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Axed: Video Hits

After 24 years the music stops for Video Hits, in the wake of cost cutting and job redundancies within TEN.

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TEN this afternoon confirmed its long-running music clip show Video Hits has been axed, following media reports in the wake of cuts by interim CEO Lachlan Murdoch.

The show, which has had an impressive 24 year run on television, will wrap with a retrospective of the two decades it has been on air, hosted by Faustina ‘Fuzzy’ Agolley and Dylan Lewis.

Since 1987 the show has been a regular of weekend morning television, including playing tracks by then-emerging artists including Missy Higgins, Angus and Julia Stone and Art Vs Science. During that time it has survived as a commercial alternative to ABC’s rage.

From its beginnings as a video-clip based program it later featured hosts, interviews, live music events, compilation CDs, and sponsored music tours. Previous hosts have included Hayden Guppy, Nathan Sapsford, Axle Whitehead and Kelly Cavuoto.

Chief Programming Officer David Mott said: “Video Hits’ contribution to the network and the music industry over the past 24 years has been outstanding. Music and how people listen to it, watch it and enjoy it has changed dramatically in last few years and now is the perfect time for the institution that is Video Hits to sign off. The show will always hold a special place in TEN’s history.”

Executive Producer Rachel Moor said, “We plan to leave the music landscape as we arrived – with a bang! It will be a big celebration that honours what the shows achieved over the years, what it has brought to music fans and the music industry as a whole.”

Yesterday the show was one of several TEN programmes to face the music following cost cuts and job redundancies announced by Lachlan Murdoch. TEN denied any shows had been axed yesterday.

The music stops on Saturday 6 August at 10am.

82 Responses

  3. i’d just like to know whoever won any of those competitions they saturate advertised thru the whole show, i never did so damn the show, good riddance ;p

  7. I’m afraid that Channel 10 will end up being like what it was from 1989-2001, their darkest days when they were so ratings desperate they poached shows from other networks (remember they poached “The Wonderful World of Disney” from Seven when they had new Simpsons episodes sitting on the shelves unaired for years?), remember they aired reruns of British sitcoms from the seventies on Friday and Saturday nights, Alan Jones Live, A Country Practice revived, Prisoner reruns replaced with reruns of Hey Dad!, taking off the handful of good shows they had like “The Larry Sanders Show” after a few weeks and replacing it with tripe, and some country Ten affiliates changed to Seven because of this. AFL and The Secret Life of Us made Ten a competitive network again in 2001. And dont be surprised if One HD drops All sport by October and moves Netball, Hopman Cup tennis, NFL, MLB, NBA and the NBL to Fox Sports.

  8. Acting TEN C.E.O Lachlan Murdoch would be hoping people subscribe to Foxtel & watch MTV, Channel V, Max. A music video program would not cost much to run so i don’t believe it’s from cost cutting, this is a disgrace. Funny that Murdoch owns part of Foxtel. The ACCC, Artists & record companys should take action against TEN

  11. TEN is going the same way as Nine in late 2005 when they cut staff and shows.
    RIP Video Hits, 6.30, Sports Tonight, Inside Out.
    RIP TEN forever.

  13. how can mott talk about vh contribution and how great it is and then just axe it, there seem to be a lot of short sighted decisions at ten lately.

  14. Chief Programming Officer David Mott said: “Music and how people listen to it, watch it and enjoy it has changed dramatically in last few years and now is the perfect time for the institution that is Video Hits to sign off. ”

    WTF is this David Mott saying. “Perfect time”.

    The film clip is the main marketing tool for songs so it hasn’t died.

  16. Perhaps rage’s airtime can be extended now that it won’t have Video Hits to go up against, as I don’t understand why the show can’t run until noon on Saturday’s and 9am Sunday’s.

    I would like to know what Ten’s plans are for weekend mornings? I just hope it’s not more political based talk shows.

  17. Just reaffirming my belief that this is a major blow for exposure to new music, especially Aussie music which is struggling against the onslaught of American urban music.
    Perhaps in recent years Video Hits became too “alternative” and didn’t concentrate on more commercial material and interviews with mainstream local acts?
    Hopefully another show which features interviews etc will surface on commercial TV.
    Unfortunately 70 percent of the population who don’t have pay TV will now have to settle for the odd show like Rage that basically offers wall to wall jukebox style music clips.

  18. So how would axing Video Hits save money? Wouldn’t any other show that goes for that long cost a lot more than a show with two hosts that play end to end clips??

    Why not move it to ELEVEN?

  19. Has Ten not noticed what happens when you go cheap and nasty? Tigers Airlines anyone? How long before Ten is grounded? Am keen to see what they intend to screen on Saturday mornings; perhaps they can bring back those wonderful late night quiz shows hosted by z-grade ‘celebrities’ from recent years.

  20. sad sad state of affairs. Haven’t been able to watch for a few years, being regional Southern Cross have a cheap fake comparison instead. Oh how I missed you then VH and now you will be no more.

  21. To be honest, I am glad to see it go. Video Hits has become a poor cousin of the great show that it used to be. Gone are the days of switching it on every Saturday morning and listening to the ARIA Top 20. Now you’d be lucky to see one or two songs from the charts.

    It’s sad that there are no countdowns of the ARIA charts on free to air TV any more.

    Thank god for YouTube!

  24. RIP – VIideo Hits.
    May all gains from it go to Rage, and the ABC, re any Music expanding ideas it may come up with perhaps, with Video Hits now gone from FTA TV.
    May zero gains go to Cable TV.

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