Feb 05 2019

Ratings 2018: The final scorecard

  • 5 February 2019

OzTAM, the official ratings ‘umpire’, has released its final reports for the calendar year 2018.

The reports include consolidated audience figures for the Top 20 programs, Top 20 multi-channel programs, the most time-shifted programs and where each free-to-air network and channel ended the year. Plus there are rankings for the Top 20 Subscription TV programs and time-shifted programs.

Seven Network ended the year on 30.6% (up 1.4 on 2017), followed by Nine (27.0%, down 0.7), Ten (17.5%, down 0.8), ABC (17.1%, down 0.2) and SBS (7.9%, up 0.5). (6pm-12mn, 5 cities, Consolidated 28-days)

At individual channel level: Seven (20.6%, up 0.6), Nine (18.6%, down 0.8), Ten (12.3%, down 0.5), ABC (12.1%, down 0.1), SBS (5.6%, up 0.3) followed by multi-channels 7mate (4.0%), 7Two (3.7%), 9Go (3.6%), 10Bold (2.9%), ABC Kids/ABC Comedy (2.8%), 9Gem (2.7%), 10Peach and 7Flix (2.2% each), 9Life (2.1%), ABC News (1.4%), SBS Viceland (1.2%), SBS Food (0.9%), ABC Me and 7Food (0.8% each) and NITV (0.2%).

During the year, One became 10Bold (after a brief stint as 10Boss) and Eleven became 10Peach.

7Food started in December.

Channels not included in the survey include YourMoney (Nine), TVSN and Spree (Ten), Racing.com (Seven) and community TV stations C31, WTV and 44 Adelaide.

Picture: ABC

Top 20 programs on Free-to-Air for the year 1 January to 31 December 2018 (Consolidated. 5 cities, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth):

Seven topped the Top 20 programs list with AFL Grand Final (Presentations) followed by West Coast Eagles versus Collingwood. NRL Grand Final and State Of Origin on Nine filled the rest of the top 5. Of the reality show “winners announced”, The Block was highest ranked, followed by Married At First Sight and My Kitchen Rules. The wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Melbourne Cup and the opening ceremony of the 2018 Commonwealth Games all made the top 10 for Seven.

SBS made two appearances in the Top 20 with FIFA World Cup broadcasts, while Ten and ABC did not make the Top 20 at all.

No mention of news, current affairs, dramas or any other programming making the Top 20 — possibly pushed out by the practice of coding separate sections of longer programs taking up multiple slots.

1 SEVEN’S AFL: GRAND FINAL: PRESENTATIONS Seven Network 2,616,000 357,000 1,181,000 278,000 303,000 497,000
2 SEVEN’S AFL: GRAND FINAL: WEST COAST V COLLINGWOOD Seven Network 2,615,000 349,000 1,253,000 249,000 291,000 473,000
3 STATE OF ORIGIN RUGBY LEAGUE QLD V NSW 1ST – MATCH Nine 2,347,000 984,000 365,000 764,000 97,000 137,000
4 NRL GRAND FINAL DAY Nine 2,141,000 909,000 549,000 492,000 89,000 102,000
5 STATE OF ORIGIN RUGBY LEAGUE QLD V NSW 2ND – MATCH Nine 2,132,000 895,000 322,000 730,000 65,000 120,000
6 THE BLOCK -WINNER ANNOUNCED Nine 2,093,000 588,000 754,000 374,000 176,000 200,000
7 GOLD COAST 2018 COMMONWEALTH GAMES: OPENING CEREMONY Seven Network 2,037,000 460,000 537,000 670,000 170,000 200,000
8 ROYAL WEDDING: PRINCE HARRY & MEGHAN-CEREMONY Seven Network 1,993,000 498,000 629,000 348,000 208,000 310,000
9 THE 2018 MELBOURNE CUP CARNIVAL: MELBOURNE CUP-THE RACE Seven Network 1,908,000 393,000 1,027,000 239,000 108,000 141,000
10 MARRIED AT FIRST SIGHT -FINALE Nine 1,900,000 567,000 602,000 371,000 163,000 197,000
11 SEVEN’S AFL: GRAND FINAL: ON THE GROUND Seven Network 1,831,000 210,000 928,000 154,000 216,000 323,000
12 ROYAL WEDDING: PRINCE HARRY & MEGHAN-ARRIVALS Seven Network 1,772,000  452,000 551,000 314,000 181,000 274,000
13 STATE OF ORIGIN RUGBY LEAGUE QLD V NSW 3RD – MATCH Nine 1,769,000 748,000 239,000 618,000 62,000 102,000
14 MARRIED AT FIRST SIGHT -FINAL DINNER PARTY Nine 1,760,000 537,000 575,000 332,000 144,000
171,000
15 SEVEN’S TENNIS: 2018 AUSTRALIAN OPEN-MEN’S FINAL Seven Network 1,739,000 489,000 692,000 278,000 158,000 122,000
16 THE BLOCK -GRAND FINAL Nine 1,735,000 484,000 616,000 339,000 142,000 153,000
17 SEVEN’S AFL: GRAND FINAL: POST MATCH Seven Network 1,705,000 228,000 846,000 201,000 193,000 238,000
18 2018 FIFA WORLD CUP: FRA V AUS LIVE SBS Network 1,667,000 600,000 504,000 235,000 147,000
180,000
19 2018 FIFA WORLD CUP: DEN V AUS LIVE SBS Network 1,664,000 620,000 470,000 218,000 178,000
178,000
20 MY KITCHEN RULES-WINNER ANNOUNCED Seven Network 1,637,000 500,000 440,000 304,000 163,000 230,000

Top 20 programs on the Free-to-Air digital multi-channels (Consolidated. 5 cities, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth):

Almost a clean sweep for 7mate, dominating the list with AFL, Winter Olympic Games, Cricket and the Australian Open. ABC Kids sneaks in a few entries with Peppa Pig and The Highway Rat.

1 SEVEN’S AFL: TUESDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL 7mate 474,000 26,000 287,000 26,000 60,000 75,000
2 SEVEN’S AFL: FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL 7mate 416,000 30,000 193,000 19,000 94,000 80,000
3 2018 ROLEX SYDNEY HOBART YACHT RACE-DAY 7mate 378,000 139,000 82,000 73,000 33,000 50,000
4 PYEONGCHANG 2018 WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES: NIGHT 2 FEED 2 7mate 376,000 79,000 79,000 95,000 49,000 74,000
5 PYEONGCHANG 2018 WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES: NIGHT 3 FEED 2 7mate 349,000 61,000 101,000
74,000 36,000 77,000
6 PYEONGCHANG 2018 WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES: NIGHT 6 FEED 2 7mate 319,000 70,000 75,000
85,000 32,000 57,000
7 SEVEN’S AFL: SUNDAY AFTERNOON FOOTBALL 7mate 319,000 25,000 110,000 16,000 62,000
105,000
8 SEVEN’S CRICKET: SECOND TEST – AUSTRALIA V INDIA D4 S3 – MULTI 7mate 317,000 98,000
104,000 82,000 33,000 0
9 2018 SUMMER OF TENNIS: BRISBANE INTERNATIONAL-NIGHT 7mate 310,000 83,000 84,000
86,000 28,000 29,000
10 SEVEN’S AFL: SATURDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL 7mate 300,000 32,000 122,000 18,000 59,000 69,000
11 PYEONGCHANG 2018 WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES: NIGHT 4 FEED 2 7mate 289,000 60,000 76,000
60,000 28,000 65,000
12 PEPPA PIG: PEPPA’S PUMPKIN PARTY-AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 281,000 65,000 110,000 19,000 31,000 56,000
13 SEVEN’S TENNIS: 2018 AUSTRALIAN OPEN-NIGHT 7 FEED2 7mate 276,000 79,000 105,000 54,000
37,000 0
14 THE HIGHWAY RAT-EV ABCKIDS/COMEDY 273,000 90,000 79,000 40,000 23,000 41,000
15 M- KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE-PM 7mate 263,000 58,000 92,000 42,000 29,000 42,000
16 PYEONGCHANG 2018 WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES: NIGHT 5 FEED 2 7mate 263,000 52,000 84,000
50,000 29,000 47,000
17 SEVEN’S AFL: FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL FINALS 7mate 258,000 52,000 0 50,000 0 156,000
18 M- THE MARTIAN-PM 7mate 257,000 59,000 84,000 37,000 31,000 45,000
19 PYEONGCHANG 2018 WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES: NIGHT 7 FEED 2 7mate 255,000 50,000 57,000 51,000 28,000 68,000
20 THE HIGHWAY RAT-PM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 253,000 55,000 41,000 43,000 23,000 91,000

Top 20 Time-Shifted Free-to-Air Programs (Time Shift to 28 Days, Consolidated 28 Day % Increase on Overnight):

This is the list where drama dominates, with Seven well represented with US dramas The Good Doctor, God Friended Me, The Resident and 9-1-1 and local titles 800 Words, The Blake Mysteries: A New Beginning and Olivia Newton-John: Hopelessly Devoted To You. ABC ranked high with the Spicks And Specks Reunion Special, and Nine made the list with Underbelly Files and Manifest.

SBS made the list with Dead Lucky and The Handmaid’s Tale, with the latter adding a huge 134% onto its overnight figures.

1 THE GOOD DOCTOR-TUE Seven Network 358,000 38.2%
2 THE GOOD DOCTOR-MON Seven Network 343,000 35.2%
3 THE GOOD DOCTOR Seven Network 323,000 51.2%
4 SPICKS AND SPECKS REUNION SPECIAL-EV ABC 256,000 28.3%
5 M- JIMMY BARNES: WORKING CLASS BOY Seven Network 243,000 33.3%
6 JACK IRISH-EV ABC 219,000 31.6%
7 9-1-1 EP.2 Seven Network 212,000 44.9%
8 800 WORDS Seven Network 211,000 44.4%
9 UNDERBELLY FILES: CHOPPER – PART 1 Nine 210,000 23.5%
10 MANIFEST Nine 208,000 51.8%
11 MANIFEST -EP2 Nine 204,000 104.3%
12 THE HANDMAID’S TALE SBS Network 201,000 134.2%
13 OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN: HOPELESSLY DEVOTED TO YOU – PART 1 Seven Network
201,000 27.4%
14 MYSTERY ROAD-EV ABC 199,000 30.8%
15 MANIFEST -EP1 Nine 194,000 67.0%
16 THE BLAKE MYSTERIES: A NEW BEGINNING Seven Network 192,000 42.6%
17 DEAD LUCKY SBS Network 191,000 107.0%
18 9-1-1-EP.2 Seven Network 189,000 43.8%
19 THE RESIDENT-EP.2 Seven Network 188,000 60.0%
20 GOD FRIENDED ME Seven Network 185,000 42.6%

Top 20 Subscription TV Programs (national):

A clean sweep for live sport on Foxtel with AFL finals and Twenty20 dominating the top spots.

1 LIVE: AFL PF#1 RICHMOND V COLLINGWOOD FOX FOOTY 552,000
2 LIVE: TWENTY20: AUS V IND GAME 3 FOX CRICKET 476,000
3 LIVE: NRL PF#2 ROOSTERS V RABBITOHS FOX LEAGUE 463,000
4 LIVE: AFL SF#1 HAWTHORN V MELBOURNE FOX FOOTY 457,000
5 LIVE: AFL EF#1 MELBOURNE V GEELONG FOX FOOTY 454,000
6 LIVE: AFL PF#2 WEST COAST V MELBOURNE FOX FOOTY 437,000
7 LIVE: AFL QF#1 RICHMOND V HAWTHORN FOX FOOTY 429,000
8 LIVE: TWENTY20: AUS V IND GAME 3 FOX CRICKET 422,000
9 LIVE: AUS V IND 2ND TEST DAY 3 FOX CRICKET 418,000
10 LIVE: AFL SF#2 COLLINGWOOD V GWS FOX FOOTY 413,000
11 LIVE: AFL QF#2 WEST COAST V COLLINGWOOD FOX FOOTY 413,000
12 LIVE: AUS V IND 2ND TEST DAY 3 FOX CRICKET 404,000
13 LIVE: AUS V IND 2ND TEST DAY 4 FOX CRICKET 400,000
14 LIVE: TWENTY20: AUS V IND THE BIG BREAK FOX CRICKET 400,000
15 LIVE: NRL TITANS V COWBOYS FOX LEAGUE 399,000
16 LIVE: MOTORSPORT: SUPERCARS BATHURST RACE FOX SPORTS 506 393,000
17 LIVE: NRL EF#2 BRONCOS V DRAGONS FOX LEAGUE 379,000
18 LIVE: AFL GEELONG V RICHMOND FOX FOOTY 378,000
19 LIVE: AFL EF#2 SYDNEY V GWS FOX FOOTY 375,000
20 LIVE: NRL PANTHERS V DRAGONS FOX LEAGUE 374,000

Top 20 Time-Shifted Subscription TV Programs (national) (Time Shift to 28 Days, Consolidated 28 Day % Increase on Overnight)

Hard to say but I think there’s a t.r.e.n.d. here.

1 MOANA Foxtel Movies Disney 194,000 723.9%
2 S.W.A.T. FOX8 175,000 377.8%
3 S.W.A.T. FOX8 169,000 323.4%
4 S.W.A.T. FOX8 169,000 229.2%
5 S.W.A.T. FOX8 165,000 355.8%
6 S.W.A.T. FOX8 163,000 300.2%
7 S.W.A.T. FOX8 160,000 396.6%
8 S.W.A.T. FOX8 156,000 461.8%
9 S.W.A.T. FOX8 144,000 331.0%
10 S.W.A.T. FOX8 144,000 391.9%
11 S.W.A.T. FOX8 140,000 340.4%
12 S.W.A.T. FOX8 138,000 232.0%
13 S.W.A.T. FOX8 137,000 268.3%
14 S.W.A.T. FOX8 136,000 377.2%
15 S.W.A.T. FOX8 134,000 224.3%
16 S.W.A.T. FOX8 134,000 328.3%
17 S.W.A.T. FOX8 133,000 275.2%
18 THE GIFTED FOX8 132,000 287.5%
19 S.W.A.T. FOX8 130,000 494.7%
20 S.W.A.T. FOX8 129,000 381.4%

Data © OzTAM Pty Limited 2019. The Data may not be reproduced, published or communicated (electronically or in hard copy) in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of OzTAM.

Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2019/02/ratings-2018-the-final-scorecard.html

Feb 05 2019

Classic TV Guides: Eyewitness News

  • 5 February 2019

Since its inception in 1964, Melbourne’s ATV0 had struggled to get a significant hold of audiences when it came to news. Different formats, timeslots, newsreaders and titles were all tried and often without much success.

A revamp to a one-hour bulletin in 1978 was another in its string of casualties. But there were high hopes coming into 1979, 40 years ago, when the station had signed up Brisbane TV personality Annette Allison to read the news with long-time newsreader Bruce Mansfield.

Allison had been on TV in Brisbane for 15 years and was well established as a versatile TV presenter, appearing on variety shows, chat shows and was weather presenter for a time as well.  Her arrival at ATV0’s new-look Eyewitness News was heralded with full-page newspaper ads: “Bruce Mansfield Is Being Seen With Another Woman. That’s News”

It was an era where female newsreaders were still something of a novelty in Melbourne television, especially for the early evening news. But with the ’80s approaching, such headlines were already seen as crass and sexist, with one vocal critic being radio talkback host Derryn Hinch, who reportedly said it was degrading and in conflict with what was meant to be a serious news service.

As well as reading the news at 6.00pm, Allison was also hired to co-host the daytime talk show Everyday, with station veteran Roy Hampson.

Despite good chemistry between its two news presenters, the 1979 Eyewitness News revamp sadly turned out to be as short lived as many of its predecessors. By the end of the year Mansfield and Allison were relieved of their newsreader roles. One newspaper columnist felt that the two news presenters were being made scapegoats for more systemic troubles within the channel.

Allison continued to co-host Everyday, later to become Good Morning Melbourne, and Mansfield stayed at the channel for several more years in various roles including booth announcing for station promos and shows such as Young Talent Time, Perfect Match and Personality Squares.

Eyewitness News received another change in format late in 1979 for the summer months, with news director Michael Schildberger and journalist Peter Hanrahan taking over as newsreaders. But when the channel changed frequency to ATV10 in 1980 it triggered another change, with David Johnston hired and he and Jana Wendt taking on the newsreader roles. The news bulletin then became competitive against the channel’s older rivals and finally could enjoy an era of dominance.

The relaunch of Eyewitness News in 1979 is among the latest additions to Classic TV Guides:

Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2019/02/classic-tv-guides-eyewitness-news.html

Feb 03 2019

Obituary: Carmen Duncan

  • 3 February 2019

Australian film and television actress Carmen Duncan has died at the age of 76.

The actress died in hospital in Sydney on Sunday afternoon.

Duncan first came to fame in the late 1960s appearing on dramas including The Battlers, You Can’t See Round Corners, Delta and Hunter.

Carmen Duncan and John Armstrong in The Battlers
{Picture: TV Week, 1968)

She went on to play the part of Helen Sheridan in soapie Number 96 for several months but chose to leave for health reasons when she was pregnant with her second child. The part was re-cast to Jill Forster.

She starred in The Spoiler, Certain Women, Skyways and the ill-fated series Hotel Story. She made guest appearances in Division 4, Matlock Police, The Link Men, The Evil Touch, Chopper Squad, A Country Practice and starred in telemovies Super Sleuth, Skin Deep and Body Business.

Tom Oliver and Carmen Duncan in Number 96
(Picture: TV Radio Guide, 1974)

By the early 70s her younger sister Paula followed her into showbusiness. However despite their many years in the business to come they only worked together once, in an episode of Cop Shop.

Duncan went on to overseas fame in the late 1980s, playing the part of Iris Carrington Wheeler in the long-running American daytime soap Another World.

Since returning to Australia in the Nineties, Duncan filed celebrity interviews for Midday and appeared in All Saints, Water Rats, Head Start, Something In The Air, Farscape, Always Greener, CrashBurn, Winners And Losers and Pulse.

Film credits included Harlequin, Touch And Go, Turkey Shoot and Run Chrissie Run!

Carmen Duncan is survived by children Amelia and Duncan and sister Paula.

Paula and Carmen Duncan
(Picture: TV Week, 1973)

Source: SBS, News.com.au, IMDB. TV Week, 27 July 1968, 5 May 1973, 31 August 1996. TV Radio Guide, 6 July 1974.

 

 

Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2019/02/obituary-carmen-duncan.html

Jan 31 2019

Seven’s record-breaking news team

  • 31 January 2019

Newsreaders Rick Ardon and Susannah Carr might not be household names in much of Australia, but they certainly are in their home state of Western Australia.

The pair have this week celebrated 34 years of reading the news together for Seven News in Perth.

Unofficially, this places them as the longest-running newsreading team in the world, having beaten the 32-year partnership of New York news anchors Chuck Scarborough and Sue Simmons.

As they stated in an interview on Sunrise on Thursday morning, the pair are hoping to get official recognition of their longevity with Guinness World Records.

When they started reading the news at TVW7 in 1985, Ardon had been a reporter and weekend newsreader at the station, and Carr had recently joined Seven from ABC. With them at the front of the bulletin, Seven has been a constant leader in the competitive news battle in Perth. As well as reading the news, the pair have appeared on numerous Telethon appeals and collectively have won a string of Logies for their popularity with Western Australian viewers.


YouTube: classicclips19902000

Source: The West Australian, The West Australian, WA TV History, WA TV History

 

Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2019/01/sevens-record-breaking-news-team.html

Jan 26 2019

Magda Szubanski in Australia Day Honours

  • 26 January 2019

Writer, comedian, actress and activist Magda Szubanski is among the hundreds to be honoured this Australia Day.

Szubanski has been awarded Officer in the Order of Australia (AO) “For distinguished service to the performing arts as an actor, comedian and writer, and as a campaigner for marriage equality.”

Szubanski started in the comedy series The D Generation for ABC in 1986. The program moved across to the Seven Network and she later starred in Fast Forward from 1989 to 1992. She was a co-writer and performer in Big Girl’s Blouse in 1994 and Something Stupid in 1998. She starred in the Dogwoman series of telemovies and created and played the part of Sharon Strzelecki across Big Girl’s Blouse, Something Stupid and Kath And Kim. Other TV credits include Bligh, Full Frontal, The Genie From Down Under, It’s A Date, Open Slather, Sisters, Rake and most recently as marriage celebrant Jemima Davies-Smythe in Neighbours.

Other television identities from past and present to be recognised in this year’s honours included:

Olivia Newton-John (AC) — “For eminent service to community health, particularly for people living with cancer, through support for medical research, and as a songwriter and performer.” Newton-John’s performing career started in television in the 1960s, starring in variety shows including The Happy Show, Time For Terry, Go! and Bandstand before she went overseas to international stardom. She was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia, 2006, and awarded an Australian Living National Treasure by National Trust of Australia in 2012.


YouTube: Conniptions886

Kylie Minogue (AO) — “For distinguished service to the performing arts as a national and international recording artist and entertainer.” Minogue started as a child actor in series including The Sullivans and Skyways, then Fame And Misfortune and The Henderson Kids. Her performance as Charlene in Neighbours led to an international recording career that continues more than 30 years later. More recently she has appeared as a judge on The Voice Australia. She won a TV Week Logie for Most Popular Actress in 1987, followed by four Logies including the Gold in 1988. She was inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame in 2011.

Dennis Cometti (AM): “For significant service to the broadcast media as a sports presenter, and to the community.” Cometti was a sports commentator for ABC in the 1970s and has worked across both the Seven and Nine networks, covering AFL and Olympic Games, and volunteering for Telethon in Perth. He has also been a radio commentator for many years. The media centre at Optus Stadium in Perth is named in his honour.

John Derum (AM) — “For significant service to the performing arts as an actor, director and administrator, and to the community. ” Derum appeared in the first episode of Homicide in 1964 and later starred in The Aunty Jack Show, The True Blue Show, Ratbags, The Oz Game and The True Believers.  He has made guest appearances in Matlock Police, The Evil Touch, Division 4, Young Ramsay, Father Dear Father In Australia, GP, Water Rats, All Saints and Underbelly.

Adele Ferguson (AM) — “For significant service to the print and broadcast media as a journalist and business commentator.” Journalist and author Ferguson has appeared on Four Corners and The 7.30 Report. She won a TV Week Logie for Most Outstanding Public Affairs Report in 2015.

Raymond Harding (AM) — “For significant service to the broadcast media, particularly as a script writer and producer for television. ” Harding has been a script writer, producer, and story editor for a range of television shows for more than 25 years, in Australia and overseas. His credits include Neighbours, A Country Practice, Mirror Mirror and Home And Away.

Anita Jacoby (AM) — “For significant service to the broadcast and print media, and to community mental health groups.” Jacoby has worked in television for over 30 years, with production credits including Simon Townsend’s Wonder World, Good Morning Australia, Today, Who Dares Wins, Witness, Enough Rope With Andrew Denton, Hungry Beast, Can Of Worms, AFP, Country Town Rescue and the various Gruen series. She was also manager of ITV Studios Australia from 2013 to 2015.

Alan Kohler (AM) — “For significant service to the print and broadcast media as an editor, journalist and finance commentator.” A journalist since 1970, Kohler joined ABC in 1995. He was former business editor for The 7.30 Report and since 2002 has been the finance presenter and business correspondent for ABC News. He also hosted Inside Business for 12 years.

Julie McCrossin (AM) — “For significant service to the community, particularly through LGBTIQ advocacy roles, and to the broadcast media.” McCrossin was a team captain for Good News Week on ABC and later Network Ten. She has also been co-presenter on television coverage of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.

Mr Juan Ignacio TRAPAGA (Ignatius Jones) (AM) — “For significant service to entertainment as a writer, director, author and performer.” Jones has been an actor and presenter on various television programs since the 1980s, including appearances in Sweet And Sour, Home And Away, World Series Debating and Spicks And Specks. 

The late Cornelia Frances (OAM) — “For service to the performing arts as an entertainer.” Frances had been an actress and presenter on Australian television since the 1960s. Dramatic roles included Catwalk, Homicide, The Lost Islands, The Young Doctors, Tickled Pink, Prisoner, Sons And Daughters and Home And Away. She also hosted the game show The Weakest Link. Frances passed away in 2018.

Garry Gibson (OAM) — “For service to the broadcast media, particularly to television. ” Gibson worked as an audio engineer for ATN7, Sydney, in the 1960s and at QTQ9, Brisbane, for 20 years. He is a founding member of the RATS Club (Retired Radio and Television Survivors).

Bevan Lee (OAM) –“For service to the broadcast media, particularly to television. ” Lee has been a creator and writer for various Seven Network dramas including Sons And Daughters, Home And Away, All Saints, Always Greener, Packed To The Rafters, Marshall Law, Winners And Losers and A Place To Call Home. Other credits include Prisoner, A Country Practice, The New Adventures Of Skippy, The Flying Doctors and City Homicide.

Keith Martyn (OAM) — “For service to the community.” Martyn has worked in print, radio and television media in Adelaide for 40 years. He worked at ADS7 (now Ten) for 16 years and at NWS9 for ten years.

Eileen O’Shea (OAM) — “For service to the media and entertainment sectors.” O’Shea worked as a publicist for over 40 years, including 12 years at HSV7 working on programs including Homicide, Willesee At Seven, Cop Shop, Against The Wind and Skyways. In 1981 she moved across to ATV10 in Melbourne.

Source: Governor General of the Commonwealth of Australia

Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2019/01/magda-szubanski-in-australia-day-honours.html

Jan 16 2019

TV Week Logie Awards revives ad category

  • 16 January 2019

In the 1960s and 1970s, the TV Week Logie Awards featured categories to recognise television commercials.

Some of the past winners in this category have included Mobil Oil, Alka Seltzer, soft drink brands Coca Cola, Fanta and Export Cola,  deodorant Uncle Sam and cigarette companies like Craven A , Cambridge, Winfield and Kingford. (Cigarette advertising was banned from TV from 1976)

Could this ad for Export Cola from 1977 have been the winner in 1978?

 
YouTube: jmoul59

The award category has not featured since 1978 but TV Week is bringing it back 40 years on as Most Popular TV Commercial — although the idea of bringing back a commercial category to the Logies was being considered almost a decade ago.

Advertising agencies are being asked to submit their commercial entries to be judged by a panel of industry journalists and narrowed down to a short list of ten.

The panel will judge submissions based on production values, entertainment values, consumer response and the reflection of Australia and its diversity.

The short list of ten will then be included in the public Logies voting to take place in March with final nominees to be announced late in May

TV Week has yet to announce when the Logies will actually be held this year, although with voting taking place in March and nominees to be announced in late May it looks likely to be another July event as occurred in 2018. The awards will once again be held in Queensland.

Advertising agencies are being asked to pay $495 per submission, plus the terms and conditions for entry state that nominees will have the “opportunity” to purchase two tickets to attend the Logies presentation… at $1000 per ticket.

Source: Bauer Advertising, Australian Television Information Archive

 

 

Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2019/01/tv-week-logie-awards-revives-ad-category.html

Jan 09 2019

TV At 60: Operation Kangaroo

  • 9 January 2019

It could be said that the only reason Australia got television when it did was because of sport. The launch of television in 1956 was conveniently just in time for the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games and had it not been for the Games we could have been waiting a lot longer!

For the first few years of television in Australia it was not possible for live pictures to be relayed from one city to the next — and for some years TV only existed in Sydney and Melbourne. The only way TV content could get from one city to another was by sending reels of film — even videotape was still something of a novelty.

Sport is seen as a way of unifying a nation, but television was well behind radio which had the capacity to send broadcasts in real time over telephone lines. So it was for sport that television was to embark on its next innovation.

“Operation Kangaroo” was born out of an idea jokingly brought up at a GTV9 executive meeting to bring live coverage of test cricket from Sydney to Melbourne. The thought was deemed impossible until GTV9 chief engineer Ron Biddle came up with a plan.

Engineers at Melbourne’s GTV9 and its Sydney sister station ATN7 worked for over a year on the project — a series of microwave links between the two cities, with each link “hopping” from one mountain top to the next. ATN7 also called on its experience from an earlier live broadcast it had conducted from Canberra to Sydney.

Operation Kangaroo was being carried out in top secret, with crews from both channels navigating rugged mountain terrain and dodging blizzards and the threat of bushfires to position microwave dishes in strategic mountain top spots to carry the link across an estimated 1000 kilometres. The project also called on the assistance of the Snowy River Authority, State Electricity Commission (Victoria), Forestry Commission and the Lands and Survey Department.

While navigating their way through the Alpine region, the crews discovered that official maps for the region were extremely lacking, with some mountain peaks poorly mapped or not even mapped at all. One crew became lost in dense forest and were saved by the chance discovery of a little-known track. Test equipment had to be hauled by ice sledges up Mount Kosciusko. Other mountain top sites required equipment to be hauled up by helicopter.

It was anticipated to launch the link on the evening of Thursday 8 January 1959, with In Melbourne Tonight planning to cross to a live relay of Sydney Tonight, and GTV9 picking up ATN7’s cricket coverage starting with the afternoon session of the first day’s play on the Friday.

However on the Thursday, a crew van belonging to ATN7 got hopelessly bogged at Mount Blackjack — causing delays to final testing of the link up. GTV9 general manager Colin Bednall was optimistic that despite the delay the link should be open in time for the first day of cricket. “At this stage we cannot promise to complete the link, but if skill and courage can do it we will be there tomorrow,” he told The Age on Thursday.

As it turned out, the link missed the first day of the cricket but was opened on the Friday night with Graham Kennedy on In Melbourne Tonight calling ‘Come in, Sydney!’. Melbourne viewers were then greeted by ATN7 executive Brian Wright, who presented a speech to inaugurate the link-up. The picture seen in Melbourne was fuzzy but the sound was clear and without static.

The next day, Melbourne viewers dealing with sweltering heat tuned in at 3.30pm to see a live view of a rain-soaked Sydney Cricket Ground. Play was able to resume at 4.00pm although stormy conditions outside of Sydney caused interference with a clear picture getting through to Melbourne, and intermittent drop outs meant that the GTV9 clock got considerable use on screen while engineers tried to restore pictures.

When coverage resumed on Monday afternoon, the picture quality was much clearer, with players easily recognisable and the ball able to be viewed comfortably. The picture quality was considered to have been as good as that experienced over similar long-distance relays across Europe

Operation Kangaroo proved to be a successful project for GTV9 and ATN7 and in providing a valuable first link between Australia’s two largest cities, however due to the resource-intensive nature of the link — requiring each of the mountain-top relays to have two engineers and petrol-powered generators onsite while in operation — its potential for use was limited. It would be a few more years before the next major innovation in connecting the two cities — the coaxial cable link opened in 1962.

Source: The Age, 9 January 1959, 10 January 1959, 15 January 1959. Sydney Morning Herald, 10 January 1959. TV Week, 15 January 1959

Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2019/01/tv-at-60-operation-kangaroo.html

Jan 08 2019

Obituary: Jimmy Hannan

  • 8 January 2019

Jimmy Hannan, one of Australia’s leading stars of the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s, has died at the age of 84 after a short battle with cancer.

Sydney-born Hannan made his TV debut in 1956 as a contestant on Name That Tune, Australia’s first TV game show.  The prize money he won on the show paid for him to travel to Canada, where he would try to break into the television and club circuit. He then had two years in London, including work at the BBC, before returning to Australia.

His first TV hosting role on his return was the game show Say When in 1962. He became a recording star with songs including Beach Ball, featuring the Bee Gees as backing singers!


YouTube: Conniptions886

It was as host of TCN9‘s teenage show Saturday Date and from making regular appearances on Bandstand and In Melbourne Tonight that Hannan won the TV Week Gold Logie for Most Popular Personality.

No sooner had he won the award that he had been signed up in a major deal to switch from Nine to the fledgling Melbourne channel ATV0. “I had a bright future with the Nine Network and went overseas while my manager re-negotiated the contract with them,” Hannan told The Australian Women’s Weekly in 1981. “I returned six weeks later expecting to be back on Nine with an even better deal, only to find that I’d been signed to Channel 0 in Melbourne. The station had just begun transmission, and at the time I was the only ‘name’ they had.”

At ATV0 he hosted a musical variety show, Jimmy, which was relayed across the 0-10 Network. The show later became Jimmy Hannan Tonight, competing with Nine’s popular In Melbourne Tonight.

Hannan had also made a guest appearance on the Royal Children’s Hospital Good Friday Appeal on rival channel HSV7 in 1966. His performance triggered a response from a keen viewer, a Mrs Jackson of Kew, to promise to donate $100 if he sang again. Mrs Jackson followed this with another $100 offer for another song… and another.


YouTube: FrozenDoberman

While in Melbourne he also worked for several years at radio station 3UZ, then the city’s top rating pop music station.

In 1970, Hannan had left 0 and returned to Nine as one of the successors to Graham Kennedy on IMT. His Thursday night hosting of IMT soon saw the program shift to Friday nights with the new name, The Weekend Starts Here.

TV credits during the ’70s included Spending Spree, The Graham Kennedy Show, Celebrity Squares, The Jimmy Hannan Show, Have A Go, Penthouse Club and Let’s Make A Deal.

In the 1980s he guest hosted The Mike Walsh Show and hosted Network Ten shows Personality Squares, Search For A Star, $100,000 Moneymakers and Value Shopping. He also worked for a time as a producer on the game show Perfect Match.

Hannan then retired from television to live on a farm in Bellingen, but he made a rare return to TV in a guest performance on The Late Show, performing the Jimmy Barnes song Working Class Man, and appeared as a celebrity contestant on Sale Of The Century.

In 2015, he donated much of his gathered memorabilia from 60 years in showbusiness to the National Film and Sound Archive.

Jimmy Hannan is survived by his wife Joanne (pictured in 1964) and four children, including former TV personality Melissa Hannan.

Source: News.com.au, NFSA. TV Week, 4 July 1964, 12 March 1966. The Age, 14 April 1966. The Australian Women’s Weekly, 25 February 1981.

 

Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2019/01/obituary-jimmy-hannan.html

Jan 07 2019

Obituary: Annalise Braakensiek

  • 7 January 2019

Actress, model and lifestyle blogger Annalise Braakensiek has died suddenly at the age of 46.

Police and ambulance crews found her dead in her apartment on Sunday afternoon after friends and family became concerned about her whereabouts.

A model since her teenage years, Braakensiek’s big break came when she was awarded Inside Sport Model of the Year in 1994. She went on to a successful international modelling career, featuring on the covers of magazines including Cosmopolitan (US), Loaded (UK) and Maxim (Italy) and appearing in numerous ad campaigns.

She made a move into acting, appearing in Home And Away, Heartbreak High and the film Mr Accident. But her most prominent role came in the SBS comedy Pizza and movie spin-off Fat Pizza, playing the part of Claudia Macpherson.

She later appeared in the ABC series Sleuth 101 and co-hosted the UK game show Play Your Cards Right. Fluent in four languages, she also appeared on German MTV.

Other TV appearances included All Star Squares, Greeks On The Roof, Torvill & Dean’s Dancing On Ice, The Chaser’s War On Everything and 20 To 1.

In recent years, she achieved success as a lifestyle blogger and jewellery designer.

Braakensiek had made public her battle with depression and had also been an advocate for RUOK? Day in 2017.

RUOK?

Lifeline 

Source: News.com.au, Sydney Morning Herald, IMDB, Annalise Braakensiek

Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2019/01/obituary-annalise-braakensiek.html

Jan 06 2019

Obituary: Darius Perkins

  • 6 January 2019

Darius Perkins, best known as the original actor to play Scott Robinson in Neighbours, died last week from cancer at the age of 54.

Making his TV debut in a commercial, Perkins then made guest appearances in The Sullivans, All The Green Years and Carson’s Law.

His performance in the mini-series All The Rivers Run won him a TV Week Logie Award in 1984 for Best Performance By A Juvenile. He then starred alongside Paul Cronin, Paula Duncan and Nicole Kidman in the telemovie Matthew And Son.

In 1985, Perkins was among the original cast of Neighbours, playing the part of Scott Robinson. Perkins left the show when it made the switch from Seven to the Ten network. The part of Scott Robinson was then re-cast to Jason Donovan.

Perkins later appeared in The Flying Doctors, Home And Away and A Country Practice and worked behind the scenes for various productions.

In 2013 he returned to Neighbours for an extended guest role, playing the part of Marty Kranic.

Source: IMDB, Herald Sun, Perfect Blend. TV Week, 14 April 1984.

Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2019/01/obituary-darius-perkins.html