Also on this day in 2002, the Manchester Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony was just moments away from airing on Channel Seven (though due to the time difference it was early on the morning of 25 July).
This was the last time Seven had the Commonwealth Games until Gold Coast last year.
As the ad from The Sunday Telegraph showed, 10 was already broadcasting NSW Rugby League matches live on Friday nights in 1989. Then when Nine got the NSWRL rights in 1991 it showed the matches on one hour delay, seemingly to protect the ratings of Burke’s Backyard.
What was the ratings like in 2002 Manchester games? Who did the commentary? Johanna Griggs And Bruce? (Given that nine and 10 had afl in 2002, Bruce was used for the games)
Absolutely no idea, though I only remember Mark Beretta hosting the coverage from Manchester.
From what I can remember, the majority of play would’ve been from prime time to about mid-morning (think London 2012). But I’m not sure how it rated.
Ten Sydney appeared to show the Sunday Afternoon game on delay (and likely with some bits cut out for time/commercials) though, presumably to protect crowd attendance figures.
Yeah, I think Nine’s notorious reputation of delayed rugby league coverage until the more recent broadcast deals (wasn’t Nine’s coverage of Sunday Afternoon games delayed until just a few years ago?) could actually be a significant contributor to the higher than national average levels of Pay TV uptake in Sydney & Brisbane.
10’s Rugby League coverage was one of few programs to RATE WELL during the DISASTROUS 10 TV AUSTRALIA campaign. Rating in 20’s and 30’s, one game throughout the 89 season got a 37 in the ratings, providing a strong lead-in to the Comedy Company.
Few questions: What were ratings like for Superquiz, FDD, Great TV Game Show?
Any footage exist of Page One/Public Eye with Kerry O’Brien?
Was Neighbours still rating well during this disastrous time?
Live coverage of Sunday matches began in 2015. Prior to that, only specific matches (such as Darren Lockyer’s final regular season match in 2011 and the Gold Coast Titans’ first match in 2007) were shown live on Sundays.
I was also a fan of the Friday night double headers which existed between 2007 and 2015. Depending on which teams were involved, one match would be shown live with the other a full replay immediately after.
In 2007, a south-east Queensland Derby (Broncos vs Titans) was shown live into both NSW and QLD, with the Wests Tigers vs Panthers match shown on a replay straight after.
The following week, there was also another Queensland Derby (Cowboys vs Broncos - the match in which Darren Lockyer suffered a serious knee injury), which was shown live into Queensland but shown on a replay in NSW. The match NSW got live was the Sea Eagles vs Wests Tigers at Brookvale Oval.
If both the Friday night matches did not involve a Queensland side, the match Nine thought was likely to rate higher, or whichever had higher-ranked sides, would be shown first (case in point: round 25, 2011 - the Sea Eagles vs Storm match was shown first then the Eels vs Roosters).
I’d say not great given that they all were axed very quickly. Family Double Dare lasted 3 episodes. I think The Great TV Game Show lasted to the end of the year. Superquiz probably the same.
The Great TV Game Show never really stood a chance being up against Hey Hey It’s Saturday which was at its peak at that time. Ten started running The Great TV Game Show at 6.00pm to get a half-hour head start on Hey Hey. When that didn’t work, it got shifted to 6.30pm, taking Hey Hey head on. Was never going to end well. In a different timeslot or on a different night, it might have had a better chance.
It wasn’t quite hitting the same peaks as during the Kylie and Jason era which had just passed, but it still held up reasonably well given the average performers surrounding it.
I notice that too. At the time, the Sunday game kicked off at 3pm but was shown on a three hour delay as it turned out.
It’s just a shame Ten Sydney failed to utilise its NSWRL coverage to full advantage, much like Seven Melbourne in the 1990s when it had AFL on weekends.
I really enjoyed The Great TV Game Show and was disappointed when it didn’t return in 1990.
Good old Bob Shanks trying to Americanise the dumb Australian system by attempting to schedule some shows on the hour like they do in the US. The strategy effectively killed a lot of the new programming they introduced and resulted in the departure of the network’s programmer who had tried to argue with Shanks against the idea but was over ruled.
I’m aware Neighbours was still winning its slot most nights during this era. I’ll look up some figures and post tomorrow.
I enjoyed it too. My brother got to be in the studio audience for what would be its final episode at the end of the year. I was annoyed that I didn’t get to go! But then I was “invited” (i.e. I was on a mailing list because I’d once been in the studio audience for The Comedy Company) to attend a studio taping at Nunawading for the pilot of Col’n Carpenter a few months later. Not sure I got the better end of the deal! 
On that day a Real Madrid v Manchester City game was played at mcg. GEM televised the Real Madrid Game v Man City live in Perth followed by a NRL on delayed telecast. This caused a lot of backlash for Perth viewers on WWOS social media venting fury towards Nine.
Which the Broncos featured in nearly every Friday night, but that’s another discussion for another forum.
26 July 1965: SAS10 opens as Adelaide’s third commercial station. It is now SAS Seven.
Correct me if i’m wrong, but SAS switched to 7 after problems arose following their purchase by Robert Holmes a Court’s Bell Group.
ADS7 became owned by Kerry Stokes who at the time was invested in the Ten network on the east coast and Perth.
SAS10 was owned by TVW7 in Perth which was being aligned to the Seven Network. So it made sense to just “swap” the 2 channels over in Adelaide.
It was made easier as both ADS and SAS broadcast from the same TV tower, so in technical terms they literally just had to swap plugs between the 7 and 10 transmitters at Mt Lofty.
It was a more complex operation in terms of changing over all branding and programming inventory to match their new networks. Also complicated for ADS as Ten was changing its logo again a month later after the switch.
Speaking of changing logos, CTC-7 had in tough in 1989 because they had only a few months with the X TEN logo before dumping it for 10 TV Australia.
Coverage of the Games of the XXXth in London got underway on both Channel 9 and Foxtel. It was the only Summer Olympics the Pay TV operator showed coverage.
9’s coverage was criticised with simulcast on 9 and Gem as well as showing endless replays of swimming. Foxtel showed every gold medal event live on 8 dedicated channels.
I would have thought that the Day 1 went underway on the 28 July 2012 on Nine/Fox. Nine was slammed for its broadcast with endless replays of swimming and the commentary.
TEN should have aired the MasterChef Finale a week earlier than the Glasgow Games as I think that it is a waste to have MasterChef Finale clashing with the games.