Looks so much better having a Newcastle backdrop than the stupid blue white and red on everything. It helps to brighten the otherwise dark studio
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Though Newcastle backdrops are not relevant to the wider broadcast area⌠If they could do localised backdrops for each sub market for the common content, that would be ideal.
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The real question is does it really matter? I completely understand using localised backdrops during the local inserts, but outside these inserts, I donât really have a problem with using Newcastle imagery.
It seems like it would be way too much hassle. It worked on the original Nine News Local because of the single camera format of the bulletin. With NBN News, you have multiple camera angles and multiple screens to deal with. Getting it to work and to look good on screen for something that would honestly add very little to the bulletin just wouldnât be worth it.
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The Newcastle backdrops are back again tonight on all the generic content.
As terrible as it sounds Iâd say most viewers think it comes from Newcastle already. Could be quite jarring if youâre in the wilds of Moree though.
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Agree that it seems pretty obvious to those up north that itâs from Newcastle.
Unlike at Prime7 or WIN where itâs not so obvious that their news updates/bulletins are produced from Canberra or Wollongong.
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Donât really have a problem with Newcastle backdrop across the viewing area. Itâs not an overly distinct skyline like Sydney, Gold Coast etc. People know NBN News is âlocalâ that city backdrop could be Tweed Heads, Port Macquarie etc. It looks generic enough.
Not the most attractive shot though. Would be better as a live cam.
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I know what youâre saying, but that skyline is too big for most towns in the viewing area. And with that harbour in front of view it looks too coastal.
An overhead âtownâ shot of Muswellbrook or somewhere would be better.
How would that be better?
Most NBN viewers live in the Newcastle area. Or coastal areas.
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It would look more generic, and not so Newcastle centric to those up north.
I donât agree that inland areas should cop a coastal backdrop, the North West is still an important market of about 300,000 viewers.
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That makes no sense.
The Newcastle market is 820,000 of the 2.2 million in the NBN News market area.
Itâs the city where the dominant amount of viewers live in or relate to the most.
Having a small inland town backdrop would be very out of place for the majority of viewers.
Newcastle is the most important market by far from a ratings, revenue and historial perspective.
I wonder if that is why Prime7 News has managed to carve out a big market share (forgetting the fact that Tamworth/Taree are incumbent for a moment) because they donât shove this âweâre from Newcastle and youâre gonna cop Newcastle Knights, John Hunter Hospital stories and random surfing and weather reports about Merewether Beach across all our markets if you like it or not attitudeâ.
Surely how does that look to someone in Byron Bay whoâs probably a Gold Coast Titans supporter and probably never even visited Newcastle.
But then again theyâd cop random stories from Taree, Port Macquarie and Coffs Harbour instead with a generic âanytownâ background.
Obviously people do watch NBN News in those northern and western regions but itâs all about perception.
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I know Newcastle is the biggest market, but the point is that it doesnât need to be âone size fits allâ approach. Other stations have managed this, such as Prime7.
I will leave it there.
Perhaps NBN is better off doing a newshour for Newcastle/Central Coast and another pre recorded or live newshour for everywhere else but thereâs probably minimal return.
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Prime has no sense of place. And it doesnât broadcast news to Newcastle. NBN has always been a Newcastle centric station.
They could be reacting to ratings declines since Gaivin Morris left, all the editorial changes and the â9 news - ificationâ of NBN news. Viewers have probably noticed itâs not newcastles home town news anymore and ratings have been negatively affected.
Considering a disproportionately large amount of their revenue comes from the Newcastle market between 6-7pm, they probably to react to that be emphasizing Newcastle.
Itâs strategic. This kind of thing actually matters to long term ratings
Agree itâs strategic but I guess NBN has never given a damn for its markets outside Newcastle because Newcastle is the cash cow and the others are chaff. Gold Coast would also be a massive money spinner if the Nine Brisbane signal didnât reach it.
Perhaps itâs hearing rumours of a proposed Seven Newcastle News and wants to show Novacastrians weâre here.
Have the news ratings in Newcastle actually dropped since the move to Honeysuckle and replacement of Paul Lobb?
If the other markets are of low value or âchaffâ like @rock12 says, then why does NBN still persist with a bulletin up north? They could relay Nine News Sydney up there, run the noodle local news updates to satisfy local content, and just have the Newcastle bulletin air in the Hunter and Central Coast markets only.
Not sure if ratings have dropped but considering thereâs no other local news in Newcastle then where else have they gone? The only regional market where Seven News Sydney does exceptionally well is Canberra.
NBN must do ok financially in those other regions. If they give up and start dropping their news in the regionâs theyâre just giving a free pass to Prime7.
Generally NBN have 2-3 Journalists in each newsroom (outside Newcastle) while Prime have a full team in Tamworth but only 1 each in Lismore, Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie and Taree.
Iâd say NBN would cut their weekend news before cutting bulletins. Itâs amazing that this day of age that Nine hasnât made the cut to these already but there must be enough revenue generated from them to remain on air.
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Would symbolise the beginning of the end if they did 
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