ABC rejects story on 7:30 ratings “dive”
Broadcaster says Friday audiences are steady for 7:30 and defends coverage of state-based news.
- Published by David Knox
- on
- Filed under News
The ABC has issued a statement following a report in The Australian headlined “Ratings of 7.30 dive after ABC axes Stateline.”
It describes the article as inaccurate and misleading and says Friday night ratings for 7:30 for the period discussed as unchanged (528,000 as of August 2015 versus 528,000 as of August 2014).
The article had claimed the show has dropped markedly in Sydney and Melbourne after the ABC dropped local Stateline editions, but noted varied results in other cities.
ABC says a small year-on-year audience decline in Sydney and Melbourne has been offset by growth in Adelaide (+16%) and Brisbane (+6%).
Across the week, 7.30’s five city audience is higher so far this year than in the same period last year (674,000 as of September 2015 versus 669,000 as of September 2014). (Source: OzTAM Consolidated data 2014 & 2015)
ABC News ended the state editions of 7.30 this year and instead is daily covering state-based issues in a more comprehensive, flexible and timely w
The broadcaster maintains Charter obligations are being fulfilled “more comprehensive, flexible” state-based coverage in extended Sunday news bulletins and news specials via television, radio and digital combined.
2 Responses
“Friday night ratings for 7:30 for the period discussed as unchanged (528,000 as of August 2015 versus 528,000 as of August 2014)”.
So the figures are the same, or “Across the week, 7.30’s five city audience is higher so far this year than in the same period last year”.
“Stateline NSW” rarely covered anything new and was most times a political gabfest.
And increase in a tiny market like Adelaide doesn’t offset losses in the two biggest markets, that is nonsense.
Though TV numbers are declining across the board, Friday nights by more than average. The idea of extending 7:30 to Fridays was not to boost ratings, it was to cut costs (specifically State host like Quentin Dempster and get their salaries and liabilities for redundancies off the books).
State based news coverage would be expanded in the 7pm State News to report it in a timely fashion, instead on all at once on Friday night when not many people were watching.