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TV1 / SF farewell: “Viewers must love what we do”

TV1 and SF thank viewers, staff and supporters as the channels draw to a close.

FINAL_TV12012_STRAPTomorrow TV1 and SF will sign off from the Foxtel platform.

TV1 is a much-loved channel of classic comedy and procedural dramas. It even pre-dates Foxtel, having launched on the now-defunct Galaxy in 1995 and has been a consistent performer with viewers.

SF, formerly SciFi, began in 2006.

Both will be replaced by TVH!TS and Syfy on Wednesday.

Channel CEO Peter Hudson recently took time to thank viewers, staff and supporters in a statement to TV Tonight:

Quite simply, we have much to celebrate across the life of our channels. There a lots of people that have contributed much to the success of the channels, many past and present staff have contributed to our many achievements of a proudly independent business. We have enjoyed the talents of a team of highly competitive and magnificently passionate television lovers with the focus on providing great entertainment for our viewers. We developed a unique personality for our Channels.

We have enjoyed great support from our Partners CBS Studios, NBC Universal and Sony Pictures Television.

We’ve never stopped working hard at doing our best.

TV1 is the No1 most watched Pay TV channel – 9 of the last 10 weeks – guess the viewers MUST love what we do. #No 1.

Let’s remember the great things we produced, the Big Productions Killing Time Logie nominated, The KING Logie winner, Stupid Stupid Man, Shock Jock, Karaoke Dokey and Magda’s BIG THINGS scooped the pool at the ASTRA’s and don’t forget the innovative and interactive TV1 Cash Trivia Challenge –a break through show for its time. All home grown.

A most important part of the TV1 success was revenues from Advertising, and in keeping with our belief in independence and competition we enjoyed a fantastic and successful relationship with Full Circle Media and more recently Ignite Media Brands and our partnership with Viacom. A big thanks to Brian Gallagher and his hugely talented and professional team in Sydney and Melbourne and all the advertisers who supported us.

In fitting style TV1 will farewell viewers with a special Sein-Off, Jerry Seinfeld’s top 10 favourite episodes and on SF, the franchise that defines TV Science Fiction – Star Trek – we will wrap with a S7 Star Trek: Voyager Marathon.

TV1 and SF will always be shining examples for those who follow – to those who try to replicate – thanks for the compliment and to those who reach or surpass the achievements of TV1 and SF – congratulations.

It has been a great honour to be CEO of TV1 for over 13 years, it has been a fantastic journey.

22 Responses

  1. I remember looking forward to the launch of the SciFi channel – wow, as long ago as 2006!
    What a huge disappointment it turned out to be.
    Endless repeats of Stargate, Star Trek, and Buffy.
    Despite having a very keen interest in science fiction, I hardly ever watched anything on that channel.
    Battlestar Galactica was the exception.
    And now they have changed the name to the dreadful “SyFy” (siffy?) but will the content improve?

  2. Looks like they also made a change to 111 Hits, which is now just 111. That’s ridiculous. At least you knew what the channel theme was before. Now it just leaves viewers scratching their heads.

  3. Really sad to see TV1 go today. It was a large part of my childhood & my favourite channel for the longest time.

    Also is anyone else confused by having both TVH!TS & 111 Hits? To me it just looks like Foxtel wants to own all their channels (which I guess makes sense but is a pity) & is going to shuffle shows around. Not sure where all shows I like to watch are going, even with the guide for next month. Then there’s ones which seem to just be disappearing. Why remove something loved & that works? I don’t like change 🙁 😛

  4. I feel for those who have lost their jobs with this change. That’s the real tragedy here.

    On the other side of the screen many viewers will hardly notice the change given that the schedules are largely the same and the channel numbers don’t change.

    Personally I preferred the earlier incarnation of TV1 when its focus was on lesser shown sitcoms but in recent years the channel has relied on large amounts of crime programming to fill the schedule and boost the ratings (what they used to play simply doesn’t rate). Sci Fi’s focus on modern shows has always been a disappointment to me, and it looks like that isn’t about to change.

  5. Actually looking at the programming, the new networks have a few new shows but overall fewer series. TV1 has no more than about 10-12 shows they are telecasting 7 days weekly. SyFy is much the same. In all a few more new series but overall less series overall. In other words more repeats per week…sorry but this is a backwards step…again

  6. Seems like more reasons not to get Foxtel. I’ve heard SyFy in America went backwards and is a shadow of its former self. Because they lost interest in being about science fiction. Will they make the same mistake here?

  7. @Guy
    Makes perfect business sense for Foxtel to close down a channel they don’t own for a channel that they do own. Have a look at the TV Guide, it’s not really that different!

  8. This decision makes no business sense what so ever. To get rid of TV1 is an absolute joke. Its the most successful channel they have had and yet it closes the door on them to replace it with a stupid TVH!TS channel. Its bizarre and imo pathetic from the people at Foxtel. SyFy sure will continue to have some of the shows we see now on SF but its disappointing really.

  9. TV1 buys nonexclusive rights to popular syndicated US shows and strips them. TVH!ts has bought the rights to the same sort of shows. Have a look at the Tuesday and Wednesday episode guides, view’s won’t notice the difference.

    The point is Foxtel gets now all the profits. And once they get a Pay TV monopoly will be in a position to drive down the prices the US studies get for their content.

    Same goes for SyFy Australia.

    Arrowhead’s producers will have to distribute it however they can to recoup their investment.

    SyFy Australia buying into the production and getting two years worth of local production credit would be financially beneficial to both parties and stranger things have happened.

  10. “TV1 is the No1 most watched Pay TV channel – 9 of the last 10 weeks – guess the viewers MUST love what we do. #No 1.”

    So it’s to be shut down. Bizarre.

  11. A pity TV1/SF they did not tee up a FTA digital multichannel deal like how CBS has a deal providing the content for Eleven on the TEN platform.

    The current 2 channel multi-channel (not including datacast channels) restriction finshes tomorrow night as well thus meaning the commercial networks can run as many multichannels as they like.

    Oh well.

  12. It’s absolutely ridiculous that Foxtel’s monopoly can allow for 2 of Australia’s best independent channel (in the case of TV1, one of Australia’s best overall) to foreclose. Although Foxtel’s announced line up for TVH!TS doesn’t sound too dissimilar to TV1, Syfy is planning on running repeats of half a dozen series and original movies – an absolute insult to viewers and likely to result in the end of the science fiction channel out rating all bar one movie channel. I can see Foxtel copping flack from all directions regarding SF’s replacement.

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