There was talk of that happening as well as regional Victorian bulletins. Nothing happened yet. Only seven knows when or if it is going to happen.
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Talk on MediaSpy or actual people in the positions of power talk?
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I’m betting the former.
Yes, we are not real people here 
But seriously, yes @ElCapitanCranky I’m one of those that would love to see a Seven Local News here in Newcastle. Its a shame the old Prime bulletin wasn’t well supported because it was a good product and deserved to succeed.
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Nine need the competition. But Seven are chicken shit.
Seven are a company that needs to shave costs (overbidding for AFL doesn’t help). I’m sure they’re done the sums and decided it’s not for them.
And why does Seven need to be the one to launch a bulletin? What’s there to stop WIN or ABC coming in?
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Seven would have better financial capability than both WIN and ABC to launch local news as its a higher rating network, meaning more $$$$ to spend on local news.
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Seven would do it if there was coin to be made but they’re not in the business of making losses just because Nine have a bulletin there. Not unprecedented through. It happened on the Gold Coast but that was for other reasons.
NBN’s advantage is it’s live n’ local and still has a very strong heritage. It’s very questionable if Seven would have the funds to do the same. I doubt audiences would accept a local news presented from Canberra or Sydney because they’re not used to it.
Then why are you suggesting that WIN should do it, they would have even less money.
…
On another note, I just saw former Prime7 News presenter Elly Wicks present a gambling market update during Nine’s NRL coverage tonight.
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To counter argument that Seven should do it.
The short answer is NBN is too popular and Seven, WIN and ABC don’t have the funds.
Seven would have more chances for long term success in Wollongong because WIN is a mess.
I think locals would be more open to an alternate bulletin nowadays. I don’t think NBN News has the loyalty it once had, it rates well in Newcastle because there is no local alternative. Prime/7 have been here for 30 years now, so locals are more used to having options.
Having said that, I don’t think 7 would be willing to have a crack as the financial returns probably wouldn’t be there for them.
I guess the issues for Seven, or any channel wanting to challenge an incumbent local regional news service are:
- How long are you willing to invest (and lose money) for?
- What’s the end game?
Imagine if Seven started a local Newcastle service. NBN/9 would invest to defend their patch. They might even do that and discount ads to the make the economics worse for Seven.
Let’s say Seven stay it in for the long haul. What would their aim be? Capture 30/40/50/60% of the 6-7pm news share?
In any of those scenarios, you’d be splitting the advertising market between Seven and NBN. The overall pie might grow a bit, but NBN would be making less, and Seven will probably make less profit compared to piping in Seven News Sydney.
It’s not like Seven coming in Newcastle would force NBN News out of business, because NBN News isn’t at WIN News levels nor is it a 10 affiliate.
This isn’t to say Seven shouldn’t dive in. But given how the economics of TV (especially regional TV) has gotten worse over the past 30 years, I don’t live in hope.
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I regrettably agree with your conclusion. FTA as a whole is probably better off just letting the incumbents take the cream. The days of competition and spending money simply to compete are well and truly over. NBN still does fairly well in NNSW with good figures for NBN News and ACA compared to other programs, although total numbers are lower than what they once were.
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Investing in local news goes beyond the 6-7pm slot.
Stations with local news rate a lot higher across the board: 7 qld, 7 Tasmania, nbn Newcastle
The primetime share gap between 7 Newcastle and 9 Newcastle is the largest of any market. 9 dominates there - and it’s a significant market of 800,000
The end game would be to grow market share and ad revenue across primetime and the whole channel. It’s the market with the most potential upside for 7
Where did you get this info from? Not questioning it, just wondered
You can look up oztam and regional tam YTD shares. I calculated the gap between 9 and 7 in the major markets. Newcastle is the market where the gap is the largest
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Probably also helps that Northern NSW is a strong rugby league area with prime time matches two nights a week usually, plus Origin etc. And conversely a weak AFL market for 7.
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Just get Issac Heeney to do the promos. He’s a Cardiff lad, name recognition.
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Oh I thought he was Nelson Bay … but anyway… I doubt Novocastrians would really know who he is.
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Then force feed the Swans and 7 News down their throats. Just do it.
Issac is like Jub Jub, he’s everywhere you wanna be.