I think this story by Annette Sharp is true (not something I ever thought I’d say!). It all fits:
dwindling ratings
new head of News wanting to make their mark
an established duo at weekends, who just so happen to be ready to take weeknights.
Why else would Seven have a double head on weekends but a single on weeknights? It makes zero sense. No other network does this. I suspect it was their way of testing audience reaction to a double head. It seems to have worked… so they’re (allegedly) moving Mike and Angela to weeknights.
After all, they’ve gotta try something… Fergo just doesn’t work, and never has. I expect they might move him to daytimes and retire Ann Sanders. (IF he stays at Seven…) In time HSV will probably do the same with Mike and Bec.
I don’t think this is any fault on Seven’s part. It’s more about Nine revamping its 5:00pm timeslot and replacing the outdated Hot Seat (which struggled against the might of The Chase Australia) with Tipping Point which is rating very well. This in turn has significantly seen Nine’s news ratings in Sydney return to pre-COVID levels after they lost twelve weeks last year.
But bear in mind Nine have the Olympics coming up later this year and Seven News will be all but wiped off the map on the East Coast.
Fergo has done daytime bulletins before, during his time at Nine. It should also be remembered he was suddenly parachuted into the weeknight role there after Jim Waley was sacked in 2005, and he struggled against the might of Ian Ross. A far cry from years earlier when Nine News was unbeatable when Hendo was at the helm.
Fergo was competitive last year. Didn’t Seven win something like 12-13 weeks in Sydney in 2023? I’d call that competitive.
Moving to a double header is a massive gamble and Seven will look like complete fools if it backfires and they’ve ruined the reputation of three readers (Ferguson, Usher and Cox).
I think 2DAY FM have changed their breakfast lineup every year since Kyle and Jackie O left the station at the end of 2013. They just needed some stability, but couldn’t get it.
12 weeks last year, their most in any year since 2011 (14 weeks).
I’m not sure how winning 12 or 13 weeks out of 40 is remotely competitive… it means you’ve lost the other two thirds of the year. That’s maths for you.
I don’t see how a double header would alienate the audience, either? If they can cope with it at weekends, I’m sure they’ll manage during the week.
I’ve always found this an interesting view. Yes, he has never won a ratings year and, of course, that is something they strive for and should work towards. However, unless I’m completely misreading things, it’s not like he has been completely blown out of the water and 9 Sydney is 200k in front each night. Maybe Mark is what is keeping 7 Sydney somewhat competitive?! Someone always has to be #2, and the answer isn’t always to replace that team on rotation until they get to #1 (hello Today Show!).
Not saying it’s not true, just that the risk may be greater than the reward.
Would be a shame to see Michael leave the network but the Daily Fail has been light on details, so we don’t know if this just means focusing on Spotlight. Let’s see if it eventuates.
