I think the design is fine - but it just looks so scratched up, even being in SD is too much detail for it. Give it a polish or something.
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Think you are over-thinking a little - in 2017 the global trends is for brands to ALIGN and create powerhouse brands.
I do not see one single ratings point drop by adding a red 7 logo in front of Southern Cross or SC wording. Not one single ratings point drop. The trend around the world is unifying under strong brands (Direct TV is about to become AT&T TV etc)
Also ratings will not drop by updating a set.
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I daresay that Southern Cross News could be presented in front of a black screen and even then, it would probably still be Tasmania’s most watched news! 
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But people will be afraid of losing their local identity. The newspapers are now owned by the big companies and they’ve become smaller and less relevant. Yes, that’s a global trend and happening everywhere but people see it as having happened because they’ve lost their local identity.
Southern Cross is a local station, they advertise as that. They’ve built themselves up as Tasmania’s station, changing it to 7 will lose that local identity for many people.
I can see it happening in the future and it wouldn’t surprise me if it did happen now, I’ve mentioned before that there has been more and more 7 logos and promos “slipping” through for the last year or so whereas before it was only in the early hours of the morning where you’d see them. But, I don’t believe in change simply for change sake and Tasmania is isolated and different, they’re parochial, they’re like another country and just because something works on the mainland it’s not a guarantee it will work here.
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Just looking at various videos of the bulletin on YouTube and your right a polish up would probably be sufficient enough. I would also add a new background that replaces the blue one as there didn’t appear to be many wide shots of the set anyway just the dull blue background. A dirt cheap improvement that would freshen things up a bit.
It’s not change for change sake at all. There is money to be made by aligning closer with the 7 brand.
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They’re already making money, Southern Cross Austereo as their parent brand might also be hesitant after their radio rebrands haven’t been received as well as they’d like too.
There’s no doubt 7’s a bigger brand but Southern Cross themselves are already a major brand too. WIN persist with their own branding because they see value in it. They don’t call themselves WIN Ten and they definitely don’t call themselves Ten.
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No one said SC is not making money. But as FTA viewing nosedives so does revenue. And that’s when cost saving measures and brand evaluations which can save money and bring about increased revenue (i.e. riding the coat tails of the very strong 7 brand) come into play.
Nothing stays the same forever.
And as SC Tasmania’s ad revenue declines year on year - they will be looking or synergies with their parent network and savings. And my guess is with the Nine brand rolling out basically nationwide now - Seven would be putting pressure on Prime7 and SC to a dos the 7 brand in full and offering few incentives such as shared marketing and publicity costs and ad rates package deals.
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I guess I don’t think a Nine News Tasmania set is at the works. Should they do, SCTV would’ve close down the Launceston studios (as well as its makeshift plasma set in Hobart) and centralise production to Melbourne with another Jo presenting the news and TAS local windows.
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[quote=“ando9185, post:595, topic:239, full:true”]
Or changing it back to a red background! No need for a new set, just alternate between blue and red every few years.
[/quote]Brand new set and complete refresh is definitely coming after much speculation over the years. Works have already begun (as you can tell 
).
Out with the old. Watch this space…
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That doesn’t sound 2017. I think the idea of a local service for locals resonates better.
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But I like Peter Murphy
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I agree with you - but you know what I mean with umbrella brands.
There is certainly gain to be had by introducing the red 7 along SC wording or lettering.
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I don’t think they are re branding to Seven News.
The comment about a re brand was a post by someone in response to the picture SC News posted with the #achangeiscoming" hashtag.
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Regardless of whether or not the name of the news service/station gets changed, I’m going to guess that Tasmania’s Southern Cross News will probably get new graphics and Seven News’ 2016 update to the theme music when the new set launches.
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Also worth looking at the caption of this photo at https://www.instagram.com/p/BWONBL-FEX1/?taken-by=sxnewstas
https://www.instagram.com/p/BWONBL-FEX1/?taken-by=sxnewstas
When first started at TNT9 this area has an array of telecine units. Soon after it became a production edit room with several 1" tape machines where I recorded shows like Quiz Quest hosted by Tim Lester and Night Tracks hosted by Mike Lunn. The room then transitioned to a non-linear edit suite making commercials and other local shows. From this week it’s a temporary location for @sxnewstas News Ingest. Stay tuned, something big’s coming.
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I’m liking this build up.
If you’re going to keep things the same for 20 years at a time, make sure to do things right when you do change.
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Hopefully HD is part of this upgrade.
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I can just imagine it…
“Live from our Tasmanian Headquarters, This is Southern Cross News in High Definition with Jo Palmer”
Now that would be an historic day for Tasmanian TV news!
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Accompanied by upconverted graphics and a rear-projection backdrop…
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