Beware of Coro wrath

Either TVNZ staffers don't learn from past mistakes or they are confident their reality TV offering will appease Coronation Street fans once the Saturday slot is axed from this weekend.

It's not the first time the programmers have played around with the screening schedule of the popular and long-running UK soap.

Last year the antics of the Weatherfield wonders was shunted from Tuesday and Thursday to 30-minute slots every weekday. It did not sit well, with howls of outrage and a flood of complaints.

Seemingly heeding the call, the show adopted its current schedule within three weeks of the ill-fated change.

Now this. A "hilariously cringeworthy" reality show that sends strangers into battle in a bid to be named the ultimate dinner party hosts. Somehow I doubt it will cool the fire of passionate Coro fans who will want more, not less, of their favourite drama.

Of course, there is the argument that the storylines have become rather ridiculous. How many murderers can one small area have? Might as well ask how many sex offenders a city needs.

In a situation where ratings talk, considerable effort goes into outdoing the competition. Look at the hubbub around the 50th anniversary episodes which saw a tram crash and regular characters killed off ... how do you top that week-in, week-out?

That most fans knew what was coming is part of the problem. We are so far behind the UK plots you don't need to expend any effort at all to find out what happened to your favourite character.

Perhaps that is the point, and ratings are falling away.

Whatever the rationale, programme scheduling is fraught. Considerable time and effort is exhausted to convince viewers a show is worth watching, and at a set time. Having established a routine, that is often turned on its head, as is the case here.

Already the fans are making plenty of noise. Only time will tell if they are as successful as past campaigns to save Coro.

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