To be fair they’re really just in a holding pattern and running on the leftovers from the last ownership until CBS gets handed the keys. Even once CBS takes over, they may tinker with a few things and maybe make some minor strategic changes but I wouldn’t expect anything significant from them within the first 6-12 months. Anything decent could take at least that long to get off the ground.
I think there are some promising things though such as some tentative moves into scripted comedy and “pilot week” sounds like a good idea, and while Blind Date is essentially a remake of a remake of a remake, it has Julia Morris up front which can’t be a bad thing.
McGarvey has ruled out a breakfast program for 2018, telling the SMH “But are we genuinely looking at a breakfast show next year? We’re really not.” So 2019 would be the earliest if a new show eventuates.
I actually think it’s not a bad upfront for them. Obviously missing any big ticket announcements but they will come post CBS confirmation I’m sure. There is still an element of bouyancy to it and they are on the right path returning to youth and ‘doing things differently’. Now if thy follow this up with a few big announcements following CBS’s confirmation, they actually might have a chance of turning this ship around!!!
Do think they need to look at their spacing throughout the year though to make sure they don’t end up in their typical black hole at the end of the year, with bachelor, bachelorette, bachelor in paradise and blind date they’d also want to be careful to avoid overlap and too much Julia on our screens at once.
Moving heavily into light entertainment and comedy is a good path for them I feel, they just have to be careful as a lot of their hosts are quite polarizing with viewers in that you either love them or hate them…or. Waleed, Helliar, Julia Morris, hughesy and now it seems, Lisa.
All in all I don’t think we could have expected much more from this upfront given their position but fingers crossed it is just the starting point.
I think the take-away from the upfronts is clear - playing safe with known brands, producing enough content to fill all platforms and generally running a steady as she goes network.
Tenplay is (and should be) primarily a catch-up service for the network, where’s as Tendaily will be:
"Rich in short-form video content and will offer premium and exclusive entertainment, lifestyle, opinion news and sport content.
Many of Network Ten’s on-air stars and presenters will be part of ten daily, giving consumers and advertisers a compelling and exciting new way to connect with great content."
I think we’ll have to wait and see when the site is launched, though I’m hopeful they’ll revive tennews.com.au for all news related content both on shown on terrestrial tv, social media and online only content.
Beverley McGarvey told Mumbrella at last night’s upfronts that the Pilot Week would occur in winter with about five pilots. Viewers will decide which ones should get a full season. She was hopeful of regaining content from 21th Century Fox.
