Having said what I said above, I just remembered that the ABC NSW team has a weekend slot open (as Jeremy Fernandez is moving to NC), I would’ve thought Bath might’ve been a candidate for that role as well as the main understudy for Juanita, as that role has higher ratings and better reputation than most commercials (including 10).
Very interesting to see her move to 10 in any cases. I would think she might be used for other platforms and that the weekend news is just a placeholder.
@SydneyCityTV would be very excited by this announcement.
I don’t but I fear anything they attempt will be abandoned when it doesn’t show immediate results just like the other occasions they’ve invested in news. If they can’t show patience and some commitment to the product for longer than six months, they may as well spend the money reclaiming The Simpsons and scheduling that across the schedule.
I fear traditional television viewers will be wary of Ten considering past failures. I know I’d rather watch ABC News channel than be annoyed by Ten’s poorly produced Sydney bulletin at 5pm these days.
I don’t think it’s the same Ten that we knew from the news revolution days.
Management is different and as we have seen, they aren’t rushing anything and are taking their time to slowly rebuild their news team again.
Definitely signs of change. They can’t have persuaded Lisa Wilkinson, Jennifer Keyte, Emma Lawrence and Peter Van Onselen to jump ship and other journalists to join/rejoin the network if they’re haven’t got a long term vision. Certainly 10 haven’t blinked yet when it comes to news.
The average viewer won’t care that Ten is “under new management”. They have entrenched habits when it comes to news and current affairs consumption. It will take a lot to break those habits and entice those viewers so Ten had better be working on something special. I can’t say the “Ten News First” branding gimmick inspires me with confidence.
Hoping Bath doesn’t give up the ABC job considering the track record Ten has in enticing talent from other networks and then cutting them loose when it all gets too hard.
It may not matter to the average viewer, but it clearly matters to the venerable roll call of presenters and journalists that are making the move to 10.
Obviously they see something, or know something, that we don’t and that has filled them with enough confidence to make the leap to the “poorest network in the country.”
You also don’t see the abandonment of staff like with 7 and 9… 10 have been quite stable in the past 12 months.
That’s probably cause they have less work to do at 10. Seven and Nine News produce so much news content it must be too much on some people so they leave.
Exactly. The new recruits are obviously being sold a solid product or they wouldn’t be signing on.
It’s interesting the number of members who constantly whinge and bitch on here that 10 need to invest in news and as soon as they start to, the same members continue to whinge.
To build the 10 news brand, they need talent. They’ve now got plenty of it.
Immediately after reading the article in the paper (Speaking of which, where did they seem to get “2014 was the last time Seven News Sydney won the ratings battle against Nine” from?), I instantly thought “Media Spy will be whipped into a frenzy over this” and wasn’t proven wrong!
Kind of surprised that Chris Bath went with Ten though. As it’s already been pointed out, aren’t ABC News NSW possibly looking for a new Friday/Saturday presenter with Jeremy Fernandez moving over to the News Channel next year?
That said, I guess it may explain (at least partially) why we won’t see Bathie involved with the ABC’s NYE 2018 coverage. During October & November, I’d imagine that many people on this forum would’ve been wondering whether we’ll get a New Years Eve Bath after her role in the Invictus Games coverage!
I agree, although surely Lisa Wilkinson would most likely be the lead star of any Federal Election coverage from 10 News First? They’d be idiots not to build on Wilkinson’s experience of presenting election coverage for Nine IMO!
Indeed. As much as it pains me to say this, probably less than 100k Sydney viewers will watch Chris Bath present 10 News First on Saturday & Sunday nights.
Personally I think @SEQTelevision would be even more excited than me!
Especially when it comes to their absolutely pathetic weather coverage (which yes, is even worse than Nine’s) but don’t get me started on that again…
This guy gets it. Ten might have Chris Bath, but Nine still have a whole stable of familiar faces (not just when it comes to the presenters, but reporters too) the other three main news services in Sydney should be envious of.
Disagree. I’d have Bath front election coverage. Her political experience far outweighs Wilkinson’s. Wilkinson can stick to the fluffy celeb interviews.
I think this is good get. She will bring confidence back to the brand, but I would rather read the headline ‘Ten Expands News Resources’ in newsroom across the country first.
The Network 10 news team is growing, with the appointment of Chris Bath – one of Australia’s most respected news and current affairs presenters and seasoned journalists – as national weekend news presenter.
Bath’s extensive reporting and presenting experience, coupled with her honesty and integrity, makes her one of Australia’s most trusted news presenters.
Bath will join 10 early next year and will report to network director of news content Ross Dagan. In addition to presenting 10 News First every Saturday and Sunday, she will be contributing to other Network 10 programmes and platforms.
Dagan said: “Chris is one of Australia’s most respected news presenters. Her formidable journalistic credentials and decades of presenting experience are welcome additions to our already impressive line-up of presenters for 10 News First across the country.
“Beyond that, she’s a fantastic person. They’re qualities we value highly at 10.”
Bath’s remarkable career in journalism includes 20 years at Seven Network – where she presented Seven News and hosted Sunday Night from its launch - plus had stints at Prime TV and NBN Television. Bath has anchored the coverage of some of the biggest events in the world including rolling news coverage of many elections, breaking news stories, Royal weddings and Olympic Games.
Bath said: “I’ve been a visitor to Network 10 these past few years and have always loved the friendly, upbeat vibe of the place, so I’m really excited to be officially a permanent part of the team.”
Bath currently presents Evenings with Chris Bath on ABC Radio Sydney, Canberra and NSW Monday to Thursday evenings.
Seven and Nine News produce so much news content it must be too much on some people so they leave.
