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Nine’s new channel by September

Nine's new youth channel will launch by September, with David Gyngell vowing to resign if it can't double ONE HD's share by the end of year.

nine network 09Nine will launch its new youth-driven channel by September.

In an interview with The Australian, CEO David Gyngell has thrown down the gauntlet to TEN’s sports-channel, ONE HD, offering to resign if his new channel doesn’t double the audience share of ONE by the end of the year.

That means it needs to rate close to a 3 per cent share to keep him in his job.

The channel, rumoured to be named Go! is being created with a swag of programs Nine acquired through its new $500 million output deal with Warner Bros.

“I’ll give this job away if it doesn’t do double the job of ONE,” Mr Gyngell said.

“ONE is the red-haired stepchild of sports rights,” he said. “It’s the stuff that no one wants.”

(Apologies to all red heads and step-children everywhere obviously….)

The article notes that Gyngell also flagged massive changes in the free-to-air landscape over the next year because of multi-channelling, online streaming and downloading, time-shifted viewing on digital video recorders and even mobile. It follows a reluctance to move toward a secondary channel, which he described as a ‘tax’ on the industry during a time of global recession.

Ninemsn will launch a streaming video website that will make more than 1700 hours of video clips and TV shows available on demand on July 14th.

“Within a year you won’t be able to look at ratings and judge a program in the same way,” he said. “One show will have to be monetised four times.”

“You don’t have to protect the free-to-air space,” he said. “We have to extend it and grow it.”

He even admitted Nine would lose some audience from its main channel because of cannibalisation from its new digital channel. But, he said, free-to-air rivals Seven and TEN would also be affected, and the two Nine channels combined would gain audience share and therefore advertising share.

Some of the titles previously touted for the new channel include Gossip Girl, Entourage and Sex and the City.

Despite reports it would indicate its future back in March, Seven has still not declared its hand on its new channel except to confirm it has settled on a model. We wait with bated breath…

Source: The Australian.

61 Responses

  1. well now i’m of two minds, i want it to do badly to get rid of gyngell but i want it to do well because i find the programming much more appealing than ONE. but i doubt he would quit even if he did lose, he’ll probably win though.

    why does 7 just have to pick one thing for their channel, i’d prefer it if they had theme days, sci-fi day, movie day, horror day, comedy day, doco day. that way you could offer something to everyone and you wouldn’t be scraping the bottom of the barrel just to find enough content to fill the hours.

  2. I agree with the critics…GO 9 or GO 99 is quite bland and old. It sounds to me like one of those people who call out “Bingo” when they win a number — “…Letter B, Number 9…Bingo!”

    Change it to something more youthful if it’s meant to attract younger audiences, like, “Nine Now!” Ripped that one off of ANZ…But you know what I mean.

    Early powerful promos like the one they did for Microsoft’s XBoxcampaign would be ideal! First, build curiosity using the GO logo (or whatever) then splurge out your answer of what it is during the launch month. And please don’t just advertise in your own channel – otherwise, old demos will watch your GO…Bingo

  3. @Christian

    I think Seven’s will indeed be music or reality television. There are no reality TV channels in Australia.

    Although TEN would definitely suit this more… Seven may look to go in a new direction or maybe even an Australian Made Content channel.

  4. My bet is for 7 to have a music channel.

    Just look at the “genre” channels for Foxtel … 400 movies (too expensive), 500 sport (already done), 600 news (too hard), 700 music (really easy actually!)

    CK.

  5. @ Michael, I know you think that if you keep mentioning it, maybe something will happen, but Seven are hardly going to launch their channel tomorrow just because you keep asking for it.

  6. Nine shouldn’t be picking on One. At least One shows there sport live.

    Why is it that One can show three live NFL games per week but when it comes to the NRL, Nine can only show one game live a week? (plus 2 games on delay with ridiculously long ad breaks.) Hopefully when the new broadcast rights come around in 2012, One can get part of the NRL pie.

    Would love to see One get Monday Night Football.

  7. I am a ‘youth’ so I think I have the right to pass judgment. Go!9 is a c**ptacular name. Also the shows are terrible. If any youth wanted to watch them, by now we would have already watched them via internet downloads, Foxtel or DVD. If Nine really wants to want youth watching one of their products they should have shares in Facebook, YouTube and Torrenting sites.

  8. ONE is ten times the channel that 9 or their GO will ever be. NBA, NFL, MLB, AFL, IPL etc. Hopefully they pick up the NHL for next season too. Gyngell and 9 are a joke. They’re way out of touch with what people in Australia want to see, as proven by his comment that “no one wants” sports such as basketball, football, cricket etc. Hopefully you do quit Gyngell, then maybe I’ll actually turn Channel 9 on for a change. They might actually show something other than crappy sitcoms like 2 and a half men. Try giving Survivor a go without waiting 2 years to air every season.

  9. @ Quentin,

    Completely agree with you. Nine need to be advertising this as soon as possible. They need to make viewers curious. And the promos need to be fantastic if they want to win over the “youth.” They should get some ideas off TEN, they’re promos are fantastic.

  10. Hooray, at last a commitment by Nine for September!(i’ve been waiting since 1/1/09)
    obviously they don’t share the excitement about multi channeling as i do.
    I agree with David Gyngell that it will change the televisions landscape,just watch and see in 12 months time
    Now we await with abated breath for news of sevens multichanneling plans.

  11. After the broadcasting contract the NRL has ends in 2012, will it be a possibility for TEN to go at it, perhaps with Fox Sports as is now, so we’ll be able to see another Australian football code on One?

  12. When this new 9 channel gets up and running, will Tassi and the regional’s have to wait as they had for 1hd

    Come on 7 when do you announce your 2nd sd channels launch 
    pathetic 7 pathetic

  13. I agree that 9/9/09 is likely to be the launch date of this channel. Not sure how often I will watch it. Really does sound like Arena take 2.

  14. This is very good for Channel 9’s image – that is, providing integration across different media and focusing on our convenience rather than their TV dollars!

    Free Online + Free TV = unbeatable combination.

    I’m sure they have the capacity to implement such a strategy considering that they have ninemsn handy. This is one of the few reasons why I admire James Packer over his late father – as James was the one who pushed for an acquisition investment of the online realm when everybody (at that time) was still so concern about TV!

    Push for a strong early promotion…this is key! Suggest for Nine to promote now and increase people’s awareness and curiousity (i.e. What’s Go 99?! type of campaign).

  15. first it was April, then June, then August, now September? Come on Nine stop dangling the carrot and just do it already instead of puffing out statements for The Australian

  16. I’ve been enjoying the baseball on ONE.

    Perhaps Gyngell is a bit out of touch as to “sports no-one else wants”.

    I notice that ONE has taken over the rights to the Major League Baseball All-Star Game this year. I used to subscribe to Fox Sports for a month purely for that event.

    Not that it matters to me this year…. (I’ll be way up the back along the 1st base line wearing a Titans jersey at the All-Star game this year :-> )

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