Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2010/10/30-years-of-sbs-television.html

Will Ten’s axe swing again?

Tenhdlin It is almost twenty years ago – 26 November 1990 – since the Ten Network made headlines (pictured) as new chief executive Gary Rice announced some dramatic cost-cutting measures to save the ailing network.

Mr Rice, a former Nine Network executive called in to rescue Ten from a lengthy period of poor ratings and financial instability, had sacked 300 staff from across Ten’s Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane stations – but it was the network’s news and current affairs portfolio that suffered the most severe cutbacks with the axing of the 10.30am bulletin, the axing of weekly program The Walsh Report, the reduction of the Melbourne-based Ten Evening News from one-hour to 30 minutes and the axing of local current affairs programs Sydney With Mike Gibson and Brisbane With Anna McMahon.  Almost half of the 300 sacked workers were from the news and current affairs department alone.

The morning program Good Morning Australia was left hanging by a thread – with hosts Kerri-Anne Kennerley and Terry Willesee greeting viewers at the start of the two-hour program, not knowing if they would still have a job at the end of the show.  The show was ultimately maintained, though with a tighter budget.

ten1989 Other savings were anticipated to come from the sale of Ten’s Nunawading studios and the relocation to smaller facilities. 

The radical cutbacks, expected to save Ten from losing $2 million a week, came a year after Ten sacked 350 staff and two months after the network was placed in receivership and 15 executives were sacked.

“This action gives us no pleasure,” Mr Rice said.  “But it is one of several responsible decisions… to revive the network and to provide the basis for its financial recovery and future growth.  The network will be slimmer… but its quality will be maintained and ultimately enhanced.”

There were also suggestions of trimming back the network’s schedule to cease broadcasting during off-peak periods such as mornings and overnights, and replacing each state’s 6.00pm news bulletin with a single national bulletin based in Melbourne.  Another radical proposal was for Ten to merge with the Seven Network, also in receivership, thus reducing the number of commercial networks from three to two.  Thankfully, none of these extreme measures were implemented.

ten1991 Local dramas Neighbours and E Street were left relatively unscathed in the 1990 cutbacks and would form the basis for Ten’s new focus on the advertiser-friendly youth market which was to start in 1991 – heralded by the launch of a new logo (pictured) and a new tagline – “The Entertainment Network”.

Twenty years on, Ten is in a much better financial position.  The network has just announced a full-year profit of $150 million, up from a $89.4 million loss in the previous year.  Not a bad turnaround for an entertainment medium that is often thought to be in decline.

But while Ten’s balance sheet is a lot healthier, there is suddenly a large unknown on the network’s horizon. 

James Packer.

James, the youngest generation of Packer moguls after his father Kerry and grandfather Sir Frank, has stunned the industry by making a bold investment in the Ten Network – around $288 million worth, representing around 18 per cent of the company.   And there is a chance he could still buy up more.

It is a surprising move given that only two years ago, Packer sold most of his family’s long-held interest in the Nine Network, apparently to focus on more lucrative foreign and gambling ventures.  He does, however, maintain a financial interest in Foxtel.

The motives for Packer’s move into Ten are unknown, and although he will only have a minority interest in the network, he is set to gain a place on the Ten board – something which has led to a lot of speculation in the media about Ten’s future.

ten_2008 Some have suggested that Packer simply wants to cash in on a slice of Ten’s profit – helped along by the success of Masterchef Australia – while others have suggested that Packer is hoping to get a piece of the AFL and NRL broadcast rights which are up for renewal.  And if Ten is a successful bidder for the rights then its digital sports channel One HD could be well positioned to take advantage, depending on the government review of the anti-siphoning legislation.  Packer could also use his ties to Foxtel to form an alliance with Ten and One HD in securing future rights to AFL or NRL.

At the other end of the spectrum, some are speculating that Packer’s motives are a little more sinister.  Some have suggested that he will use his influence on the Ten board to tear down the One HD channel, a natural rival to his interests in pay-TV channel Fox Sports, or even jeopardise the network’s proposed and costly expansion of its news department.

Ten announced back in August that it is set to expand its news coverage in 2011 with the launch of a national 6.00pm news program, hosted by George Negus, followed by local news bulletins in each capital city at 6.30pm.  The expanded news coverage is expected to cost an expected $20 million a year, including the hiring of additional staff.  It is a strategy that James’ father Kerry might have approved of, but it is not known what the younger Packer thinks of the plan.

11_hello Meanwhile, Ten maintains it is business as usual for its plans moving forward – with the launch of youth-focused entertainment channel 11 in the new year coinciding with the launch of the expanded news portfolio and a broader demographic focus for the main Ten channel.  And the network insists that One HD continues to have a valued place in the company’s multi-channel strategy.

Whatever happens, it could be interesting times ahead.

Source: Herald Sun, Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian, Herald Sun 27 November 1990.

Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2010/10/will-tens-axe-swing-again.html

Digital channel update: SA, Broken Hill, Darwin

go_channel Some developments today in the rollout of digital television services in some of the smaller markets.

Darwin’s Nine Network station, NTD,  has today officially switched on local relays of digital channels GO! and GEM – hence completing the rollout of both channels to all capital cities either via Nine or WIN.  The new channels can be found in Darwin on digital channel 99 and 90 respectively, with GEM broadcasting in high-definition format only.

Meanwhile, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has announced that it has assigned extra digital channel capacity for the local broadcaster covering the Spencer Gulf region in South Australia, and Broken Hill, NSW.

southerncrosstv Southern Cross Media, which currently provides Southern Cross Television (Seven Network affiliate) and Southern Cross Ten, has been allowed extra capacity to provide additional digital channels to the local regions.  Southern Cross’ existing digital frequency currently has room only for the primary channels – Southern Cross, Southern Cross Ten and the soon-to-launch local relay of the Nine Network – meaning that local viewers have not had access to any of the new digital channels that have been launched by the capital city networks.

The decision as to which channels will be broadcast on the new frequency lies with Southern Cross Media.

The Regional South Australian markets, including Spencer Gulf and Broken Hill, will lose all existing analogue signals on 15 December 2010.

Source: ACMA

Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2010/10/digital-channel-update-sa-broken-hill-darwin.html

TelevisionAU Update 18-Oct-2010

https://www.televisionau.com

TDT_nudists NEW FLASHBACK #56:
Never let it be said that the crew of ABC‘s This Day Tonight ever failed to get to the bottom of a story. For World Nudist Day in the Southern Hemisphere in 1973, the crew from the Adelaide branch of TDT were invited by a local nudist club, The Tindo Club, to film a story for the occasion. Pictured here, talking to a female club member, are reporter Darryl Warren, cameraman Alan Hall (wearing shoes – “for a bit of a joke – the trifle modest cameraman.”) and sound recordist Mike Piper. “It took us a while to get up the courage to take our clothes off,” Warren told TV Times. “But it was a great feeling after that. We were self-conscious at first but mainly because of our white behinds.” Picture: TV Times, 3 March 1973

cathyfreeman CLASSIC TV GUIDES
Melbourne:
1959 (VFL season starts)
1994 (Blue Heelers starts)
2000 (Opening Ceremony Games Of The XXVII Olympiad)
2001 (Big Brother starts)

Canberra:
1973

Brisbane:
1972

Adelaide:
1971 (Final Pick-A-Box)
1972 (Number 96 starts)
1984 (Guy Blackmore joins Eyewitness News)

Western Australia:
1983

Darwin:
2002 (Closing Ceremony XIX Olympic Winter Games)

Tasmania:
1975

tvau_10years_sm TELEVISIONAU – THE HISTORY OF AUSTRALIAN TELEVISION
https://www.televisionau.com
http://blog.televisionau.com
http://www.twitter.com/TelevisionAU
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/televisionau
http://au.youtube.com/user/TelevisionAU

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The Games were run… but, for Ten, not won!

commonwealthgames_2010 The XIX Commonwealth Games have come to a close – and while India will be congratulating itself for a successful 11 days of competition, back in Australia the Ten Network might be quietly licking a few wounds.

Not that Ten’s effort in broadcasting the Games was of any inferior nature – in fact, the network has avoided receiving scorn like that encountered by the Seven Network with its heavily-delayed coverage of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing – but rather that the network was rewarded with fairly lack lustre ratings figures for a competition that usually commands much greater figures.

In some instances, Ten was struggling to stay above ABC in the popularity stakes whereas, at the very least, they might have expected some gold medal ratings figures over the two weeks. Essentially, Ten only won victory on one night of Games competition:

ABC

Seven

Nine

Ten

SBS

Mon 4

19.4

27.6

25.6

20.8

6.5

Tue 5

15.8

31.6

27.4

21.0

4.3

Wed 6

16.4

29.9

26.0

23.9

3.8

Thu 7

12.9

26.2

27.4

27.1

6.6

Fri 8

16.2

28.5

23.5

27.0

4.8

Sat 9

18.7

24.0

24.2

26.7

6.4

Sun 10

18.8

28.7

25.1

21.3

6.0

Mon 11

18.0

29.1

26.0

20.1

6.8

Tue 12

15.6

35.6

27.6

16.4

4.8

Wed 13

16.3

31.2

29.2

19.1

4.2

Thu 14

14.3

28.6

29.3

21.5*

6.2

* Includes premiere episode of Keeping Up With The Joneses.
Source: OZTAM: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth. 6pm-12am. Network shares include multi-channels.

But in Ten’s defence, their coverage has been up against some significant odds. This year’s Commonwealth Games appear to have been met with varying levels of indifference by Australians, possibly not helped by the negative publicity surrounding the final lead-up to the competition.

The free-to-air TV environment has also changed dramatically since the last Commonwealth Games (Melbourne, 2006) and even Olympic Games (Beijing, 2008) in that then there were only five free-to-air networks – presenting only limited alternative viewing options. This time around, there are up to a dozen other free-to-air channels on offer – with two channels, GEM and 7mate, launched only weeks ago.

OneHD Also impacting Ten’s performance is the somewhat limiting anti-siphoning legislation – meaning that even though Ten has a secondary channel with One HD, combined they could only really offer a single-channel approach to coverage – something which is often at odds with such a large competition where there are multiple events occurring at the same time – while up against rival networks offering 2, 3 or 4 viewing alternatives. Ten might have helped stop the flow of viewers to other networks if it had launched its new entertainment channel, 11, with its own alternative to Games coverage, but instead the channel is scheduled to launch early in 2011.

And adding to Ten’s competition was Foxtel – with its six channels of Commonwealth Games coverage which, in itself, is nothing new (they had a similar multi-channel offering in 2006) but the difference this time is that Foxtel was offering these channels to existing subscribers at no extra charge.

Despite the challenges, Ten will be pleased with the increase in viewing on One HD where it received some of its best ever ratings.

ten_2008 With the obvious pre-Games expectation of the saturation coverage delivering a ratings dividend leading into the last six weeks of ratings competition for the year, it now appears that Ten will be needing to offer some promises to make good to advertisers wanting more bang for their sponsorship dollars and, with shows like The 7PM Project, Neighbours, Undercover Boss, Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation, Junior Masterchef, Modern Family, The Simpsons, Rush and Offspring having been out of circulation for two weeks, now has to work hard to drag viewers back to the network as it heads into the home straight of the ratings survey year. And with daylight saving now part of the equation, that makes the task of attracting viewers’ attention in the early evening even more of a struggle.

Network Ten have the rights to televise the Commonwealth Games when they head to Glasgow, Scotland, in 2014.

Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2010/10/the-games-were-run-but-for-ten-not-won.html

Kerry O’Brien to host Four Corners

kerryobrien Three weeks ago, Kerry O’Brien announced he was to leave his position as host of ABC’s The 7.30 Report at the end of this year – with plans to return to the national broadcaster in a part-time role in 2011.

It has now been announced that O’Brien will be taking on the role of host of current affairs program Four Corners as it enters its fiftieth year on air. 

Although Four Corners has traditionally had a host leading the show – with names including TV Week Gold Logie winner Michael Charlton, Mike Willesee, Caroline Jones, Andrew Olle and Liz Jackson over the years – it has been some years since the weekly program has had a host up front.

ABC news director Kate Torney welcomed the announcement of O’Brien’s new role:

“Kerry worked for Four Corners as a reporter in the 1970s and again in the 1980s, before presenting Lateline and then The 7.30 Report.  This is a great way for Four Corners to mark such a major milestone in Australian journalism of 50 years on air.”

O’Brien will finish up on The 7.30 Report in December and will begin on Four Corners in February.

4corners Meanwhile, as Four Corners prepares to celebrate its 50th anniversary next year, viewers are asked to have their vote to determine how exactly the occasion should be celebrated.  A poll on the Four Corners website presents the following options:

  • ‘Best of Four Corners‘ Re-runs of your favourite programs
  • Special program on 50 Years of Four Corners
  • ‘Where are they now?’ Revisiting past stories
  • Interviews with the people behind the programs

Suggestions or feedback can also be left on the Four Corners guestbook or Facebook page.

Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2010/10/kerry-obrien-to-host-four-corners.html

For Sale! One TV studio

The offices and studios for the Adelaide branch of the Seven Network are about to go to auction.
sas7_0001 sas7_0002
sas7_0003 sas7_0004

The premises, situated on the corner of Adam Street and Port Road in the suburb of Hindmarsh, are to be auctioned on 27 October.

Seven have only occupied the building since 2007 – having moved from their former premises in the suburb of Gilberton where the station had been based since it was launched as SAS10 in 1965 – and buyers are promised a secure 15-year lease to the network.

The studios on site are home to local editions of Seven News and Today Tonight.

The building claims a floor area of 1,887 square metres and is only a light-rail trip from the Adelaide CBD.

The current rent on the property is approximately $643,000 per annum.

Source: Real Commercial, Burgess Rawson

Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2010/10/for-sale-one-tv-studio.html

1990: October 13-19

tvweek_131090 Cover: Nicolle Dickson (Home And Away)

Reyne forecast for Coopers Crossing
Actor David Reyne is to join the cast of Nine’s The Flying Doctors.  The 31-year-old star of series including Sweet And Sour, Possession, Flair, Bony and Golden Fiddles joins The Flying Doctors in the role of Dr Guy Reid, a brilliant young man from a wealthy family.  Dr Reid’s arrival into Coopers Crossing has the locals questioning his motives – why would an independently-wealthy man choose to live in a small town, particularly when he makes no secret of the fact that life in a small town is not for him.  Reyne has started work on the series this month and will be seen on-air from early next year.

Comedy of errors!
The Comedy Company’s return after a six-month break was a mistake, according to one of the show’s original stars, Glenn Robbins.  Robbins, now working on the Seven Network’s Tonight Live With Steve Vizard, told TV Week that he feels the show, which has struggled up against 60 Minutes in the ratings since its return, would have been better to come back as something entirely new instead of keeping the old name.  “When you come back with a show such as The Comedy Company, there’s a preconceived image of what it’s all about.  They created a pretty tough job for themselves.  Maybe it might have been better to call it something else,” he says.

sbs_1985 A decade of bringing he world back home
To celebrate its tenth anniversary, Australia’s multicultural network SBS is planning to screen a raft of special programming as well as revisiting some of the significant programs that have aired over its first decade.  As well as new documentaries Kids First, with George Negus and Peter Ustinov, and Boy Soldiers, SBS will be screening a special featuring ‘60s tribute group The Fabulous Singlettes  and the adults-only dance spectacular Dreams Of Monochrome Men, featuring DV8.  SBS will also repeat its early 1980s mini-series Women Of The Sun, a production that won a United Nations Peace Prize in 1982, starring Justine Saunders

peterwhitford When James became Jane…
Peter Whitford has played many characters over the years – but his latest role has been the most challenging.  The actor is playing the part of a transsexual, James Kennedy, in an upcoming episode of GP.  For many years, James has been harbouring the secret of wanting to be a woman and has been secretly wearing women’s clothes.  When his secret is discovered, he decides to come out of the closet and, as Jane (pictured), decides to have a sex-change operation.  “Margaret Kelly’s script was so well-written, I was completely intrigued,” Whitford told TV Week.  “For the role of James/Jane I spoke with many transsexuals – not to be confused with transvestites, who get their kicks out of cross-dressing.  Transsexuals feel they should have been born the opposite sex.  It has nothing to do with homosexuality either.”

Briefly…
TV producer and former Number 96 star Harry Michaels is working on a drama series which he hopes to sell to a commercial network.  The proposed 13-part series is set in a real estate agency and follows the professional and personal lives of the girls who work there.  “It’s part comedy and part drama and will be a mixture of Nine To Five and Number 96,” Michaels told TV Week.  “I’m making it with my own money and assistance from the Hoyts company.”  Michaels is already an established producer, with his Aerobics Oz Style series now showing nationally on the Ten Network and regional stations.

adrianlee Former Family And Friends actor Adrian Lee (pictured) and former A Country Practice star Kate Raison have joined the cast of E Street, just as the series is about to farewell five cast members – Paul Kelman, Lisbeth Kennelly, Chelsea Brown, Richard Huggett, Rebecca Saunders and Madison Doyle.

Actress Janet Andrewartha, currently appearing in ABC’s Embassy, reluctantly admits to being a singer earlier in her adult life.  “I don’t usually admit to this – but I was a folk singer,” she told TV Week.  “You know, guitar on your back, and doing the rounds.  I sang traditional and contemporary folk music.  There were so many venues in those days, you could actually make a decent living from it.” 

ABC’s Backchat host Tim Bowden’s two-month visit to Antarctica forms the basis for his six-part radio documentary series, Australians In Antarctica, currently airing on ABC Radio National.

andreastretton John Laws says…
Andrea Stretton (The Book Show), incidentally, must be one of TV’s unsung personalities.  She has a lovely, sunny smile, projects a warm personality and asks intelligent questions.  SBS should make much more use of her and once the commercial channels get some money in the piggy banks it wouldn’t surprise if they started to take a long look at her, too.”

Program Highlights (October 13-19):
Saturday:
  Aussie Rules football goes international with the Fosters International Cup, featuring West Coast Eagles versus Melbourne, live from Portland, Oregon, on HSV7 this afternoon.  SBS covers cycling with the Commonwealth Bank Classic, a 1000km event from the Gold Coast to Wollongong.  The event will be broadcast on SBS for an hour each afternoon for the duration.

Sunday:  With the football now over, it’s cricket’s turn – the FAI Cup begins on GTV9 with NSW versus Queensland, live from Brisbane, followed by Western Australia versus Victoria, live from Perth.  Actor Max Gillies is the special guest on ABC’s arts program, Sunday Afternoon With Peter Ross.  Sunday night movies are Perry Mason: The Case Of The Lethal Lesson (HSV7), Empire Of The Sun (GTV9) and Predator (ATV10).  After the movie, HSV7 crosses to the US for Collingwood versus Essendon in the Fosters International Cup.

jeankittson Monday: Comedy series Let The Blood Run Free celebrates the wedding of Dr Ray Good (Brian Nankervis) and Nurse Pam Sandwich (Jean Kittson, pictured) – with the reception being held in… the hospital reception.

Tuesday:  In Beyond 2000 (HSV7), reporter Amanda Keller looks at alternative herbal medicines used by the Mapuche Indians of southern Chile for centuries, and Bryan Smith visits a major city that is sinking 80cm a year because of poor water management.

Thursday:  HSV7 presents a repeat screening of the D-Generation comedy special, The D-Generation Goes Commercial.

Friday: As part of its celebration of ten years of broadcasting, SBS presents the first episode of mini-series Women Of The Sun, which first appeared on the network in 1982.  The series traces the impact European settlement has had on Aboriginal people, and their struggle to retain their individuality.

Source: TV Week (Victoria edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide.  13 October 1990.  Southdown Press.

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Malcolm Gray

malcolmgray Former Seven National News reporter and presenter Malcolm Gray has died at the age of 66.

Formerly a journalist at regional station GLV10 in Gippsland in the 1970s, Gray moved to Melbourne’s ATV0 before joining HSV7 as an on-the-road reporter and newsreader – but it was in the mid-‘80s when he started presenting the weather forecast for Seven National News that he suddenly became a hit with viewers statewide.  Gray’s presenting of the weather with humour, where he was not immune to using the occasional large prop or shouting out greetings to nominated streets in various Victorian towns and suburbs, was in stark contrast to the more conservative weather presentation of rivals at National Nine News and Eyewitness News.

Gray continued to present the weather at Seven National News until 1987.

The Seven News team in Melbourne have placed a notice in the Herald Sun offering a tribute to their former colleague:

Our thoughts and support to the family of Malcolm Gray, a former colleague and friend of the Seven Network. Malcolm was a much loved and respected associate and will long be remembered for his great nature and memorable weather segments. Sincerely – Steve Carey and the 7 Melbourne News Team.

Source: Herald Sun

Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2010/10/malcolm-gray.html