WIN drops Catch-Up

"What's this? Here in FNQ, Mission Beach we have lost The Catch-Up and it has been replaced by, you guessed it 100 verses 1 and it was on last night! This is a repeat! All this has happened without an explanation and I am p...ed off." - Robyn.

Thanks for the tip Robyn, it seems you are not alone.

Mysteriously, the WIN Network is no longer screening the new Nine panel show in the 1pm timeslot. Over many of its regions it is now screening repeats of Nine evening shows, including: Extreme Makeover, What's Good For You, Wife Swap, and 1 vs 100.

With The Young and The Restless now airing on Foxtel, the irony will be all the more bitter to soapie fans if this is a permanent shift.

WIN airs right across regional Australia from Cairns to Tasmania and across to WA. The show is also off air on WIN's Canberra affiliate.

Could this be contractually based? At a time when the show is still building its audience the move will be interpreted as a loss of faith.

In the meantime I've added the show to this site's archival Missing in Action shows.
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Networks gropeable over losing Kath & Kim

Nine and the ABC are reported to be fuming over the sale of Kath & Kim to the Seven Network.

Nine, Ten and the ABC were all said to be chasing the series.

There are criticisms of the way Executive Producer Rick McKenna advised Nine and the ABC that Riley Turner Productions had finalised the sale, reportedly leaving it till the last minute to advise them. Nine will be particularly sore, given it had lured McKenna to an executive role in 2004.

Sydney Confidential goes as far as to imply McKenna was "unprofessional and inconsiderate" although it quotes a source as saying he met contractual obligations.

But Crikey hints at a further fallout from within the ABC, asking questions about what copyright ownership the ABC had. How did the board protect its position and ownership of the hit series? What were the revenue splits on merchandise?

Essentially someone at the ABC may have to answer for losing the famous Foxymorons.
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Car Crash Telly

Australia's worst drivers are being put the test in a new reality show, Last Chance Learners, coming to the Seven Network.

Hosted by Mike Whitney, it will air at 7:30pm on Wednesday April 18.

The drivers in this series have all held their licenses for years -several of them for durations of 11, 14 and 17 years! They have collectively spent over $100,000 in lessons! Crazy.

I've had a sneak peek at the series and the brief scenes I saw showed some very scary people behind the wheel.

The drivers are divided into two teams, Biggest Loser-like, and paired with Driving Instructors. If they can pass their license in 30 days they each win a new car.

The drivers all represent differing backgrounds in age, ethnicity, gender and experience. I'm sure Seven is hoping the format is so extreme it will grab viewers.

Let you know more once I have sighted a full episode.

Press Release:

The country’s worst learner drivers go back to school.

The exciting new program Last Chance Learners, which follows the desperate attempts of 10 of Australia’s worst drivers to pass their driving test, premieres tonight.

Between them, these 10 wanna-be drivers have had 68 driving instructors and spent more than $100,000 on driving lessons.

After years of driving failure, this is the last point of call for our desperate learners and the Last Chance Learners Driving School, where the motto Per Ardua ad Licentiam – through adversity to a licence – takes on life-altering meaning.

At the Last Chance Learners Driving School, the drivers will be separated into two teams and under the tuition of two of the country’s top driving instructors they’ll compete against each other in weekly challenges.

They’ll face their first challenge tonight when they are seated behind the wheel of a manual car – many for the first time ever – and tested on their (lack of) driving abilities.

But there’s a great incentive for the learner drivers to buckle down and try hard at school – with each driver who passes their test in 30 days driving away in a brand new car.

Photo: File photo.

Please credit this website when posting in other messageboards, thanks!
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Seven and SBS in Olympic deal

The Seven Network has stitched up a deal that will see SBS screen excess Olympic events for the 2008 Beijing games.

Designed to be complementary broadcasts, SBS will focus on long form events, likely to be football, road cycling, volleyball, and table tennis - in other words, the low raters.

Still it's good that fans of these sports will have a free-to-air network showing the events they want.

Press Release:

The Seven Network and SBS have signed an agreement to provide complementary coverage of the Games of the XXIX Olympiad to be held in Beijing in 2008.

The television rights agreement will see the continuation of the partnership built during the Athens Olympic Games in 2004 with a primary Olympics broadcast on Seven and complementary coverage on SBS.

Details of the landmark agreement were announced today by David Leckie, Chief Executive Officer, Seven Media Group, and CEO, Seven Network, and Shaun Brown, Managing Director of SBS.

Under today’s agreement, Seven will have exclusive coverage of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, track and field, swimming, rowing, cycling and gymnastics, and will also provide coverage of other sports featuring Australians.

SBS will broadcast complementary coverage likely to be focused on long-form events such as football, road cycling, volleyball, and table tennis.

Commenting on the deal, Mr Leckie said: “Today’s agreement makes business sense for Seven and significantly broadens the viewing for the greatest event in sports.

“Viewers will see terrific coverage on Seven – with no change in the events we have broadcast during past Olympic Games and this will be complemented by coverage of a wide range of sports on SBS, saving viewers from the need to pay to get access to the best of Olympic sport. Today is a win for Seven, a win for SBS, a win for free-to-air television, and a win for Australian television viewers.”

Mr Brown said: “SBS continues to play a leading role in the provision of quality, free-to-air coverage of major sporting events in Australia. Today’s deal with the Seven Network further cements our commitment to the sports loving public of Australia that we will show important events free-to-air and, where possible, live.

“SBS is particularly pleased that the deal involves continuing our commitment to football coverage and other specialised sports that Australians have a genuine interest in.

“The Olympic Games is probably the single biggest multicultural celebration in the world and for SBS to be a part of it is both appropriate and exciting. We look forward to working with the team from Seven again next year.”

The Olympic Games coverage on SBS will complement the Seven Network’s coverage of the Olympic Games providing complete, uninterrupted coverage of events – and in a timezone that significantly broadens opportunities for live coverage in Australia’s primetime.

The production of the two Olympic channels – with primary coverage on Seven and complementary coverage on SBS - represents the single largest project undertaken on Australian television since the Games of the XXVII Olympiad in Sydney. Seven and SBS will jointly produce SBS’s coverage which will be hosted by SBS presenters.

In total more than 400 people will produce for the Seven Network and SBS more than 800 hours of live television coverage during the 17 days of the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad from 8 – 24 Read more...