TEN delays new channel
TEN's new digital channel is pushed out to 2011 according to a report today.
- Published by David Knox
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TEN Network chief executive Grant Blackley tells The Australian Financial Review that TEN will not introduce its new digital channel until 2011.
“Our enthusiasm has not waned, but we need to ensure it is well-crafted and will be profitable,” he said.
TEN had previously announced a third channel at its 2010 Programming Launch late last year and subsequently indicated it would arrive in the second half of 2010.
Today’s news is a blow to viewers hoping to see programmes that have disappeared from its main channel, with expectations the new channel will be an entertainment-based offering. But Blackley also does not confirm this.
The newspaper adds neither Nine nor Seven are rushing to introduce their new channels.
Nine CEO David Gyngell also confirmed a third channel for the network at its 2010 Programme Launch.
The ABC will launch its fourth channel mid-year.
Source: Aust Fin. Review, Mediaweek, Crikey
37 Responses
Moan and groan, winge and winge who really cares
I watch more pay tv anyway
@catfan
What a dumb reply! I was refering to only the channel rating figures, add 7 and 7 two for a more accurate read of audience share.
Of course the main channels 7, 9 ,10 etc are going to lose audience share because of more choice on offer from the networks. What do they expect! Duh!
And just where do you propose they get the spectrum for that Paull?
@Dan.
Very good comment, that is all what the other channels are. (7two and GO!) Come on people wake up!
pls Daniel, no more The Bill pls
profitability not ratings is what the reasons are given, so rating 4th, 5th or 6th is not the primary factor. There is 22 million people in Australia not 220 so expecting 15-20 unique content channels is not going to happen overnight. right now most people get 11 channels and the 12th will start soon (ABC4). If by 2011 when digital take up is around 85+% then expect extra channels. You cannot make money to 50,000 viewers only while in part eating away at your main audience. Ten at least seperated their audience into Sport and General which means if they can’t do it now what chance 9 and 7 unless they choose Sport which ONE is slowly accumulating content. in any case in 7 months it will be 2011.
Ten new channel should be
6.00 Rules Of Engagement
6.30 Malcom In The Middle
7.00 The Bill Repeats (Seize From ABC)
Primetime
Supernatural
Degrassi Junior High
Masterchef UK
Nurse Jackie
TEN’s third channel will need no extra bandwidth as it would simply use the existing One SD’s slot. They’re already broadcasting three digital channels – TEN, OneHD and One SD – it’s just that two of them currently show the same content.
The same applies to the “third” channels for Nine and Seven, they can just rename and reprogram their existing HD channels, no “extra” bandwidth is required.
However, that’s it, there’s no available bandwidth for any more channels from any of the commercials post-2013 (unless they drop their HD channels and use the bandwidth for extra SD channels, or reduce their HD channels to 720p, but that seems very unlikely). And no, the government does not plan to give them any of the old analog spectrum post-2013, that’s all slated to be auctioned off for 4G mobile phone and wireless internet use. The only possible extra frequency they might be able to get is on UHF 35 which was originally intended for the now abandoned datacasting (Digital 44) trial. AFAIK no decision about this frequency has been made.
The ABC and SBS can transmit more SD channels because they only transmit 720p HD which uses less bandwidth than the 1080i used by the commercials. But even the ABC are having to reuse ABC1 HD’s bandwidth for their new ABC News 24 channel.
This is good news. I would rather seem them stick with One SD/One HD then launch some new channel that is basically just going to be full of repeats.
as it is, networks are struggling to maintain 2 sd channels and 1 HD- the government should have bitten the bullet years ago and changed the standard compression from mpeg 2 to mpeg 4. But now they’ve pretty much cemented in an old compression format.
I’m not disappointed by ten’s decision, two channels per network is enough for me, and I suspect enough for advertisers. Ten should broaden it’s sports channel to include documentaries, rather than launch another channel. The other networks should also focus on improving their existing channels, instead of adding more. It’s all about quality, not quantity.
@JB’s first post, booooooo, i want it now too !
Ahhhh Still the ONE….. viewer
Oh well, there goes any hope of 10 regaining ground on 7/7TWO, 9/GO anytime in the next 12months.
Salf how can their be bandwidth problems getting a third channel if ABC are running four? Theirs plenty of bandwidth to be had you just need to know what you’re doing!!
Even 90210 And Supernatural on the new Channel as Ten is growing older.
@Andrew what a stupid idea. What is the relevance of combining and 7 Two? Do they run the same program at the same time? No! The purpose of ratings is to measure how many viewers each show has. Doh!
salf, they were going to use their HD channels for multichanneling again, so it wouldn’t have mattered.
Very disappointing. In 2009 we were promised this new channel in the second half of 2010. Now its introduction has been arbitrarily shifted to 2011. This not only shows a blatent contempt for their viewers, but also shows that Channel 10 is untrustworthy.
What’s to stop Channel 10 in 2011 from “deferring” the new channel until 2012 or beyond? I no longer believe a word they say.
I agree with Bindi- they’re combined commercial share could do with another entertainment based offering. Ten have been hurst most by GO’s success, ONE shouldn’t be judged against these other digital channels though. The comparison should be make like for like, with other sport channels. If you look at this comparison it’s now the number 1 rating sports channel in the country- hands down. By those measures it’s an unbridled success for Network TEN
This will only lose them market share, I love we now have live F1 in HD but TEN really needs a 3rd channel for there other shows, people will not wait.
Not good TEN!
pathetic ten pathetic
i have done a lot of work in this area and i am telling you now that all channels will end up being delayed until atleast 2013. there is just not enough bandwidth. even if they did launch, all 3 of their channels would be very bad picture quality.
ten made a mistake making such a public announcement and getting peoples hopes up for something that Australia simply does not have the technology for and might not for a while. there was very much a wtf moment when ten went public saying they rekon they can get another channel up before the commonwealth games.
but it does make you think; if they were genuinely under the impression that they could get a 3rd channel up by now would they have gone for ONE as their 2nd channel and suffer through more than a year of having a 2% handicap network share. because they are going to be stuck with ONE as their only digital channel for a while.
This Sucks, i Rather Disney Australia and MTV Networks Australia to Launch a Third Kids Channel.
If it is because of how the second channels have cut into the main channel then what did they expect.
Combining the audience share (7 and 7 Two) for example would make sense rather than looking at ratings for each channel on a separate basis.
They are struggling so badly with One that they need to move the launch forward not backward. Hope you enjoy 4th place 10!
Boooo!!!! I want Monk & Psych.