I suspect there are and this is going to be a major hurdle.
Ideally they need to work out a way for WIN to get some revenue from streaming.
My plan would be:
Identify the user’s location - using the standard geo-location tools and also user accounts (like 9Now) with a postcode attached.
With Ten’s stream capable of showing different ads online to what is on TV, ads can then be tailored to a user’s location. WIN can then sell ads to be shown during streaming in their regions. Obviously a percentage of the sale of those ads goes to Ten. Likwise, Ten can sell national ads to be shown in WIN regions and WIN gets a percentage of the revenue of those ads.
With this, viewers can choose to watch a stream from a different state capital, but they are still shown advertising local to them.
The only local streaming is WIN news bulletins. Any other changes WIN make do not get streamed unless WIN want to invest in streaming themselves (and if they do, they should do so using the same Ten platform for consistency). Streaming on WIN news is additional to the main stream - so views have the option of watching any WIN news bulletin or the Metro bulletin.
WIN News goes online through a new TEN News website. WIN still produce their news, but full bulletins and individual stories are published online. All Australian News could also go on the website. AAN could even be broadcast on One in Metro areas branded as Regional Australia News. Along with simple branding changes to their on-air look and virtual sets, a TEN/WIN “partnership” could use WIN’s presence in almost all regional markets to claim to be Regional Australia’s most comprehensive news service.
This could be implemented regardless of who buys Ten. To have the best chance of success, Ten need’s to have a good relationship with WIN and they need to work together to deliver the best possible product - even if this means Ten making the occassion concession to please WIN.
I honestly can not see the TEN brand going away - even if Bruce took 100% control.
Yes his ego is at stake - clearly - well know that.
But the WIN brand is not known in 65% of the country - and is not known where 75% of ad revenue is generated. I can;ts ee McDonalds, harvey Norman, Telstra, Wollies, NAB, ANZ and Qantas racing to buy ads on WIN in Sydney and Melbourne.
It’s not known overseas where Ten does business with Fox, CBS and others.
The Ten brand is known in 100% of the nation.
The Ten brand is associated with Neighbors, The Simpsons, Eyewitness News, Masterchef, Number 96, Melrose Place, The Project, The Bachelor and some of the most iconic Aussie TV shows for 5 decades or more.
At best, WIN is an affiliate group - known for carrying someone else programmers and changing those deals every 10-20 years.
The WIN Brand will not be seen nationwide - the economic fallout would be huge.
Ten is also ready suffering form an identity crisis - the solution is to not dump a well known and loved national brand with a 50 year (or more) history and replace its its a regional TV affiliate brand,
I hope you’re right & the saner voices will prevail, but…
McD, Hardly Normal, Telstra, Woolies, NAB, ANZ, QANTAS, etc. already deal with all the affiliates and don’t care about their branding; they care about ratings & only for getting their ads seen (and how much each timeslot/programme is worth).
If enough people keep watching the programming despite mappy, the companies will keep buying ads, as they do now in the regional areas where Bruce’s ego is already inflicting that unpleasant branding.
Overseas companies couldn’t care less (just as Bruce doesn’t have to see mappy, etc. for the half a year he’s in Bermuda).
Still, I hope such a stupid rebranding doesn’t happen, but I wouldn’t assume it won’t if Gordon gets control of Ten.
We in Adelaide saw what happened under WIN on nine. It lost market share and became a joke in the joke. Which it still hasn’t got back even after 9 Australia took over in 4 years ago. Damage to TEN brand will be huge if he takes control.
Remember Angus and Robertson? Dick Smith? Australian Television Network? Still The One? All major brands which have gone disappeared. It would be a surprise for a little while but then soon enough forgotten. I wouldn’t be ruling it out, but I am also living in Tasmania where Ten branding only really appeared a decade ago with the introduction of TDT.
Really, if Bruce owns it, he can brand it however he wants. He could call it “Bruce” if he wants. How many people thought Dave was a stupid name for a channel in the UK? Or the name Gary for milk. Pretty much anything is possible and can happen.
I’d assume most who have heard of WIN would just wonder why there’d be two channel Nines.
If I were buying Ten, I’d negotiate with the ACMA to use the 4x LCN. Ditch everything about Ten and start from scratch. Sure, there’s the negative of jokes about their ratings being in 4th place - but it would put them in the middle of the channel list - and let them brand without any baggage - even if that was taking on a brand like CBS.
Angus and Robertson’s owner was liquidated, all stored closed and shifted to online alongside Bookworld.
Dick Smith Electronics went belly-up, liquidated and all of its stores closed. No new brand that absorbed DSE stores, complete death (now only limited online shopping through Kogan).
Australian Television Network was a dying name originating from ATN-7 Sydney that was succeeded by the colloquial name “Channel 7” and later the official name “Seven Network”. An official switch to what the public had been calling it for decades.
Still The One was Nine’s slogan that was removed when they were no longer Number 1 in ratings. Perfectly logical.
These scenarios are arguably quite different to Ten’s current situation. In the event that Ten is sold, it will likely either continue to operate as it has been, or be absorbed into a new brand.
Ten Network Holdings has failed though. It could be sold off, it could be split up, it could be liquidated. It could also continue as is. Lots of possibilities.
WIN Corporation is also a company though with their own brands and if they become the new owners, they don’t have to stick with the Ten that we know. I agree it’s unlikely to happen but I don’t think it can be ruled out completely.
I remember when Bruce took 100% control of Channel Nine in Perth and Adelaide. He never renamed them WIN, but you almost always saw the WIN name associated with it.
If the skidmarks/shitstains were off the table then a rebrand wouldn’t bother me TBH. Sad for Ten, but not impacting viewers.
I’d actually be hoping that the "water"marks do become a lot more reasonable if there was a Bruce ownership. No need to cover up your own brand or if there were two brands, surely he could supply himself a clean feed.
I remember that Nine News Adelaide under WIN TV always ended with VO: “Nine Adelaide is owned and operated by WIN, Australia’s largest commercial television network.”
I suspect Ten already provide WIN with clean feeds (except for that weekly Wednesday arvo Melbourne thing), but it’s a bit more effort & so more expense to properly do things, so huge solid logos are what is being done for One & 11, while there’s just no reason on the main channel other than Bruce must think the transparent watermark thing is too subtle.
If he thinks that, at the very least expect huge solid logos on all the Ten channels if he gets control.
