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Seven shakes up Sundays

In arguably it’s most over-due make-over, Seven has unleashed its new-look Sunday programming. But it won’t kick off until Week 2 of the Ratings.

Australia’s Got Talent will debut on Sunday Feb 18 at 6:30pm. Hosted by Grant Denyer it will feature Dannii Minogue and Red Symons. The scheduling of this show could create problems for It Takes Two later in the year (Remember The X Factor giving us talent fatigue?).

Ugly Betty will premiere at 7:30pm, taking 60 Minutes head-on.

This is a brash move by Seven, but the hype for Betty will be enormous. Nine’s current affairs juggernaut will need its best ammo for the first week. They’ll be hoping for a big news week there.

At 8:30pm Grey’s Anatomy season 3 kicks off. Again, the boldness of Seven is surprising. Normally this show alternates when the Housewives conclude. Seven must be confident it still has enough new product for the second half of the year.

What About Brian? premieres at 9:30pm. Another new American drama.

Sundays have long been a problem for Seven. Last year it had movies, nostalgia, variety, specials…with very little consistency or success. The audience likes familiarity and Nine’s 60 Minutes / CSI double worked well, as did Ten’s Idol / Big Brother evictions.

So why hasn’t this launched on night one of ratings Feb 11? Perhaps because Nine has cricket left in its arsenal. And I suspect the Denyer talent show probably wasn’t quite ready yet either.

Securing a big audience on the cosiest night of the week gives you a strong lead for the week, and a showcase to promote the next seven days. This cannot be underestimated.

Finally it seems Seven hasn’t.

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