I’d imagine that the license to use the brand would cost a lot especially now with CBS having a presence in the Aus market.
Maybe if 9 was to axe it we could see 10 pick it up? Would hate to see the show disappear.
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Didn’t they already air this story last week?
Also, not sure what Nine sees in the potential cost-cutting and axing of 60 Minutes. It’s probably one of their few credible news programs other than the national and local bulletins, plus it’s a heritage brand that rates.
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Not surprising, I think the best approach would be to cut down on episodes and go for a more quality over quantity approach. The ratings have their peaks and troughs throughout the year. I think it is reasonable that they cut some of the weeks that wouldn’t be profitable. Some eps are shafted to late nights following reality shows, would people even notice if those episodes were cut instead?
Surely these shows have been loss leaders for a while, they only stick around as a network branding device. I dont think cutting down from 40 to 20 episodes per year would have a large impact on branding/credibility. but if it meant the show became good quality journalism again it would have a big positive impact.
I’d probably say that 60 Minutes doesn’t have quite as much credibility these days compared to what it was like during the 1980s and 1990s (Would the late Richard Carleton and Peter Harvey be happy with current/recent standards of 60 Minutes journalism? I’d be inclined to say no), although it’d certainly wouldn’t be great to see the program axed.
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rebrand: 30 minutes.
I would say that not many of the past reporters (except for maybe Peter Overton) would have good words to say about the show’s quality today, but then again it still rates so I don’t see the point in axing when it is one of the elements that allow Nine to cement their dominance on Sunday nights.
I mean, would the likes of Jana Wendt, Ian Leslie, Ray Martin, George Negus, Jeff McMullen, Jennifer Byrne, Paul Barry (funny how he went from a reporter on the show to a critic of the show as the host of Media Watch isn’t it?), Mike Munro and the other reporters of the past want to be associated with the 60 Minutes of today? I somehow doubt that.
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Paul Barry had a year of hosting Media Watch before his brief stint at Nine during the Early 2000s, but I certainly take your overall point!
For the ratings it gets over 40 weeks in the year, could you make any other non news show that rates as well for less than $20m? I wouldn’t have thought so.
Hypothetically if 9 gave hamish & andy a show there, $20mil would go a long way in production costs and offer better demographics, product placement opportunities, cross promotion opportunities and more appropriate use of the trashy reality show leadin.
60mins is hardly setting the ratings bar high at the moment, especially being in one of the best slots of the week with a strong leadin. The business case for axing 60mins would be easy, but I don’t think its existence has ever been about making money.
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They will more likely do A Current Affair Sunday.
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If you break it down though it prob airs maybe 40 weeks out of the year (non ratings being repeats) so it costs about $500k per episode. Wouldn’t they make that back in ad revenue + more?
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Correct me if I’m wrong but don’t 10 already have the Australian rights to 60 Minutes and then they sublease them off to 9?
Tbh, I don’t see 9 axing it any time soon but if they hypothetically were to, then I can definitely see 10 picking it up for considerably less than $20 mill a year.
Nine owns the rights to the 60 minutes name in Australia via a long-term contract with CBS, which is what they have stated in the past, iirc.
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I think we heard a couple of years ago that 10 have the first refusal rights to 60 Minutes USA stories. That was how they were able to show Trump’s first interview. Otherwise they would on-sell any stories to Nine.
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Nine News boss Darren Wick has told The Australian that 60 Minutes is not being axed and will be around for “the next 40 years”.
However The Australian is reporting that a number of staff were made redundant last week, and it’s excepted that the travel budget will be slashed.
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Karl is doing a story on Kyle and Jackie O. It’s an interesting promo, I wonder if Kyle really is sick or he’s just gonna have a punchline at the end of that revelation.
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It was filmed ageeesss ago, probably irrelevant.
I was right, it was a joke. I could tell from his eyes in the promo