In Australia some US shows are ‘fast tracked’ now, like Heroes, which means they play either the same day or a couple of days after the US, so it’s certainly possible to arrange. I’m sure it costs a little more, so shows which can land in primetime – Heroes, Prison Break, Lost, etc – seem to be considered worth the effort while others, such as Battlestar, aren’t thought to be as big a drawcard for advertisers and thus get pushed later in the schedule. So, as you say, I imagine the decision to synchronise with US screening times is a strategic and financial one.

One other factor used to matter, which is unlike US shows which might have two blocks of 13 episodes, sometimes with fortnight breaks therein, Australia shows used to always play full seasons week by week without a break (something that could only be managed if you started playing the first episode a lot later). That said, most shows now get stopped and started at odd times, so I doubt that matters as much today.

Do you know whether tv stations are actually considering these issues? I wonder whether it’s the US producers who are slow to get things to their international market, or the international companies that are slow to buy? Perhaps they CAN’T buy sooner?