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Axed: Sydney Weekender, SA Weekender, The Great Weekend, Qld Weekender, The Great Day Out, Creek to Coast

Seven ends a raft of travel shows around the country, including Sydney Weekender at 25 yrs.

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Seven has axed a raft of brand-produced travel shows around the country: Sydney Weekender, SA Weekender, The Great Weekend, Queensland Weekender, The Great Day Out and Creek to Coast.

The longest running is Sydney Weekender hosted by Mike Whitney at some 25 years.

Queensland Weekender and The Great Day Out also have 19 seasons and Creek to Coast ends at 10 seasons.

Seven Chief Executive Officer, James Warburton, said: “The programs that are not continuing have all made a valuable contribution to Seven, particularly Sydney Weekender which has been a Sydney weekend institution for 25 years.

“However, we will continue to make decisions that support our content led growth strategy and focus resources where they will make the most impact.”

Completed episodes will continue on air through early 2020 but no new episodes are planned.

The axing follows Seven ending Sunday Night and Today Tonight in Adelaide and Perth.

44 Responses

  2. Besides putting a small number of talented people out of work, this confirms beyond a shadow of a doubt that the 7 Network is for sale. When will Birketu and Illyria come knocking…?

  3. I would have thought these shows would broadly pay for themselves through in-program sponsorships. After all, Seven has been running that hour-long Chemist Warehouse infomercial in primetime.

  4. Now would be the time for CBS to fill a void in the market and give 10 more of a local identity. Like somebody else said these shows were heavily supported by advertising and sponsors. Initial setup would cost money but the shows would not cost much in the long run (I’m assuming). This is a golden opportunity for 10.

      1. I grew up watching 7 and 10. When BTQ7 replaced their #1 news reader, Kay McGrath with Sharyn Gidella (?) I gave up on 7 News. It was unforgivable and they are now being constantly beaten by QTQ9 News. Haha. I barely watch 7 at all now and have low expectations on the taped Big Brother revival. 10 with CBS’s deep pockets has the ability to grow and become a contender for #2 or #1. It would mean a lot of things have to happen: CBS is a big believer in marquee sports. If 10 snatched the NRL from 9 that’d be a great start. Wheel of Fortune at 6 Mon to Fri. Weekend Wheel at 6. A quality game show that appeals to many Australia could get behind. Neighbours back on 10. Project to 9.30. So yes, I am obsessed with 10.

  5. Gee that is a lot of people losing there jobs. It’s a shame because I watch some of these shows and they give you ideas on where to go, eat and stay when you visit them.

  7. The Brisbane shows had a healthy dose of advertorial, and sponsorship from the likes of Queensland Rail, Isuzu, Discover Ipswich, the Cancer Council and Tourism Queensland, so they must at least break even. I assume the interstate shows had similar funding arrangements and strong local appeal. Commercial broadcast licences for TV and radio should be conditional on there being a certain amount of local content. News is not enough. Of course, Seven has axed so many people now, there’s virtually no one left in Brisbane to stand up for homegrown production. I can only assume that the network is trimming itself down for sale or a merger. Is a deal with Nova, SCA or foreign asset-strippers on the horizon?

  9. these are typically weekend filler shows but I would imagine a lot of people would enjoy them, I’ve seen a handful of episodes of SA Weekender and it was pretty good. It’s seems as though Seven isn’t keen on states producing local content.

  10. Wow, that’s a huge cull. I really enjoyed Qld Weekender and The Great Day Out, great for watching while preparing dinner on Saturday and Sunday afternoons ☹️

  13. 7 seem to be saving money everywhere, has this to do with the merge, buyout of Regional PRIME? Are there any updates on where that is up to? Last i heard PRIME shareholders had rejected it. There would have to be some cost savings by 7 if they do merge with PRIME

  14. TV broadcasting as we once knew it is on it’s last legs and it’s a shame. These shows gave each state a sense of local identity and were the last of their kind. The only thing left for the accountants and bean counters to take away next from each states production is the local news. I’m sure they’d love a national news broadcast, with maybe a highlights package of local news if we’re lucky. Sad!

  15. It’s very unfortunate that these programs have been axed as they were specific to the different states. They are enjoyable programs and it was great to see the programs from the perspective of the states they were produced in when they were broadcast on 7Two nationally. They provided useful and helpful information that was region/state specific for the viewers in other states/territories and promoted the locations featured.

    There should be more of this type of programming from individual states/territories for the region specific perspectives that would not be found from productions based in other capital cities.

  16. “Sydney Weekender” was the last remaining show I bothered to tune in regularly for on Seven. When you throw away significant parts of a station’s heritage, viewers lose the connection that kept them coming back over years. Sad to see a network that once had a proud history become a shell of what it once was.

  19. Seven shouldn’t be focusing on axing good programs and having people lose their jobs but keeping what is good and getting rid of what is not good. This makes me want to just turn of 7. These travel shows are great Australian shows that have lots of people involved in making them. Really hope all people losing their jobs will find a job soon.

    1. I agree, great to see other places I’ve not been to! Something tells me that these cuts will be replaced by less interesting fare and more commercial arrangements like Hello World travel shows. Such a shame

      1. If that is so, then it’s further proof that WA is a Seven protected species thanks to the Chairman’s local connection. There are many public and not-so public instances going back to the early 2000s of special treatment that applies to WA/7 particularly when compared to SA/QLD and other Network locally-based affected staff/budget/programming & production decisions.

  22. Wow. I really didn’t see this coming. Aren’t these shows cheap to make, due to the “sponsored content”? They’ve held their respective timeslots for a while too.

    The locally made shows air nationally on 7two, I think on Saturdays during the day too…..

    Wont be the same, if Seven airs a nationally-made “Australia Weekender”…..

  23. Looks like Seven is going Syd/Melb centric. This means that the only non news shows made in Brisbane are Totally Wild, Scope & Toasted TV all on 10 Peach & Landline on 2.
    Seems a large investment having studios just to make a 1 hour news bulletin everyday. Are Seven looking to close all studios except Syd & Melb?

    1. AFAIK, the special zoning arrangements on Mt Coot-tha means that the TV companies can’t actually sell their existing studio facilities and make money like they’ve done everywhere else, so their staff will still be making the trip up Sir Samuel Griffith Drive for many years to come! 7 were going to move their news production to Sydney/Melbourne like 10 did, but at the last minute decided to leave them be, but, like 9 & 10, other than Brissie, they’re not really “studios” – just a space with a fixed news set and cameras.

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