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Nine eyes 5:30 fix

Karl Stefanovic and Leila McKinnon will film a magazine-style pilot designed to fix Nine's 5:30pm slot, but they won't be its permanent hosts.

The Nine Network is to shoot a pilot next week for a new late afternoon format designed to take on Deal or No Deal in 2009 and give Nine News a better lead-in.

While Karl Stefanovic and Leila McKinnon will film the pilot, they aren’t expected to become the hosts if it is greenlit by the network.

“They’re looking at a light, Sydney-based news magazine show but the idea is only a very rough one,” a source said.

“They want Karl and Leila to film a pilot to see what it looks like, but that would be it for them – if it was to go ahead new hosts would be auditioned.”

This year Nine tried to revitalise the slot with a new version of Wheel of Fortune. Some months ago there was talk of an entertainment style show being considered for Georgie Parker and Richard Reid.

Nine loses the 5:30pm slot with regularity except in Brisbane where Extra has been running for 17 years. It came to life when Nine launched city-based Extra shows around the country, but only Brisbane’s edition survived -and strengthened.

Now it looks like Nine wants to go back to the idea. Magazine style shows aren’t new for the late afternoon timeslot.

And who else remembers Live at Five and another little show called Together Tonight?

Source: news.com.au

21 Responses

  1. You forgot to mention “Eye on Australia”. I used to really enjoy Entertainment Tonight- or Entertainment This Week (on Ten in the 80s)- when they did straight interviews and reviews. Leonard Maltin’s reviews and interviews with showbiz legends were memorable. I can’t stand to watch more than a couple of minutes of the gossipy garbage ET has become. I fear anything Nine does with the 5:30 slot will be an extension to the crap they serve us at breakfast. May as well just call a spade a spade- “Fluff at 5:30” seems an appropriate title.

  2. i will consider this show if it airs but it will be a sacrifice, i really enjoy deal

    and i have to applaud them on their decision to audition hosts, aus tv does need fresh faces especially men.

    ch9 already has ACA tho, that is basically a magazine show with all their celeb interviews, brastorys ect.

  3. I feel for Sephiroth_FF.
    I was “oh so fortunate” to see many previous ET style/magazine programmes like Live at Five, Together Tonight ,Extra and a few more Aussie turkeys.
    Just to help Sephiroth_FF. imagine a show with the following all battling for air time and to upstage each other – Angela Bishop,Richard Reid,Richard Wilkins, Nelson Aspen, Karl Stefanovic and Andrew O’Keefe.
    Show off central and you think Oprah is bad at insisting on being centre stage.

  4. Sephiroth_FF, I do remember that Antonia Kidman fronted entertainment show. I think it was called “IE: Inside Entertainment” or something like that and it was on in 2001 if memory serves me correctly. It was good.

  5. Sephiroth_FF, could not have said it better. I caught the new “ET High Definition” the other week and having not seen the show for years, was astonished at its transition from entertainment news show to gutter trash gossip rag. Guess that’s the only instance of the industry giving the public what it (sadly) wants.

    “Magazine style show”, to me, says two things: product placement and infomercials. Those awful 9am shows are bad enough (with the exception of David & Kim on Ten, which without the infomercial crud would be a very good show).

  6. I’ve never heard of Live at Five, Together Tonight or Extra.

    I don’t want a magazine-style show. It sounds like Susie all over again. I’m all for an entertainment show though. I wouldn’t mind one hosted by Richard Wilkins but Richard Reid is a bit too much. Anyone remember the entertainment show on 10 with Antonia Kidman? I can’t remember exactly but it could’ve been on in about 1999/2000. It wasn’t a bad attempt at local entertainment show.

    Entertainment Tonight really grates on my nerves now. It’s all about “Who’s pregnant. Who’s getting married. What kind of dog are the Obamas going to buy. What is Danni-Lynn wearing. What has set Britney Spears of. Angelina Jolie. Angelina Jolie, Angelina Jolie.

    They barely ever talk about movies or TV shows now. It’s mostly gossip and I find that very uninteresting.

  7. They should do like an entertainment tonight format, with the latest in film, tv and music news . They could get interviews from the US one, etc. oR just play the US one at 5.30

  8. Sounds and looks awful !
    And this quote says it all “Sydney-based news magazine show but the idea is only a very rough one,”
    Nice to see Karl & Leila get used for something like this turkey – chemistry equals zero.

  9. Won’t work. Try half hour Who Wants to Be a Millionaire – fast paced- like it is in US. Not the slow Eddie Maguire version where one question can go on for 20 minutes.

    Wheel of Fortune could have worked as well if it wasn’t for the host. The show was enjoyable but the guy who hosted it made it unbareable. Deal works because it is quick even though Andrew can be annoying at times and some of the contestants even worse!

  10. And remember the Australian verision of Entertainment Tonight. When you can only talk about shows on your own network, or rehash the US stories, there is very little left to talk about. Same with Channel 10 with their version of E! News in the 90’s.

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