Network Ten has ceded the name 10 Boss for its multi-channel formerly known as One, following a legal challenge from Fairfax Media (now part of Nine Entertainment Co) over use of the “Boss” name conflicting with the Australian Financial Review‘s Boss brand.
From tonight, 10 Boss becomes 10 Bold — but nothing else is changing in terms of content.
Ten’s press release of the name change:
“There is so much to love about 10 Boss – the brand, the attitude, the position. 10 Boss does a great job of representing the slate of drama, action, live sport and kickarse programs it airs. We invested heavily in making it great and it looks really really good next to all our new brands – 10, 10 Peach, 10 Play, 10 Daily and 10 All Access.
“Viewers are digging it!”
“But some were not so happy, as so often is the case. And it didn’t take long for Fairfax Media to voice their displeasure at the name. Fairfax and Nine thought we were trying to rip off their BOSS brand. Really!
“Anyone that knows 10, knows we’re no Grinch. So in the spirit of giving and as an early Christmas present to our friends at Nine, we’re flicking the switch to 10 Bold.
“That’s right, from tonight 10 Boss will become 10 Bold. We think it’s better to be bold than bossy.
“We want to start 2019 fresh with a great suite of channels and with brands that work. We want to focus on creating great content for our viewers.
Actor Bryan Brown was awarded the Longford Lyell Award for his outstanding contribution to Australia’s screen environment and culture. Brown made his film debut in 1975 and has starred in a long list of films and television series. His TV credits include A Town Like Alice (pictured below with Helen Morse), The Shiralee, Against The Wind, The Thorn Birds, Eureka Stockade, Twisted Tales, The Good Wife, Better Man, Old School and the upcoming series Bloom.
For the twelfth year in a row the Seven Network has claimed the ratings year (5 cities, 6pm-12mn).
Nine’s Married At First Sight (1.450m) appears to have won the reality show battle, against My Kitchen Rules (1.227m) and The Block (1.161m), while The Block‘s Winner Announced (2.093m) ranked higher than Married At First Sight‘s (1.9m) and My Kitchen Rules (1.637m)
For Network Ten it was a tough year coming out of receivership and starting a rebuild under the CBS umbrella. MasterChef: The Winner Announced (1.316m) topped their year in overnight figures. I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here started on a high (“Welcome To The Jungle”, 1.111m) but by the time it reached its finale it struggled to hit 900,000. Ten’s press releases talked up increased for regular shows Gogglebox Australia, The Bachelor and Have You Been Paying Attention? 
ABC’s top rating for the year came from Spicks And Specks Reunion (1.113m) and Jack Irish (913,000) and its Wednesday night line-up also scored well with shows like Gruen, Hard Quiz and Shaun Micallef’s Mad As Hell. Other highlights included imports David Attenborough’s Tasmania and Death In Paradise.
For SBS their top numbers for the year came from the FIFA World Cup (Australia v France, 1.667m, and Denmark v Australia, 1.664m).
Judy McBurney, best known for roles in The Young Doctors and Prisoner, has died at the age of 70 after a four-year battle with cancer.
She played Nurse Livingstone for five years, and her character’s wedding to Dr Tony Garcia (Tony Alvarez) in 1978 was a big event for the soap.
Beginning on 11 February 1979, 60 Minutes marked a new era for current affairs on Australian commercial television. Before then, current affairs on commercial television was limited to early evening programs, such as Willesee At Seven and the original A Current Affair, or low-profile late night programs that attracted few viewers. And Sunday night at 7.30pm was most definitely a time for light entertainment as viewers prepared to enter a new working week, so for Nine to slot an expensive new current affairs program into one of the most important timeslots of the week was an extreme gamble.
Based on the American program of the same name and assembled by former Nine news reporter and producer Gerald Stone (pictured), Nine’s multi-million dollar gamble almost didn’t pay off as viewers did not attach themselves to the new 60 Minutes in any hurry. The first episode barely rated in double figures. But Nine persevered and, by 1980, 60 Minutes was becoming the flagship of its prime-time schedule.
60 Minutes was also different to other current affairs shows at the time in that its reporters become almost as much the story as the subjects they are covering. The show’s initial reporting lineup – Ray Martin, George Negus (pictured above) and Ian Leslie – while they had years of television journalism experience between them, were far from being household names until they joined 60 Minutes when suddenly they were prime-time celebrities and fodder for magazine covers and interviews.
The program was set to launch with a fourth reporter, Melbourne journalist Kate Baillieu, but she resigned weeks before the show’s debut. So it was former Network Ten newsreader Jana Wendt (pictured) who became 60 Minutes‘ first female reporter when she joined in 1982.
Of course, the program has had many significant moments: former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher giving George Negus an ear-bashing over claims that Britons said she was pig-headed; Ray Martin’s award-winning report on Sydney’s Chelmsford Hospital; One Nation leader Pauline Hanson (pictured), when asked was she xenophobic, famously responds “please explain”; former cult spokeswoman Ma Sheela‘s calm response – “tough titties!” – when accused of stealing $40 million from the cult; actor Tom Cruise telling Peter Overton to “stick his manners back in!” after questions about former wife Nicole Kidman; and former Nine Network CEO Eddie McGuire presenting a special report on colleague Sam Newman‘s prostate cancer surgery.
Australian and British actor John Bluthal has died at the age of 89.
His worked in the theatre in London before returning to Australia. He starred in variety shows Gaslight Music Hall (ABC) and Bandwagon (HSV7) in the late 1950s and early ’60s before moving to the United Kingdom. His extensive list of credits in the UK included Citizen James, Never Mind The Quality: Feel The Width, Fireball XL5, The Goodies, ‘Allo ‘Allo, Minder, Inspector Morse, Lovejoy, Bergerac, One Foot In The Grave and various productions with Spike Milligan.
Many Australian viewers will remember him as Italian taxi driver Enzo Pacelli (pictured) in the ABC comedy series Home Sweet Home that ran for three years, and more recently as Frank Pickle in the long-running British series The Vicar Of Dibley.
This week’s 
Despite some highlights such as Neighbours, which was still a strong performer, and event programming such as Bangkok Hilton, the Melbourne Cup and the TV Week Logie Awards, the 10 TV Australia brand, which had been launched with fanfare barely 18 months earlier, was indelibly tarnished by programming flops, an overdependence on movies, a declining news profile and the stigma of receivership.
While cuts were being made to bring its finances under control, the network was working on a significant shift in branding and programming to pick itself up from financial ruin.
With the revamp came a resolve to provide an entertainment brand dedicated to the under-40 age group. As well as local dramas Neighbours and E Street, Ten had scored some canny programming deals that gave it access to the hottest new US shows of the season — Twin Peaks and The Simpsons — the latter being a regular feature for the network until just last year.
Network Ten has officially launched its 2019 season and with it comes a new look.
Bill Collins this weekend presented his last Golden Years Of Hollywood for Fox Classics, handing over the reins to actor, writer and TV critic Graeme Blundell.
He received an Order of Australia Medal in 1987, was inducted into the TV Week Logie Awards Hall of Fame 
James Taylor has been appointed as the new managing director of SBS.
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