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Producers welcome CBS / TEN deal

Producers say deal is a show of confidence and is optimistic for renewed production.

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Producers are looking to the TEN buyout by CBS with optimism.

With word from the US network that it will build on TEN’s legacy of Australian news, drama, reality and sports programming, there is hope for increased production.

Screen Producers Australia CEO Matthew Deaner said, “I welcome news that CBS intends to buy Network TEN. This reported deal demonstrates that despite significant pressures, our market remains robust and competitive. It is a meaningful display of confidence in the Australian industry. Having a strong third commercial free to air network is important for competition, important for Australian audiences that benefit from Australian and children’s content obligations and important for Australian production companies who supply the market.

“This news also comes at an important time for our industry. In the context of the Australian and children’s content review, it highlights the importance of content obligations in safeguarding our market from dumping of content from other English-speaking jurisdictions. The news that CBS intends to bring with it a new streaming service shows that these content obligations need to be evolved to reflect new market realities.

“I wish CBS and Network TEN the best of luck.”

7 Responses

  1. All will end in tears I feel. Buying a FTA tv station in the present media environment is a big gamble surely. Still, what they paid for it is peanuts to an American corporation so to them, worth the risk.

  2. CBS All Access has sold its two flagship shows in this country: ST:Discovery to Netflix and TGF to SBS. So what’s it going to show, stuff from CBS’s archives? Will people pay to watch a version of Eleven?

    Consumers don’t win from this, producers do by forcing wealthy consumers to pay more to subscribe to 10 difference streaming services for content they could see aggregated on one or two. And of couse the SPA thinks its great because they can use CBS to push a rent-seeking agenda of getting Government to legislate All Access to deliver revenue to their members.

  3. My hope is that TEN doesn’t simply become another “affiliate” station with 90% CBS content and 10% local. IMO it’s all about public perception. In many ways, TEN’s reputation has tarnished their content. Those same shows may fare better after a re-launch and under a different style of management.
    CBS are no fools, they played a different game to Gordon/Murdoch and they won. Bruce gets the second prize of new TEN content on his Regional stations.

    2. Murdoch and Gordon gambled on the Senate putting sensible reforms ahead of petty self interests. More fool them.

      Ten is still Ten though, the 4th ranked network with a 25% of commerical ad revenue in a declining market where viewers are watching less US TV. CBS/Ten may pay less to CBS and 21C Fox for those shows (CBS and 21C are yet to reach a deal) which may keep it in business but the fundamentals haven’t changed. And as for CBS’s news being a breakthrough, Ten News has to compete against the ABC which spends the bulk of its budget on news and current affairs, as well as SBS, 7 & 9.

  4. Just hope we don’t have another Bob Shanks experience from the late 80’s. US management making to many decisions too quickly thinking they know what the Australian TV audiences want to watch. It was a disaster.

  5. Also wish CBS and 10 the best of luck. I prefer 10 over 7 & 9 for their prime time offerings of late with reality and drama. Here’s hoping they ratings improve because they seem to be doing ok in the demos. We need competition against 7 & 9 so fingers crossed 10 sees some positive changes. TV is changing so they need to move with the times.

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