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Seven set for 7:30 stripped programming across 2020

Seven programmer explains a new approach to the 2020 schedule.

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House Rules: Jamie Durie, Abbey Gelmi, Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, Kyly Clarke, Saul Myers.

Seven is looking to 2020 with stripped 7:30 programming after a challenging year, and one it is about to lose to Nine (it will win News & Breakfast TV).

Head of Programming Angus Ross says the change in CEO to James Warburton has focussed investment on content and removed previous distractions.

“There was a focus on cost-cutting and delivering a schedule to a budget that was inadequate for the entertainment schedule at 7:30,” he tells TV Tonight.

“You would have seen weeks this year that look like a patchwork quilt where we didn’t have stripped programming. Certainly not by choice. I’d like to make as many shows as possible.

“James has said we’ll concentrate on stripped programming year round, and that’s where we will focus our investment.

“I don’t shy away from the calls that we’ve made but a number of those shows departed because of cost necessity. There’s some fatigue, but there are some shows I look back on and think ‘We really should have stuck with that.’ The growth in some shows on other networks is a nod to sticking with things. But sometimes you don’t have a choice.”

Ross is also frank about having let go of some titles too soon.

“When we had the biggest show on television with MKR we could afford to be a bit more choosy with things.

“There were some errors made in the past and things were thrown away too quickly.

“Now we have a renewed energy under James and a particular focus on 7:30 stripped programming year round.”

Seven’s 2020 year will pivot around the Tokyo Olympics, with new shows announced including Plate of Origin, RFDS, Farmer Wants a Wife, Wife Swap and Pooch Perfect.

Between Two Worlds: Hermione Norris

He also teases big budget drama Between Two Worlds from Bevan Lee (Packed to the Rafters, Winners and Losers, All Saints, Always Greener).

“Between Two Worlds is pretty epic. We’ve let Bevan off the leash with that one. It’s something we’ve wanted to make for a long, long time. It’s a big 10 part show and we will give it a big launch pad next year,” he says.

“Drama is hard in Australia. To get a big roll-up you need the best lead-in in the world.

“Particularly with dramas you have to reach as many people as possible with promo campaigns. There are certain events that give you more eyeballs than others.

“There’s so much drama in the world that to cut through all the drama noise you have to try and reach people in a different kind of fashion.”

MKR: Manu Feildel, Pete Evans and Colin Fassnidge

Both My Kitchen Rules and House Rules are getting a refresh, with MKR contestants divided into 2 houses mentored by judges, and House Rules renovating a penthouse on the Gold Coast. Have both shows jumped the shark?

“Let’s be clear, we’re not throwing the baby out with the bath water with those brands.,” Ross insists. “They are both shows that deliver big numbers. They are very important Seven Studios brands and very successful shows.

“All brands need refreshes from time to time. James outlaid exactly what he perceived the issues were in his opening remarks, and I think he’s right. We’ve made a decision to refresh and invest more in those key shows.”

Mega Mini Golf (working title) sees mini-golfers competing head-to-head on supersized holes. Footage of Holey Moley, on which it is modelled, drew plenty of laughs at Seven’s Upfront.

“It was an interesting reaction to Mega Mini Golf in the room. It’s big, fun and silly. We’re taking our contestants to the US to make that and the course you’ve seen will be 18 holes. It will be even bigger.

“And in terms of really different things I think SAS: Who Dares Wins is a dark horse. I love the UK version and we have the UK instructors coming to work on it. It’s a lot more ‘real’ than a lot of other shows you see on television.

SAS Who Dares Wins: Ant Middleton

New Aussie sitcom Fam Time stars Michala Banas, Benson Jack Anthony, Duncan Fellows and features Rhonda Burchmore. It marks a bold return to local comedy production.

“It was filmed this year so I’d say it will probably be coming in Q1. We’re very happy with it, it’s very funny,” he continues.

“You’ve got to have a crack at comedy. There hasn’t been much of it in the past few years, Meet the Habibs on Nine, 10 have had a go with mixed results. It’s a hard space, but not something we feel we should give up on.”

Angus Ross

Under James Warburton Seven is now also chasing the 25-54 demo, which is a shift away from pursuing Total People.

“We’ve always talked up Total People but as everyone likes to very quickly forget, last year we won Total People and every single demographic -and that was excluding the Commonwealth Games,” he recalls.

“So that’s always been our aim every year. I wouldn’t describe this year as one of our better performances, and James rightfully called that out.

“But in terms of ‘bricks in the wall’ we have a very, very good baseline. My view of the world is things like news or an under-performing sport are very hard to turn around. But changing the outcome at 7:30 is a relatively easier thing to do than changing an under-performing news or sport.

“I think we have a good base of 7:30 shows that can be refreshed and reinvigorated, but our spread of new things to attack various parts of the year, I think, is going to surprise people.”

43 Responses

  1. Changing the focus demo to 25-54 instead of total people? With a houseful of young adults, I have seen a big change in just twelve months, with some making the radical statement that they don’t think they need a tv at all, and rejecting offers of free secondhand ones.

    Seven’s big strength has been its other channels, giving us shows that over-50s want to watch. I think the days of pitching to the young are over. House Rules is a clear example as the picture shows four of five new presenters who could be the cast for Love Island instead. Quickest way to lose the fan base they have had over the past years. And a penthouse? The beauty of HR was that it was not The Block, insteading featuring ordinary houses in ordinary places. I am sceptical. Possible shark ahead.

    1. Yep. I’m sticking with question about whether MKR and HR have jumped the shark. HR was about you renovate my house, I renovate yours, one of us gets our mortgage paid off. Now it’s The Block on the Goldie.

  2. After the success of Secret Bridesmaids Business (please season 2 and 3 etc) I hope Seven take note that a huge part of their audience want female driven stories with stellar casts and thrilling storylines.. also it looked good, much better than lots of the other dramas we are watching..

  3. Can we bring back a Hey Dad type show now? I enjoyed that show back in the 90s, though it was’nt the same when they changed the Dad actor over. And if you want a show that would be good for 5 nights a week, why not use a game show plat form? E,g Sale of the Century, that would easily fill up the night for 5 nights a week. We need another international game show again where the country’s constants would face off other countries constants again, that what made Sale good back in its days.

  6. Seven should put Home And Away back on Monday To Friday at 7 pm and cut Better Homes And Gardens back to One Hour or switch one of the shows over 2 7 Two

  11. When I was growing up (80’s-90’s) we had stripped programming of various shows and not just one.

    We had:
    Monday/Tuesday- A Country Practice
    Wednesday-Hey Dad
    Thursday- Full House
    Friday-The Golden Girls

    We need to have a mix of various stripped shows and not just one, night after night of MKR drove me nuts.

    1. Stripped = consecutive. It’s quite unique to Australia to have one show across multiple nights, and not common in other markets. But networks will respond to viewing patterns. If they didn’t rate they would switch it up.

  12. Loving the sound of Fam Time, with that cast, headed by Michaela Banas and featuring Rhonda Burchmore, I’m hooked on it already !!
    Also loving the idea of House Rules renovating a GC Penthouse, and I don’t think it’s jumping the shark at all.
    Finally, sevens Head of Programming (pictured) needs to get himself On Air in some capacity, because I’d watch anything he appeared in ??

      1. I’d suggest we wait for context as it is probably ironic. The show is led by a selfie-mad mum, and a family wrapped in fibre optic cables and swiping for love, streaming for acceptance, posting for purpose…

      2. I don’t use the abbreviation myself, but have heard many people refer to their family as “the fam” i.e spending Christmas with the Fam, or even Fam Bam

  14. They need to take some hints from 9 and 10 recent successes and show 2-3 eps a week of a show not 5 nights and not dragged our 4 month seasons like MKR. Its too much to commit too i agree with other comments here.

    I will give BB a go but it may be DOA. Fingers crossed its good. Also give the golf ago. The rest no.

  16. 7should make a third season of Rostered On.I don’t know how popular it is , but it really was a good little show If they don’t it should go back to Netflix, become a Netflix Original and let Netflix produce a 3rd season.

  17. But who has time to watch all that? With shows like MAFS and the Block I just watch the Sunday night (or main weekly) episode and they show so many recaps you don’t miss much.

  18. Personally, I’m just sick of stripped shows in general. I never bother with Nine as I know The Block is always on, MKR to me is tripe. At least with TEN, the shows are stripped at max 3 times a week (fortunately I enjoy Survivor). It has the potential to lock viewers in nightly but also lock out viewers who simply don’t care. It’s too much commitment for me, I need variety to have my eyes glued to FTA tv nightly. BB will be a very interesting case to watch. Viewers are expecting a nod to BB of past, I doubt very highly the new BB will sustain anything after the initial premier episode. It’s a difficult format to grasp and took me several weeks to understand how the US version worked, only committed myself for the hot guys! Eventually understood it though, are Aussies as patient?

      1. Ok so I legit forgot about I’m A Celeb, maybe because its so early on in the year and doesn’t feel like it goes for 6 months like the others and MasterChef, well that I enjoy. Is it Friday yet?

  20. Interesting no mention of big brother as a 7:30 show. Would love to see it stripped as a 9:00 show. 7 seems to have plenty of other post-Olympic 7:30 shows to fill the slots. But not much else planned for 8:30 onwards.

  21. Good article.
    “Between to Worlds” and “Mega Mini Golf” are the clear standouts. Both fresh and both have the scale to compete with Netflix and Stan.

    1. Watching. People. Play. Mini-golf.
      I had to sit for a moment and think how much lower TV can go..
      ..when is someone going to pitch “People going to the toilet” for a prime-time slot? Don’t say never – no-one two decades ago could see the depths FTA TV would be plumbing today.

  23. The problem for me with their stripped 7:30pm programming is that there is not one program I’d want to watch, so they’ve instantly lost me. I want variety not the same show multiple nights a week.

  24. Not a bad strategy. throw enough new product at the market- some of it will hit, some of it will miss, but there’s a good chance that you’ll be better off overall.
    For a network that came into this year as number one, their schedule for the second half of the year has really been inexplicably bereft of anything particularly new or interesting.

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