Even with increased funding, there’s no guarantee WIN materially improves the news offering. Operational quality, editorial strategy, and good execution are independent variables, more revenue doesn’t automatically equal a better product - WIN News has consistently been a sub par product over the years.
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A lot of interesting stuff here. Posted just two weeks ago.
Your constant WIN bashing is getting a bit tiresome.
It’s obvious to me from your posts that you have a deep dislike for them.
Probably time to tone it down a bit.
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I saw that - apparently it has come to a halt over funding?
Even if WIN was at their best they would still find a way to bash them like they do with every other Australian news outlet that isn’t Sky News.
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I don’t think that’s fair however I do feel like we’re going around in circles (again) on this Nine-WIN-NBN topic. Give it a rest until there is actually something to discuss.
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It won’t point is if they weren’t pushed to cut, the product today would be better. Once it’s cut it won’t come back, not in a declining industry.
I don’t have feelings about WIN.
What I have is a clear view on their business model and how it’s been executed over the past two decades.
fights with Nine, legal action over streaming, and losing a 27-year affiliation. Closing multiple regional newsrooms while continuing to position as a “local” broadcaster.
And then there’s local news, which they always talk about as their pride and joy. If you look at 7 News Tasmania, NBN, 7 NSW, 7 QLD and then compare it to WIN, it just doesn’t feel like the same level of effort or quality. It’s hard to say they’re on the same level.
my take is the same on Seven, BTW. Not 7NEWS, that’s a strong operation, but the wider business feels pretty safe and not that forward-looking. And that’s coming from someone who’s worked there and loved my time. But it seems a company lacking future strategy with overtly safe predictable programming.
Let’s hope when WIN takes NBN in there is some kind of business wide reset in their output, news and on air look.
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Moving away from the loop…. 
do we think win wilL keep the NBN brand in any way at all? I know it doesn’t exist much as promos, bugs, graphics etc are all Nine now. But it still appears on news, local promos, local radio mentions etc. it’s still a brand new
how will win handle it. Will it be “NBN, part of the win network” (messy) or willNews at 6 or 530 stay as NBN news or become win news (that will really be damaging)
It risks getting very messy if they try and keep the Nine, Win and NBN brands all alive in the market. Hopefully some conversations are being had to organise this
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I highly doubt WIN will keep the NBN brand, the ‘Goodnight Big Dog’ thing or anything.
As you say, it’d be too messy with 3 brands.
Branding may not change much from what it is now. It maybe dependant on what they do with the news. Probably do one of the following.
- Nothing changes NBN News remains branded NBN and remains at 6pm with NBN brand shown during news and local promotions. Nine branding used on show promotions
- News moves to 5:30pm and moves to 30 minutes NBN branding completely disappears
- News remains at 6 but NBN brand disappears replaced by WIN over time
I’d prefer 1 but more likely 3 and I hope 2 doesn’t happen at least in the short term.
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Maybe they will transition over time. If they go with News at 6 or 5.30 - I just can’t see “WIN News” going into Newcastle. It will be damaging.
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There wasn’t much in the way of complaints when the ‘NBN Television’ brand was phased out in 2016 (when HD was introduced) and replaced with the ‘Nine’ brand. So this will just be another change in that respect.
Though there is still currently an odd mix of branding - ‘NBN’ (being used for 6pm news, Big Dog and Facebook), NineNBN (as per website and advertising promos eg. ‘Advertise on Nine | NBN’), and ‘Nine’ for everything else.
There will be some pushback from locals if the news time/format/brand is changed, but I doubt WIN will care too much.
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The NBN brand still lives on on a local level, much like US affiliates how they dual brand with a network. It’s been watered down but still exists. Removing it completely and replacing with “Win” I think would be risky. I think “win news” in particular would be commercially risky for advertisers
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The bulk of revenue will still come from shows like MAFS, ‘The Block’ and the NRL coverage… viewers will still tune for that regardless of what the channel is called.
If you look at the regional tam figures for 2024, NBN News actually delivers more viewers than all of those shows in NNSW. And as. 7 day a week one anchor anchor for primetime it has a critical job.
I agree ratings won’t fall off a cliff if the NBN brand is phased out over time. You can keep a network brand and still feel like a local station (look at 7 TAS, QLD)
it’s more swapping NBN News brand for WIN News brand and moving it to 5.30 I see as problematic. It would be a quadruple whammy:
- NBN News brand dropped for WIN News brand
- The #1 show removed from prime time replaced with something from Sydney (long term damage)
- 30 minute reduced quality at 5.30
- White flag waved at forever at 6pm, losing point of difference from seven, 10 - and possibly handing seven the slot
Interesting experience for me a week or so back was visiting Newcastle from Tasmania.
Sat down and actually watched the NBN news service after a hard days work…….maybe.
I really don’t get what’s so special about it. I get its the only local news in Newcastle, and its the heritage callsign, but it wasn’t anything better than we get in Tasmania on either 7Tas or even WIN.
It just didn’t jump out at me as this super, awesome news service that must not be changed at any point.
The really interesting bit for me was also seeing zero mention of anything NSW from outside Sydney on the ABC news service at 7.
Maybe this is why NBN news is so popular……not so much the quality.
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Yeah, I tend to agree… and that NBN gets the Nine affiliation which gives it strong lead ins from Tipping Point and NRL coverage on Sundays etc. And that Newcastle doesn’t have any local competition for news.
Agree, the product is not much to get excited about. I think what makes it unique is it is live, local, composite, from a real set and 7 days a week, with live crosses etc. and its heritage brand halo. The actual product i would say lacks
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NBN is just transitioning from being an owned and operated station to an affiliate it still retains Nine output regardless because Nine’s rivals have made it impossible for WIN to move it elsewhere as all former options have absorbed virtually all their regionals into their respective networks… and, I don’t like the idea of Northern New South Wales having two Seven or 10 stations at any given moment in time.
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