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Sunday Night rumour mill

Media reckon David Leckie told the Sunday Night team they had 10 weeks to prove themselves or else.

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sunniteSeven boss David Leckie is rumoured to have told producers at the Sunday Night’s launch it had 10 weeks to win and hold its audience and if it didn’t, it would be cancelled, claims news.com.au.

It is one of several media stories that has been speculating on the future of Sunday Night this week.

The new programme is now in its sixth week.

Any honeymoon the show enjoyed in its initial weeks has well and truly ended, particularly given it didn’t win its timeslot on Sunday. The axing of The All in Call didn’t help.

Of course Leckie was also attributed as declaring the show would launch late in 2008. So there’s another reference that has proven false.

The article again speculates on the working relationship between co-producers Adam Boland and Mark Llewellyn, and tosses Mike Munro and Chris Bath in as well. Lookout Grant Denyer and Monique Wright.

Source: news.com.au

28 Responses

  1. Sunday Night is an extended version of Today Tonight – trash tv labelled journalism. I love Chris Bath but she looks terrified of Mike Munro. Simple solution to improve Sunday Night, investigative journalism.

  2. I knew it from the beginning they sucked so bad. More regurgitated stories on somebody getting murdered and everything that’s in it. Too negative. I’ll be waiting for that show to die.

  3. Having watched Sunday Night since its commencement, I always thought that the All in Call was the strongest and most natural part of the show – and now it has been axed is a real shame.

    My idea would be to have two strong stories each week and have these stories lead each half hour folowed by an All In Call type segment for the remainder of the half hour with in-studio interviews, audience participation etc.

  7. I agree with the vast majority who aren’t satisfied with SN. Don’t know whether these reports are true but if I were Seven I would be completely and utterly dissappointed. It follows Sunday’s highest rating show and yet at times can’t beat (or match) its 6:30 competition or 60 Minutes. Plus apart from the fact that Bath and Munro don’t suit each other, the awkward balance of fluff and credible stories reeks of desperation to appeal to both the Today Tonight bogans and the ABC audience, and clearly both audiences are not responding.

  8. One word well two Monique Wright she is just a joke not a journalist, and copying a decent show like Dateline they have got to be kidding. Last week Dateline did a story on ‘India’s Baby Factory’ now Sunday Night is doing the same story this week!

    It is just one big joke axe it and do it now!

  9. Wow Leckie is being generous giving it 10 weeks if it was the other way around with 9 having SN and 7 having 60 the SN would have been canned after about 3 episodes

  10. @ Simon
    i agree it’s nothing more then a night version of TT or Sunrise. Extremely low brow. They tried to be hard hitting journalism like 60 Minutes but failed miserably. To be expected though as 7 just can’t do this stuff like 9.

  11. In many ways the program is succeeding in splitting the Sunday evening current affairs audience across two shows. Whilst it may not be firing in the ratings right now, it has surely brought 60 Minutes’ ratings downwards, and feeds 1.2m or so straight into the 7.30, 8.00 and 8.30 programs on Seven.

    If it fits within budget, I believe Seven will keep it going.

  12. The problem with Sunday Night is that it has come third in Sydney behind Domestic Blitz and The Biggest Loser. Sydney people love watching Seven News and TT but not SN for some reason.
    The next big test for SN will be on March 30 when it is up against Formula One on Ten and Domestic Blitz in Sydney and Melbourne, as well as 60 Minutes and So You Think You Can Dance in Perth (due to AFL coverage, SN will be shown at the special time of 7.30pm). If the program rates poorly then I say it will be axed.

  13. this show could have been so good, but it’s tuned out to be almost as tabloidy as 60 minutes.

    ross coulthart’s and samantha’s reports are so good. Ross’s are probably the best on australian TV. but no one takes them seriously because they are in the same show as grant denyer.

    in monique’s case she can be so good with proper journalism the reports she did on china during the olympics were fantastic. i was so upset when she was labelled as the fluff reporter. such a waste. but this week she is investigating the indian baby factories which she’s been working on for over a month so it might be a tunaround.

    and molly, very valuble and qualified but is completely unwatchable. sorry.

  14. The problem with Sunday Night is obvious. They have one investigative reporter trying to deliver a news worthy piece every week and various Seven personalities (Denyer/Meldrum) serving up crap more suited to Today Tonight. It can’t be done. Does the budget not extend to another proper journalist? It’s no wonder the quality is suffering already. I have recorded the show since the second week to monitor what they are doing and the only non Ross Coulthardt story I have sat through is Sam Armytage’s croc piece. Having said that, the quality of the stories on Sixty Minutes hasn’t been crash hot either.

  17. I agree with what’s already been said here. Get rid of the fluff stories, get rid of Grant Denyer and Molly Meldrum and stick to quality investigative journalism. Then i’ll watch. At the moment it is Today Tonight: Weekend Edition, which is exactly where its going wrong. I watched the first week and thought it was brilliant. Then i saw Molly interviewing Coldplay, Grant with Jelena Dokic and Chris Bath and Mike Munro embarrassingly stumble through an interview with Duffy. Haven’t watched since.

  18. They try to be another 60 minutes or Dateline. I only watch the first 5 mins and found it boring and no chemistry between two hosts, then didn’t watch it again.
    It didn’t work. Nothing beat 60 minutes or Dateline

  19. Yep…this is you life Mike Munro….. and Chris stay at the news desk, you don’t look awkward behind a desk as you do sitting in a chair with no desk and the chemistry thing….we already have current affairs on a Sunday night with 60 so if want a fix of news ..we will go there…7 would be better off hitting the AFl for Sunday Night Footy…. start it at 630…. won’t work in Sydney but the other markets should do ok….

  20. Get rid of Denyer and the fluff stories, give Monique some heavier stuff to do (like her piece on the bushfires ep 1) and it should do better. I’d be more inclined to watch, that’s for sure.

  21. What ever happened to the hard hitting stories they promised? Two weeks into it they pulled out the ‘today tonight’ stories. Grant and Monique hosting? Could you imagine how much fluff it would contain. Mike must look at his paycheck every time he has to front another ‘hard hitting’ story about a town with no ladies, or was it men, who cares. This isn’t current affairs…sorry.

  23. I don’t know, I don’t care for Current Affairs, but its stable, and 60 Mins fluctuates up and down all the time. Hitting 1.1 million then 1.8 million, Sunday Night could see increases the same as this, although its not as well put together as 60 Mins.
    Plus it is providing a stable show in a timeslot that will span the entire ratings season which is something Seven needs, Sunday Night is a bad name for the show though, They probably would’ve had more success with Today Tonight: Weekend Edition 😛

  25. Not surprised, I have stopped watching sunday night, as I think it is garbage.
    No chemistry between the 2 hosts,some of the segments are terrible. Obviously not getting the ratings the 7 programmers were hoping for.

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