Darwin could just do a half hour bulletin on weekends and then join the network at 6:30 and take programs on qld time.
that’s still going to be costly for not much reward
If they did that they might as well do a full hour. Surely wouldn’t make much difference in cost.
The problem with that is for example QTQ could air a M rated movie at 7:30, but Darwin couldn’t air it at 7:00 ACST as M films and shows are only allowed after 7:30. Better to just air an hour bulletin than get multiple complaints about M shows shown at 7:00.
True.
It’s still hard to believe they don’t actually present the Darwin bulletin out of Darwin. Especially when they’re about to do a bulletin out of a Hobart studio.
They used to do a full proper weekend bulletin prior to it being axed.
I agree.
Present the bulletin in Darwin in some spare space upstairs (think @TV-QLD said a few months ago that there is enough room to fit Studio D at TCN upstairs). Control the bulletin from Brisbane/Sydney and create a virtual set, with a desk like NBN’s built and green wall/floor around it, like I suggested with Darwin. Bring back the old Darwin live shot as well.
Yes they did, and it was full metro quality. Best regional bulletin in the country, it was a sad day when it got moved to Brisbane in 2017 and the weekend bulletins disappearing.
Yeh. These days it’s not that hard. Could control it out of another city easy. Just have the presenter sitting in Darwin. The presenter could also package a story a day too. Make them earn their money.
There are markets in the US with a smaller population than Darwin that have local news.
The Tasmanian market is about 3-4x the size of Darwin and Nine’s projected news there is seemingly to some extent a joint venture with WIN. Darwin is an isolated market of only around 120k people.
The US TV model is completely different to here. In the US regional or small city stations get paid to be affiliates so there is money for news.
The Tasmanian market also has commercial competition through SCA7.
because it is a market of around 558,000, according to Regional TAM. Darwin is around 160,000.
Obviously Nine sees a greater commercial benefit in providing a locally-based bulletin for Tasmania than it does providing a local one in Darwin.
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I can tell you this for certain: no one in Darwin is watching news on weekends. The sun generally sets round about 7pm all year so everyone is spending the afternoons/early evenings out at pubs or doing picnics.
There’s also very little local news on weekends so any local weekend news is going to inevitably end up relaying primarily Sydney or Melbourne stories.
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I don’t agree with that… I think you would find locally warranted stories on weekends, unfortunately they just aren’t being covered or broadcast at the moment.
Try watching the ABC’s bulletin on a weekend to see how often local coverage comes in. Minuscule.
How many journalists do they have working on the Saturday and the Sunday?
Not sure about the ABC, but apparently when Nine Darwin had a weekend bulletin, there was only 3 journalists who presented the bulletin. I think Charles Croucher was the weekend presenter from 2011-2013 but then after that it was whoever was available that day.
I meant the reporters, how many do they have to do the stories, if there is only say one journalist rostered on each day, it stands you will only get one or two local stories per night.
American network affiliates only need to pay for networked programming they receive, typically prime time and a major sporting events, I think.
They keep all their advertising dollars for programming they produce or source themselves or get through syndication.
That’s why all major markets have so much local news (an hour or two before breakfast, from 5pm until prime time, and then the late evening bulletin).
Smaller markets can also afford to do evening bulletins and late evening because a lot their daytime and late night schedule are infomercials.
But Nine Darwin doesn’t have to pay for them. NTD is 100% O&O by NEC.
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Yes, but NTD runs standard network programming in line with other states from Today until midnightish, and it’s a small market, so advertising revenues are small. Infomercials would only be overnight.
A small market NBC affiliate, say, in the US would have Today followed by infomercials mostly during the day followed by local news in the early evening, network news, possibly some syndicated programs in the evening, then network shows, local late news, then late night shows, and then infomercials.
The infomercials are the key here.