Us Program Deal Buoys Seven, Again

There is a curious parallel between the fortunes and misfortunes of the Australian television business and its American counterpart. In the US the ABC network, fuelled by the success of Lost, Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy and Dancing with the Stars, has risen to untold heights. Its rival, NBC, for many years the alpha dog of television thanks to hits such as Friends and ER, is in spectacular free fall. To retell the story from the Australian perspective, simply recast ABC as Seven and NBC as Nine.

No Need For Desperation As Housewives Get Into League

LAST week Desperate Housewives was the top-rating show on American television with an audience of 21.2 million, well clear of Sunday Night Football, featuring the Dallas Cowboys against the Carolina Panthers, placed sixth, and a World Series baseball game between the St Louis Cardinals and Detroit Tigers, which came a disappointing 12th. In the US, baseball is thought to have done badly if a World Series game doesn't make the top 10.