IIR, didn’t the 6pm ratings drop in those markets when the metro bulletins were replaced the local news? It would be a big gamble (and investment!) for 7 to introduce local news at 6pm when the existing metro bulletins are already rating strong.
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i HOPE THAT SEVEN WILL GIVE GWN THE SET THAT THEY DESERVE. wHEN WILL THIS HAPPEN
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We never see ratings for these markets. Just lots of speculation and unfounded claims.
We did see some actual ratings when the local bulletins were paused for the metro bulletins - and in some markets ratings went up. But this was April 2020 / the start of the pandemic. ALL news bulletins went up a good 30% or so.
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mAYBE nEVER! 
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From memory it did. Canberra was one of those markets where Seven News Sydney picked up viewers.
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Lemme guess: If Seven consolidates 7 Perth and GWN, the cheapest thing they can do is to transfer regional WA news presentation to the SWM HQ in Perth; they can retain existing regional jobs for now, but the presenter part is gonna be a different story. If Seven lets Noel go by moving day or when he retires, we’re sure they can use their rotating Perth presenters to do the 5:30 bulletin.
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I think GWN co-locating to 7 Perth and GWN7 news being done out of Perth is one thing that is very likely to happen.
Can’t wait to see the green screen virtual set they come up with!
A spaceship desk and LCD screens with outback and coastal images on loop!
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GWN’s studio is 2 cameras and a desk in an office. Everything else is based/controlled out of Canberra. So I can’t imagine any real cost savings would happen if they moved to TVW until at least the rest of Prime’s news operations are streamlined. If GWN were still broadcasting out of their previous Back Beach studios then sure, moving to Perth would save them money instantly.
I’d laugh if they did a virtual image of their current office set.
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Explain why Seven Gold Coast has 90 minutes of news if you think they wont go down that path? If its not successful they wouldnt do it.
I think they realise one size wont fit all. I cannot see Seven stations going head to head with NBN News in Newcastle. Its too big of a risk
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They could downgrade Bunbury to just an office, and use existing Perth staff to do the regional bulletin. So staffing and rental savings.
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If the two newsrooms basically functioned as one giant WA newsroom - I could see some workflow / resource / content benefits
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Gold Coast is a very unique situation as it is not it’s own market but rather just a southern pointed transmitte that is actually part of the Brisbane market for ratings and revenue purposes.
Removing the flagship 6pm “7 News Queensland” from 6pm for the Gold Coast transmitter would significantly affect the measured ratings for the bulletin - with the Gold Coast accounting for around 25% of the market. That would severely impact the ratings for the bulletin against Nine.
To maximize the ratings for the flagship they put the news at 5.30.
It’s the only market in Australia where programming is split via a local transmitter
Also with Nine Gold Coast news - the Gold Coast has a long history of local news at 5.30 - 2 decades. Viewers expect local news in that slot now.
One size doesn’t fit all you are right. Seven could run local news at 5.30 in Newcastle. I just think it’s less likely. The precedent is what happens in the 11 markets 7 has in regional areas that get local news at 6 and a truncated “national” news at 6.30. Not the Gold Coast. Which is entirely unique
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So you want GWN news to be done out of Seven Perth? I am sure they will do just that in good time.
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Well I worked in regional areas for nearly a decade and I can tell you that ad markets are soft. When you consider the overheads of adding at least two journos and camera operators, more editors, marketing etc…; or just keep piping in Sydney, the answer is clear. If it was worth running something local, Prime would have done it. The same with Canberra.
That is some old school thinking. The days of people locking into a channel for the night are over. Especially when you look at the disparity between the 6pm audience and “prime time”. As much as half the audience can drop away thanks to streaming.
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They deserve a desk even bigger than Seven Perth’s because they cover the whole of WA.
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National bulletins need a MASSIVE desk then!
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Ad markets are soft everywhere. It’s global. Costs in setting up a local news could be significant. But so could revenue gains from a lift in ratings. We don’t know that the costs outweighs the benefits, especially over the longer term. I’d imagine it differs by market. Some very small markets have dedicated local news like Mackay, Rockhampton and Townsville - all under 250k. All half the size of Newcastle, Canberra and W’Gong. They’re there for a reason. Their benefit outweighs their cost.
Prime did not have the deep pockets or the long term goals of Seven. Prime was also in Canberra every week begging for money and reform saying local news was not sustainable. Hard to then turn around and launch local news. Seven has already spoken about their intentions to do so.
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If the range of rates I saw for one regional broadcaster recently are any indication, things would have to dramatically improve so the rates could go up by a fair margin.
A decent package in one market was so low, the cost for the broadcaster to produce the ad is nearly on par with the cost to run it.
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If they ever moved presentation of GWN7 News to Perth (god forbid!), it would be interesting if they could present in a similar format to Nine News at Five in Adelaide and Perth with a formal handover between the regional and metro news. If they do the banter and handover at 5:55:50 and it finishes bang on 6pm. The metro feed could cut in bang on 6pm.
It’s an extremely minor thing, but would be interesting if it’s at all possible?
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