Let me better describe my ignorance 
So if WIN now has the rights to 10 rebroadcast here, which will bring more viewers to the 10 network… what channels did Mildura NOT have before that they would have through the new deal with WIN?
(Obviously a separate question involves how 9 wants to brand everything 9 now, and strictly control the rebroadcast, and obviously 10 will allow WIN more flexibility on that… and these regions may require some rejigging to achieve that.)
None! TEN has been available nationwide in all regions, so when you hear TEN or WIN sprout “larger audiences” or “better revenue”, it’s simply because WIN thinks their audience will stay with them after they swap to TEN affiliation.
So even though it’s not been officially confirmed (and verified) Tasmania will be interesting if WIN swaps to 10 which is what I believe based on an article a few weeks ago stating that Ten would be happy with a lower affiliation fee if it became the primary affiliation in the other markets including Tasmania.
So, that leaves a couple of interesting thoughts, if the joint venture TDT becomes 9 affiliate, will that take on 9 branding as they have currently only used 10 branding all their life - sometimes with the addition of “Tasmanian Digital Television” or “TDT” and the other interesting thing will be news coverage. They currently have Ten Eyewitness News from Melbourne and the noodle updates, could they just switch to showing us Nine’s Melbourne news? Will that leave Channel 9 with no news presence in Tasmania? Currently they use the resources of WIN. Would there be noodle updates produced in the 9 style to be shown in Tas or can WIN actually show WIN News on TDT and have it simulcast on both stations? Would that somehow give them an advantage in terms of ratings by slipping in the odd channel 10 program reference to get people to switch?
Yes, seems a tad unlikely. It fits with WIN’s approach of saying “nothing will change, it’s still WIN, just with 10”.
So perhaps the talk of larger audiences implies
And of course implies that WIN is promising to make Channel 10 a more regionally appealing channel (for both the obvious and less obvious areas.) Not just rebroadcasting but adding significant value.
One other thing about LCNs, because frankly that’s all I seem to talk about here at the moment.
It seems completely backwards to, at least on Freeview, have different channel number for ranges for metro and regional markets where the two don’t overlap (i.e.: anywhere that isn’t the Gold, Sunshine or Central Coasts).
There’s a slim chance of this, but I’d like to see something like the following.
1 / 10-19 / 100-149 TEN O&O and affiliates
2 / 20-29 / 200-249 ABC
3 / 30-39 / 300-349 SBS
5 / 50-59 / 500-549 TEN affiliates in overlap markets
6 / 60-69 / 600-649 Seven affiliates in overlap markets
7 / 70-79 / 700-749 Seven O&O and affiliates
8 / 80-89 / 800-849 Nine affiliates in overlap markets
9 / 90-99 / 900-949 Nine O&O and affiliates
There is no doubt WIN is trying to hold on to the audience they have gained over the years through Nine affiliation, using tactics to try and fool viewers into staying (like keeping LCN 8, being vague about losing Nine, etc). If you didn’t watch The Living Room when it was on TEN, you’re not going to watch it now just because there’s a little WIN logo in the corner, or because it follows local news.
If there was to be a Nine/Ten switch in Tasmania, and that’s a big if still:
TDT Nine will likely be branded the same as SCA’s Nine affiliates in other areas since SCA manage the playout of TDT. Given the infrastructure setup for this to happen I can’t see it changing to WIN playout amongst other reasons.
TDT Nine would likely have no local news service since being a joint venture, both SCA and WIN would want to focus on their main channels and direct any views they can get through local news to their main service rather than the joint venture which directs 50% of profits to their competitor.
If TDT becomes the 9 affliliate and WIN becomes the 10 affiliate in Tasmania, everything regarding local news will stay relatively the same in the sense that WIN News will still be shown on WIN, but instead of having 9 programs in the schedule around it, it would have 10 programs.
SC7 would continue as usual obviously, and TDT would likely become a direct copy of 9 Melbourne, just as it is currently a direct copy of 10 Melbourne.
Meaning that WIN’s News service will move from a low-rating 9 affiliate station to an even lower rating 10 affiliate station.
If WIN’s change to primary 10 affiliation goes ahead, there’s no chance of WIN News staying on the 9 affiliate in Tasmania.
I would personally love to see this LCN structure as well.
It’s always seemed odd here that the channel called “TEN” has been on 5, with “ELEVEN” on 55 and “ONE” on 50.
With many affiliates partly or entirely using metro branding, it would be much better to have the same LCNs as metros as well in non-overlap areas in my opinion.
I was talking about specific shows, not the network.
MasterChef will have a greater reach & a network which has always had a lot more viewers (yes, due to being affiliated with Ch 9).
Have you been drinking the WIN/Ten flavoured Kool Aid, Luke? 
The last I checked, most if not all of Australia currently has access to the main channels of both Nine and Ten (in either an affiliate or O&O form) and I presume that will still be the case after the switch on July 1.
One of the main reasons that WIN has traditionally rated well as a network is because of the longtime affiliation with Nine and it’s network programs, not despite it. I don’t think it will take long for viewers (most of whom are surely more technologically savy in 2016 than they were in 2006 or 1996) to understand how the switch has affected them and where they can find their favourite shows.
There is quite a science behind people NOT switching channels… positioning a less popular show after a popular show to build an audience etc.
So… how well does WIN local news rate? If it rates higher for “older” people, that audience is probably the same audience less likely to be using a PVR too.
It would argue that WIN News at 6pm leading into The Project isn’t ideal either. It should remain WIN News at 7pm leading into MasterChef if that’s where they’re trying to keep people.
Where will it have greater reach?
Que?
The case might be sound if this was Seven Perth, and even then I don’t think network loyalty is a force anymore. Heck, I doubt television loyalty is a thing anymore, given the amount of entertainment and streaming options it has to compete with.
Regional viewers will just watch on 1 July whatever show they were watching the week before. A few will wonder why the channel number changed on their remote when finding their show, and then proceed to forget about this non-event in a few minutes.
I don’t think it’s unreasonable to say that the ratings of TEN programs will increase at least a little being on WIN. While viewers who do want to watch a particular show will still find it, the draw of WIN News which is quite popular in at least some regional areas will means that more apathetic views get to sample TEN programming after the news that they wouldn’t have otherwise sought out - it’s definitely a common thing for viewers to continue watching the next show if they have no specific reason to change (be it they want to watch something else or they’re not enjoying the next show).
The same could happen with viewers just flicking to 8 earlier on while channel surfing and therefore settling with a TEN program rather than something else.
Ultimately is it going to be a huge increase, probably not, but I’d be confident that it will translate into TEN doing better with WIN than SCA.
I’m surprised win didn’t take the opportunity to have the 1 LCN. Especially being the first channel to appear when you turn on a new TV.
It’s not just a matter of being too lazy to change the channel. A popular program like local news is a great place to advertise the night’s schedule. It certainly is a big help for 7 and 9 to have a big 6pm audience to help promote the rest of their schedule.
WIN will have the potential to have their programs rate higher than SC10 does, especially as SC10 underperforms compared to Ten in metro areas.
They can spend the next month promoting all the new shows coming to WIN, and give Ten’s programming a huge boost.
Having local news will help WIN a lot - especially in markets where they could be the only ones doing it. Moving it now into the timeslot it will be in once WIN have the Ten affiliation will help as well in keeping viewership.
I think WIN need to push Ten to provide more news, like morning and late night and local weekend bulletins. As they are keeping local news, they need to double down. The experience in Tasmania dropping local weekend news should make WIN worried about what Ten’s lack of news output could do for them.
WIN reviewing ad sales structure after new affiliate deal with Ten
A move to MCN for at least national sales would both create efficiencies and increase their reach to national advertisers.
I believe it would be a first for advertisers to be access metro and regional audiences through the one point of contact.
Sounds like a smart move to me.
Good point. Never really looked at it from that perspective.
Does WIN still have the rights to Ellen?
Or were they through 9?