Ten News First Content and Appearance (2015-Sept 2020)

Seems they’ve started posting content again to YouTube, but only on weekdays.

Most videos still have quite low viewership but a small handful of recent ones have done okay, e.g 5.8k views for MasterChef winner video.

It’s a shame we can’t have a skyline angle like this, obviously these days it’d be a screen, but it’s so simple and much nicer looking than the tight shots or the lower shots seen on every news service now. I think everyone is getting over seeing the screens, I’d love to see a network do a massive wrap around that you don’t see the edges of. ATV could do it best with the smaller studio space and less wide angles.

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Last night’s opener in Sydney:

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If they could convert that sofa into a multi-piece kit with the cushioned seating being removable, it would work so much better.

It looks great, I get that it’s a multi-purpose set but just can’t help but feel they don’t make use of the couch area enough during the news to differentiate their studio coverage from the other networks.

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Would be neat to see a few sitdown interviews with Sandra during the bulletin, using the couch area. Would be a nice little touch. Of course given the current climate, this is unlikely.

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I agree, the couch is big enough to have a studio first though - either a reporter or expert / politician etc.

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I agree with you. I suggested this a while back but someone said it would be inappropriate to be on a couch during a news bulletin but I disagree.

We had a sneak peak at what it would look like back when 10 were having major technical issues with graphics and Sandra and Matt had to present from the couch, and that looked fantastic!

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Yes, I think I remember. If I recall, there were a few members that were suggesting that featuring couch interviews would be inappropriate for a flagship bulletin. I disagree. 10 has always been different, 10 needs to stay clear of the dated formula 7 and 9 use.

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Especially since they’re doing a 90 minute bulletin, it could be a good way to add value during that time to go more in depth and something less formulatic with just reading an intro and throwing to a pre-prepared package.

Sandra has shown shes a great interviewer and in live situations, give her some freedom to do that and I’m sure it will be a great addition to the news.

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Really? I would suggest that 10 News First Sydney needs to adopt at least some of the better elements of our two highest rating TV news services if they want more viewers themselves.

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But 7 and 9 don’t offer anything at all that is worth replicating? 10 should stick with differentiation in regards to production values. Remember, 10 are focused on improving their viewer retention throughout the late evening and into the night, rather then compete directly with 7 and 9 - and this strategy is working.

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Has anyone actually thought that the reason why 10 News First ratings are low is because… it’s at 5:00pm?

It’s an inconvenient time for most people to tune into a news bulletin considering most normal people finish work at 5:00pm then have to commute home.

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Agreed.

And it hasn’t made any serious attempts with it’s 6pm bulletin, especially promotion wise.

But 10 don’t need too. The 6pm portion of the bulletin acts as a bridge between 5pm and The Project, with the goal of retaining as many viewers as possible. Their plan is working.

I do think 10 News First as a whole needs more promotion though.

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My views are probably different to others but there is no incentive for me to turn over to 10 for news.

They have nothing in early morning, breakfast, midday, afternoon or late news bulletins on offer. There is also no online news website and pretty average social media operations. Why would I rely on them when there is 7 News for example which offers all of the above.

10 isn’t a reliable source for me.

Again, because its NOT a 6pm bulletin. Its a 5pm bulletin that goes for 90 minutes.

You don’t see The Project advising a start time of 7pm when it starts at 6;30pm

You don’t see Sunrise, Breakfast and Today advertising a start time at 7am.

If 10 ever did decide to include a sit down interview in studio with Sandra on a regular basis, it could be a good idea to put that in the 6pm portion of the bulletin. It would then give viewers a reason to watch 10 at 6 as it would provide a point of difference to 7 and 9.

So the 6pm portion would still start with a recap of the headlines etc so new viewers are up to date with the headlines, but then transition into a longform interview.

With Ten recently deciding to shift their focus on an “entertainment network” strategy under the leadership of ViacomCBS and with a Family Feud revival (complete with updated set - a bit too much effort just for a few specials IMO) about to be trialed in primetime, you really have to wonder how long news will continue to air during the 6pm half hour.

I’m personally not sure if one can say their plan is really working when the 6pm half hour of 10 News First very rarely or never makes the OzTAM Top 20 programs of the day/night when the 5pm hour is there regularly and even The Project 6.30pm sometimes scrapes in!

It’s performing significantly better in the ratings, including in retention, than the gameshows at a significantly lower cost. So, it’s doing what they wanted.

I agree that they have an issue with trust- because of the constant cuts to news in the past, viewers have become less reliant on 10 News. They need to (and are in the process of) rebuilding that. But, in Queensland for example, if I want news without the sensationalism and consumer reports, I watch 10. That’s the incentive for me.