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TEN dumps TEN Late News and Sports Tonight double

The long-running late night double of TEN Late News and Sports Tonight will end, but Sandra Sully remains and Sports Tonight is merged into evening bulletins.

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More changes at TEN.

The long-running late night double of TEN Late News and Sports Tonight will end on Friday September 30th.

TEN is dropping the pair, but retaining Sandra Sully for its local Sydney bulletin and merging the Sports Tonight brand within its evening bulletins.

Sports Tonight is also axed as a stand-alone show on ONE.

Sully will replace Deb Knight and join Bill Woods at the TEN News desk in Sydney. This means once again, the rest of the nation will miss out on seeing the popular host who had only recently returned to TEN Late News after the failed 6:30pm local news. That short stint notwithstanding, Sully has been the face of the network’s late news since 1995, famously fronting the live coverage of the 9/11 tragedy.

Sully said: “I’ve enjoyed every moment of my time as anchor of TEN’s Late News, having had the opportunity to break some of Australia and indeed the world’s biggest news stories in that time. I’m thrilled that TEN is serious about investing in quality news programming and I welcome the opportunity to be a part of this next exciting phase.”

The Sports Tonight brand will appear within earlier news bulletins around the country with Brad McEwan presenting in the Sydney News. In the newly-announced 90 minute bulletin Rob Canning will present an extended segment. TEN has also announced Toyota has re-signed as a sponsor of the brand.

The ending of Sports Tonight as a stand-alone show had been rumoured ever since interim CEO Lachlan Murdoch initiated a cost review of the network. Its ending comes the day before TEN’s final AFL broadcast.

It confirms the recent tweet by one of the senior reporters that the show would be ending with the end of the AFL deal.

The change also breaks up the presenting duo of Sully and McEwan whose relaxed banter has frequently been noted by viewers, and featured in fan-made YouTube clips of the pair.

A TEN statement says, “These developments, along with the recent announcement of an extended 90-minute national weekend new bulletin are part of TEN’s on-going strategy to deliver audiences a comprehensive news service of the highest calibre day-in and day-out.”

81 Responses

  1. I’m sorry to hear. She is a wonderful news woman like Chris Bath. I watch Chris on Seven’s news anyway although i might try and record at least the final bulletins. What a shame Ten. I wonder will Tim Webster will be invloved with new Breakfast show next year.

  2. Shame to see it go.I think they have forgotten about the people who can’t be there for their 5pm/6pm Bulletins and 7pm Project or those who work late some nights and can always be home before 10pm.You can access you day’s news through the website of your local paper but it isn’t the same.
    Ten’s lost the plot for years.You can’t blame the Libraries for being so busy these days after school full of Children and it has nothing to do with them doing their homework or research projects after school I personally blame it on their decision some 15 years ago to put on the Bold and the Beautiful on at a C rated hour

  3. Lachlan Murdoch is trying to make viewers switch to his mates at Foxtel. Ever since he took over the CEO job he has stuffed TEN axing the AFL coverage, axing video hits.
    No wonder TEN’s ratings are going bad, even ABC-1 is beating them now

  5. If nothing else Network Ten holdings will learn a harsh lesson. Never ever allow a mining heiress and rival media barrons through your front door, because when you do they are very hard to get rid off. I guess you could associate them with squatters. Once they are a in your home they takeover the place and overstay their welcome and thus its very hard to get them out. I would have loved to be at the annual general meeting to know exactly what promises Lachlan and his cronies made to the rest of the shareholders of Network Ten Holdings, also i wonder if they of all people regret letting the media barrons in.

  6. no big loss. have u seen 10 late news lately? literally 5 minutes, then its over to brad mckewan, and that annoying music for sports tonight. do they assume everyone that watches st is a male that enjoys hearing rock music at 11pm?

  7. ACCC needs to do something about Murdoch- he’s ruining TEN to help Foxtel. And when he’s done there, he’ll move on to another network.
    I would advise Nine not to list themselves on the stock-market.

  8. Very poor treatment od Deb Knight and quite awkward really… Bill Wood is the one who should go! He is like an undertake.. comes across as not wanting to be there.. very wooden and robotic

  9. Just a quick observation

    A Staple of News on Ten the Late News gets cut which has aired for over a decade

    but an opinion show that has only been on for months that has mixed feeling from the audience The Bolt Report stays

    whatever happened to last in first out? the ten honchos must be talkback radio fans

  10. Maybe they can just play Advance Aust Fair and then a test pattern like they did when I was a kid. Ah the good old days …
    !0 should just shut up shop. They no programs and no viewers. is this designed to make people watch Foxtel? How can L Murdoch be on the board and make decisions when he is intricately linked to the opposition on pay tv.
    We get the media we deserve.

  11. Thanks for that David.

    This seems like a very low-key exit, similar to how Rove just retired his program without much fanfare/awareness at all.

    It will be interesting to see what they air in its place…hopefully not an American chat show

  12. What’s comical is that the reason behind the axing is supposively ratings. But if you have a look at the ratings Tens Late News is always in Ten’s top 8 rating shows. Last Tuesday it had 358,000 viewers. That’s better than three-quarters of Ten’s primetime shows. 10:30pm regular timeslot would have seen a loyal audience tune in nightly. Bad move Murdoch.

    Here’s hoping Deb Knight is quickly reassigned.

  13. I am devastated, Sandra has always delivered solidly, who could ever forget 9/11?
    Sports tonight is/was the most underrated sports programme on television, I could nevr figure out why the footy show constantly won Logies.
    I agree, Sandra, Brad and dimples for morning brekky.

  15. I’m liking the ideas some have suggested of having Sandra and Brad on Ten’s new breakfast show… could work well. Sandra could work well with Dr Dimples too.

  19. I am so f***in pissed off at ten, they already had a few straws left with me and this is it, not only late news but they git rid of deb knight on 5pm arghhhhhhhhhhhh
    Ten stop taking us loyal viewers for granted or u will slip behind sbstwo in ratings

  21. The most overrated female newsreader in the country , i will not be watching her at all.Dont give a rats about her crappy banter with brad, yawn.90mins of repetitive news and stories that the 5pm news is famous for.

  23. I am really sad Sandra won’t be giving us our late night news fix, I really do not understand this decision at all. I thought it rated quite well for its timeslot? Everyone I know watches it. Stupid stupid move.

  24. This was my last connection to ch.10…..I did try watching Undercover Boss….can’t stand the things popping up on the bottom of the screen….advertising another program…..they seem to be on nearly everything I try to watch these days….very annoying….I have a TV program to tell me that!

  25. What a joke the Ten network is becoming! First they rob Adelaide viewers of George Donikian, by shifting him to another state after 10+ years of hosting Adelaide’s nightly bulletins, then they go breaking up another team that has been a staple in a lot of homes across the country late at night for years too.

    Yet another stupid decision that might save them a few $$$ on paper in the short term, but will probably cost them viewers in the long!

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