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10 News First to trial 90 minute bulletins

Exclusive: 10 will test extended news bulletins from Monday. Celebrity Name Game heads to BOLD.

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EXCLUSIVE: 10 News First will trial a 90 minute news bulletin from Monday in all markets.

With the summer non-ratings, and various changes elsewhere by competitors, 10 has opted to test an extended bulletin.

Central to the move is the network’s long challenge with the 6pm slot.

Celebrity Name Game, which began in May, often rates lower than its predecessor Pointless. This impacts the entire evening schedule with the network having to rebuild its audience all over again.

On occasions 10 can even be leading with 7:30 and 8:30 shows, but still lose the night because of its early evening woes.

This isn’t the first time 10 has broadcast 90 minute bulletins. Back in 2011 it also broadcast 90 minute editions after shuffling 6pm with George Negus to a 6:30 slot (back then The Project aired at 7pm).

A Network 10 spokesperson told TV Tonight, “We have decided to take the opportunity of changes to the commercial news landscape along with an intense news cycle to better serve our audiences by offering a quality extended local news service in all states.

“This is a trial and in the meantime Celebrity Name Game will play on BOLD.”

Celebrity Name Game is understood to have a stockpile of episodes already completed which it could feasibly broadcast until April.

Other moves, including returning Neighbours to a 6pm slot, have been rejected with a view it would be unlikely to pull an audience higher than 200,000 -which is its current problem with Celebrity Name Game.

90 minutes of new may seem excessive, but given the bigger picture, and summer season underway from tomorrow, 10 effectively has nothing to lose with its trial and everything to gain.

57 Responses

  1. On nine.com.au ‘s tv guide tonight’s episode of Celebrity Name Game appears to be a repeat episode with Ash London & Ed Kavalee. Hope they’re not airing a repeat.

  4. I hope TEN aren’t expecting anything big for the first night considering I’ve only seen 1 EPG with the updated 90 minute news. TENs own guide still has the old schedule.

    However in the one updated guide, Judge Judy is still scheduled

  5. This is nuts. With attention spans shrinking and a plethora of instant ways to find things out , there should be more regular, repeated bulletins of really short duration. Dip in and dip out. This makes as much sense as combining an election coverage with popular music performers……… Just begging audiences to go away. Ten’s grip on serious news is laughable.

  6. 10 have a chance to do some unique stories, and I hope they use the longer bulletin to differentiate some of their news stories. A few ideas I had were editorials/opinion pieces from the anchor, dedicated ‘good news’ stories, special investigative journalism stories even spanning multiple nights, and even satirical segments (ala Mark Humphries on 7.30)

  7. Sorry this won’t work. 10’s news is basic and plain compared to ABC, Seven and Nine. They need to improve their news first before extending it. Nobody will stick around for 90 minutes to watch news. It’ll get boring.

  8. According to reports online today, the news from 6-6.30pm is a national service from Sydney’s Sandra Sully. I don’t know if this is a good move on the basis in Australia, we don’t opt to choose a national (usually from Sydney) news, when there is the option to go for the state editions.
    Unless: Ten radically changes the game in the 30min. bulletin and gives Sandra a more CNN/Fox/Sky style show where she can sit and debate whats happening. I really hope it not simply a national standard bulletin…

  9. I truly believe they need to put Bold and the Beautiful at 5. 10 News 530 – 630.
    Put Neighbours on 10 at 430 as the trial (continue to play it at 6 rather than 630 on Peach so it doesn’t cannibalize Project).

  10. I would have flipped Celebrity Name game to 5pm and moved news to 5.30 start. Many people don’t get home from work until 5.30pm. How much news can a person watch. I would rather a short half hour news service as it was back when. An hour long gets taxing. I would have trialled a current affairs show with Lisa fronting it.

    1. Well…you said you don’t get home till 5:30pm like many other people right? That’s the whole idea isn’t it? Also people don’t get home until just before 6pm. People that watch 5pm news then flick to 7/9….so those people are still watching 90 mins yeah? It’ll take time to build….but good on 10 ?

  11. Worth a shot. Lame games shows better suited to afternoons aren’t cutting it. Suspect they’ll code the 6pm half hour separately to see if a permanent move makes any sense. Said it before. Their all female hosting line up is a point of difference and smart for these times. Deserves a go in prime time.

  12. Ten, if you are reading these comments – you have the perfect platform to try something different from 6-6.30pm which is different from 9 and 10. Most people will turn at 6pm to the others out of habit but you really need to shake things up at this time showing news across your network. Go bold, be different look at what all the other world news services are doing out there…

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