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New channel from Nine “soon”

After the surprise launch of 7mate yesterday, attention now turns to Nine and TEN's plans for new digital channels.

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After the surprise launch of 7mate yesterday, attention now turns to Nine and TEN’s plans for new digital channels.

Nine could similarly rebrand its High Definition channel to chase a new demographic, while TEN’s likely option is to dump ONE SD, the standard definition rebroadcast of its ONE sports.

Media are speculating as to which way Nine may move. The Sydney Morning Herald hints at a possible ‘NineCrime’ channel full of CSI, Cold Case, Without a Trace titles. The Australian suggests it could be a Lifestyle channel. “GEM” has also been registered with IP Australia.

It will need to move fast if it wants to match extra demo points that Seven could carve out from 7mate. In a tight race for network figures it might be enough to fall across the line by year’s end.

A Nine source told TV Tonight it was a matter of public record that Nine has been developing a 2nd multi channel to complement the success of GO!

“GO! absolutely flogs 7TWO across the board in the three key demographics, and beats it on Total People. That’s despite Seven’s claims on launch that 7TWO would quickly surpass GO! It hasn’t gotten within a bull’s roar of that because like their primary channel, 7TWO has ended up relying too heavily on the over 55s to bulk up its Total People figures, at the clear expense of the target demos.

“Mate sounds like at attempt to address that big problem they have, but let’s not forget that Mate was in fact their Plan A last year but shelved in favour of 7TWO, which has lost its way. So Mate is now exhumed and dusted off as some new concept, but as a Plan B.”

Meanwhile media buyers gave 7mate a mixed response.

Peter Horgan, a managing partner of media buyer OMD, said: ”If they get it right then it will bring people in. I am interested.”

Nick Durrant at MindShare, told smh.com.au, ”If you are going to attract young guys then you are going to need programs like The Man Show, which is all about girls on trampolines. They need to be offering something different and it [7Mate] is probably not as single-minded as it needs to be, and I don’t know whether they have the appetite for going down that route.”

Nine told TV Tonight there was no date yet for its new channel, “But it’s close and likely to be an announcement soon.”

37 Responses

  5. 7mate….

    since its aimed at blokes, and as a bloke who hangs out with other blokes, i guess what this channel needs are MA-rated tv shows and movies with guns, girls, swearing, violence and sex

    problem is since these can’t be played during the day-time, we are going to be stuck with G-rated programs (but what programs could they be?)

  8. @Craig – mid-range STBs are well under a hundred bucks altho’, if you have a TV with HD tuner, can’t you just feed the signal from that to your PVR?

    @Joe – No staying power, huh? 🙂

    How about “Chicks with Guns” for 7mate? It used to be on Sky satellite and featured scantily-clad women shooting a bunch of different guns – in slow motion! Genius.

  9. Hope it’s not a crime channel, I think most people are over those shows. Who really needs more CSI’s, Cold Cases and Without a Traces, they are all one and the same and they are already on the main channels. Will be looking forward to it if it’s a GEM channel, mix it up with the best classic shows from the past that we haven’t seen in years.

  10. Not sure about a crime ch although if it happens it’s something I’d watch as I love the CSIs ect although not sure what they’d have to fill an entire schedule with. I’d much prefer the rumoured “greatest hits” ch which would hopefully include some classic oz stuff like old Hey Heys.

  14. The Man Show? Oh yes! That sounds brilliant, exactly what I thought when I saw 7mate’s lineup – not nearly enough T&A to really attract the demographic they’re after. But we don’t live in the sort of totally commercial world media buyers would like (yet) – the other 51% of the population not only get to vote, they get to speak up when they don’t like things, and they sure wouldn’t like the shows 7mate would need to use to get the audience they really want. I strongly doubt any network has the balls (or the lawyers) to go all out for the 16+ male audience.

  15. 7TWO hasn’t gotten within a bull’s roar of beating GO!????

    Maybe the only Bull the GO cronies hear is what they’re spouting.
    For the year to date GO! leads 7TWO TTL PPL by 0.2 share. (bull’s roar I don’t think so)

    7TWO has 3 weekly wins and 4 draws with GO. (Consolidated data)

  16. By the looks of things it looks like nine’s third channel is crime. If it’s just shows like CSI, Cold Cased i won’t be watching it as much, sick of those shows but 7mate looks promising but i think GO! will remain the best. Hopefully GO! will become the HD channel and i’m guessing ten’s third channel will be music and entertainment.

  18. Ten is the only network in Australia (FTA) that has the balls to actually specifically target a niche market (with One)

    7 will promise the world with 7mate but just watch and give it a few months it will start targeting more and more broad skewing audiences rather than focus on young males.

  19. The Man show? how about no. GO is successful because it shows new programs that wouldn’t get a chance on the regular channel as well as playing popular sitcoms of the past. Plus the branding on GO! is flawless.

    Every time I have switched onto 7two it has been a British crime show set in a village- even British people get sick of these programs. They need to play popular programs from the past like Ally McBeal and Chicago Hope and mix it up with newer programs that don’t fit in with 7’s schedule.

  21. Interesting, it will good to see which way 9 go with the new channel. The announcement by 7 for 7mate and possibly channel 9 soon has really taken away the lime light from 10 who were originally expected to be the next new channel. I don’t care who does it first or what they choose to call their channels, as long as the shows they are putting on is not trash. Te more channels the better.

  22. I knew it, great now if I want to record the F1 on ONE I’ll need to either get a HD box to hook up to my SD PVR or go all out and get a new twin tuner HD model! which I guess I’ll have to do to record anything from the new 7Mate anyway.

    IMO Nine has had it’s hand forced with Seven jumping first, I just wish TEN would bring their offering forward… oh wait then I can’t record the F1 on ONE… Damn TV networks!

    Just a question, for those with PayTV will the next extra channels really bring anything new to the multi channel digital party?

  24. Wow who from Nine made those comments?!

    But they are Spot on.

    7TWO is directionless. It has no sense of what it is or even what it wants to be. It’s lost. It’s trying to be a bit of everything to everyone – but they already have that covered with Seven. 7TWO needs to reinvent itself and work out where there is an opening and opportunity with programming and positioning.

    Go! will become even younger I suspect, in both programming and attitude and branding. 7mate will be very blokey, male and young. NineCrime will be just that: CSI, Underbellly, Cold Case etc. And 7TWO will be…. lost.

    They need to work out what they want to be.

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