is because their current Mandarin news bulletin is from Chinese state television, hardly a source of un-biased reporting.

[Moe]

I suspect the reason why they are producing a show in Mandarin but not other languages is because their current Mandarin news bulletin is from Chinese state television, hardly a source of un-biased reporting.

I agree, it makes a lot of sense for SBS to do this, not to mention it is one of the larger foreign language populations in Australia, so should stand up in terms of viewers.

Primetime on SBS Two and a Sunday morning airing on SBS One?

[Lex]

SBS will launch Australia’s first locally produced and only free to air Mandarin news service on November 24.

http://www.mediaspy....-mandarin-news/

[fox1]

God, if they can do this, then surely the new Ten News hour is not "so expensive" as people are saying.

[jwbaker]

God, if they can do this, then surely the new Ten News hour is not "so expensive" as people are saying.

Hmmm well the situation is a bit different... the new Mandarin News Australia programme consists of an existing radio presenter, three (?) video journalists and a green screen for on-air presentation. Granted, they would still need producers, etc., but they haven't built a series of new sets, hired extra journalists across the country and so forth.

[abesty]

It has been axed, with last episode to air on Wednesday.
http://www.tvtonight...-australia.html

[Johnson28]

The Chinese community won't be happy about that. I wonder if it will be mentioned in Chinese-language newspapers tomorrow or on Mandarin programs on SBS Radio today.

[TelevisionAU]

The Chinese community won't be happy about that.

The ratings suggest that possibly not even the Chinese community were watching it. Mind you, the Sunday morning replay on SBS1 was on at something like 5 or 6am so it's hardly a timeslot that does much to encourage people to tune in.

[SydneyCityTV]

Would it be worth recording the last edition of "Mandarin News Australia" on Wednesday and uploading caps for the archive and a video montage to YouTube at a later date? I know it's a Mandarin Chinese language program, but there are English subtitles inserted on the program (as well as both languages used on the supers, I think), if people wern't aware already.

Either way, I think that it isn't coincidental that both Mandarin News Australia and Letters and Numbers will air their final episode/bulletin on the same day.

[Moe]

To be replaced with Letters and Numbers in Mandarin.

[TelevisionAU]

Either way, I think that it isn't coincidental that both Mandarin News Australia and Letters and Numbers will air their final episode/bulletin on the same day.

End of financial year might have something to do with it.

btw I don't think they are finishing on the same day. MNA is on Wednesday, L&N finishes Friday?

Edited by TelevisionAU, 25 June 2012 - 03:16 PM.

[SydneyCityTV]

To be replaced with Letters and Numbers in Mandarin.

Good one Moe!

End of financial year might have something to do with it.

True...

btw I don't think they are finishing on the same day. MNA is on Wednesday, L&N finishes Friday?

I just checked about the final episode of L&N, and that show finishes on June 27 which is on Wednesday - the same day that the final Mandarin News Australia bulletin will air.

[jimbo]

The ratings suggest that possibly not even the Chinese community were watching it.

That's impossible to know. As is regularly highlighted, a rating of ZERO does not mean ZERO people are watching it of course.

It just means the far from perfect Oztam system has resulted in none of the houses with ratings boxes flicking onto it.

[TelevisionAU]

That's impossible to know. As is regularly highlighted, a rating of ZERO does not mean ZERO people are watching it of course.

Of course, it's a statistical zero, not a literal one. Inevitably there will be some viewers but I think it still indicates that the community that are the show's prime target are generally ignoring it - keeping in mind that Mandarin is apparently one of the most often-spoken languages in this country other than English.

Maybe the targeted community are getting more value accessing the SBS Mandarin news service online rather than relying on a weekly half-hour program FTA, and that's fair enough and perhaps SBS in that case will at least maintain the online component.

It just means the far from perfect Oztam system has resulted in none of the houses with ratings boxes flicking onto it.

No ratings system is 100% perfect because it only ever relies on a sample of viewers although endeavours are made to have that sample be an accurate snapshot of the broader community. But OzTAM wouldn't be any worse than any other ratings platform in any other country.

[tmorgan96]

No ratings system is 100% perfect because it only ever relies on a sample of viewers although endeavours are made to have that sample be an accurate snapshot of the broader community. But OzTAM wouldn't be any worse than any other ratings platform in any other country.

We've got a bigger 'ratings-box-to-household' ratio than the US and UK, so OzTam, despite their many flaws, is really comparitively accurate.