Some of today’s discussion on here has (on the face of it) been silly & seems quite illogical (but I have quickly tried to catch up so may have missed some details here or there).
It’s a more difficult calculation now compared to when there was a 30-minute metro bulletin on the same channel (and now with Ten’s poorer rating programmes), but the fact is WIN are regularly padding out their 30 minutes with irrelevant local rubbish (tree fell over somewhere, etc.) and 90 minutes of Ten + WIN news is too long, especially from 17:00.
There wouldn’t be a huge additional effort/expense for WIN to produce a composite Eyewitness News bulletin instead (and yes, replacing the Ten Eyewitness News bulletin from the state capital); the presenters have to read more story intros but most of those stories would come from Ten’s reporters around the country and that content is the bulk of the time in a news bulletin (where appropriate they could also include stories from other WIN reporters around the country too).
Ten Canberra used to do so (until the station was bought by Southern Cross who killed it off a while later), SC7 still do it now and NBN9 have been doing so for how long (before being bought by Nine)?
But (as has also been said here plenty of times) WIN are stuck in the past & refuse to change, so eventually they’ll have no choice but to start cancelling their local news bulletins (as SC Ten & even Prime7 did before them).
Considering WIN’s history it’s amazing how much wasted effort they put-in to their silly cover-ups/rebranding their affiliation partner’s content (pissing off that partner in the process) rather than doing what’s needed to come closer to matching their metro counterparts.
I can only speculate comments about WIN’s owner are true and he’s not only insisting on sticking with the WIN brand, the huge solid logo obscuring programme text, but also behind the old fashioned local-only news, disinterest in social media, etc., but if true it’s a sad thought that nothing will improve until he’s gone from the company (and no, I’m not wishing anything bad on anyone).
I’d rather WIN got out of the past, did what’s necessary and made good composite bulletins which would have a better chance of keeping regional TV news jobs viable, but sadly it looks like that’s not going to happen.
I’d suggest against making any changes yet - give the competition time in the market and see what happens with the ratings.
WIN gets a lift out of being the best of a limited bunch in a lot of markets and probably doesn’t get a ‘lift’ from lead-ins like the metros do - competition will threaten this
Cable is dying slowly in the US, but free to air is actually regaining in some aspects, thanks in part to the fact that people will watch FTA when there’s nothing left to stream. FOX’s Empire and NBC’s This is Us are examples of the networks offering up unique programming and being rewarded with decent viewership.
As soon as sport leaves cable sports channels in the US (and Australia and the UK) for direct streaming options, cable will be a thing of the past.
It moved from an long standing time of 6pm, so that was always going see a viewer shift.
The time of 5.30 did not capitalize on the people used to tuning in a 5, and also started after the competing shows on the other networks.
It also meant the bulletin hadn’t finished before viewers might want to switch to Southern Cross. A 5pm start would allow viewers to watch the full bulletin and then watch another news bulletin if they wish.
It was barely given a chance to find its own audience - it was really only a matter of weeks before it was cut down to a local only 30 minute bulletin. We all know that viewer habits take far longer than that to change.
The fact the WIN persevered with the composite bulletin for so long as a Nine affiate shows that it can be viable.
I’m glad WIN News dominate the ratings Monday in Canberra. 9 is going to have to work hard to gain viewers - and that means including the quality - and that means competition - which is always good. Hopefully both remain in a tight fight - and competitive,
As of tonight, WIN News Illawarra will have a weather presenter: Tanya Dendrinos, who has been presenting forecasts for the Victorian bulletins since September 2016 and was a reporter for the Illawarra bulletin before that.
If I’m not mistaken, this marks the end of nearly 18 years (well, I’m sure the last weather presenter that WIN News Illawarra had was Nathan Wood who left in May 1999) of the weather on WIN News Illawarra being read by the newsreader. Obviously, this move by WIN is in response to next Monday night’s launch of Nine News Illawarra which will have a pre-recorded weather segment presented by Gavin Morris from Newcastle.
Seems odd to have a “new” face launch on a Wednesday. Seems like a decision decided at 7.02pm on Monday.
Phil Diamond, while based in Wollongong, did the weather for the Riverina and Central West bulletins (but yes, not the actual Illawarra bulletin) up until sometime around 2002/2003.
The addition of the weather presenter and the revamped, more detailed report certainly boosts the bulletin and adds value. They even did a cross to Dendrinos during the first segment because of a significant weather event during the past 24 hours. There is a more parochial feel to WIN News with this change and the “open mic” segment.
The bulletin will always feel clunky because of the way it’s produced and pieced together. It’s quite obvious, to me anyway, the weather was pre-recorded even if the presenters try to fake interaction. I think WIN’s effort to appeal to locals will beat whatever Nine can dish up with their insufficient, token eight minutes of local news in a composite bulletin.
Wish I could’ve recorded some vision but I saw it at a relative’s house. Perhaps someone else caught it. I’m rarely impressed by anything WIN does but I think they’re making a decent effort.
Aerials are actually increasing in the US for the first time in a very long time due to cord cutting. Plus streaming network TV requires a cable subscription in the US making aerials more necessary.
Unfortunately it also adds cost, which a Ten affiliate will have trouble sustaining long-term.
Come on, really?
WIN’s been padding out their 30 mn forever. What percentage of viewers are going to routinely watch 90 mn of news from 17:00?
Once 9News sorts out their teething issues, their bulletins bed down properly and after time for viewing habits to change (which admittedly can be years), WIN News will die.
Plus there’s the talk of Prime7 upping their news efforts; if they pan out, WIN will be desperately trying to survive.
The question is which local news bulletins will WIN kill first (and yes that can just be because of the lower revenue now they’re a Ten affiliate).
Given the local content grid - they are at the point where they would still need to service any market they dropped local news from, with at least short updates.
I think the minimal incremental costs will save all of them or none of them. I think the next moves you’ll see will be things like having Paul Taylor do all of the Queensland bulletins, maybe moving WIN News Tasmania to Wollongong.
My further crazy prediction is that WIN want to buy Ten - axing local news right now will likely increase backlash to the media reforms they need to make that happen.
Tanya Dendrinos was already presenting weather reports for WIN’s regional Victoria news bulletins. Where is there additional cost?
The ratings tell us WIN viewers were quite happy to watch 90 minutes of news from 6pm before the affiliation switch.
I’m not that confident Nine’s composite bulletin is going to resonate with regional viewers, particularly in a market like Wollongong. Nine’s Sydney bulletin has been piped into the Illawarra since the mid '80s. It is as much an institution in that area as it is in Sydney. SC Nine will face a backlash from viewers upset at the loss of the Overton read bulletin from next Monday because viewers will quickly realise they’re getting a second rate product.
Southern Cross Tasmania is the highest rating station in the nation. And their news is the highest rating news in Australia (rating share) clearly they take it for granted and are complacent
Nine’s regional news studio is going to be completely different than the national one, I don’t understand why they just don’t use their national studios and just do the regional news from there