Kuttsywood's Couch

The 2012 Vision: the explanation...

2011-12-31T23:25:00.001+10:00

Happy new year, and welcome to our 4th birthday, at Kuttsywood's Couch. The gift? The return of a regular longform blogging series, for the first time in two years, starting in February, called: "The 2012 Vision". What is "The 2012 Vision", you may ask: read on, to see the upcoming highlights (our preview reel if you will) for the beginning of 2012...
The 2012 Vision: The 2012 Vision series, is about looking back twenty years: back to 1992, where three major events occured: and we will be looking in depth into them.

February 22: Daylight Saving (looking into the QLD 1992 DST referendum on it's 20th anniversary, and the lesser known Western Australian 1992 DST referendum, along with what has kept the issue in the limelight in the last few years) The Twitter hashtag for post one is #2012VisionDST

June: South Bank Parklands 20th birthday, including, a new Expo, Brisbane Style post (the first one since 2008) focusing on what stayed at South Bank, after the carnival was over.

September: The weekend to remember: First Broncos premiership in the NRL.

20 Years Of Hell: Along with these, we will also celebrate the 20th birthday of Brisbane Extra with a post not just looking back at the genesis of Extra, but with a look back on the struggles, that 7 had in the late 1990's and into the early 2000's, trying to counter Rick Burnett, along with the introduction of Gold Coast local news, by Nine in 1996, the bungles: like the late 90's Prime/BTQ co-funded Gold Coast news service, followed by hour-long Local Edition, and the missed opportunities: like Seven not trying to woo Rick Burnett across to 7 in 2006, and how 7 missed the boat on local content (and a major score against 9) with the end of Extra in 2009. It's a patchwork quilt, that makes up Seven's "20 Years of Hell at half past five", and it is a great description of the 20 year journey, and it's due on February 6.

The Race Begins: GC 2018 Commonwealth Games TV rights: Also upcoming, is a post on the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games, talking about the biggest question, that hasn't been asked: Australian broadcast rights, and how the upcoming Rio 2016 Summer Olympics Australian broadcast rights race, could decide who can afford to get Commonwealth Games rights, along with the technical and broadcast needs the Gold Coast will need to fulfil, before 2018, a task even more important, especially for the winner of the Australian broadcast rights (as they'd be the host broadcaster, who would be supplying a feed to the rest of the Commonwealth.)

Kuttsywood's Couchcushion is not being left out either, with the DST Updates continuing, until April, along with a new segment, for the duration of the QLD election campaign when the election is called.

Election 2012: Bound for George St
A weekly look, at the tweets that will shape the QLD state election in 2012: (aka #qldvotes) along with a editorial on the issue of the week. The week after election night, we will review each network's coverage of the tally room, and give it a mark out of 10, along with a election wrap.

So, that's the start of 2012 in a nutshell. It's a new day, it's a return to what we do best and most importantly, its a show of what we can do as people. Keep watching. There is plenty coming up...

The Toasted Question: 4 months on.

2011-12-07T12:57:00.000+10:00

Around 4 months ago, I posed a question to Network Ten on this blog, just days after the announcement of Ten's 2012 upfronts, and the announcement of "Breakfast" (Ten's much vaunted return to adult-focused breakfast television) concerning the future of Toasted TV. I have not been alone in asking these questions, of what Ten is doing with Toasted TV, once the Breakfast launch happens.
The original post's inspiration, came from a forum thread on Serebii.net (one of the the world's most popular Pokemon fansites), entitled "Pokemon in Australia", which saw Australian Pokemon fans, asking these same questions as I was.

Since the posting of the original "Toasted question", the Pokemon Black and White anime has premiered in Australia but, a timeslot change by Ten, back a hour (from 7:30am on Saturday, to 6:30am on Saturday) has got these fans who will likely be a force, when Ten makes it's intentions known, riled up. Ten's problem is, that those Pokemon fans, have now been blended into this large group of people mad at Ten's 2011 misjudgements, such as not fast-tracking Glee past end of ratings, axing programs like Video Hits, Sports Tonight and Ten's late night news bulletins, and not letting programs (first 6:30 local news, followed by moving George Negus to 6:30) thrive in their own time.

Why mention fast-tracking?
Why I mentioned fast-tracking of programming, and why does it have relevance to this situation? The problem is that for example: Toasted TV is 32 episodes behind the US when it comes to the current season of Pokemon, something made worse, by Ten not making a attempt to catch up with America, by not switching it to weekdays. Another factor is episode editing, to try and fit in more space for pretaped segments. Because of this, people thus, are more inclined to download episodes from overseas, as a result of both Ten editing episodes, and the fact that Ten aren't screening it as often as fans want, which if it were done on the previous schedule, pre-Saturday move: which was airing 4/5 episodes per week, would obviously discourage downloading. This situation wouldn't affect the common viewer of course, but it's the true fans of the Pokemon anime, who are considering downloading, instead of watching a program with a uncertain future, along with a time-slot that is unsuitable for not just the fans, but the common viewers too. If Ten had looked at fast-tracking Pokemon episodes, it will not just be a benefit for viewers: but for second-run rights holder, Cartoon Network.

Cartoon Network: their problems.
CN has had the pay-tv rights to Pokemon for as long as people remember. The problem with their deal is, they can't air new Pokemon episodes, until after Ten airs them, hence, why it took a year, for the Sinnoh League Victors season to end up on Cartoon Network, and why it will likely take twelve months or more for B/W season to premiere on CN in Australia: eighteen months after CN in the US debuted the B/W season. the airdate would be earlier, if Ten fast-tracked episodes. The other factor in any fast-track push by Ten, would be the sales of the season sets for the earlier Pokemon seasons (with little to no promotion, outside the fanbase, nor on Toasted TV, might I add), brought out in the last 12 months. These DVD releases have now only just caught up with the anime, and are likely to become a alternative for the true fans, as they are commercial free, and they can re-watch their favorite episodes, including the older episodes pre-Sinnoh that are no longer re-run.

Is the end nigh?
It's a case now, of Ten announcing to their loyal fanbase, straight up, about their plans for Toasted TV. Especially, as some of these people have watched since the days of Jade and Ryan, on Cheez TV. The clock is ticking, to get their plans laid, for Toasted TV next year, and letting people know about them, and if a channel change does happen, Ten needs to change it's attitude towards the product, and people might think twice about changing habits, and stop considering downloading. If the rumor is true, and Ten indeed launches Breakfast in late February: then Toasted TV viewers only have two months to campaign to Ten, to save "their" show from the axe, or at least get Ten to give the program new life on Eleven, and to listen to the viewers qualms, such as the need to fast-track content, and the ceasing of editing shows (as multichannels can have a PG rating all day (a decision made as part of the recently updated FTA Code of Practice): something GO! uses well, with content that used to be bypassed or heavily edited for airing on the main channel on Kids WB, now airing in the 4pm timeslot on GO!.) along with the addition of some rerun content that fits the PG rating. It is indeed time for the fans of the shows on Toasted TV, the people who depend on it (websites like PokemonAus, Cartoon Central Australia and Bulbagarden), and most importantly the casual viewers of Toasted TV, to step up to the plate. Viewers want answers: Ten has the answers, to a "Toasted question" that people are only now beginning to realise about how it should be asked: how much there is to lose if Toasted TV is, axed, with no replacements on either One or Eleven. Both Channel Ten and Toasted TV have Facebook pages to leave messages on, and Ten also has a twitter page. It's about time Ten came clean about their plans for Toasted TV past February 24 2012: everyone (not just Pokemon fans, but fans of other cartoons such as Beyblade and Bakugan, that Toasted TV airs) are holding their collective breath.

The five factors 7 needs, to own the GC.

2011-11-13T10:26:00.000+10:00

Around this time two years ago, I came up with the original Kuttsy's Pitch, and mentioned the need for local news on the Gold Coast for Seven of being utmost. Just weeks later, 7 unveiled their new Surfers Paradise facilities, including bringing up the top brass from Sydney, and making one of those famous "Seven commitments" to viewers, about launching a Seven News service for the Gold Coast... eventually.

Times change, and the GC population grew, but what people were expecting in 2010, the concept of Seven re-launching a local news service on the Gold Coast, after a decade's absence: never happened, much like the un-realized concept of 7 attacking Extra head to head at 5:30 in 2001. Now it has come to this, these are what I believe are the five factors needed for Seven to successfully change news watching habits on the Gold Coast.

1.A better budget: Seven need to seriously invest on the Gold Coast. And by investment, I mean, investing in a proper studio facility, close to the Surfers Paradise newsroom, along with any new news bulletin being made to the highest quality as possible. By quality, I mean having it produced equal to or better than capital city standards, as this is what the GC deserves.

2. Investing in journalism: What Seven also needs to do with a high budgeted news service, on the GC, is to invest in the reporters to make a concept like what I am suggesting work, and get viewers testing their long held loyalties to Nine. Seven won a Walkley for a Gold Coast story in 2009, and 7 Brisbane journalists have been nominated for numerous stories, for this year's Walkleys. This is a classic case of successful journalism investment. Seven needs to have a newsroom on the Gold Coast that is much larger than the competition, while promoting the fact: to get people to make the switch.

3. Investing in news-breaking: Seven needs to really consider, looking towards investing in more live link equipment on the Gold Coast, to not just provide the alternative, but assist if a major news story breaks in Brisbane, by effectively moving all GC resources to Brisbane temporarily, in similar fashion to what Nine did, earlier this year during the floods in Brisbane, where Nine decided on diverting their Gold Coast resources, to provide backup to both Brisbane-based and interstate journalists and provide a second link facility in Brisbane, in case, the Mt Coot-tha based link trucks were unable to get to key southside locations, and this strategy was also used for the recent visit to Brisbane by the Queen: with the GC link truck being used, to assist with Nine's critically acclaimed coverage (9's didn't go out nationally and had outside anchoring, along with a stellar lineup, compared to 7's, which was anchored primarily from a studio and went out nationally).

4. Investing in a eye in the sky: Another thing Seven needs to seriously invest in, is a area Nine hasn't even thought of. A second Queensland-based helicopter, for news is a must. Seven have built a brand around helicopters in news, and the Gold Coast needs a news helicopter based in the city, as time is the essence for a good news service, and it can't be delivered by having to wait 30-40mins for a chopper to come from Brisbane every time a big story breaks on the GC that requires the use of a helicopter. A second helicopter will also mean, that a GC-based helicopter can always be on standby to used in Brisbane, when the main Brisbane helicopter is being used outside SEQ, and could be used to fulfill a role the 7 Brisbane chopper occasionally fills: police chase work (a double benefit, as news would get footage: police keeps better track of GC crime)

5. The timeslot investment: Seven needs to really consider the timing of any new Gold Coast bulletin. If 7 decided to air a Gold Coast bulletin at 6pm, like Seven already does for regional QLD, it could seriously cannibalize the Brisbane weekday 6pm news ratings for both 7 and 9. If 7 aired any new GC bulletin at 5pm to get the jump on Nine, it could have people still watching Nine afterwards. Thus, the only way to go on weekdays is a 5:30 bulletin, head to head. But, there is one slot Seven could really own: weekends. Currently, there is no weekend local news on the Gold Coast, and a comprehensive weekend bulletin at 6pm for the region could rate very well: and force Nine and others into action to launch local weekend news in the short term, to stop their Brisbane-focused bulletins hemorrhaging GC viewers, towards a local weekend service.

Once you solve the problems on the Gold Coast, and 7 somehow has a success: the other half of this concept, is to restore the balance in Brisbane, with a major attempt at local content, that is designed to "fight back" against the twenty years of pain that successive Brisbane program directors, and news directors have tried to solve at Seven Brisbane, and try and own 5:30 every day of the week, instead of just Saturday/Sunday. And it needs to start with 7 conducting viewer research on what SEQ viewers really want at half-past five. I'm sure that any viewer research will likely lead to two conclusions.
1. Gold Coast viewers want competition in local news.
2. Brisbane viewers want a return to some "normality" at 5:30.
And everyone knows what "normality" at 5:30 in Brisbane is (and was for eighteen years): having a choice, between local show and game show, something unrivalled elsewhere. Seven has had two and a half years to make changes, since the Extra axing, and the reaction towards it. It's a matter, of whether 7 wants to see real ratings and habit changes in Brisbane, or whether 7 actually likes being on the short end of the stick at half past five, for the last twenty years: however, Gold Coast news should be the first step towards turning the tide, at half past five, especially, as the marathon, towards another lofty goal has now started. In less than 2400 days, the Gold Coast will host the 2018 Commonwealth Games. I just hope we aren't still asking the question about the need for more competition in local news and more local bulletins for the Gold Coast in November 2017.

Kuttsywood's Couch's 4th annual guide to Daylight Saving FTA delays in QLD

2011-09-24T22:07:00.000+10:00

The fourth annual edition of the DST guide is here. It has been a proud tradition here since 2008, to let the viewers know of the delays they will recieve, during the six months of DST each year, as it should be our duty, until things change, and DST is reintroduced, statewide. But this year we have a little "helper". While this place generally lists events that have fixed dates, and fixed times, there have been times where rapid information is needed. Kuttsywood's Couchcushion will fill the gap, with a weekly DST update beginning Sunday October 2 (e.g. to, offer more detailed information, along with the 5:30 ratings segment, being rebooted in January next year.) It's this page's commitment to keeping QLD informed of the various delays, over the last four years, that is a key reason, why Daylight Saving, is still after nearly 20 years (the 20th anniversary of the last referendum on daylight saving in QLD, occuring on Wednesday February 22 2012), Queensland's talking point.

Network Ten/Southern Cross Austereo Ten
One: (Ch1 metro, Ch50 regional)
Channel schedule: running on QLD time. Any major events, keep eye on DST update.
Ten: (Ch10 metro, Ch 5 regional)
Breakfast (from January 2012) delayed by one hour unless breaking news, keep eye on DST update, when a launch date is confirmed.
Young Talent Time (from unconfirmed date in 2012) Just like in late 1988, YTT is delayed by one hour. The only differences are, that Ten no longer uses a "X" for a logo, and instead of Frank Lowy owning Ten outright, it's publicly traded on the ASX.
Ten News QLD: (90min 5pm bulletin weekdays) live.
National bulletins: (90min 5pm national weekend news, and soon to be phased out 6am/9am bulletins) delayed by one hour, unless breaking news.
6:30: It'll be 7:30 in Sydney, when it airs in QLD: delayed by one hour, unless breaking news.
Junior Masterchef: delayed by 1 hour.
The Biggest Loser: delayed by 1 hour, until end of DST.
7PM Project: delayed by one hour.
Eleven: (Ch11 metro: Ch 55 regional)
Channel schedule: run on QLD time, however Couch Time interstitial will be delayed by one hour, even though it is produced in SEQ.
Other things related to Network Ten:
Toasted TV: delayed by one hour until year's end, however: there will be a update on Kuttsywood's Couch (i.e. this blog) when Ten confirms the future of the program, going into 2012.
Nine Brisbane/WIN QLD
GEM (Ch 90 metro, Ch 80 regional)
Channel schedule: run on QLD time.
GO! (Ch 99 metro, Ch 88 regional)
Channel schedule: run on QLD time, however Kids WB presented segments on GO! are delayed by 1hr, not the cartoons.
Nine/Win/NBN (Ch 9 metro/Ch 8 regional)
Today/ACA/Morning News/4:30 newshour: delayed by 1 hour into QLD, unless breaking news.
Nine News Brisbane/9 Gold Coast News/Win News: live.
NBN News (Gold Coast only): delayed by one hour.
Sport (Cricket, Rugby World Cup, NRL Grand Final): refer to DST update
Any other changes: refer to DST update.
Seven/Prime7
Seven/Prime 7 main channel (Ch 7 throughout QLD, also on Ch6 on the Gold Coast)
Sunrise/TT/Morning News/4:30 news (hourlong on Prime7 GC, 1/2hr throughout QLD): delayed by 1hr unless breaking news: however TT is delayed by 23 and 1/2hrs in regional QLD except in Toowoomba.
Seven News Brisbane/Seven Local News: live, however 7News Brisbane is delayed 1/2hr into regional QLD except in Toowoomba (where 7News Brisbane airs live).
Seven News Sydney (airing on Prime7 Gold Coast): delayed by one hour.
X Factor: delayed by one hour, all voting closing times listed in Sydney time.
Sport (V8 Supercars/Tennis/Melbourne Cup): Refer to DST update.
7Mate: (Ch 73 throughout QLD, also on Ch 63 on the Gold Coast)
Channel schedule: runs on QLD time.
7Two: (Ch 72 throughout QLD, also on Ch 62 on the Gold Coast)
Channel schedule: runs on QLD time.
ABC TV:
ABC News 24 (Ch 24)
ABC News 24 schedule: runs on Sydney time, inc. live QandA episodes.
All other ABC channels (ABC1, ABC2/ABC4kids and ABC3)
Channel schedules: all on QLD time, with ABC1 News Breakfast being delayed, and episodes of QandA airing delayed, however, if major news breaks, ABC1 will relay ABC News24.
Other events:
Sydney NYE: check DST update for broadcaster details along with the Sydney City Council's NYE website, but the broadcast will be delayed by one hour as usual.
Digital switchover in regional QLD: Don't forget to switch over before December 6. Otherwise, one will not be watching delayed TV shows, but instead, be watching a lot of live static from what used to be regional QLD's analogue TV stations.

Kuttsy's Pitch 3: a news revolution.

2011-08-24T22:40:00.000+10:00

People thought, the cue was in the rack, after the second Kuttsy’s Pitch, in August last year. In, what’s become an annual tradition here, along with the DST guide, due in late September, Kuttsy’s Pitch, is an a long form experiment, where I delve into the problems of Seven, and their 5:30 pain in QLD, and try and “reinvent the wheel” by developing a wide ranging solution which could work in real life.

Note: these ideas are only theoretical.

This year, our solution, is inspired by two factors: 1. being the fact, that Seven don’t have local news on the Gold Coast (something we touched on briefly in the first Kuttsy’s Pitch in October 2009) and 2. being the fact, that Seven has local news in every regional market except Toowoomba (even more important, as QLD’s regional areas become digital TV-only on December 6). I want to take the idea, that Seven needs more local news in regional QLD, alongside local content in Brisbane, and a GC news service. Quite simply, I’m suggesting: a news revolution.

Ten tried to pull this same concept, earlier this year with a second news bulletin, against what has become two lightweight programs, especially in the case of Today Tonight, a far cry from it’s original incarnation thirty years ago, as a Queensland specific current affairs program, that actually reported current affairs. Ten’s concept failed, but saw the network move towards 90 minute news. In this version of a “news revolution”, we’ll apply it to Seven’s entire Queensland operation, and see what it can transform into, if given the opportunity: but it all starts with one change.

Deal: 5pm statewide. There is no mistaking, that Seven needs to take Deal, and change gears, after all, making only one change to the lead-in in three years, has weakened their position, while Nine have begun to win not just nights in Brisbane, but weeks. Why move Deal? Because the 5:30 slot will be revamped dramatically as part of this news revolution: and will impact on every corner of Queensland.

The 5:30 revolution: The key planks, to this are the introduction of local news on the Gold Coast, the introduction of a Brisbane-specific local product, and the resurrection of a QLD-specific edition of Today Tonight, which would air live at 5:30 into regional QLD, and air in Brisbane/Gold Coast live at 6:30pm, straight out of 6pm news, with the capability to not air Brisbane 6pm replay in regional areas, when big stories break.

1. Gold Coast News. It’s a known fact, that 7 have struggled on the Gold Coast, for as long as people have remembered. It’s also a known fact, that Nine dominates, and their news service, (which has been the only full local news bulletin servicing the area for the last decade, after regional broadcaster Prime axed their GC local news in 2000), is a ratings winner. Although Seven has moved from their old GC facilities at Ashmore to digital-ready facilities in Surfers Paradise, the need now is for a competing news service, for a city of 600,000: After all, the Sunshine Coast is half the size of the Gold Coast, and yet it supports two local news services, along with Seven’s regional production facilities.

2. The Brisbane 5:30 solution: 2012, is a major marking point for Seven Brisbane. Twenty years of hell at half-past five: Twenty years of trying to make a national gameshow work in Brisbane, first against Brisbane Extra/GC News, then after 2009, against national gameshow/GC News. The majority of that time, Seven has behind the eightball. Whether it was 7 putting Wheel Of Fortune against Extra, GSE in Extra’s offseason, Local Edition from 5pm-6pm, or Deal or No Deal, in that slot, Seven has not won a trick. What needs to happen is Seven finally admitting their mistakes, and finally restoring the balance, that was there, when Extra was facing off against Wheel, and later DoNd for all those years. The same balance (game show/local show) being tinkered with, is what sunk Local Edition in 2000. Hence why, Brisbane needs the 5:30 solution, as anything less, could sink their news: especially as Nine has made major inroads, with 7’s inaction.

3. Today Tonight QLD Mark 3: A major change for 7, will be the return of a QLD produced Today Tonight, to eliminate the delay, currently suffered, in regional QLD, when watching the east coast edition. Part of this will be the move to 5:30, leading into 7 Local News, and becoming Brisbane produced. To allow for this, the Brisbane 5:30 solution will not air live in Brisbane (being pretaped and sharing the same studio as TT), and that the QLD TT will also air live in Brisbane/GC straight after 7 News, with some SEQ specific stories, to differentiate from the regional flavour. The QLD’s voice slogan will remain, but will actually mean something, including more actual current affairs on the program.

However, the “news revolution” doesn’t end at 5:30. Brisbane’s 6pm, and the existing local news services will stay, however:

4. Seven Local News Toowoomba: The Toowoomba market, is the only submarket in QLD, without a 7 Local News bulletin. I believe the time is right, for Seven to introduce a bulletin in this market: especially after the events of January. A good reaction was received, after 7 expanded local news to Rockhampton in 2010, just before the flood disaster in the Fitzroy catchment. Seven needs to face WIN head to head in every market, and make them as competitive as the Sunshine Coast. But there is one more key ingredient to cement the success of the “news revolution”:

5. Introducing weekend local news to 7 Local News areas: This last step is critical. Weekend news, is something we take for granted in Brisbane. But what about in places like Cairns, who currently don’t get local weekend news, instead getting weekend news from 1500km away. What needs to happen is for the introduction of local weekend news, in every 7 Local News market, with Toowoomba getting weekend local news from day 1 of any new 7 Local News service, and the Gold Coast having their own dedicated weekend local news at 6pm, something that is a necessity, purely due to the size of the market. Weekend news in 7 Local news areas, would work like the weekday bulletins, but would have one statewide weather segment instead of 7 different segments, and a statewide national/world news window, leading into sport. Any Gold Coast weekend news, would be similar to the Brisbane weekend news, except for the lack of a Sunday flashback for GC viewers.

This news revolution, would be wide ranging, and would sow the seeds for a eventual move towards local presentation in the long term: as opposed to 7 bulletins being produced in Maroochydore, but the next need, within the next couple of years will be for a full replacement of the current facilities in Maroochydore, (possibly looking towards a larger complex, able to film three 7 Local News bulletins at once, to allow Cairns/Townsville to have a live bulletin alongside the Sunshine Coast, as opposed to only the SCoast bulletin being live, with all others pretaped, along with the sale of the existing site) as well as hiring more newsreaders, and journalists to fill the ranks (in turn securing a pathway for people, to move to metropolitan news, when the time is right). This is a change that needs to happen, to keep 7 #1, and to help assist when planning begins to replace, the generation that will be replacing most of the BTQ newsroom in a few years, and also Rob Brough in Maroochydore (i.e. getting the next generation started off now, to earn the experience people like Sharyn Ghidella had prior to joining metropolitan bureaus.) This style of planning won't just benefit 7, as it would turn 7QLD into what NBN in Newcastle always has been, a breeding ground for talent, that can go on to big things: (just ask Chris Bath, or Garry Youngberry: both NBN alumni), there only needs to be the will by people working at 7 to make things like this happen.

Ten in 2012: The Toasted question...

2011-08-21T12:12:00.002+10:00

"Capture the minds of children, and you'll have the adults forever"

I don't know who said that, or who made it so well known. But it is a poignent statement right now. Ten announced, at their launch on Wednesday night, their plan to shake up the breakfast market with a return to the adult breakfast genre, that Ten abandoned in late 1992, when the original Good Morning Australia ended (and the GMA title was given to a mid-morning program originally entitled "The Morning Show" with Bert Newton, that started that year, and ended in 2005) and Ten's reliance on the younger audience began. But, let's go with a brief history of this move by Ten, which began in early 1993 before we talk about the future.

What was the story? the shows Ten had in mornings prior to Toasted TV.
The first attempt at morning content catered at kids in the former Good Morning Australia slot itself by Ten (after all, Ten had previously, The Early Bird Show leading into GMA when it was a breakfast show, but it was at 6am), was the little remembered "first incarnation" of The Big Breakfast (with Tim Bailey, now Ten Sydney's weatherman, hosting) on Ten, (later to be better remembered as 7's post-Agro attempt at a hybrid of news/cartoons, which eventually led to Seven choosing news over cartoons in the morning) in 1993, followed by a time, where there was no program, then finally, in 1995, they launched a program, that they stuck with for ten years. Cheez TV, was the springboard, for Ten to take the ascendancy, after the failure of the Seven version of the Big Breakfast, along with Ten picking on the anime revolution, like Dragon Ball Z, Pokemon, Digimon and other shows that proved their worth for Ten (in ad spend, especially for products related to these programs) and sealed the overall quality of the content: Cheez TV was world class, especially in a era when pay TV in Australia was at it's infancy, and digital channels hadn't even been thought of. As time wound on, Cheez lost that "edge", ending with a bang, when Jade and Ryan left in December 2004, but the real end for Cheez was in August 2005 when Ten launched a new program, to replace the now hostless Cheez TV.

The Toasted era: 2005-today
Toasted TV started in August 2005, with high hopes. But, other than a production shift to Queensland, and to the Gold Coast's theme parks, along with a toning down of the "edginess" Cheez TV had, it wasn't recieved well by Cheez viewers, who longed for the stability of Jade and Ryan, as Toasted TV was stable for the first three years, then changed hosts, like one changes their underwear. Not only was presenter stability an issue, so was scheduling, along with the increase in the love for the old Cheez product by people reminiscing on their childhood, where there are now hundreds of groups and pages on Facebook dedicated to Cheez TV, shining it in a positive light, all saying that the current product was inferior, a "it was better in the good old days" reaction if you will, towards Cheez TV and Jade/Ryan, which leads us to today.

Wave bye-bye to Toasted TV for... Breakfast?
Ten's plan for 2012, will be to launch a three hour breakfast show entitled "Breakfast", hosted by Dr Andrew Rochford, and a female co-host to be announced closer to the program's start in January. There have been many a comment, on what Ten will do with Toasted TV, as their C/P content, (which is a legal requirement, that needs to be on the main channel) will likely move, to later in the day again. Specifically, there are two camps of people who have a vision, in what Ten should do with Toasted TV, when Breakfast is launched, either: a move to Eleven where it can be improved, or the unfortunate situation, of 10 axing Toasted TV, and risking that programs that were on Toasted TV the time of the axing, along with any back catalogue of cartoons that are still available, to Ten, if "Breakfast" tanks, and Ten retreats. I will detail each of these camps now:

Camp 1: Toasted TV moves to Eleven.
How this solution would work, would involve Ten replacing the reruns of series like JAG and MacGyver that Eleven airs in the morning with a rebooted Toasted TV, expanded to include a rerun of the previous night's episode of Neighbours, to try and emulate the success of Couch Time, Eleven's hosted lineup of older content (and first run episodes of Neighbours), with cartoons. It can be cheaply done, as Ten have invested in a set for Couch Time, in Ten's Brisbane studios, which can be used for Toasted TV, along with a move to a faster flowing live format (inc. social media, something Couch Time does very well, even possibly "viewers decides the lineup" events) instead of shooting at theme parks, weeks in advance, and fixed schedules.

Camp 2: Toasted TV is axed, to make way for "Breakfast"
How this solution would work, would be Toasted TV finishing up in December, then going into a "best of" season, until Breakfast launches. However, it won't turn up on Eleven, instead having all the rights to the various programs Toasted TV aired, that Ten hold, be sold off, along with the program being axed. This is one solution that Ten must avoid, as it could be detrimental, to any effort to promote Breakfast, but some content may get a new home. There is a major chance however, if the axing scenario were to play out, that some flagships of Toasted TV, may no longer be on FTA. Another consequence of a axing scenario, could be, if Breakfast is a failure, and Ten ends up re-introducing cartoons, some of those properties (particularly, Pokemon, and the Nickelodeon shows like Spongebob, which are likely to be valuable) may not be available for any new Ten children's product: and could hurt it's chances.

The main problem for Ten right now, is uncertainty concerning their childrens output. They need to confirm Toasted TV's future soon, as viewers could turn on Ten, if say, they did a switch like was done for Cheez TV to Toasted TV, (where one day it was unhosted Cheez, the next it was a hosted Toasted TV) for Toasted TV, to "Breakfast". There are even websites dedicated to guides for cartoons on Toasted TV e.g: Cartoon Central Australia has operated since Cheez's heyday, and will be likely to lose visitors, if suddenly, instead of Pokemon, or Avatar, there is news aimed at adults airing, without any due notice.

Australia gained a world champion in the Pokemon TCG this year in San Diego, and we have a popular Australian based Pokemon website to call our own, PokemonAus, what's going to happen, if fans (especially those fans who have been critical of Toasted TV stripping out the Sinnoh League Victors season, one episode at a time over the last 12 months, and Ten having no time frame for the Australian premiere of the new Black/White anime season that debuted in the US in February 2011, and in the UK in June 2011) are no longer able to see the Pokemon anime in Australia on FTA? Those same fans want to represent their country in the Pokemon Video Game World Championships, they want more events for the video game, and they can be vocal. That's the situation Ten needs to avoid, all these websites, currently promoting Toasted TV and all these loyal viewers, suddenly turning on Ten, and causing bad press for Breakfast.

It's not just a matter, of Ten putting a video up, or sending a tweet, or feeding the media, about their plans for Toasted TV. Unlike 2005, social media is now a large part of peoples lives. A bad decision can be panned by many, within minutes, not hours or days. Not to mention, places like PokemonAus, and TV Tonight who will end up having comments galore, when Ten announces what's going on with Toasted TV, from viewers from many backgrounds. It's just a matter of Ten not screwing up this tectonic shift, back into adult breakfast, by not catering for the Toasted TV viewership first.

The state of childrens television in 2011.

2011-04-30T19:52:00.000+10:00

Childrens television: a popular subject on this blog, especially as the most popular post in the history of this blog, was one on Brisbane's childrens TV history, and how it launched so many careers, published in September 2009. But I come here today, to explain what has gotten me to write this. Commercial childrens programming should be benefiting from the changes in technology, that have improved news, sport and drama: then why is it, that only one commercial network these days is investing in kids TV, that is educational, entertaining, and is not a gameshow?
I personally, started asking myself these questions, back in January 2010: when the Nine Network, gave the boot, to The Shak, and then after the final episode in April, the network decided to replace reruns, with new episodes of a gameshow Nine originally commissioned, for the period, where The Shak would be off-air in mid 2009, due to a casting change. But the big difference, with season 2 of Pyramid was the location: Instead of giving away trips to Gold Coast theme parks, they were giving away prizes for various Sydney attractions... for, the program had been shifted: from Nine's relatively safe Brisbane owned and operated studios, to renting studios in Sydney.

Around the same time as the Shak axe, the ABC launched their new childrens channel ABC3. A project many years in the making, and after many promises since the original attempt of a digital childrens channel (ABC Kids/Fly TV) was axed in 2003 due to cost cuts, it was delivered in December 2009, as a fully funded federal government venture. Suddenly, kids were watching Prank Patrol Australia and it's overseas versions that inspired it, along with other content that the ABC acquired, to furnish the channel. Kids loved ABC3 (along with the reworked ABC2 daytime, as a preschool block), as it was a breath of fresh air, and made people realize what needed to be done. But the two leading commercial networks never looked at ABC3 as a threat, while the Ten Network beefed up their investment, which started, with moving all their C-rated content to the 6-9am time period (the P-rated content had been in the 6-9am period for as long as people remembered), freeing up the 4pm timeslot for counter-programming the two networks who cared more for news in the morning, than countering Ten at 4pm.

So, we fast forward to today. ABC3 is successful with kids (and to a lesser extent Ten's C/P block), because the two leaders in commercial television aren't showing stuff at 4pm, that is compelling enough for young viewers to hang on and make appointment viewing, like The Shak, and Wombat were. Kids may like seeing themselves, but, it's the Prank Patrol element, that is missing from commercial TV, and is seeing the networks, cheap and safe options, of running gameshows targeted at children becoming slowly obsolete, while they are run at excess. Technology has played it's part too, with more and more, being given mobile phones, mp3 players and handheld consoles, just to name a few, to play with, along with the prized childrens drama series, which can be the savior for 4pm (and are quite often sold overseas), being shunted to timeslots, where kids would likely be playing sport: case in note, the TV adaptation of the best selling Lochie Leonard book series by Tim Winton, had it's first season, in 2007, air at 4pm weekdays, timesharing with The Shak. By the time series 2 aired, in 2010, it was airing at 12pm on a Saturday afternoon.

This schedule rework, has also been caused, by the decision in May 2009, by Nine to shift their entire Saturday kids output two hours down the schedule, to launch a Saturday edition of Today (then nearly a year later, again pushing the start of KidsWB, this time from 9 to 10am, in February 2010, when a Saturday highlights package of Kerri-Anne Kennerley's weekday morning program was launched, and more recently, the expansion of Weekend Today to a three hour program, which saw KidsWB move to a 11am start), and the slow "copycat" decision by Seven to launch a Saturday edition of Sunrise, in early 2010, which pushed Saturday Disney to a 9am start: hence pushing stuff that once aired 9/10am straight out of these Saturday morning cartoon blocks towards 11am/12pm (In Nine's case, it's going towards 1pm), when the target audience is unlikely to be there at home watching, and most critically, pushing towards the concept, of having childrens weekend programs preempted for sport much more regularly. It's decisions like this that is sending young audiences towards ABC3, Network 10, and most critically, to pay television. Nickelodeon, is the biggest example, and is the biggest threat, to FTA in the childrens marketplace in commercial revenue terms. The premiere airing of the US KCA's this year, for example was the #2 non-sport program of the week it aired: but far behind ABC2 and ABC3's ad-free FTA programs, that are pulling good numbers, and are accessible to many more people. It's this situation that has likely led to both 7/9, to cut costs, and centralize production: even outsourcing the whole job, for something that was once handled very well, by in-house teams, working with production companies, who produced much of this content on-site with cameramen etc, such as what existed at Ch 7 and 9 in Brisbane for example, when they were childrens production hubs, which not only had the people who knew the business of kids TV, and knew what they wanted, it also came with the space for production companies to deliver their wildest dreams.

The main thing that the government can do, is to completely rewrite the childrens TV standards in this country. There is a good reason for this: The environment of television in Australia is having the biggest tectonic change (thanks to high digital TV takeup rates), since the introduction of colour broadcasts in 1975. When the latest version of the Childrens TV Standards were released by ACMA in mid 2009, there were only two commercial multichannels, and ABC3 was still in planning. Now, there are six commercial multichannels, and a fully realized ABC3, alongside a major preschool block on ABC2. Quite simply, rewrite the standards for a new generation, who have more choice, and more options than their parents ever did. And there is also one other factor, the growth of subscription television. Simply, that means bringing everyone under one standard: where they will be looked at, by quality, and amount of Australian content. What I'm suggesting is for the main standards to be streamlined. into just 5 categories:

(1) Analogue legacy channels (i.e. main channels, eg. 7,9,10 and ABC1) Existing standards will apply, with some changes, to mainly deal with events (e.g. major news/sports events) which may see P/C programs not airing on the main channel, and to see that they air, on multichannels mirroring the slot on the main channel.
(2) Digital multichannels: New standards would apply, where there would be a maximum on repeat main channel programs, along with first run Australian content filling 30min on weekdays (placed from 6am-7:30pm). P ratings would not apply to multichannels, unless moved off the main channel, due to a major event, that would preclude a main channel from airing their C/P commitments. A network (i.e 7/9/10) can choose to have one multichannel to take up their digital C rating obligations, if they have a genre specific multichannel.
(3) C-channel (dedicated childrens networks (e.g Nickelodeon, ABC3) New standards would apply, with a 20% Australian content minimum, made up of first run C programming.
(4) P-channel (dedicated preschool networks (e.g Nick Jr) and blocks (e.g ABC2 daytime)) Separate standards would apply from P rated shows, but the ad-free restriction would apply to P-channels (except for station ID's), and would have a 10% Australian content minimum, as opposed to the P ratings for legacy channels which will retain their existing 100% Australian quota.
(5) Community broadcasters: 20hrs a year minimum of C-rated content produced in the city of license. No other conditions apply.

The other part will need to be, the major expansion of the ACMA's powers towards childrens content (not just via TV, but via the web), along with the development of a independent regulator who manages the C/P rating (including moving towards the introduction of the C/P rating for the release of childrens programming via DVDs, and other media, such as iTunes, currently all childrens TV content that gets a home release, has to be rated, G/PG), and is responsible for enforcement of the minimum requirements for the various categories, along with with enforcement of standards, of which, punishments for breaches needs to be beefed up, to the point where networks get fined, not told to make amends for major breaches of the reworked standards. It also needs to be up to the commercial broadcasters, to make programming for children that is of high quality, that is accessible to all, and most importantly, something that can be a great legacy. This can be simply done, by ending the funding divide, between regular C programs, and C drama. By allowing commercial non-drama products to apply for funding, it can ensure quality, and possibly, allow for major C-drama producers, to branch out, and create the new products, that would be possible with a single standard for all childrens production, meaning a good program (e.g. magazine program, with a shot at overseas sales) would be able to access government funding. It would also help the subscription industry learn to adjust to the implementation of a Australian content standard, as they would be on a even playing field (meaning that subscription childrens channels would be directly answerable to ACMA) with FTA.

So, the message is simple. Our industry is at a crossroads with digital switchover coming up in 2013. I don't want to see the childrens content take the leap over the edge, and get consigned to a bleak future. It needs to be relevant, and it needs to be in a slot where they can watch, not being pushed toward a future of preemption. Is it any wonder, why Network 10 made sure, that they use their C-drama output wisely, and they made sure, Totally Wild, is still on air, after nearly twenty years (and only two timeslot changes in that time, first from 4pm, to 7:30am in 2009, when Ten moved their C content out of 4pm, and the second, being from 7:30am to 8am in 2010), becoming the measuring stick, and is well ahead of any commercial children's product on the box. It evolved with the times, and Ten stuck with it. The program's longevity is only beaten by one other Australian program: Play School, on the ABC (which has 45 years of history behind it, and is a TV Week Logies HOF recipient). It's the longevity of Totally Wild that other commercial TV products need to aim for and it needs to be what the younger viewer wants.

The debut of the new image...

2011-04-01T13:18:00.000+10:00

I don't know how to say this: but I am using April Fools Day, to spring a surprise.
And believe it or not, it's not a prank. The Kuttsywoods Couch "family" is going to grow bigger.

Let's just say, it's a dream I've had for more than twelve months, and am proud to announce it today.

Kuttsywoods Couch is proud to announce, we are launching our spin-off site on Tumblr, fittingly called: "Kuttsywoods Couchcushion". It has been in the pipeline since late 2009, originally as a second blog, that would be updated rapidly: but has been waiting for the right delivery medium. It's a new beginning, and this place will always be home to the longform blog post. It's our bread and butter: salt and pepper: fish, chips and vinegar, whatever analogy you want from it. So, it starts today.

And this new beginning starts with the launch topic: Our first regular "segment", 5:30 In Brisbane, is a weekly local 5:30 ratings wrap, just when it has become interesting, with Ten News now going until 6:30pm weeknights from next week. This will include both weekday and weekend ratings for a simple and even comparison, will be #1 off the rank. This "segment" will be normally, a Monday night/Tuesday morning staple (depending on when Seven upload their local press releases/availability of GSE/QW ratings.)

It all begins now, and fast at kuttsywoodscouchcushion.tumblr.com
It will also be fed through our highly successful Twitter account, as well as a feed on this site.

The return of the poll...

2011-02-25T21:57:00.000+10:00

With a new year, comes new questions: one being asked by people, working at Seven right now, is: why is Deal or No Deal struggling, with a hour-long national news lead-in in Brisbane, while Hot Seat is thriving?

The answer may be as clear as mud, or it could be simple. I'd say, it's eighteen months of decline, tied in with the first major change to Seven's news lead-in period since Wheel of Fortune was axed in 2006, resulting in Deal having a weaker lead-in than it did with MASH repeats, and coincidently dragging shares down for the 4:30-6pm time period. I'm about to show you the two alternative Yes options, but I will quickly explain what the No option entails: simply, advising Seven to do nothing about their lead-in, which is something that they have done well for the last year and a half, while ratings slid.

Now, to explain each Yes option, I have listed the pros/cons, alongside the respective option.
Yes, as long as Deal is at 5pm: PROS: Seven can revive ratings for both 5pm and 5:30, utilizing a creative local solution for 5:30.
CONS: 4:30 news is cut back to a half hour bulletin, people may not be aware of the move, needs very heavy promotion.

Yes, I wouldn't mind it on 7Two in Queensland: PROS: Will attract viewers to 7Two, hourlong 4:30 news is retained leading into a revamped 5:30 slot on the main channel.
CONS: 7Two is a digital station, there is a need for improved take up in Brisbane, to make any one-city move viable, would need expensive promotion, equivalent to the amount Ten spent on Neighbours moving to Eleven, which would be cost prohibitive.

Come and take your choice, as it ends in mid March, and we will look at the results then.

What Seven needs at 5:30 and beyond...

2010-11-28T10:36:00.000+10:00

Seven Brisbane has lost every week in ratings in 2010 at 5:30, along with losing the year in primary and network shares. Although they continue to lead at 6, the 5:30 slot has gone from a cashcow to poison in the eighteen months, since the Extra axing, with bucketloads of Brisbanites, treating Seven poorly, sending the once joint leader, down to third in the 5:30 slot, and repeating Local Edition's feat, of placing third out of the commercial networks in the 5-6 hour during the latter half of 2010. But there is one solution, that Seven are too silly to try, yet it is the easy way out. I can think of other things Seven can spend money on (and making advertisers shudder after recent runs of poor ratings, as well as losing 5:30 to Nine), other than propping up a national gameshow, that has been given up on by Brisbane viewers, and is being haunted by the bad memories of past local efforts.
I'm just about to show you a few of them.

Let me introduce you to my first thing I'd like to see Seven spend heavily on to regain the 5:30 lead.
#1: Luring Rick Burnett out of "retirement" to spearhead a revival of a Extra-style program.

Rick Burnett, former Extra host.

Seven needs to look at 5:30, as it does the 6pm news, with great importance. The Deal/Hot Seat war has bitten Seven's once dominative position, into two and the upcoming launch of 6:30 news on Ten will be another major factor that the network needs to consider. People are either bypassing the game shows these days and tuning in at 6pm, or are watching Ten's news, that starts at 5pm, but has more local content than 7 and 9's 6pm news ever will, or even flicking onto Rob Readings's Gold Coast news service, if they live on the Gold Coast. Thus it has come to this, the missed opportunity from 2006, that Seven never even used, of picking up Rick Burnett, and creating a local product based around the same formula as the "old Extra", with Deal (if this ever happened) most likely moving to 5pm. Hot Seat before the Extra axing was drawing 80/90k at 5pm, I'd reckon Deal would do better facing off against Antiques and first half hour of TVQ's 5pm news than a Nine Gold Coast News swelled Hot Seat figure. This would also build a solid foundation for a 7 run Gold Coast news service, something that viewers want, competition in Gold Coast local news, where Nine currently has a strong local presence, and is part of the reason why Hot Seat is so successful.

The second thing Seven should spend on is:
#2: A local Today Tonight revival.
Breaking a mirror equals seven years bad luck, but could seven years be enough wait for the return of a Brisbane version of TT? Even though Today Tonight has been successful, as a east coast edition, there is some disquiet, that the program has a Brisbane team, that is underutilised, while, politicians and businessmen across our fair state, rub their hands in glee that TT and ACA can't give them the attention they need and have craved, inbred if you will, back to the Joh days. It was once stated, Brisbanites watch more current affairs programs than people in the other capitals. This was simply, because Brisbane for the majority of the eighties clung to their local current affairs programs, instead of flocking to the hour-long news service. Now, I reckon we watch less current affairs programming per capita, even more enhanced by the loss of Extra in 2009. With Ten entering the 6:30 fray, in early 2011, it is well overdue, for Seven to keep their promise, that a locally presented Today Tonight to return (even the original QTQ (where the program ran from 1979 to 1985) TT producer, Des Power would agree) that serious local current affairs (along with investigative reporting and FOI investigations currently in the 6pm bulletin) would work just as well in that slot as they did in the eighties.

The third major thing Seven should spend on, is:
#3: Committing to a 5:30 revolution in regional QLD.
Seven also needs to heavily look at the role that they play, as the news leader in regional Queensland, especially with digital switchover happening within twelve months. Part of this would be an major expansion of Seven Local News services, into Toowoomba/Darling Downs (which can be achieved by DTV switchover), the Gold Coast (run by the Brisbane metro 7 station), and a co-funded (with SC Central) service for outback QLD. Alongside that, there would be a move to 5:30, for the news service (to allow 7 Brisbane's news to run at 6pm statewide and allow Today Tonight to air on the same night, not on 23 hour delay.) Alongside, there would be massive changes, with a larger team, with the ideal situation that eventually, 7 Local News would have local anchors (and be locally presented) in each market. The Gold Coast would also get a bonus two bulletins, with the launch of weekend local news at 6pm (something that the Gold Coast currently lacks.)

And finally:
#4: A full refresh of the weekend advertorials.
There is nothing, I and many other people want more, than Seven refreshing the weekend advertorials from top to tail. But with this, I am also suggesting, Seven ditches Creek to Coast, as it is often pre-empted for sport, and the resources the program uses not to mention budgets, could be used elsewhere. As for talent, some people would be shifted, with the ultimate goal, of having separate core teams (i.e, EP's, camera operators and presenters), for Queensland Weekender and Great South East, with commitments to a full on shooting schedule, that cannot be filled with Creek to Coast remaining in it's current format. Simply, every week there should be a fresh episode of GSE, taped during that week, with Queensland Weekender getting away with "travel show" definitions, being a month or two turnaround from location shoot, to airing. The longer form specials, would be phased out of the 5:30 Saturday slot into the 7:30 Friday slot, with Better Homes And Gardens taking a week off, six times a year (with Queensland Weekender hour-long specials quarterly, as well as a preview for the Brisbane Festival in late August, and a Gold Coast 600 live event) with Better Homes catchups, done outside primetime, and eventually 7Two. With this, there is also a need to bring the websites for the advertorials into 2010.

There has been no major changes to www.greatsoutheast.com.au , since 2004's addition of Queensland Weekender, while the internet has gone from a static medium, to one involving heavier amounts of video, even full episodes, while sites like the highly successful OurBrisbane.com portal, now provide weather segments from Nine News, and the heavily promoted Yahoo7 Queensland portal now provides local ratings and press releases (which used to be released to a number of sources, but until now, never, as publicly as the network, who posts all national media releases at Seven Corporate, alongside investor releases for shareholders), as a attempt to bypass the middleman (which rarely reads 7's local releases, and often uses 9's local releases instead, which are usually made public via a middleman), and try and make public "localised" data the norm, as well as, Ten, Seven and Nine all launching local Twitter accounts, along with 9 Brisbane spearheading the Twitter charge, with most people there now tweeting. Yet the advertorials probably look at the growth in social media and the web as "threatening" to their core product. Extra used the web for for nine years to their advantage, moving with trends (most importantly, introducing video in mid 2008), after being beaten onto the internet, by GSE and Local Edition in 2000.

So 7, It's Time... to review 5:30, and review what the station needs in the way of local content. You have had the worst year in the critical 5:30 lead-in slot in many years, now it's time to revive what many have said is a death slot... Can you do it? I (and many other viewers) think you can.

Kuttsywood's Couch's 3rd annual guide to Daylight Saving FTA delays in QLD.

2010-09-26T20:29:00.000+10:00

Well, it's back. Daylight Saving is here again to wrack pain on viewers throughout Queensland: and everyone's favorite guide is back for a third year. This year however, we continue to add new channel choices, and some old favorites from last year take a bow again, while some new ones crop up, to try and trend on Twitter... Masterchef style (especially among those people who want real change in QLD government DST policy). We have also introduced a colour system, to give individual channels easier space.

Let's start with Network Ten:
Network Ten/Southern Cross Ten
One HD (Ch 1 Brisbane/GC, Ch 50 regional QLD/GC NSW feed):
Thursday Night Live: delayed into QLD.
Sports Tonight: delayed into QLD.

Most sport programming: live, except for events on anti-siphoning list, which will simulcast on Ten.

Ten/SC10 (Ch 10 Brisbane/GC, Ch 5 regional QLD/GC NSW feed):
All local news bulletins aired statewide (inc. current 5pm Brisbane bulletin, and future 6:30 weekday and 6pm weekend Brisbane bulletins): live.
All national news bulletins (soon to be phased out weekend national 5pm, future national weekday 6pm bulletin and early and late news): delayed by one hour.
7PM Project: delayed by one hour (unless Ten decide to produce a separate edition for the program's most successful market during DST).
Junior Masterchef post Commonwealth Games: delayed by one hour.
Sport (excluding Commonwealth Games) see One HD
XIX Commonwealth Games: entire event likely to delayed by one hour into QLD.
Eleven (coming in early 2011: Ch 11 Brisbane/GC, likely to be on Ch 55 regional QLD/GC NSW feed)
Channel schedule: likely to run on QLD time.

Seven Brisbane/Seven QLD
7Mate (Ch 73, in most of QLD, 7Mate On Prime on Ch 63 on Gold Coast)
Channel schedule: to run on QLD time.
7Two (Ch 72, in most of QLD, 7Two on Prime on Ch 62 on Gold Coast)
Channel schedule: runs on QLD time.
Seven (Ch 7 in most of QLD, branded as Prime, on channel 6 on Gold Coast.
Local news (7 News Brisbane/7 Local News in all regional markets except Toowoomba): live.

Networked news programs (Sunrise, morning and 4:30 news, Today Tonight, Sunday Night, 7 News Sydney on Prime GC): delayed 1 hour unless breaking news.

X-Factor live performance and results shows: Seven's big gamble, will be delayed into Queensland, any voting start and finish times will likely be listed in Sydney time.

Sport- V8 Supercars: live with pre-news filler, except for Gold Coast 600, which will be live with no filler.
Summer of Tennis: Brisbane International-live, Sydney International-some live, some delayed. Australian Open-depends on Aussie performance, finals live.
Melbourne Cup: live with pre-news filler.

Nine Brisbane/Win QLD
GO! (Ch 99 in SEQ/ Ch 88 in regional QLD/NBN Gold Coast):

Channel schedule: running on QLD time.
GEM HD: (Ch 90 in SEQ/ Ch 80 in regional QLD/NBN Gold Coast):

Channel schedule: to run on QLD time.
Nine/Win (Ch 9 in SEQ/ Ch 8 in regional QLD/NBN Gold Coast)
Local news (9 News Brisbane/Nine Gold Coast News/Win News in all regional markets): live, with timeslot changes during cricket.
Networked news programming (ACA, Today, Morning News, 4:30 news, Win-produced "Daily" (regional QLD), NBN hourlong news (Gold Coast-only): delayed by a hour, at minimum, unless breaking news.
The Ashes: 1st Test (Brisbane): likely to be live into QLD. 2nd Test (Adelaide): live with news after day's play. 3rd Test (Perth): Live, with news in tea break. 4th Test (Melbourne) and 5th Test (Sydney) : filler programming in QLD after Syd/Melb go to news. ODI's: Same as tests, except news will run in innings break for day/night games. Twenty20 games: likely to be live, as they usually run at night.
NRL Grand Final: Live.
Hey Hey It's Saturday: delayed by one hour, just like last year's second reunion show.
(But, we here at the DST guide have a workable solution to the "Saturdelay" dilemma: Move Funniest Home Videos in QLD, to Friday 7:30, and run Hey Hey straight out of Nine News at 6:30 Saturday (7:30 Sydney time).
The Block: Renovating to include a hour delay in QLD.
National IQ Test: likely to be delayed into QLD.

ABC News 24 (Ch 24 statewide): Running on Sydney time.
ABC1 (Channel 2 statewide) QandA: Delayed 1 hour.

Other events: Sydney NYE: delayed as usual.

Kuttsy's Pitch: Reviving 5:30 localism for 7.

2010-08-23T22:20:00.000+10:00

Hard to believe, that Kuttsy's Pitch, has come back for a second post. Well, after the first post in October 2009, written in the middle of a rough patch for Deal in Brisbane, (which was eclipsed, earlier this year with a 68 day losing streak to start 2010 for Deal or No Deal in Brisbane, as well as losing 2010, with Hot Seat/GC News conquering 5:30, without a week lost to Deal so far this year) got some eyes, why not do another? I also have considered revisiting Local Edition once again (this time placing it in a 2010 marketplace, and not making mistakes that led to the original program's demise). And suddenly, it fused. Why not pitch the idea of a weekday 5:30 program (a theoretical one for 7, might I add) and focus on one idea from start to end: The idea being simply, Brisbane Afternoons.

The genesis: A brief history of BTQ-7's 5:30 problems
The idea of developing a 5:30 weekday program for 7 Brisbane dates back just over a decade. First was a trial run of stripping out the Great South East summer series on weekdays (while new episodes aired in primetime) in 1999, followed by a short series 7 ran in mid 2000 (and aired statewide), which followed the Olympic flame throughout QLD on it's journey to Sydney, and finally, in October 2000, after the Sydney Olympics, a hour long program, Local Edition hosted by Peter Ford and (now QTQ-9 lead female anchor) Melissa Downes. But the 5:30 program concept, was put on ice in 2001, when new management stepped in at 7 in Brisbane, and drastic changes were made, which gradually saw the station slip away from it's "heartland QLD" position (where often, interstate viewers could tell that QLD flavour on national productions produced out of the station) towards a "chook, Holden and Hills Hoist" demographic, and more importantly, the pushing of a southern image, on the Brisbane audience, including conflicts with people's memories of "heartland QLD" (mostly from a generation that grew up with national and local production, and remember how Seven Brisbane often outperformed other stations with the 7 callsign) and the idea of "heartland Australia" that the network in Sydney was targeting generally. It all came to a head, in mid 2009, with a competing channel dropping their long running local news lead-in program, and Seven were predicted to take a major gain, purely due to viewer resentment of the axing, and won the first six weeks head to head against the national gameshow the competing channel moved from 5pm, then around the middle of August 2009, the pendulum turned dramatically, not due to multichannelling, but a swing that would hurt Seven for well over twelve months. Simply, Deal suddenly couldn't compete, with the competitors new gameshow, and their Gold Coast news service, which leads us to today.

You mentioned a "new" term, "Heartland QLD": so what actually is Heartland QLD?
Heartland Queensland, is a partly a definition of our lifestyle, and partly a demographic group, the 20-54 demographic. It is often what sets QLD apart from other states, and is very parochial. The first signs of "heartland Queensland" that people saw nationally, were the childrens gameshow Now You See It, and the longrunning childrens program (which originally was a Brisbane-only show) Wombat, in the mid eighties, when Seven in Brisbane was experiencing a second golden era (The successes of the 1960's, with Theatre Royal and George Wallace Jr, being the first golden era for the station) where the station led the ratings, led the news ratings, and supported QLD talent, which flowed on to help fuel a sense of pride, in their state, and in the case of Brisbane, a sense of pride in their city, which was showing the world, who we were, as a example of the nation, on two separate occasions during the 1980's. However, the Heartland QLD group, has seen challenges become numerous in recent years, due to changes, where people who were from interstate or overseas, made the move to the South East corner of Queensland for better opportunities, and a better lifestyle. Quite simply, Queensland's "Great South East" turned from a "hidden" secret to a mantra, as people simply arrived, to start a new life, in a new city. But, as our region's population increased, in the last few years: local content appealing to this "Heartland QLD" generation, that worked hard to polish their city's image, from a big country town, to a city, that can take on the world, in the eighties, dissipate, as the same small screen that delivered QLD a new industry in the 1960's, strengthened in the 1980's and 1990's, suddenly became increasingly controlled from interstate (where the population growth has been coming from) in the 2000's.

And that's where the concept of "Brisbane Afternoons" comes screeching in.

Brisbane Afternoons: The 5:30 solution.
What Seven needs at this stage of time, is for 5:30 on weekdays to deliver equal to, or above weekend 5:30 results, not with networked content, but with what works on weekends successfully, local content. It needs to deliver returns, that allow Seven to sell as a weekly package, ads at 5:30, as opposed to the current split between weekday gameshow (that performs poorly) and weekend local content (that rates well), and would fund any future local extensions Seven needs, such as Gold Coast news, and possibly, local current affairs, and deliver a solution to advertisers who are either likely to only advertise on weekends, or have never dealt with Seven on a regular basis. However, there needs to be a opportunity for Brisbane viewers to get their input into the pre-launch formation of a reporting staff (otherwise the program may look like a cobbled together team made up of people not used at 6pm), where the viewers actually would be asked to audition.

5:30 Potential: The open audition, of reporters.
How this new program would gain it's talent, would be the running of a open audition, (similar to what was done to recruit a new female presenter for Nine's The Shak in 2009, and the Me On 3 promo, that delivered ABC3 their foundation presenters) where prospective presenters would send in audition tapes (promoted by 7 News, and on the weekend advertorials), and the prospective candidates would be whittled down to a shortlist of 100, with a mass audition conducted at 7's Brisbane studios, with the top 10 candidates, would go on and train for ten weeks, at a specially conducted course, entitled 5:30 Potential, where they would learn the ins and out of reporting, some video journalism, as well as story editing, where they would be assisting a reporter from the BTQ newsroom, finalize stories for 6pm, etc. There would also be some people spotted from the 5:30 Potential top 100 (similar to the ABC hiring a extra person from the Me On 3 promo, to run the preschool lineup on ABC2), who missed out on the top 10 who would be offered opportunities on the weekend advertorials, giving them a talent refresh, and to move into a position where they can possibly bring up new people. By this time, people would be asking, who's the person who can keep this all together?

The right host, for a 5:30 solution.
The audition process will not deliver a host, it is a known fact. The host will be working alongside the top 10 during the 5:30 Potential course, and be able to answer any queries, that the future reporters may have. Who else, but Jillian Whiting (who currently works for 7 News on call, and for Queensland Weekender on a part-time basis), to take the host's chair, and return to a full time role with the station that got her start in the industry, while working around a family, and back in the slot that she was dumped from by the competing channel, who went on to hire someone else, that only lasted six months, when the program was axed. Jillian is a experienced journalist, and can sometimes take her opinions public, which is sometimes controversial. Why Jillian is needed, is because viewers will return to her and 5:30, after the way she was treated after leaving the competitor on bad terms. But once all this is said and done, all the reporters have been trained, it is now time to promote it as what it is: Seven's Brisbane 5:30 solution.

Promoting the 5:30 solution: a three channel campaign.
Local Edition was borne into a environment, where Seven was expecting a post Olympic boost in Brisbane, but never materialized. Brisbane Afternoons, would be born into a environment, where Seven can promote, a multi-faceted ad solution, for the expansive digital sphere. There wouldn't just be ads for the program on the main Seven channel, but on 7Two, and newcomer 7Mate, as well as a heavy emphasis on online advertising, with a hyped launch of a QLD specific catchup TV website, initally offering downloads of GSE, Queensland Weekender and Creek To Coast, (both new and archival) as well as the Brownie's Coastwatch archive, with Brisbane Afternoons daily episodes being downloadable, from premiere, alongside a online-only Gold Coast news bulletin (which would make the move to television, if Brisbane Afternoons were to succeed). Viewers wouldn't just see the stock standard promo with Jillian Whiting, but some crazy ones thrown into the mix, (e.g. Andrew O Keefe promoting that Deal's getting new QLD recruits, then having a Dealette whispering "we're moving to 5pm", followed by a shot of Jillian Whiting saying, Brisbane's 5:30 solution is nearly here...) Around this time, the weekend advertorial websites would be modernised, to match the Brisbane Afternoons website, (designed to look similar to the former website for the competing channel's local news lead-in), as well as a wide ranging social media push, to encourage viewers to comment on stories as they appear, and to help shape the content that airs. Quite simply, it would not just mean dragging 7 in Brisbane from 1992 in to 2011, but drag the advertorials into the 21st century, by encouraging viewers to review content just as much as regular programs. Social media isn't the foe, but a friend for local content.

And finally: Key contributors, to any success...
When the local news lead-in was axed by the competition in 2009, a lot of that program's regular contributors have no longer a local outlet for them to promote on. Seven would need to contact some of these people who built their name with the former 5:30 king, and convince them that their 5:30 solution will deliver exposure, for their products and brands. Advertising products on a potential success, would not be hampered. National advertisers would likely get a free ad block with the new 5:30 package, as a makeup for lost revenue during the decline in Deal's ratings in the last 14 months. Most importantly, Seven will be able to negotiate a great deal, where ads could run for weeks at a time, in that critical 5:30 slot, with some rotation.

The other key issue, is staying power, Seven stuck with Local Edition for two months, rested the program, then axed it after a pilot for a half hour version was ditched. Brisbane Afternoons would need to be stuck with for at least a year, to really embed into 5:30, and make inroads into the competition. The wait would be worth it, as it would then guarantee that Seven Brisbane can come alive once again, as a viable production centre, thanks to some stimulus, and 5:30 can bring in the viewers, and a new loyal audience, with Seven rediscovering, what many have said in the last decade, that it was losing: that they are Brisbane, and the station's love for Brisbane, would be renewed.

The ten moments that shaped a station: TVQ 0-10 45th.

2010-06-30T23:18:00.000+10:00

Memories, that define a station's legacy... Ten in Brisbane has had many moments, in the last 45 years, but culling them to a fine list of 10 was hard. Included in this, are some happy, some sad moments, and some moments that live in the psyche, for years to come: This is a record, of what Ten should be remembering on July 1 2010, to set a course, to be Brisbane's voice.

#10- The Person to Person era: TVQ's news never really got the lead over 9 and 7 in the eighties (due to Brisbane's three commercial news services all being at 6pm, and only came to the hour news table, in 1985) but one promo campaign served this era justice, all thanks to a mistake 7 regretted. Seven was still #1 at 6pm in 1987, but some changes happened, (State Affair being a casualty) which saw 7 fill out a hours worth of news, head to head with TVQ-0. Mike Higgins, had left 7 in late 1986, for better fortunes with TVQ, and suddenly he was beating his former employer when 7 went hourlong. A clever campaign was devised, simply being "Person to Person" with well known singer Doug Parkinson, doing the campaign. It helped cement TVQ, prior to Expo in 1988 (where for the first time, Brisbane had news services at 6 (9), 6:30 (7) and hourlong 6-7pm (0-10)), and the campaign was retired prior to the 0/10 switch.

#9- Celebrating 10 years, with a trainload of stars: In 1975, TVQ-0 turned ten years old, and had become successful thanks to programs like Number 96, The Box, Matlock Police etc. and to celebrate their birthday, the station literally brought the stars of those programs, to Brisbane to celebrate, with a specially hired train, whose arrival was aired, live during a cartoon program, and then followed by a telethon that night.

#8- 15 months, three owners, TVQ's rough arrival on Ten: Not much is said about the first year on 10 for TVQ, but it was a shambles. The first thing that happened, was the end of Expo, followed by the inevitable sale of TVQ, to Northern Star, thus creating a five city (as opposed to three years earlier, where News Limited controlled 10 in Sydney/Melbourne, TVW-7 in Perth controlled SAS-10 (which became a 7 station after Northern Star bought ADS-7 in 1987, and swapped ADS's 7 affiliation with SAS's 10 affiliation to make ADS a 10 owned and operated station), while Qintex controlled TVQ-0 and the Perth station was still in government planning) owned and operated Ten Network for the first time. What Northern Star did, was initially, retaining some of the things DDQ implemented, the "Brisbane Style" campaign, the on-air addressing as "Brisbane Ten", while changing others (Weekend news in '89, was done by Hugh Cornish, Pam Tamblyn and former 7 weatherman, Noel Stanaway, while former 7 Brisbane station announcer during the LYB heyday, Chuck Hobler started announcing for Ten in Brisbane) trying to make the station a great independent member of Network Ten, until Bob Shanks arrived, and rolled out new promos, and new programs. Eventually, Westfield pulled out of television, and sold TVQ-10 to Broadcom, alongside 10 Melbourne and Sydney, and major costcuts occured, which saw major changes to Ten nationwide.

#7- The late Peter Clark, TVQ news helicopter pilot: If you have moved up to Brisbane in the last decade and have seen the Ten News chopper, there is a story behind it. The current Ten chopper is the third chopper TVQ has had in twenty years. The first Ten branded chopper, a legacy from the TV0 era, costing the then "princely" sum of a million dollars, ditched in Moreton Bay (off Moreton Island) in February 1989, moments before landing, with the pilot Peter Clark, alongside three passengers (one of them being then-news anchor, Anna McMahon), all surviving, with barely a scratch. TVQ then bought a replacement helicopter, and Clark piloted it, until 1998, when the unthinkable happened, a routine return to Mt Coot-tha went wrong, and the chopper (this time with just Clark inside), crashed on the Mountain, and killed Clark. TV news crews from all stations rushed to the scene, including Peter's colleagues at TVQ.

#6- The Jacki Macdonald Show: "Freak Wave" and "the Wak".
Jacki McDonald is a woman of many talents. Only Jacki Mac, could pull off, a hectic 7 day schedule in two cities, in a era where talent was usually confined to one city only. Weekends, were spent in Melbourne, for Hey Hey It's Saturday, with Daryl Somers, on Nine, while weekdays were dominated, for a breakfast program on 0, which developed a fanbase. Leading up to Christmas in '79, a contest was run, and the grand prize was a boat. Various staffers (even Santa Claus), demonstrated the features, only to be soaked with a bucket of water, with a off-air chant "freak wave". This program, would be a springboard eventually, for live music (something no other program at breakfast even tried until 2004, when 7's Sunrise moved to Martin Place) and variety acts, usually saved for prime-time, as well as launching Brisbane's band, Wickety Wak, who went on and released a record with Jacki in 1980, "Love Me, Love My Dog" as well as a pantomime "Jackie and The Space Invaders", at Her Majesty's Theatre on Queen St (which was demolished for the Wintergarden shopping centre) as well as general promotional duties (including a medley of ad campaigns the band wrote, being released for charity, one year for a TVQ telethon) until 1983 when they moved up the road to Seven and produced the first Wickety Wak television special, Waks Works 1. Recently, Wickety Wak, even though they retired twice: first in 1990, then in 2009, have wanted to do a reunion show with Jacki Mac (as commented on this blog around six months ago), urged on by their fans, both old and new, to build on the nostalgia that Jacki brought to the Hey Hey reunions in 2009.

#5- The Team To Watch: Eyewitness News with Des McWilliam and Jacki McDonald...
There are some things, even Jacki couldn't control. The press in Brisbane was one of those things. By 1983, Jacki had been doing the Brisbane-Melbourne commute for nearly five years, while the 0-10 Network had become Network 10, and Nine in Melbourne had gained strides in the ratings. The Brisbane press, found some large photos, of Jacki in Melbourne dressed as a sandwich (even though Hey Hey was done with TVQ's blessing, and the Brisbane media knew of the Jacki Mac two city schedule as early as 1980), just as TVQ had launched a major billboard campaign inspired by the "Team To Watch" campaign used by the News Limited owned Ten's in Sydney and Melbourne (which had massive ratings gains thanks to moving to hour-long news) to boost ratings for the cost of $150,000. By the end of '83 however, Jacki committed to the Melbourne Hey Hey gig (which moved to primetime, and aired nationally) full time, while TVQ-0 became TV0, and prepared to air the 1984 Olympics.

#4- Controversy in the late 90's-early 00's...
This era's basis began after a incident concerning Glenn Taylor, (where the mikes were left on, and Glenn made a remark, during a story) had gotten him sacked. Geoff Mullins replaced Glenn, and the TVQ floor crew had not learned their lesson from a decade earlier (where Geoff and Anna McMahon returned from a ad break one night, no intro was played, instead you having Geoff and Anna talking about toxic shock), and cut from break a little too early, and caught Marie-Louise having a entertaining conversation about her husband with Geoff. Naturally, she had to apologize to viewers the next night. But the clip of that 2000 incident with Marie Louise, became viral, in the late 00's, and is a hit all over again, as a typical Australian news blooper.

#3- Bruce Paige comes to Ten: The Lifestyles of the Rich and Vocal.
1990 began, for Ten, as a recovery period from the "year with three owners", but they aimed for a big name, to change TVQ's position, in the news ratings. Around the same time, Bruce Paige's contract expired with Nine. Ten took advantage of a off contract Paige and some rumors of a bad off-air relationship with former TVQ'er, co-anchor Robin Parkin, and after a legal battle during non-ratings, Ten debuted Bruce, solo, in early February. By the end of 1990 however, Paige was one of the victims of cost cutting after Ten went into receivership, and went to Townsville, to launch QTV's statewide news service, with Des McWilliam taking over TVQ's news until Glenn Taylor returned home to Brisbane (after a stint in Melbourne for 7) in 1991.

#2- Ten, Brisbane Style: The inevitable move from 0 to 10.
September 9 in 1988, is remembered for the switch that was a culmination of nearly fifteen months of planning. It all started, when the then owners of TVQ-0, Qintex bought their competition, in Brisbane, BTQ-7, alongside the 7 Network stations in Sydney and Melbourne in July 1987. This created a duopoly, which has never been repeated in a metropolitan area, and was asked to shed one of the Qintex owned stations in Brisbane, to please the government. Qintex retained the BTQ acquisition, while TVQ-0 was sold, to Darling Downs Television (who took on a large amount of debt, to make the TVQ acquisition), a regional station, for $123million. Qintex had done some pre-investment for Expo 88, and it was retained, now saddled with a extra task, converting their station in Toowoomba to 0, to allow TVQ to go to 10. The switchover was prepared for, at first with promos for the 1988 Seoul Olympics airing with Ten logos and eventually a $5million dollar marketing campaign, to not just get people to convert for Seoul, but build a loyal audience, as Darling Downs would sell to Northern Star not long after Expo 88.

#1- When TV0 showed the world: World Expo 88...
Our number one moment in this countdown, only would happen once in our lifetime... The world, and it's achievements displayed on Brisbane's South Bank. World Expo 88, was a major operation for TVQ-0. It had signalled it's intentions, as early as 1986, to be part of the event, to become the host broadcaster, with one slogan, that united the station's effort, (what was at the time, the largest outside broadcast by one station in Australian history, even larger than the Australia Live satellite broadcast to begin the Australian bicentenary), simply, that TVQ had "The Team For 88", below a combined Expo and TV0 logo. Brisbane followed Expo's progress, from vision, to reality through TV0's news, and by the time Expo ended, Brisbane had converted to 10, and the world applauded our effort, and we cried, for Expo's end, with a special, one of many TVQ produced on site, saying goodbye... for even though the carnival was over, we would always remember Expo 88 forever in our hearts.

Save QLD TV... for the future.

2010-04-20T19:28:00.000+10:00

What I am about to say may stun Brisbane viewers.

In the eyes of Sydney executives, Brisbane TV production is a commodity, that can be bought and sold at a whim. Cheap to produce, cheap to run, all while our industry is dying, not by the fist of viewers, but by bean counters, and those who favour centralisation of production back to Sydney/Melbourne.

What are we going to do, when there is no pathway, for which tomorrow's Kerri-Anne or Jackie McDonald to tread in our home town, let alone our great state but instead being repeatedly told by a guy at a desk, that the best way to get a foot in the door in TV, is to live in Sydney or even live in Melbourne and be where the action is. This also runs rings around our film industry, which has to compete with Sydney and Melbourne for shoots, and film and TV studio space, which Brisbane lacks, general studios for television production (i.e not controlled by 7, 9 or 10), but has a abundance for film production just sixty minutes down the highway.

But there is a way. How many of us here in Brisbane remember:
-Going up to Ch 7 for a game show taping?
-Being in the audience for the original Gladiators?
-Going to 7 to see Agro being taped...
-Any of the great local products of the past?

These events, are some of the things the current generation growing up will miss out on, if the production decline is not addressed. Simply, we have to save our industry, before we have three commercial relay stations, and the memories of a once proud industry. To save Queensland television, we must go back and think where we went wrong. To save our industry, we must make more television for ourselves, and for the nation in high quality production facilities equal or better than Sydney or Melbourne.

Simply, saveQLDtv: Save it, before we lose it.

What is there to gain? Lots, from jobs in production to actors and actresses even accounting, and presenters to high standard facilities (even there are jobs in building these new facilities), that allow companies to be based in separate premises, than piggybacked on commercial stations. Ad agencies would also benefit, as Queensland still is a great destination for commercial production, and would be able to make the upgrade to high-definition production (along with many film crews), of television commercials something which currently is probably a pipe dream for most QLD based ad agencies. Same with local programming, which could be easily produced in high definition and accessible to all (possibly 1080p) yet we lack the facilities, or the equipment. Regional QLD switches to digital-only broadcasts in less than 18 months (the biggest change in that area since aggregation in 1991), but local news needs to be produced in HD, not in 2011, but now. Regional QLD needs to be treated as equals in the HD stakes, with investment in a move for local news to HD, and guaranteeing timeslots for HD news bulletins.

Quite simply, there are benefits if local production was not just increased, but the various facilities that would support national production were available in the south-east corner. I am urging the state government, to send the message to the commercial television sector: saveQLDtv, not just for me and you, but for the future. There is a jobs goldmine, in reviving local television, and reviving Brisbane's place in the Australian television puzzle: that being the breeding ground, where some of our greatest stars were made, and where the future is bred.

The Facebook group's link is below:
saveQLDtv Facebook Group

Our new guide: Commenting Potential.

2010-04-01T08:34:00.000+10:00

Another proud announcement from Kuttsywood's Couch, today, with the inauguration, of a guide, based completely, on the comments that Kuttsywood leaves everywhere, from blogs to newspaper websites, while teaching people to comment in the Kuttsywood style.

Read more?

Our guide is entitled: Commenting Potential-The art of blog commenting.

The main elements include:

A basic education on local television, and how it is vital to local communities.
The difference between true local content and a advertorial, and networking and localism.
A booster shot of pride, of your home town, and how much TV it produces.
A soft and sensitive approach to some subjects, while preparing for a battle in other subjects.
And finally, achieve a good rapport with owners of blogs, after all, they control your comments, and your destiny.

Our guide will be up after 12pm. Courtesy of everyone's favorite blog, Kuttsywood's Couch.

Wait a moment...

The commenting guide... There is no guide! It has only one reason, why I'm posting this nonsense... It's April Fools Day!

I have fooled you all... once again.

Digital Switchover: What should occur on the Gold Coast

2010-03-16T22:43:00.000+10:00

As I am writing this, it is less than 18 months until digital switchover begins in Queensland, with regional areas from Maryborough to Cairns, switching off analogue in the 2nd half of 2011. But the main issue concerns the Brisbane switchoff, in three years time, with the need for the Gold Coast to gain local stations, as a trade-off for more space to be freed up on the UHF band (to allow future commercial operators) in and around Brisbane.

There are currently on the Gold Coast, three UHF frequencies given to each network, two analogue (one for each of the legacy transmitters at Mount Tamborine and Currumbin) and one digital (shared with all GC digital transmitters).

But, there will be a backlog of new channels, freed up in South East Queensland with digital transmission, in particular in and around the Gold Coast, all on UHF. The only logical solution, is to move towards three Gold Coast licensees (as a test, towards implementing in those markets with access to both aggregated and metro markets such as NSW's Central Coast), with the eventual phaseout of interstate regional broadcasts, in favor of a 100% Queensland based model.

By Queensland based model, we mean, either auctioning off three digital licences, or alternatively offer the Brisbane commercials, secondary licences, in similar fashion to the late 1990's issuing of secondary licences to most solus markets, which eventually got third stations solely receivable via digital transmission. The reasons for such a tectonic shift for Gold Coast viewers, are varied including:

Gold Coast viewers being able to get multiple instances of multichannels, including two GO!'s, two One HD's and two 7Two's (albeit one branded as 7Two On Prime)
The need for improved local news, which is currently, being only fulfilled by a 5:30 service, from the Brisbane metro 9 station, while other stations do need to realise the growing need for local news (not just weekdays but weekends too) in the fast growing area, particularly after recent events.
The Gold Coast's population is surging ahead, with predictions of the city's population to reach 750,000 in fifteen years, and often makes up a third of the audience of the average Brisbane 6pm news bulletin.
With this growth, there is the need for increased local TV advertising, especially in a city as focused on the tourist dollar, as the Gold Coast.

My strategy of how this should be carried out, that the ACMA should follow is simply:

By the end of 2010, there should be a review into the Gold Coast's UHF arrangements, including a investigation into GC local news from the metro operators, digital multichannel doubling as well as conducting a feasibility study into removing the regional NSW networks from the Gold Coast upon Northern NSW's digital switchover, in late 2012.
By the end of 2011, the delivery method of Gold Coast digital switchover, including any new licences, either supplementary or auction, should be announced as well as announcing any changes from the Gold Coast UHF review.
By the end of 2012, the beginning of Gold Coast switchover would be overseen by a new authority (with Brisbane commercials, Northern NSW commercials, FreeTV Australia, ASTRA and the federal regulator all having seats, to drive digital takeup) would take ownership of all transmission sites, as well as the beginning the first stage of UHF freeing up, thanks to the withdrawal of NSW stations, as well as working with any Gold Coast licensees, and Brisbane's commercial stations, for the upcoming Brisbane switchover/licence switch (where Gold Coast local stations would use the former Brisbane digital commercial UHF frequencies).
By mid 2013, the Gold Coast switch to digital local broadcasters would be completed, with a mandatory overnight Gold Coast UHF closedown, on the day Brisbane switches off analogue, to adjust equipment, and a handover to the new Gold Coast licensees. The authority administrating digital switchover on the GC would be wound up, ninety days after digital switchover, with transmission sites transferred to a new company, owned by the new licensees.

Other factors with this switch include local content and job guarantees (meaning, that the new licencees can't run Gold Coast programming from Brisbane, as well as the idea of employing locals in most jobs, while Brisbane commercial employees based on the GC would be rolled over to the new licencees), stringent local news quotas (trialling major changes in local content quotas for regional areas) as well as multichannels, and a clearly defined image, including labelling the stations as Gold Coast-only, compared to their Brisbane cousins. But a bigger goal, is in sight, and would help solidify any case for local stations. If the Gold Coast were to win the 2018 Commonwealth Games, the current layout of stations would mean all production, would be handled by Brisbane's commercial stations, home of three O&O stations, while ignoring the needs, of a local service, which could probably handle themselves, during the Commonwealth Games, much like Melbourne did, back in the embryonic days of television,where all three Melbourne TV stations (two commercial and the ABC) covered the 1956 Olympics.

Is the Gold Coast ready for a challenge, it has to accept? Would it be a drawn out process, away from my suggested timeline? Would the northern NSW regional TV stations, do a protest, akin to what TVW-7 and STW-9 in Perth did when NEW-10's licence was being issued in the mid 80's? Would the Brisbane metro TV stations accept losing a third of their viewers, to a upstart that serves a area better than they ever did?

Only time will tell.

Local Edition: Why Seven should keep their word.

2010-01-23T19:40:00.001+10:00

2010, for many people is a momentous occasion, end of the noughties etc.

For some, recent events have tried to rewrite history, but only have been really a revisiting of the past...

Let us take a flashback, that I believe Seven Brisbane is afraid to run on Sunday night's news, a... Local Edition flashback.

The current Deal downturn, has reminded many viewers, and some analysts, of the last 2 & 1/2 months of 2000, where there were two competing local products leading into the 6pm news in Brisbane. The battle at 5:30, that Seven was hoping to win handsomely, but failed at. The great "local content war", started in earnest in the late 1990's, when Seven tried one summer, a "live" weekday edition of their successful Great South East advertorial, during a period when Extra was off-air, packaged up with older stories. It failed, but showed that Seven could do something, as the 7 station in Brisbane was itching to beat Extra...

By the time the Sydney Olympics began, final pilots were shot, and promos were airing, for the debut of Seven's answer, to Extra. Accordingly (but at the same time a silly decision in retrospect, as Nine still leads at 6pm on the Gold Coast) Seven's Gold Coast News service (run jointly with regional affiliate Prime) was axed. So, the stage was set, for what Seven hoped to be, their moment for Frank and Kay to overtake Bruce Paige at 6pm, and return Seven Brisbane to the halcyon days of the 1980's, when anything BTQ touched turned to ratings gold.

But, straight away, when Local Edition debuted, people were very reluctant to ditch Extra. Other flaws included, the hourlong format, from 5-6pm, which was not only competing with Extra, but Ten's 5pm news and Burgo's Catch Phrase (which was on Nine in southern states at 5:30) as well as, the throwing out of schedule in Brisbane of then-Seven gameshow Wheel of Fortune, for the first time since the program's inception nearly twenty years earlier. But people weren't warming to Local Edition, to the point, that Seven were placing fourth, just ahead of SBS in the 5-6 slot, before the inevitable announcement.

Just before Christmas 2000, Local Edition was "axed", but a whole lot of momentum was placed on the hope, that the network would reboot Local Edition as a 30 minute program, sometime in 2001. A rushed pilot was even shot, ready for executives in Sydney to view, but the plug was officially pulled on Local Edition, by Seven in early 2001, without the 30 minute pilot being seen. Local Edition's axing, was in my opinion the spark that set off, the chain of events in 2001 that led to Melissa Downes leaving Seven, and the untimely end of Frank Warrick's glorious run at BTQ-7, along with the station's focus switching from national and local production, to simply propping up the 6pm news with a major newsroom clearout.

Although the 5:30 concept has been looked at post-Local Edition (then BTQ program director David Franken, in mid 2001, saying in the press, that when the right formula was found, Seven would have another crack at Extra, being a prime example), the threat of competition forced Extra to lift their game, with the launch in 2001, of Extra Online (after Local Edition, had a website for it's entire run) and Saturday Extra (which became Saturday Afternoons in 2005, then became Weekend Extra in 2008) right up until the axing in June last year, but it has reminded many viewers, about Seven's final words on the issue, being that it promised to have a 5:30 product in Brisbane, sometime in the future.

That statement was made nearly ten years ago. The only major investment Seven has done in the last decade, has been the recent opening of new Surfers Paradise facilities with a promise of a Seven News service for the Gold Coast, in the future. But, it all should hinge on Seven keeping their word to Brisbane viewers about 5:30. After all, it is Brisbane viewers who caused Deal to start skewing Local Edition numbers, although the population of SEQ has grown in the last decade. Quite simply, Deal's suffering, because of Seven's inaction, and summer has shown that in spades. Paige wouldn't be winning, if Deal weren't losing. Sounds a lot like 2000 to me. So Seven, It is time for Local Edition to make a return, 30 minutes of Queensland stories, sounds a lot better than 30 minutes of suitcases, McGuire or TT/ACA any day. The outpouring of support for Extra post-axing, and the Deal decline caused by the Extra axing is proof.

A new year, a new decade and a new attitude.

2010-01-01T08:25:00.004+10:00

What a journey. Two years ago, I set this blog up, on New Years Day, with some "crazy" promises. Wait... I had no crazy promises. But this being our "official" second birthday, I'd thought I'd unveil the next phase, in the blog's evolution (and the "kw" branding's official introduction to this blog, after being "soft-introduced" through the Youtube page in July 2009) and make it "official" that we are Kuttsywood's Couch, with our new "blog image".

We here at Kuttsywood's Couch, are also using the technology of a new decade to change, with it, to move with the trends, to grow our fanbase. We absolutely promote the art of tweeting on Twitter, and since August, most, if not all posts, have been fed through Twitterfeed (a handy and free, service, that is also used by whatsonthetube.net and various other outlets), to our Twitter account, which is www.twitter.com/LYBASkw. We are also gearing up to launch our Facebook page in a few weeks, which will be a expansion on what we do around here, including, a encouragement to talk on issues, and we won't be faceless.

2010 is a big year including, Mildura analogue switchoff in June, Brisbane Ten 45th in July, and Queensland regional aggregation's 20th anniversary on New Years Eve 2010. Soon there will be a special post, combining links for the 13 "50 Years of Brisbane TV" posts from last year (the twelve monthly posts, and the top 50 from August 15) into a easy reference guide.

So, to our (growing) audience, happy 2010, and I hope 2010 is full of good news for the Queensland TV industry, not the bad news we have had to put up with (along with Seven's inaction on 5:30) for most of 2009.

TVQ-0/10 45th... What should occur.

2009-12-31T08:18:00.002+10:00

We are, less than a day away from 2010. Brisbane TV's fiftieth, was a glittering event, even though it was let down a little bit by the Extra axing, but it has invoked a new spirit in Brisbane viewers, to look for what's different, for it is this search, that has caused Deal Or No Deal to bottom out.

But there was another group of people, who were also watching these good events with interest. The R.A.T.S. (Radio and Television Survivors, a group of former Brisbane TV and radio personalities) were at some of the fiftieth events put on by 7 and 9, and recently, there was a reunion function for some TVQ-0/10 staff at a notable Brisbane hotel, which got me wondering...

Should Ten have a local 45th special, in July 2010?

I honestly think, they should. There has to be a million stories to be told, about Brisbane's third commercial station. After all, Brisbane Ten, would never be where it is in 2010, without the 23 years, 2 months, 9 days, 8 hours, it spent as TVQ-0, either branded as Channel 0 (or later on TV0) prior to converting to 10. There is a patchwork quilt of events, that TVQ-0/10 have covered, in the last 36 years of news (TVQ never had news initially), not to mention the promos, and events the station themselves took part in, most notably World Expo 88, where the entire station was under the "microscope" for six months.

So, I say to Ten, TVQ-10 is no longer the black sheep, but is deserving of it's own special chronicling the station's past, not a cheesy one-size fits all special, mainly focusing on Sydney/Melbourne. Surely if a local special went ahead, Seven would give clearance for Kay McGrath and Nine would give clearance to Rob Readings, to return home for one night to give the TVQ 45th special some "credibility". Add a couple of retro promos (even some retro ad breaks, expanding on the idea from the US Life on Mars in 2009, in which Ten ran old commercials for current advertisers) and you have a event equal to or better than the 50th specials 7 and 9 offered in 2009.

Any ex-TVQ'ers leave a comment, and if this gets up to TVQ-10, I really hope it does go ahead.

Kuttsywood's Couch's 10 defining Queensland TV moments of the 00's

2009-12-19T23:00:00.000+10:00

Those who cannot remember the past, are condemned to repeat it.

George Santayana from "The Life of Reason" published in 1905.

As we exit this decade, this blog aims to present the 10 defining moments of the last decade (a first of a series leading to the end of 09... and the beginning of the tenn's), in the Queensland industry, that one way or another is following that saying, possibly many southerners who have moved up here (and some locals too) are to learn from in order for the saying not to become a self-fullfiling prophecy for our industry. I must also inform you of my favorite paraphrase of this saying...

Those who fail to learn from the mistakes of their predecessors, are destined to repeat them.

10-Local Edition (2000)

Seven Brisbane's attempt at winning the 5:30 slot, that was a failure from the beginning. It was a hour long, had two hosts and expensive production values. Despite all the Olympic promotion, even a ad was published in the 2001 Beacon to Beacon directory, the program was axed, and Seven promised a replacement, which up until this day, the network has not fulfilled this promise to Brisbane viewers.

9-Ten Queensland (the former QTV) cutting local news in Cairns/Townsville (2001)

Southern Cross Broadcasting's rapid expansion in the 2000's, began with the acquisition of Telecasters Australia, a mainly Ten network affiliate group, consisting of Ten Queensland (originally QTV) based in Cairns and Ten Northern NSW (originally NRTV) based in Coffs Harbour, as well as the second commercial station in Darwin and a valuable satellite licence running out of Mt Isa. The first major decision was to axe the Cairns/Townsville news service, taken at the same time as Ten Capital axed their local news. It was these decisions, that led to a inquiry into regional news standards, while SCB officially dropped local branding in 2002, followed by full Southern Cross branding in 2005.

8-Frank Warrick departure from Seven (2001)

Frank Warrick, became a icon of a station, and the McGrath/Warrick duo was the ultimate sign of staying power in TV news (even more than Des McWilliam and Geoff Mullins). But come late 2001, some tectonic shifts were happening, a precursor to the arrival of Peter Meakin at 7 in 2003. The BTQ newsroom was cleaned out, including the news director, and ultimately, Frank Warrick was forced out. Soon after, Kay read solo, a Sydneysider was running the newsroom, and Seven was intent on beginning it's highway to revival...

7-Brisbane viewers V Seven, round 1: Local Today Tonight axing (2002-03)

Seven's second major change in News/Current Affairs in Brisbane set Seven's news revival back three years, with the axing of Today Tonight's Brisbane version. It started so innocently, with local TT host Michelle Reiken going on maternity leave, so Seven began to air the Melbourne/Sydney edition (the Sydney version was dropped, in similar fashion, but the host, Mellissa Doyle went on to bigger things) during summer, and was widely expected that Brisbane's TT would return with a fill-in host, but suddenly, in May 2003, the local version was axed. There was a major outcry in Brisbane, but Seven never relented. As a result, Seven had broken it's second promise to Brisbane viewers, on local content in three years.

6-Mike London controversy (2003)

A real controversial incident (we can't say the finer details), that wrote finis to a career. Mike London (brought up through regional television) and Bruce Paige (brought in from the ABC) had a "great" relationship. Rumor spreads in the TV industry and it was taken to the point, that the Courier Mail exploded some off-camera incidents, and eventually Mike resigned. This loss, forced a major change to the news service, with Heather Foord and Jillian Whiting switching roles.

5-Marie-Louise Theile gaffe (2000)

This mid-2000 incident, sums up Ten's image problems in Brisbane, in the 00's to a "t". Simply, a ad break (last ad break before the end of the bulletin) ended early, and we get treated to Marie-Louise going off about her husband, and the sheepish reaction by her co-anchor Geoff Mullins, before floor director alerts them to the end of the break. As a result, Marie Louise, had to apologise, and in the process become typecast as a typical Australian blooper, although it has been overshadowed recently, by of all things, a seagull appearing in front of a newly installed live cam, for Nine News in Melbourne.

4-Nine Brisbane weather flux (2006-09)

John Schluter has something to be thankful for, as if it weren't for him, all these events concerning QTQ would have never happened, had he not defected to 7. Schluter's departure from Nine simply caused a major headache. Simply, from September 2006 through to January 2009, Nine Brisbane went through four weekday weather presenters, before committing to Garry Youngberry, a southern import. Each one fell to different misfortunes, Joseph May was given the chop by Nine, in June 2009, Doug Murray quit "amicably" in June 2009, Frank Warrick quit, for the open road in late 2008 and Sami Lukis, left for Sydney (for a radio project) in late 2008. All the while Schluter's laughing away like a kookaburra.

3-Brisbane viewers V Seven, round 2: (Gotta) Love (It) You Queensland (2007-09)

Love You Brisbane was a very successful campaign, for Seven in the 1980's. When Seven decided to revive the campaign as a "Queensland" orientated push, it succeeded... to a point. But a new wave of viewers discovered the original campaign, and found it to be superior to the revival, and asked for it back. The station's fiftieth special delivered, but also renewed the push for the older slogan's return as Seven fights in a tough slot, and one it wasn't expecting to lose.

2-Brisbane viewers V Seven, round 3: the Deal decline (2009-)

Come July 2009, there was tectonic shifts again, but this time, the viewership showed their power. Remembering what Seven had done earlier in the decade, Brisbane abruptly turned off Deal or No Deal six weeks after beginning head to head competition with Eddie McGuire. Brisbane voted with their remotes, and by the end of 2009, Deal was embarrassingly coming last in the network at 5:30, even having Perth beat Brisbane's 5:30 figures.

1-Brisbane Extra axing (2009)

But all this problems with Deal could not have happened without the axing of the golden goose, that led Seven to produce Local Edition to share in the glory. Brisbane Extra was not axed locally by a station manager, but a Sydney beancounter's decision who overruled the Brisbane "viewership". The Extra axing was a clear example, how much the audience had changed (still parochial, but more internet-based), since the TT axing six years earlier. Instead of writing in to the then broadsheet Courier-Mail, Brisbane used the web as their soapbox. Comments flooded in, not just to a Nine-controlled OurBrisbane website, but to the Courier-Mail, talkback radio, and the implements of a new technological age, the websites that shaped Web 2.0, Twitter and Facebook.

Do you agree with this list, or is there other contenders? Just leave a comment.

50 years of Brisbane TV: Part 12-The future: Where will we be in fifteen years time...

2009-12-16T20:03:00.000+10:00

As we march to the conclusion of the 50 Years of Brisbane TV series, I thought it would be timely, to end it with a look into the future. After all, the book that detailed the first twenty-five years of the Brisbane industry, On Air, 25 Years Of TV in Queensland, ended with a similar look entitled "The Sky is The Limit", by former Pick A Box champion and Labor politician, Barry Jones. In that look, it predicted things like interactive television, cable TV's emergence, early predictions of digital television, even DVD recorders. People back then, couldn't imagine what the next twenty-five years of technological advances would have turned out, from the early days of the internet, to Web 2.0's massive growth in the late 2000's, they would have still thought of a "Jetsons" future for the 2000's, with flying cars, tube elevators and robot maids back then. But now, as we close the book on Q150, we look forward, to another big celebration, which will bring the state together, fifteen years from now.

Note: This post is a theoretical prediction of the future, and may not represent a true picture of the future.

Celebrating 200 Years of European Settlement-The Queensland Bicentenary.

Queensland in 2024 is a much different place. What people, thought were pipedreams in the mid 2000's, are now part of everyday life. The National Broadband Network, has transformed telecommunications, with providers not just putting web and telephone, but offering TV via the broadband connection. Approximately half of all TV sets in Queensland are now connected to either Pay TV or IPTV. Digital television has the same gleam, with twelve commercial licences, three each for regional Queensland, Brisbane, outback Queensland and the newest licences, the three Gold Coast DTV licences, which opened up prior to the successful 2018 Commonwealth Games, also held on the Gold Coast. But the biggest party is yet to begin.

200 Years of Redcliffe...

Queensland's 200th birthday, is celebrated in many ways statewide, but the biggest focus, is on what has become, the "Bicentennial City", the suburb and ticking heart of the Moreton Bay City area (which gained the city title early in 2024), Redcliffe. For, it was at Redcliffe Point in 1824, where the first European settlement on Queensland soil was established. The city's celebrations are year long, and will involve an entire region, now tagged, "Queensland's oldest city", to the chagrin of Brisbane residents.

The Chermside "busway boom"

The last days of Q150, were dominated by talk about a Northern Busway extension to Chermside, which went ahead with one major casualty, the Redcliffe-Chermside bus service ending, as most passengers were now heading to Carseldine to board Chermside bound services. Chermside in 2024, is a whole lot different to 09's Chermside. The suburb resembles Parramatta, and because of this, the entire busway station complex (a including a east-west link) was built underground. What was once a suburban housing area, is now dominated by highrises, tallest around 35 stories and employs more people than the CBD.

Brisbane in 2024:

North Bank is a classic example, of urban regeneration, when Brisbane's much maligned Riverside Expressway was sunk in 2017. Now, it is home to a wealth of facilities, including a social history museum, which talks about our city's icons, and is home to a pillar of the former expressway. Other attractions include, the Bicentennial Centre, a riverfront expansion of the Treasury Casino and the well preserved Commissariat Store, once again looking over South Brisbane, uninhibited by a concrete expressway. South Bank continues to be our city's cultural heart, but has been challenged recently by a reclaimed North Bank.

And finally, If we hope to reshape our future, Brisbane has to think of the future. Simply, we may never be that "big country town" again, but people move here for our relaxed lifestyle. This has been reflected on our screens too little, in the last few years, in favor of adding value to content. Simply, Brisbane wake up and tell the stations what you want, after all, they may just abandon you, or they will pick up the board for the common viewer. I indeed hope it is the latter.

The highway to hell... 2009 Brisbane ratings.

2009-12-03T11:04:00.001+10:00

The title says it all. In a year dominated by axings, sackings, a possible boning, opening of new Gold Coast facilities and the Deal decline, caused by a axing on a completely different channel, it has been literally the highway to hell for Brisbane's TV industry in 2009. From being proud of local content to shunning it in favor of networking the entire schedule from Sydney, from Brian Cahill's return to the newsdesk to Heather Foord's "forced" return to the newsdesk, all while a station abandoned Brisbane, while the traditional home of local content won't pick up the ball and make it theirs. Thus, the "Highway to Hell" reference is apt.

Cue the music, AC/DC's 1979 hit, Highway To Hell (Youtube credit jorgethevilin).

So, It has come down to this...

2009 was neck and neck. So neck and neck, that even in the last week of 2009, it was still anyone's year, except Ten's. Thus the wait until the breakdowns, to get a clearer picture. If anyone from Seven is reading this, be prepared to bawl.

2009 was a... Nine win by 0.1%

Nine-28.7%

Seven-28.6%

Brisbane Ten-21.1%

Simply, if you wanna win 2010, Seven, simply put on some local content at 5:30pm. Brisbane is yearning for it, and have shown their feelings by telling Deal or No Deal to shove it for the last 15 weeks, producing figures that were never even predicted six months ago (every analyst going for Hot Seat to be getting these low figures), going down from regularly getting 200,000 viewers back in June (very healthy, by todays standards), down to a paltry 71,000 viewers on the last Friday of ratings.

Seven has to also not underestimate the power the Gold Coast viewership holds going into 2010, as they are very instrumental in the decline at 5:30, and at 6, as Nine still leads on the Gold Coast, thanks to the GC News. 6 man newsroom's will not be enough, if Seven intends really to take the biff to Readings and co (in turn forcing Nine to lift their game), you need a news service that is good quality and the credibility to back it up. The Walkley won by Seven News (for a Gold Coast story) is all the credibility they need, that if good GC stories get results, maybe a 5:30 service would too.

And finally, Seven still has a monkey on it's back, that isn't the 50c briefcase. Brisbane local content on weekdays for Seven has not been successful since the 80's, when Seven were leading in more ways than one. The ghosts of Local Edition still haunt BTQ, and are scaring them out of spending money to arrest the 5:30 decline. I'm tipping, if Deal's still hovering around the 100k mark by the start of 2010 ratings, Deal will be moved to 5pm, and Seven will have to spend what's needed to rebuild confidence in the Brisbane viewership.

50 years of Brisbane TV: Part 11-Brisbane's Own: Fifty Years of Channel 7 Brisbane

2009-11-01T00:28:00.003+10:00

Dedicated to Tony Gordon 1955-2001.

If one, is to realise the genesis of the Brisbane TV industry and it's "downfall" in recent years, you must take a look at both sides of the commercial coin. Nine may have done some things wrong, but Seven's turkeys are usually singled out. Why singled out? Simply, because of the legacy the station built, from day one as being the creative force in Brisbane's industry.

The Sixties: Theatre Royal's iconic run.

BTQ-7 opened, with just sixty days left in the 1950's, on November 1 1959. It had the honor of the last metro commercial TV station to open for four years (it wasn't till 1964, when ATV-0 in Melbourne opened that new licences were done, and the third commercial licences in Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide (now a 7 station, youngest in the network), and the second commercial licence in Perth were also issued, for opening in 1965). The 1960's shaped Seven Brisbane, and helped create the "local production culture" that existed until the late 1980's. The big stars of the sixties, were mainly local talents, some started their lengthy showbiz careers, and for one, it would rise to unimaginable highs, before a end, for many people, came too soon. Theatre Royal, became Brisbane's most popular program, turning the Friday night slot, into required viewing, even when the commercial market was split three ways, with the introduction of TVQ-0. George Wallace Jr, was the undisputed star of Theatre Royal, and many people thought George was comparable to Graham Kennedy. But the first golden era, of BTQ came to a screeching halt, when George passed away suddenly, aged fifty, in 1968. Other major stars of the era include Nancy Knudsen (who actually gave birth to national production on Mt Coot-tha with her own program, Tiny Time, (a preschool program), being distributed nationally, and just missed out on being the first Queensland TV program to be distributed en-mass overseas.) Brian Tait (the first Queensland Logie winner) as well as Dick McCann (the childrens hour comedian "Beanpole", who also starred as himself on Theatre Royal). By the 1970's however, many of the big names, that shaped BTQ's first golden era, were gone, and the station settled into a lull...

The 70's: Rebuilding and regeneration.

Theatre Royal, the station's great sixties success was gone. As the station raced to colour, the main issues it focused on, were the station's news. A small group of young journalists started out, and eventually became household names to many Queenslanders in the early eighties. That group consisted of Pat Welsh, Mike Higgins, David Fordham and Frank Warrick. Seven's attempts at recapturing the spirit of the 60's, were often shortlived, including specials featuring Jackie McDonald, and Brisbane radio icon Wayne Roberts, but the genesis of the Brisbane industry struck again, when Dina Brown, a star of the late sixties for BTQ, returned home and helped launch Wombat. Wombat, in turn shaped BTQ for the eighties, with the increase in local production, and helped embellish Eric Summons, who had been playing the kids show host "Boris The Black Knight" as a new star. By the end of 1979, the seeds had been sowed, for the turning point, that would usher in a new golden era.

The 1980's: Love You Brisbane, State Affair and statewide reach.

Seven management, had become sick of the slump, caused by Nine and their station programmer Hugh Cornish, (which at one stage saw BTQ rating third out of the commercial stations). It took until the year of the Brisbane Commonwealth Games, and a master pairing of programmer Kel Geddes and Seven Brisbane publicist Gary Linaker, as well as major programming changes (including current affairs program Haydn Sargent's Brisbane evolving into State Affair), that led to the second golden era for Seven. But one slogan sealed the deal, also introduced in 1982, that is... Love You Brisbane. The slogan became popular with Brisbane viewers, so popular, that in the second year of the campaign, it was released as a record, sung by Kim Durant, and achieved radio airplay, which in turn drove sales. 1983 was notable, too as the year Seven finally cracked Nine's dominance, not by imports, but by the core group of Welsh, Higgins and Fordham (Frank Warrick went to Nine in 1983, and read with Don Seccombe, up until Bruce Paige's arrival in 1985), and not just achieved ratings dominance in Brisbane, but achieved the impossible dream, that every regional station in Queensland, and the sole commercial service in Darwin in the Northern Territory was taking BTQ's news, including DDQ-10 which had a partnership with QTQ since the sixties. By the time the station turned twenty five, the station was experiencing a growth pattern, that interested buyers, and by 1985, Fairfax, the then owners of Seven in Sydney bought BTQ. The year the wheels fell off, was in 1987, and it was caused by three factors: 1. being asked to produce a hour news, which saw State Affair axed, 2. changes in media laws, which saw BTQ be sold to Christopher Skase, causing a duopoly issue that was solved when Qintex owned TVQ-0 was sold and 3. being the rise of network content that was produced outside Brisbane. Other minor factors included Mike Higgins leaving BTQ, QTQ breaking through with Bruce Paige, and the rise of TVQ's news hour against Seven's. By the start of 1988, "Love You Brisbane" had gone, a variant would return nearly twenty years later. But the official end of the second golden age, was in late 1989, coinciding with the station's thirtieth birthday.

The 1990's: Brisbane learns to love networking...

The recession of 1990, saw the 7 Network go into receivership. The Brisbane station was critical to the recovery, with national production increased, including a strong children's slate ranging from six days a week of breakfast programming Agro's Cartoon Connection and Saturday Disney, to the ubiquitous 90's kids products, A*Mazing, Time Masters and Wipeout. By 1995, Seven coined the term "The Great South East" in reference to it's home base, South East Queensland, as well as being the home, to the original series of Australian Gladiators, done out of the Brisbane Entertainment Centre, but with all this success, the news was flailing. Even though Seven's news lineup was stable throughout the 90's, including a local Today Tonight, ratings weren't enough, for Nine had chewed through the 5:30 slot, like a doggy toy. By 1997, the first signs of action were happening, with Seven moving Agro to Sydney, followed by Saturday Disney, while the latter seasons of Time Masters and A*Mazing were taped in Perth and suddenly, Brisbane had felt the touch of networking, for the first time. By the time the end of 1999 rolled around, Seven were looking forward to the 2000 Olympics, but the Sydney Olympic year would give a challenge that no-one would predict...

The 2000's: The road to the "Networked Third Golden Age"

It started with a bang, with the Olympic Torch bound for Sydney, spending twenty days in Queensland, including visits to Mt Coot-tha, and Seven personalities carrying the torch as well as a special daily program produced, documenting the torch's journey throughout Queensland. But Seven's biggest project was post-Olympics. Seven had gotten fed up with Extra beating Wheel, and launched a balls and all attempt at local programming, with a hour-long program, Local Edition. While it was Seven's biggest turkey for years, when it was axed, they promised a replacement, but the station never followed through. What did happen, was the culling of production, staff, and slowly but surely, the "Brisbane" was being sucked out. 2001, saw Frank Warrick leave, 2002 saw the hiatus, later axing of the local Today Tonight, By 2005, Brisbane was not even attached to Seven, as people started to see Brisbane's station, as Nine, with the colossial failure of networked gameshow, Deal or No Deal against Extra being the sticking point. But however, times were to change. Seven's news made gains interstate, Brisbane remained stagnant. Then, Seven pulled a masterstroke, and signed John Schluter in 2007, and suddenly the twenty year donkey was broken. But as 2009, unfolded, Seven gained in news, but the Deal hoodoo, struck deeper with a predicted initial post-Extra winning streak (that would have killed Hot Seat), that descended into a stabbing blow for 5:30, with Deal going from respectable figures (160-170,000 viewers), to at one stage, only 84,000 viewers watching one episode. Thus the wheel has turned, once more with Seven needing the investment, to revive the news lead-in, (a seemingly impossible task, not aided by the Gold Coast, sticking to their local news), to revamp their image, while older members of the BTQ family, like the Brisbane-based Austext service were terminated, without being given the credit they were due, or replacements sourced. The future for BTQ-7, as we go into the 2010's, is simply, a need to remind viewers, where they come from, and a need to rebirth itself, with the same spirit that gave birth to Theatre Royal, Wombat and LYB. It's time... for a reinvention.

50 years of Brisbane TV: Part 10-The curtain rises: Brisbane TV Variety

2009-10-16T11:08:00.002+10:00

Dedicated to the fallen stars of Brisbane TV variety, in particular: George Wallace Jr (1918-1968), Brian Tait (1927-2007) and Paul Sharratt (1933-2009).

Welcome to another great instalment of 50 Years of Brisbane TV. This month, we are focusing, on what was the lifeblood of our local content for nearly forty years, local variety television.

Theatre Royal: the beginning, of Brisbane variety.

Television, brought among other things, a new way of presenting live entertainment. Simply, most content was live to air and local, and if it was lucky enough to be aired in other cities and interstate, it had to be kinescoped (in other words filmed, on a reel, and sent down by aeroplane, videotape was expensive and cumbersome back in the 1960's). The main people of this early era included QTQ's Hugh Cornish, BTQ's Brian Tait, but the biggest star, was George Wallace Jr. For George and Brian, the 1960's peak of BTQ-7 were dominated by this duo, and Theatre Royal. The program, became a instant hit, and remained popular, up until the day George Wallace Jr passed away. Theatre Royal also opened the door, for another star, only just beginning her climb, Rowena Wallace, (no relation to George) who eventually starred as "Pat The Rat" on Sons And Daughters in the early 1980's. As for Hugh's contribution, it was the "Tonight" formula, QTQ and Cornish tried, but sadly it never succeeded long term in against Tait and Wallace in their prime.

Studio 9, Orton's Music Hall, enormous expense: the Paul Sharratt era.

QTQ's first major success, in the variety field, came with the arrival of Paul Sharratt, in the early 1970's, with of all things, a set of specials for Nine, similar to the recent Hey Hey reunions but involving ice skating. Eventually, Sharratt settled down, and started, Studio 9, and the "Tonight revival" had begun in earnest. Studio 9 lasted for five years, and earned Sharratt, a swag of Logies and soon, Sharratt was making his own programs, bringing up new stars, even returning to the music hall, and producing specials for Nine, from a theatre restaurant. But many say Sharratt's greatest achievement in production, which placed him, on par with people like Peter Faiman, was the show that closed Her Majesty's in Brisbane's CBD (which became the Brisbane Hilton and second stage of the Wintergarden shopping centre) in 1982, a gala performance during the Commonwealth Games for Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth the 2nd. Seven however, was going through struggles too (failed attempts at creating TV specials, and tonight formats), but found a wacky solution in the mid 1980's.

Wickety Wak: Brisbane's Band, making a statement.

Seven, in the mid 1980's was trying to portray a homespun image. Not the meat and three veg image of today, but a great local image. Part of that was Seven turning to Wickety Wak, a Brisbane band, to produce televised specials for the Brisbane station, to beat what Paul Sharratt could bring out (eg. in 1984, The Village People, performed at QTQ's studios) but with a local edge. The first of these special was in 1983, that being Waks Works 1, with two more specials following (Waks Works 2 and 3 respectively), then in 1985, the band got the ultimate honour, actually performing the Love You Brisbane campaign, but by 1990 after doing eight years of hard work, for BTQ-7, the band went their separate ways, until 1997...

In what would be the final hurrah, for local variety, The Wak, did another special, for now, a partially networked, BTQ-7, in 1997, as part of a brief "reunion" tour, before relaxing into retirement until 2006. I really hope Seven can mend fences with the Wak, and put on a final special, for the viewers, before the Wak retire... for good.

Video: Wickety Wak videos can be found on their YouTube channel.

Theatre Royal closer (from Conniptions886)

Kuttsy's Pitch: Fixing Seven Brisbane's 5:30 dilemma.

2009-10-11T22:11:00.004+10:00

Sitting down at home, bored as a sack of potatoes, I thought back to an post I was supposed to feature on here, around a year ago, concerning Ten's 7pm post Big Brother. I never started it, but it got me thinking, with the recent lows Deal or No Deal has been getting in Brisbane, if say, Seven were to move Deal to 5pm, what would Seven put at 5:30...

Note: These suggestions are only theoretical.

The first one should be a lock and would work well with all Brisbane-only options:

Seven News-Gold Coast Edition: A news bulletin, produced by Seven (initially using the former TT set area at BTQ (currently used by a once per week lotto draw), while Seven finds GC facilities) and anchored by Rob Brough (moving up from Seven Queensland's Sunshine Coast news service) with Seven's Gold Coast bureau being expanded into a mini-newsroom.

But now here are some other great options which would simply be Brisbane-only programming.

Afternoons with Liz: Liz Cantor would be able to finally shake off the "surfer girl" image with this program. More of a talkshow, with some puff pieces, Afternoons with Liz would be a return to a older style of local television, where visiting guests would appear on local programs to promote their concert/exhibition/whatever.

P.M. Magazine: A revival of the mid 1980's Brisbane produced light news program, originally hosted by Nev Roberts and Janne Rayner, with the duo of Talitha Cummins and Triple M's Ian Skippen, P.M. Magazine would be a whole new look, into our home town, rather than rely on stories from the satellite. The lineup of reporters dedicated to this program would be recruited from all corners of Brisbane, and the program would specialise in live content.

Jillian Whiting's Brisbane: A serious current affairs program, also being the revival, of Haydn Sargent's Brisbane, from thirty years ago. This program is not afraid to tackle the hard issues, concerning Queenslanders, not the trivial subjects that current affairs programs use in this day and age. The line-up of reporters would be fitting of this type of program, including the host, experienced journalist Jillian Whiting.

And finally... Brisbane Extra: Name brands, don't come up that often in television, especially those with the longevity of Brisbane Extra. Simply, Seven would buy the rights, off Nine to the Brisbane Extra brand (excluding the 1992-2009 Nine archive, but Seven would have access to it, if story research warranted), the presence at OurBrisbane (also allowing for a development of a proper 7 Brisbane web presence, incorporating the weekend advertorial and newsroom) and a great program, whose demise, accelerated Deal's fall from grace in Brisbane, and which a lot of people miss.

Kuttsywood's Couch's 2nd annual guide to Daylight Saving FTA delays in QLD.

2009-10-01T00:50:00.011+10:00

"It"'s back for 2009/10. Of course I am referring to Daylight Saving, which Queensland does not have.

This post was so popular last year, that the people at DS4SEQ (aka the Daylight Saving For South East Queensland political party, here in Queensland) used it as a effective source, and help spread the message of the "true" cost of having no Daylight Saving in Queensland in a networked TV world (losing ad share), being delays, by the bowlful.

This year there is a main difference, with the addition of schedules for commercial digital multichannels One HD, GO! and Seven's new SD "72" schedules due soon, as well as detailed analysis on cricket, SuperGP, tennis and Sydney's NYE telecast times and delays.

The list begins as follows:

Digital multichannels:

One HD: (HD feed available in both Ten [Brisbane/Gold Coast] (Ch 1) and Southern Cross Ten coverage areas [including Nthn NSW overlap] (Ch 50) , SD feed only available in Brisbane/Gold Coast areas covered by Ten on Ch 12.)

Thursday Night Live: delayed one hour, except SC10 GC.

Most live One-exclusive sport (i.e non AU anti-siphoning list/o'seas, eg MLB, NFL etc.): always live, into all coverage areas.

Anti-Siphoning list sports, that will air on Ten, and One's HD feed: most likely live.

One-exclusive Sports Tonight screenings: delayed one hour except SC10 GC.

GO! (SD-only channel, available on Win in aggregated regional Queensland on Ch 88, Nine in Brisbane and Gold Coast on Ch 99, and NBN Gold Coast on Ch 88)

Currently this channel also runs on a national ad feed, prior to the full launch on October 4.

Post October 4: most likely live in Queensland with a QLD specific ad feed, GO!88 Gold Coast will take a NSW specific ad feed and operate on Sydney time.

Seven/Prime GC 2nd SD, rumored to be "72": Major update will be done, when schedules for this channel are announced closer to the startup date.

Commercial FTA Channels:

Brisbane Ten/Southern Cross Ten:

5pm weekday news from Brisbane, aired statewide: Live.

National news programming (Late News/Meet The Press/Morning News/Early News/weekend news): delayed one hour, except for breaking news.

7PM Project: delayed one hour.

Rove: delayed one hour.

Australian Idol: delayed one hour, SMS and Phone voting start and finish times are listed in Sydney time not Queensland time.

Celebrity Masterchef: Sorry Anna, your constituents will be seeing you cook up a hour delay.

Sport: See One HD.

Nine Brisbane/Win Queensland.

6pm news: Live, including timeslot changes during cricket matches.

ACA: Delayed by up to one & a half hours depending on screening time in your area, (6:30 QTQ, 7pm WIN).

Networked news programming: (11am/4:30/Late News) Delayed by one hour, unless breaking news. Note: Early News isn't listed, as it is a taped bulletin shared with Qantas.

Today & Weekend Today: Delayed by one hour, bar NRL Grand Final day.

Kids WB: live segments may not air in Brisbane, Cartoons will probably run on fixed schedules.

Second Hey Hey reunion special: Sorry Daryl, delayed by one hour into QLD.

Sport: Cricket and 2010 Winter Olympics, see Specific events. Australian Masters Golf, a hour delay likely. NRL Grand Final, live into Queensland, Horse racing during Spring Racing Carnival that Nine has rights to (eg Cox Plate), live with pre-news filler.

Seven Brisbane/Seven Queensland

6pm Brisbane/6pm regional bulletin: Live.

TT (Brisbane only): Delayed one hour.

Sunday Night: The big exclusive? It's delayed one hour.

Sunrise and Weekend Sunrise: delayed one hour.

All networked news programming: delayed one hour.
Sport: Summer of Tennis, Bathurst 1000, Melbourne Cup see Specific events. Other V8 races excluding Super GP (including 2010 Clipsal 500), live, with extra filler programming in Queensland when Syd-Melb goes to 6pm news/5pm programming.

Specific Events, that need more information

Bathurst 1000: Friday practice session-delayed, Top 10 Saturday-delayed, Race day Sunday-Live from 5am, with filler after Sydney-Melb goes to 6pm news.

Cricket: Tests, ODI's and 20-20's at the Gabba, Live depending on ticket sales. Tests and ODI's in Adelaide, live, with Nine News in ODI innings break. Tests and ODI's in Perth, live, with Nine News in Test tea break and ODI innings break. Tests, ODI's and 20-20's played in NSW/Vic/Tas, mainly live, with filler programming for Tests, and Nine News in innings break for ODI's.

2010 Winter Olympics: Events shared with Foxtel, all Nine covered events may be delayed.

Melbourne Cup: Live with filler programming after Syd/Melb go to Seven News.

Seven's Summer Of Tennis: Brisbane International: Live. Sydney International: Some matches live, most delayed. Australian Open: timing will vary depending on Australians performance, all finals, live.

Un-network affiliated events

Gold Coast A1 Super GP/V8 Round: Will be live into Queensland, FTA rights holder currently undecided at posting, most likely will not air on FTA.

Sydney's NYE: Will be delayed into Queensland, FTA rights holder not available, as of posting.

Local content & (Super) Saturday morning fun.

2009-09-18T20:33:00.001+10:00

Seven... It's due.

I am personally fed up, with Seven and it's lack of action on local content.

Local content keeps Queenslanders in jobs, not pretaped advertorials, not 1/2hr long local events, not successful news, not successful programming.

The message is being sent by Brisbane viewers... by simply plowing down Deal or No Deal.

I honestly think Deal's going down the tubes in Brisbane, due to the audience wanting more from Seven. Brisbane viewers may love Seven's news, but are treating the lead-in, like it was the sole reason Extra was chucked off air. Nine News is hurting too, but Brisbane viewers had taken their aggression, not on Eddie McGuire (a Millionaire boycott was expected), but on Andrew O'Keefe. The viewers don't want a second generation O'Keefe, they want a second generation Extra. If Seven even cared about Brisbane viewers, they should really consider, buying from Nine, the Extra format and reboot the program on Seven, (as a in-house, rather than a outsourced production like the advertorials) replacing Deal, by the start of 2010.

I would reckon, that any "new" version of Brisbane Extra would rate well, as viewers would crave it, and have longed for it's welcome return. Loyalty is expensive, but would be worth it if Seven took a gamble, and revived, what many thought would never make it past it's first year, let alone a 18 year successful run on Nine.

But now onto another topic.

With the recent spirit of mass web campaigning, which has led to the short term revival of Hey Hey It's Saturday, it made me wonder... Because Channel 7 is turning fifty this year, and to show our appreciation, for the great programs that BTQ made in the station's heyday, I thought it would be novel, to simply ask Seven, for 1980's Brisbane-only kids program, Seven's Super Saturday, to come back, for one more show. That's right, a chance for Brisbane viewers to honour Boris The Black Knight, and his great contribution to BTQ-7's 1980's golden era, a chance for Agro to get up to his old tricks and a chance for Brisbane to celebrate 50 years of Channel 7, with a local product coming back out of retirement at least for one day.

There is a Facebook group ready to go! So Brisbane, It's time, for... Seven's Super Saturday to return, back to our screens.

50 years of Brisbane TV: Part 9-Kids TV and how it changed the Brisbane industry

2009-09-16T12:54:00.000+10:00

Welcome to Part 9 of this blog series, This month, it's all about the kids.

Children's television, has literally been a part of the patchwork quilt of Brisbane telly, since day two of television. That's right day two, August 17, 1959 when "The Channel Niner's" debuted.

The Iliffe Generation: The early days, and the launch of KAK...

The Channel Niner's became the big success of early childrens television in Queensland, while other stations tried many other lineups, QTQ remained consistant, with fewer changes (mainly cosmetic), bar the addition of someone, picked, by the host, Jim Iliffe, to co-host in the mid-sixties, Kerri-Anne Wright (now, Kerri-Anne Kennerley). A favorite moment, of KAK's from her early days as Captain Jim's "sidekick", is when the program was being done from Marineland, on the Gold Coast, where KAK was invited to feed a dolphin, but ended up in the water, with the whole event being filmed, and has been re-run often, alongside other early years clips on various specials. While the first fifteen years were dominated by, Iliffe, there were others who shaped the early years, including BTQ-7's Dina Heslop (who went on to help create Wombat) and "children's hour comedian" Beanpole (played by Dick McCann, who also was part of Theatre Royal with George Wallace Jr). By the time the first colour tests occured in 1974, Captain Jim stepped back, and in came the second generation...

Jackie And All That Jazz... Hurly Burly, it's Jackie Mac.

The early days of colour brought to the world, a new star, Jackie McDonald, and her sister Fiona taking over from Jim, and helped change the way kids television was going, no longer about physical comedy, but about lots of colour, and the new generation, took major advantages, with the changes in technology. Jackie's stint at Nine, ended with a failed move into the US, while Fiona took over Jackie's old show, until the right opportunity came up. Jackie's career blossomed, with a move first to BTQ-7, then over to TVQ-0, where she hosted a breakfast program famous for it's "freak waves" (a famous promotion for a late 1970's viewer contest, where Jackie was giving away a boat, every person who went into the boat to demonstrate the features got soaked with a bucket of water, hence a freak wave), while doing Hey Hey It's Saturday in Melbourne, eventually leaving Brisbane screens when HHIS became a night-time program (and went national) in 1984.

Wombat, Boris's Breakfast Club, Seven's Super Saturday... The King of The Kids, Eric Summons.

The childrens focus, of the first twenty years was changing. Regulation came in, and with it came a new rating, C, and it meant new ways of doing things for childrens television, and two rival efforts were working to achieve those goals, the Sydney-based Simon Townsend's Wonder World, that aired on TVQ-0, and the Brisbane-made Wombat that was done at BTQ-7. It was Wombat, that helped launch many careers, including one, that became synonymous with Seven Brisbane during the 80's, Eric Summons. Eric, was not just a reporter for Wombat, he added many great segments for the program, all in between tapings for his "alterego", Boris The Black Knight. At one stage, Boris was on TV seven mornings a week, six with his own show, Boris's Breakfast Club, and on Saturday mornings, with a character from Wombat, called Agro (played by Jamie Dunn), on Seven's Super Saturday. As Wombat grew in popularity, including going national, Eric eventually stepped away from Wombat, and concentrated on Boris, and eventually in 1989, Boris's Breakfast Club, and Seven's Super Saturday wrapped for good, replaced with two national products coming out of Brisbane, Agro's Cartoon Connection, which lasted until 1997, after a move to Sydney that year for the program failed, and Saturday Disney, which moved to Sydney in 1999.

The changing face of Brisbane television: Tony Johnston.

It was in the peak days of Boris, when Tony debuted fresh out of school, as the host of Saturday Jukebox, a music program which followed Seven's Super Saturday. Many people were thinking at that stage, could Johnston become the new Eric Summons, who had become firmly planted, at BTQ, and the station nurtured Tony's talents. But times had changed suddenly, and in 1987, Johnston jumped ship, for greener pastures, at QTQ-9. QTQ had a major issue, with longterm programming, with kids products, often lasting a year or two, and Tony became the kids show host, that you could rely on. Stints on the Nine revival of Wonder World, and the gameshow, My Generation, eventually found Tony Johnston his calling, and in 1996, went back to BTQ (by this time, a Seven O&O), and became a reliable local personality for the rapidly changing BTQ-7, while managing the national kids gameshow Time Masters, which shared space with A*mazing, then hosted the last major production in BTQ's Studio 1, Wipeout from 1999 to 2001. Tony also expanded his interests, with a stint doing BTQ's weather in 2002-03, as well as taking on fellow Wonder World alumni, Catriona Rowntree on Seven's The Great Outdoors, before leaving Brisbane TV for an adventure, where he explored many opportunities outside the realm of kids TV, including talkback radio, and is busy building a new media business.

The new generation innovates... Drew Jarvis

The 1990's brought many successes. But technology evolved, and thus kids programming evolved too. A whole realm of new talent came up, who had grown up watching the 80's stars as teens, or as young kids, as a result idolising them. The early 1990's also introduced the P rating for preschool programming, while Network Ten eventually centralized most national childrens production in Brisbane, providing a major pathway, for new talent, which had not been open back in Wombat's heyday. Nine had also realized that Brisbane provided a great setting, for childrens TV, and in 1999, Nine launched Y, followed by Hot Source which launched the career of Miranda Deakin, then the preschool program New McDonald's Farm (which was innovative in it's own right) and then in 2006, the information revolution finally caught up with mainstream childrens television, with three acting graduates and a surfer and helped shape a program... that became, The Shak. The "modernised" version of Wombat, literally "drew" viewers in, and introduced the world to a talented person by the name of Drew Jarvis. Drew took the Curio character, to the point, for the first season, but as soon as Nine moved the programs setting to WhiteWater World, we started to see the colourful characters emerge, that would define his career to date. We were introduced first to Urban Aaron, then to Professor Lucas Peel, Kharlie Kherub, various historical characters, Dexter Fry, traveling salesman Kent Perkins, Nitro-loving Aunt Bea amongst others. Viewers were even introduced to the "real" Drew in 2008 on Labrats Challenge, and in front of a national primetime audience on Hole In The Wall, all this while still doing The Shak, which evolved as time went on. Now airing in many countries, The Shak has become the very essence of Queensland television, and shares the last man standing mentality we have, being the last locally made production done by Nine, after recent events.

BTQ-7's role in the Brisbane area: Part 2-The stations 50th...

2009-08-30T21:00:00.002+10:00

As most readers have known, with my recent post, asking Seven to stop turning it's collective back on Brisbane viewers and pour money into BTQ's future, this blog is often very critical of Seven, in a complete 360 of what the "old" media often portrays, which should be standing up for the common viewer, especially in light of recent events, eg. Extra axing.

So what if you are #1? QTQ-9's fiftieth outshone expectations (I was expecting one 50th special from Nine, we got two, as well as QTQ's news being done from the Ekka and possibly a new set for the 6pm news), while BTQ's has been lacklustre so far. Hell, it's Seven Network partner TVW-7 in Perth has done more for their fiftieth, than BTQ-7.

It is simply a case of what the viewers want, the viewers won't get. Say if a poll was taken amongst Brisbane viewers, and the results came back overwhelmingly for a Love You Brisbane revival, would Seven take it up? But now we go to the three subjects that will dominate the BTQ-7 fiftieth celebrations.

#1-The Love You Brisbane revival.

Seven has to get this right, the first time. No darn TV man, no Kochie and Mel, nothing that was part of the networking of BTQ, that it has to be 100% local. I am talking about programs like Family Feud, Popcorn, Brownies Coastwatch, Local Edition, Sportscene, the original Gladiators and of course Agro's Cartoon Connection. Those are merely a snippet of Brisbane viewers memories of Channel 7 in the last five decades, and combined with the market value of the Love You Brisbane campaign, it will finally wake viewers up to BTQ's fiftieth, and the fact that Seven's "trying" to lure a audience in, that is completely opposite to what "heartland" is.

#2-The fiftieth special.

Nothing much to be said, but it has to have retro program footage, older personalities, at least a decent mention of our fallen stars, and be the spark for at least some proper local programming to return in 2010 and beyond.

#3-The host of said 50th special.

BTQ's fiftieth is a occasion. It does not need any cross promotion, of the news, but the right host needs to be found. I honestly do not want John Schluter hosting any BTQ fiftieth special, as he is a bad choice, and the fact that he has been at the station for only two years.

My second choice, is the person who put in the hard yards, trying to make the best of a bad situation, working nearly two weeks straight over summer 08/09 reading news, and is also the state political reporter for Seven, Patrick Condren.

But my first choice, has to be the tireless worker for Seven's news, and most importantly their fiftieth, and never gets a turn at on-air presenting. My choice for host... is Seven News reporter, Peter Doherty.

Why a reporter, particularly Peter? I have heard from many sources, that Peter has been scouring tapes, for footage for the station's 50th, since late last year, and has gone to great lengths to make sure nothing is left out, including from outside sources.

Seven, Don't ruin the Brisbane fiftieth, by making it about the last two years of success. Make it for George Wallace Jr, Brian Tait and Tony Gordon (three people, that BTQ raised and in turn shaped BTQ and sadly not with us today), not Kay McGrath, Rod Young and John Schluter.

Don't ruin the Brisbane fiftieth, by emphasising networking over localism.

And most importantly Don't ruin the Brisbane fiftieth by not respecting what made you who you are today, people like Eric Summons, bands like Wickety Wak and the most important person, the Brisbane viewers that made Seven in the past, that supported State Affair, that supported Boris's Breakfast Club, Seven's Super Saturday and Wombat, that are now yearning for more local content.

This is also, my open invitation, to former BTQ staffers, personalities etc. as well as the general public to share their BTQ stories, whether they brought down the house, or visited the numerous open days, and also can share their personal vision for Seven Brisbane's fiftieth.

50 years of Brisbane TV: Part 8-Still The One: 50 Years of Brisbane's Channel 9

2009-08-16T11:00:00.002+10:00

The wait is over... A golden anniversary is being marked. Welcome to Part 8...

The genesis: TV is coming to Brisbane, a case of when, not if.

When television began in this country nearly fifty-three years ago, it was a purely Sydney-Melbourne medium. Brisbane waited it's turn, until 1958, when the first two licences in Queensland were up for bids (alongside two in Adelaide, what became NWS-9 and ADS-7, later ADS-10 and one in Perth, TVW-7). Of these prized Brisbane commercial TV licences, one was sold to Queensland Television Limited, (what became QTQ-9) and the other to Brisbane TV Limited (which became BTQ-7), and the planning began...

By mid 1959, Mt Coot-tha was a hive of activity. Unlike a few of their compatriats in Sydney and Melbourne, the Brisbane commercial stations all set up within stones throw of each other, next to their transmitters. It was the genesis of a new Queensland industry, which was about to get a launch, like no other.

16 August 1959: Launch Day.

Brisbane, was preparing for a royal visit, while the EKKA was starting the next day (along with school holidays, which were EKKA centered until the 1980's, while Sunday openings for the EKKA didn't start until 1971), when TV-mania hit Brisbane. The show itself was a victim of the QTQ inaugural transmissions, with lower attendance (also attributed to the royal visit), but rebounded the next year. Then, on that Sunday night, the first star of Brisbane TV and the first face on that night, Hugh Cornish, uttered these words...

"Good evening Brisbane, welcome to television." The first TV news story that aired in Brisbane, was about the royal visit by Princess Alexandria (which began in Canberra, then made it's way to Queensland), and was rushed to Brisbane, to get the news film on air. Schedules fifty years ago, consisted of just five and a half hours of TV, which started at 5pm most days, and ended at 10:30pm. Another major factor, was most if not all, local programming, was done live.

The Sixties: Competition, and the first "down period".

By November 1959, there was a commercial competitor to QTQ, and the Brisbane branch of the ABC in operation. The 1960's however were to show that being first on air didn't always mean being #1. Theatre Royal brought BTQ-7 great success, while QTQ languished, with failed tonight shows and bad planning, but the only saving face was Don Seccombe arriving in 1962 and QTQ's news was rating well. By 1964, QTQ was pioneering the concept of female newsreaders, and faced new competition head on the next year, in the form of Brisbane's third commercial station TVQ-0. By 1969, QTQ regained the #1 position, and was preparing to raise the new stars of the 70's and 80's...

The 70's: The next generation comes up the mountain.

QTQ, had history of creating stars in the 1960's, beginning with Kerri-Anne Wright, but the revolution was coming... In the dieing days of black and white TV, a young lady by the name of Jackie McDonald began her own show, and introduced her sister Fiona, (who stayed in Brisbane, eventually becoming part of another innovative program, BTQ-7's Wombat) while Jackie's career went into the stratosphere, with a move to Melbourne and Hey Hey it's Saturday. Another key figure of the 70's "boom" was Paul Sharratt, who produced many programs for the station throughout the 70's, from live spectaculars to talent show "Stairway To The Stars", hosted by Hugh Cornish. By the end of the 70's, QTQ was regularly winning the ratings, including their 6pm news and local current affairs programs, and winning Logies for their programs and in 1978 swept the news awards for coverage of a police shootout, one of only three news Logies ever won by a Queensland station, as well as a Sammy Award for best news cameraman for QTQ's Nick Nicolaides (who shot the footage).

1980's: The times, they are a changing...

The 80's started well, bar a blemish or two, but in 1983, Nine lost two key factors: one, being their news dominance, with BTQ overtaking QTQ, as well as stations dropping National Nine News in favor of Seven National News and State Affair, and two being Nine losing the year, all due to Seven's resurgence, with programs that fed off the tentpegged news. By 1985, the early signs of a generational shift were appearing, with Don Seccombe retiring, TT being "dumped" and new owners buying QTQ. The news was gradually picking up viewers, until 1987, when Nine finally broke the Seven stranglehold on news (incidently with the third set in three years), which it held onto for twenty years. The young talent coming in was thick and fast, with names like Laurel Edwards, Tony Johnston (who started at BTQ, and jumped ship to QTQ), David "Gibbo" Gibson, and others, revitalising the lineup, as well as Bruce Paige, Mike London, Robin Parkin and Heather Foord filling the newsroom. As the decade closed, Nine in Brisbane was a firm #1 again, but the 90's were to show the resolve.

The 1990's: The Who's Who...

The early 90's were like walking on eggshells, with some local content, the resilient "In Brisbane Today" (which was axed eventually) and 5:30 program Brisbane Extra, but it was the fast growth of Queensland sparked by a boom after the 1990's recession that sparked changes. QTQ eventually introduced a "Gold Coast News" for Gold Coast viewers, while local talent were rapidly moving. By the turn of the century, QTQ had celebrated forty years of existance, with many memories of Extra throughout the 1990's, and news leadership that wasn't challenged.

The 2000's: A new century, a new era.

QTQ moved with the times, in the 21st century. By 2001, they launched a website for Brisbane Extra, and progressed into digital broadcasting. But some roads have their bumps, like when Mike London left QTQ in 2003, and the bungled GC News move to Brisbane, as well as the Schluter defection in 2006. But like the 60's and the 1980's, QTQ would face another "down period", this time caused by a multitude of factors. In 2007, QTQ lost the year, then rebounded in 2008, then having a lull. But the craziest of all these "bumps" was the Brisbane Extra axing in June 2009, which showed QTQ viewers for the first time, that their station was Sydney-run. Viewers left the news service, and the Extra replacement, for greener pastures (which also hurt BTQ, with the "ex-Extra" viewers often bypassing 7's lead-in due to lack of action on local programming, as well as a regular occurance of a audience split between both Deal and Hotseat) Bruce Paige was "retiring", replaced by another ABC newsreader Andrew Lofthouse. As QTQ-9 heads into it's second half-century of operation today, for it is a milestone, regardless of what has happened in the last six weeks, and something all those who shaped the first fifty years can be proud of, regardless of their standing with Nine at this time.

50 Years Of Brisbane TV-The fifty icons of Brisbane TV

2009-08-15T08:28:00.001+10:00

It's time to blow out some birthday candles, But that's tomorrow. Welcome to the 50 Years Of Brisbane TV "Super Saturday" where we honour the greats of our industry, and look back on those decisions that define our city's industry. We'll give a promo treat, and some programs that we loved from our home town. And of course, those "Only In Brisbane" moments! The idea for the top 50 (originally a top 20), came from the recent Q150 Icons poll, except, ours was personally selected by this blog's sole editor, Kuttsywood. We start now with the ten greatest personalities from Brisbane, over the last fifty years:

The 10 greatest Brisbane TV personalities of the last fifty years:

#10- Kerri-Anne Kennerley: KAK has had a long and fruitful career, on the small screen. Her career started in the 1960's on QTQ-9's Channel Niners, and has never looked back. During the 80's and early 1990's, she was a welcoming face on Ten's Good Morning Australia, even coming back to her hometown in 1988, to anchor Ten/TV0's coverage of the opening ceremony of World Expo 88. Currently she is with Nine, and still pops up now and again on promos in Brisbane, and that is a career going full circle, for KAK.

#9- Hugh Cornish: The first face on Queensland television in 1959, Hugh has gone through some career changes, first as a QTQ-9 tonight show host in the early 1960's, then retreating in the 70's becoming a mastermind, of programming, while hosting a talent quest, then eventually becoming QTQ-9 general manager in the 1980's, until 1985, when many thought retirement was imminent. Other than co-anchoring TVQ-10's weekend news in 1989, and sporadic appearences since then, including a 1999 promo for QTQ and the recent 50 Years of Nine For News special as well as tonight's fiftieth special, Hugh is retired, with a legacy none match in station management or as one of our early stars.

#8- Paul Sharratt: A master of both live theatre and live television production, the late Paul Sharratt, has left an imprint on the Queensland industry. With his production expertise, QTQ-9 ended up with large amounts of variety, from the 1970's until the mid 1980's as well as some other products. His music hall, experience led him to four Logies (voted by Queensland viewers), and another five for "Studio 9", a variety show hosted and produced by Sharratt himself. Sadly, we lost Paul, earlier this year, but he taped a interview for tonight's QTQ fiftieth special prior to his death.

#7- Jackie McDonald: The allround entertainer, Jackie started her career at QTQ-9 in the 1970's doing childrens television, with her sister Fiona (who later went on to BTQ-7's Wombat) before Jackie went for a brief stint at BTQ-7, before going to TVQ-0 until 1983. In 1984, she left Brisbane behind (she had been doing it progressively since the late 70's) to work on Nine's Hey Hey It's Saturday, then left in 1989, and briefly reappeared in 1991 doing Funniest Home Videos, then left for Ten, and hosted Healthy, Wealthy and Wise, until the late 1990's, before returning to QTQ screens tonight, as well as a possible involvement in the upcoming Hey Hey reunion.

#6- Eric Summons: Many will remember this great entertainer, for his role as BTQ-7's childrens presenter Boris The Black Knight, but his other major legacies still live on, in people's memories. These include, being a part of BTQ-7's childrens program Wombat from the program's inception in 1979, through the eighties, as Wombat went national in the middle of the decade, Eric then focused heavily on Boris, until the retirement of Boris's Breakfast Club in 1989. He is also a skilled magician, and often performed during telethons during his BTQ career, and is still entertaining a new generation whose parents grew up, in the 80's with Eric, with his magic, often at public events.

#5- Don Seccombe: The most notable newsreader for many QTQ-9 viewers during the station's first twenty-five years, Don came from the ABC in the early sixties, and saw major changes, and events, including tear-filled accounts, in 1974, after seeing the devastation of the Australia Day floods. Don also hosted his own game show for a time, "I've Got A Secret" and Don retired from the newsdesk, in 1985, just as another ABC alumni arrived at Nine, Bruce Paige. Sadly, Don passed away in late December 1993, at just 62.

#4- Brian Tait: The first face of BTQ-7 in 1959, and later the first Queensland Logie winner for most popular personality, Brian was part of the glitz that was BTQ-7's first golden era in the 1960's. At first hosting a Tonight show, then later part of Theatre Royal, Brian eventually faded into retirement, and passed away in 2007, the same year BTQ-7's third "golden era" began.

#3- Frank Warrick: Frank started at BTQ-7 in the late 70's, eventually reading the 6pm news with Mike Higgins, until a surprise defection in 1983, to QTQ-9 to read with Don Seccombe. During this first two year stint at Nine, he also hosted briefly, the Today Show, before going back to BTQ-7 in 1986. From then until his final departure from BTQ-7 in 2001, he read the 6pm news, first with Janne Rayner in 1987, then Mike Higgins (both in 1986 and 1988) and finally Kay McGrath from 1989 to December 2001. Frank wasn't done, so he took a summer newsreading job for QTQ-9 in 2002, followed by a six year adventure, as a gray nomad until he was brought back to do the QTQ-9 weather in 2008, before finally calling it a career at the end of 2008.

#2 Heather Foord: The only personality from the modern era (1984 onward), and still working, to make this list, Heather started as a newsreader for QTQ-9 in the late 80's progressively working her way up the ladder, eventually becoming the weekday female co-anchor, and staying in that role (other than a break in between 2001 and 2004 to raise her family) up until her decision to leave the newsdesk in 2008. But that wasn't the end, with Heather moving to Extra, hosting the program until the Sydney ordered axing of the program in June 2009, with Heather been thrown back into the newsroom, back in her old role as weekend anchor.

#1 George Wallace Jr: "The Boy From The Valley" deserves this spot, as he was the biggest star of the first BTQ-7 golden era, with Theatre Royal, pulling great ratings, even his peers at other stations knew he was ratings gold. Theatre Royal became the IMT for Brisbane viewers, George, being compared to Graham Kennedy, but sadly, it all ended on September 30 1968, when George passed away at the age of fifty, from a stroke. There is a wing of BTQ-7's facility on Mt Coot-tha (dedicated in the 1980's), named for as of today the greatest personality of the last fifty years.

The 10 greatest Brisbane TV programs of the last fifty years:

#10 Now You See It (BTQ-7 1985-1993/QTQ-9 1998-2003): This childrens gameshow, is a odd addition to any top 10 list. But with two different channels producing the program (BTQ-7 and QTQ-9) two different names, (Now You See It and Download (done to tie in with the new millenium) many different hosts, (Mike Meade, Sofie Formica and Scott McRae) and even different sidekicks (Melvin, a robot and Ms Bytes, a resident of "cyberspace") have earned this childrens favorite this spot.

#9 The Shak (QTQ-9 2006-present) Another childrens product, this time more recent, which uses Brisbane, not just as a production centre, but as a source for stories, that viewers send in. The program has had numerous changes, from being part of Sea World when the program launched, to a physical Shak in the middle of WhiteWater World and using Dreamworld as a backdrop, to the current setting in a typical sharehouse, this program has gone from strength to strength, as a modern success story of Queensland television.

#8 Haydn Sargent's Brisbane/State Affair (BTQ-7 1979-1987) A unique program that had two lives, during the local current affairs wars of the early 1980's, first as Haydn Sargent's Brisbane, hosted by radio personality Haydn Sargent, then after Haydn left the program in 1981, it was retooled, with the same team and became State Affair with Glenn Taylor (who was notably poached from QTQ-9's successful Today Tonight) and became a key part of Seven's 1980's success, up until a drastic change in 1987 (two years after it's nearest competitor was axed, in favor of Willesee) when Seven dropped the successful program in favor of a hourlong news.

#7 Ive Got A Secret (QTQ-9 1965-1974) This gameshow, was a success in more ways than one. It not just gave viewers a look at a new side of Don Seccombe, but others too. Often you would get entertaining "secrets" that were guessed by a panel, and a lot of interstate stars flew up to Brisbane to appear and lift their profiles to the Brisbane audience. Sadly, very little vision of the groundbreaking program remains.

#6 Seven's Super Saturday (BTQ-7 1982-1989) The ultimate kids program of the mid 1980's, Seven's Super Saturday was initally a standalone program, and was part of the Boris's Breakfast Club "brand", with it being also home to Wombat's Agro, and often part of the purely local lineup BTQ had on Saturday mornings. Eventually in 1989, the program and Boris's Breakfast Club ended, with two new national products, being produced from Brisbane, Saturday Disney and Agro's Cartoon Connection being launched in 1990.

#5 ttn (TVQ-10 2004-2008) Brisbane is Network Ten's sole production centre for childrens television, but come 2004, after the ABC dumped Behind The News (a bad decision, that was reversed), a children's news program, Ten stepped up and launched "The Total News", or TTN for short. It was produced out of Ten in Brisbane for it's entire run, and had something BTN never had, which was newspaper support, with the educational liftouts of the major metropolitan newspapers being linked to the program. After three years of competing against BTN, in late 2008 it was axed due to cost cutting, the same fate that happened to BTN (which led to TTN's establishment).

#4 Today Tonight (QTQ-9 1979-1985) The original, and in my words still the best. TT originally started as a venture by some ex ABC journalists, from This Day Tonight, to bring local current affairs to commercial television. Nine took the offer, and went full speed ahead, winning the ratings intially, but losing some traction when original host Glenn Taylor defected to BTQ-7. Notable reporters include Maxine McKew (now federal member for Bennelong), Mark Suleau (now working at TVQ-10) and Michael Beattie (who later went to BTQ-7 to work on the 1995 TT revival, and now is a media spokesman for the RSPCA in Queensland). The program wound up in 1985, replaced with Willesee, then later on in the decade, ACA.

#3 Wombat (BTQ-7 1978-1989) The iconic BTQ production for a generation. Wombat initally started as a Brisbane-only product, but as it got popular, Seven wanted to take it national, so it ended up becoming the first major national success for Brisbane television, and people loved the program, even more in Brisbane itself (where the presenters were "royalty"), and it launched many careers, most notably Jamie Dunn, Agro, Eric Summons, The Blakeney twins, Tony Gordon, Bob La Castra (now a Gold Coast City Council councillor) and many others.

#2 Extra (QTQ-9 1992-2009) The next generation, of QTQ's local commitment began in 1992, with the launch of Brisbane Extra, which stayed around, for 18 years, becoming in the process, the longest lasting local product on any metropolitan TV station. It has been hosted by three main people, Rick Burnett from the programs inception until 2006, then Jillian Whiting from mid 2006 until late 2008 then former newsreader Heather Foord from the start of 2009 until the axing in June. The axing was not taken well by Brisbane viewers, with Extra viewers still lodging complaints months afterward.

#1 Theatre Royal (BTQ-7 1961-1969) Brisbane's most popular program ever, is number one on this list. Based on the old vaudeville stylings of Brisbane's Theatre Royal, based in Elizabeth Street, it became a big success, with the high point being that half of Brisbane's screens were watching BTQ-7 weekly, in a three (later four) cornered market, something only happens rarely now, usually for State of Origin football. The program ended with George Wallace's sudden death in September 1968, with a final tribute show in 1969 and had left a legacy for itself that would never be beaten.

The 10 most memorable Queensland local promotional campaigns of the last fifty years:

#10 Love You Queensland (Sunshine Television: 1992-1995)

#9 The Place To Be (NQTV/QTV: 1986-1989,1990-1994)

#8 Go TV0! (TVQ-0: 1984-1985)

#7 This Is What We Watch (QTQ-9: 1996)

#6 The Great South East (BTQ-7: 1995-December 1999, 2002)

#5 Summer Fever/Seven Fever (BTQ-7: 1978-1979)

#4 Ten, Brisbane Style (TVQ-10: September 1988-July 1989)

#3 Stand Up And Tell Them Brisbane's Great! (TVQ-0: 1986-January 1988)

#2 Nine For Queensland (QTQ-9: 2008-present)

#1 Love You Brisbane (BTQ-7 1982-1987)

The 10 greatest "Only In Brisbane" moments and concepts of the last fifty years:

#10 "The Bullets are riding high": Basketballmania in the mid 1980's hit Brisbane in a big way, with Brisbane's team winning their first NBL premiership in 1985, and what followed was a cheesy video clip, with the team "performing" their team song, and posing in the Queen St Mall, Mt Coot-tha and strangely enough TVQ-0's studios (then NBL broadcaster) alongside footage of the team.

The Bullets were sadly removed from the NBL in 2008 after their owner, Eddie Groves's ABC Learning centres went bankrupt, thus Brisbane has no NBL team currently.

#9 The Gold Coast UHF feeds: For the first twenty years of television in Brisbane, VHF transmissions could be recieved on the Gold Coast, until a decision was made in 1980 to open UHF feeds for the Gold Coast, which has proved to be a smart decision. There is now a need, as the Gold Coast grows, for localised stations, as the costs to maintain the current system may become more expensive, with the addition of digital television, and eventually digital radio.

#8 Early 1980's Brisbane's "jingle on a record" fad: During the 80's, some local ads were very popular, and the idea of a jingle on a record actually came from Melbourne, where plans were layed out for Nine's popular "Brian Told Me So" news promo, to be released as a LP, in April 1979. But Brisbane went "troppo" with the concept during the 80's. Notable releases included a XXXX beer ad, The Brisbane City Council's "Shine On Brisbane" promotional campaign for the Commonwealth Games in 1982, and the most notable, BTQ-7's Kim Durant version of Love You Brisbane, which reached #1 on the Brisbane charts.

#7 The local current affairs wars of the 1980's: The start of the "war" that defined the 1980's for Brisbane viewers, began in 1979, with Seven and Nine launching local current affairs products Haydn Sargent's Brisbane and Today Tonight head to head. Both were successful, but when HSB lost audience, Glenn Taylor (the only big poaching/defection between 7 and 9 during the wars) moved from QTQ-9 to BTQ-7 and started State Affair. It was briefly a three cornered contest, with TVQ-0 attempting a current affairs program in that slot, that was eventually axed. The end of the wars came about from TVQ-0 finally moving to a hour-long news in 1985 and QTQ-9 dropping Today Tonight, in favor of Willesse networked from Sydney. State Affair won the war, lasting until early 1987.

#6 Concepts that work in Queensland, fail elsewhere: There have been some TV concepts, devised as local, that have worked well in Queensland, but failed interstate. First was Extra, which lasted 18 years, and another is the "Flashback" segment on Seven News on Sundays (which has lasted for three years, where as interstate it was dropped, after a few weeks after it was introduced in 2006, while TVW in Perth had their Flashbacks re-introduced recently.)

#5 Shopping with your favorite TV station: This was a fad, in the mid 1980's, which lasted into the early '90s, where you visited a shop that solely stocked your favorite station's merchandise. A prime example was BTQ-7 launching the Seven Shop, at the peak of "Love You Brisbane"'s popularity, and people bought shirts, towels, hats, even beach umbrellas with the 7 slogan on it. Also, at the EKKA, you often got TV station showbags, which were a part of many kids childhoods, in similar fashion to what B105 and Triple M offered until 2007, with posters, drinks, food and often exclusive items.

#4 The Expo Studios of TVQ-0/10: Expo 88 brought many challenges for all three commercial stations. Expo correspondents often were part of newsrooms, and extra staff were hired for the multiplicity of foreign visitors. But only one station took their newsroom to Expo for the entire six months, which was TVQ-0/10. They not just covered Expo, they were part of it, even getting a "national" day. They also performed the switch from 0 to 10 onsite, and literally overnight the "TV0" logos were replaced with "X" Ten logos, and covered everything that made Expo, the event to remember.

#3 Operation Eagle: Many Brisbane kids remember when the newsreaders, would come visit the school, and film a piece for the bulletin, to give students a taste of television production. Originally concieved when helicopters were begining to be used in news, to show off the equipment, this has become a much loved Brisbane institution, more so than interstate. By the 1990's however, the focus shifted to weather, and these days you would often see school visits air on a Tuesday night (QTQ-9) straight after the weather. (The Operation Eagle tagline was used by Seven for nearly thirty years, and has now become a "generic term")

#2 The Ekka: Brisbane's Royal Show, has always been a magnet for innovation. Theatre Royal had a rare colour outing in the 1960's, with a colour feed retransmitted to the showgrounds, and people got to see for the first time their favorite show in colour. Seven also for a time ran their news and current affairs programs from the site in the 1980's, and had at least a onsite presence until 2003. Ten moved some of their Expo 88 facilities to the showbag pavilion, and used it until digital television started, and Nine returned the "travelling" newsroom tradition this year, with a fully digital facility built specificly near the main arena.

#1 The Brisbane Duopoly: For a brief time in 1987, there were three commercial stations, owned by two people in Brisbane. Christopher Skase bought off Fairfax the Seven Network (which then consisted of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane), while still owning TVQ-0, a Ten affiliate. Naturally this caused some problems, but was solved, by selling TVQ-0 to Darling Downs Television, which set in gear many things, from the 0-10 switch the next year, to Kay McGrath's move to now Skase owned BTQ-7.

The 10 greatest interstate decisions to affect Brisbane and Queensland viewers:

#10 The battle for Ten and Nine affiliation in 1990: You think aggregation was easy down south, Queensland's turned out to be a war. The seeds were planted when Darling Downs Television sold TVQ-10, and got a cash infusion, which suddenly piqued the eyes of RTQ-7 in Rockhampton. Those two stations allied, preparing for aggregation as a Ten affiliate, when suddenly, WIN Television bought DDQ and RTQ, and literally handed them the Nine affiliation. This upset a lot of people, especially at QTV in Townsville, which went from having the strongest partner, to the weakest, all the while Sunshine Television was laughing, as it had signed a deal well before the launch date.

#9 Local Edition: After the 2000 Olympics, Seven hyped up a program it was hoping to beat Extra with, by the name of Local Edition. Local Edition ran for a hour, and ended up becoming a flop, due to the length, even though the official excuse was "the chairs were too comfortable". It was hosted by Peter Ford and now QTQ-9 news anchor Melissa Downes (as her last work at BTQ, before defecting in 2001 to QTQ). In the end, Seven promised another go at a local product, but never followed through with it.

#8 The end of the "Brisbane Ten" name: Back in 1989, Ten was going through some issues, and a American was brought in to revamp the network. The main consequence in Brisbane, was the dumping of the term "Brisbane Ten", in favor of a semi-networked approach, eventually sapping the localism out of TVQ-10, leaving it a station that didn't care for localism, unlike what it was showing a year earlier at Expo 88.

#7 Seven dumping the Queensland version of Today Tonight: In late 2002, then Brisbane TT host Michelle Reiken, went onto maternity leave, and a (originally temporary) east coast edition was airing in Brisbane, through summer. Viewers were expecting a Brisbane version to come back, but in May 2003, Brisbane's Today Tonight was axed, and a returning Michelle Reiken sacked, in favor of a permanant East Coast edition, just as a influx of ex-Nine executives joined Seven.

#6 Bruce Paige goes to TVQ in 1990: A local decision, which gave Brisbane viewers a taste of what it took for Bruce Paige, to leave QTQ-9 for "greener" pastures at TVQ-10. The newly O&O station took a gamble, a $300,000 per year gamble to revive ratings, which ended up in court, with a lot of details coming out, and it ended with a rare win for Ten. Paige eventually was sacked due to costcutting at Ten, and went to QTV in Townsville, then back to QTQ-9 in 1993.

#5 State Affair ends, 7 trys expanded news: 1987 was a big year in television. But the worst decision was Seven expanding news services, from half hour to hourlong bulletins in Brisbane and Melbourne. Melbourne's changeover was controversial (as it tied in with playout and programming changes), Brisbane's never made the news. Seven axed State Affair (which was still popular), then placed more news in the State Affair slot. The hourlong experiment ended in 1988, with Seven National News becoming Seven Nightly News and returning to a half hour bulletin.

#4 Nine's Gold Coast News getting moved to Brisbane: A botched cost cutting measure, in 2006, QTQ-9 moved their Gold Coast bulletin to Brisbane, leaving anchor Rob Readings, a former TVQ anchor, jobless. Readings then spent a week at Seven in 2007, and went back to Nine in 2008, to anchor the GC News again, which had come back to being produced on the Gold Coast again.

#3 The gradual networking of BTQ-7 in the 2000's: BTQ-7 was once a production centre, with lots of national and local content being produced, at high rates, but by 2008, nearly a decade of neglect has turned "Brisbane's own Channel 7" into a networked monster. It is this networked monster that has cut local content, and respect to viewers.

#2 BTQ-7 archive destruction: What list of interstate decisions would be complete without this recent one. In 2007, BTQ-7 was ordered to destroy all it's pre 1994 history, by a Sydney exec, thus ruining their fiftieth. This is a despicable act, and was probably done out of spite, as well as former BTQ icons losing their history.

#1 Brisbane Extra axing in June 2009: The number one decision, which would have never been part of this list, if it were typed earlier this year. Sydney executives made a bungled decision to drop Brisbane Extra in favor of a networked program in early June, with the final program being June 26. Brisbane reacted in a way, not seen, and after the networked attempt failed miserably, there is now a push going for Nine to reverse this decision as of posting.

Videos: Credits to all uploaders.

BTQ-7's role in a growing Brisbane area: Part 1-2010 and beyond

2009-08-01T20:30:00.001+10:00

The mood in the Rivercity is turning, like a westerly prior to the EKKA.

This is a "What If" situation, i.e what does Seven need to do to change the current view in people's minds of what was once "Brisbane's own Channel 7". But how to achieve the change in perception? This is what this post will explain in detail, along with the twelve steps to achieve it.

Seven Brisbane can claim all they like that their news is successful, but it was only done by abandoning what brought them to the dance in the eighties, localism, in favor of a network approach. I don't want to see dancing current affairs hosts, but I as a viewer want to see a major commitment to more local content (talking in the value of millions of dollars), and returning national production to 7 Brisbane's legendary studios. What I am suggesting simply is 7 steps up to the wicket and hits a six to really win people over like me and other viewers alike.

How it can be done, you may ask? Simply by:

-Launching a local product, at 5:30pm weekdays.

-Returning a 7 branded local news bulletin to the Gold Coast at 5:30pm weekdays.

-Returning Brisbane it's own Today Tonight, that does not have the reputation the current networked program has, and with a defined focus on Queensland issues.

-And curtailing the advertorials to one per week, with Queensland Weekender becoming BTQ's advertorial to retain.

The job losses from this reduction (which is due to the new products coming online) can be re-absorbed into QW, and the new 5:30 products, with few if any redundancies. But there has to be also major investment, by 7 on the Brisbane facilities to bounce back from a restructuring, including:

-New studios, to handle large amounts of national production.

-Plan for a "downtown" move for 7 Brisbane's newsroom, with space for a streetside interactive studio facility.

-Building a major playout facility in Brisbane, to handle both 7 Queensland and 7 Brisbane's playout, either as part of a refurbished station on Mt Coot-tha or a stand alone facility.

-And investing in a Gold Coast TV production facility, capable of producing it's own content for local use, something no Brisbane or Northern NSW station's GC facilities currently have.

And with any major investment in Queensland jobs, there has to be rewards for for the viewers, both old and new. With the new products, and possibly national production, it would mean that events like Riverfire could be done, with say a personality from a Brisbane-made national production and a large local crew, instead of relying on the newsroom, or Queensland Weekender presenters and outsourcing production. It also means:

-Renewing Seven's love for Brisbane, that it had in the past, with the well timed revival of the 1980's iconic campaign "Love You Brisbane" to re-emphisise what 7 still means to Brisbane with the massive investments labeled previously.

-Seven sponsoring more local events, as they would have the local talent to provide, and again would no longer need news presenters/QW presenters appearing as "token invitees" to local events.

-Seven developing a marketable presence on the Gold Coast, which it is lacking currently.

-And finally, Seven Brisbane developing a "legends" program, to keep in people's memories, some of our icons, from the first and second golden ages, and acquiring footage for preservation, for future generations.

These twelve steps (if implemented) are what will bring Seven Brisbane into the 21st century, while returning the "magic" that Seven Brisbane once had, as well as a defined focus, that Brisbane is not a second rate station, compared to the rest of the network, that has had new facilities built/improvements made in the last decade, but can still hold it's own, as a independent, yet a strong O&O part of the Seven Network, while providing for the future needs of Queensland and Brisbane viewers, like Seven committed to in 1987, where they went out and said that Seven would put always Brisbane and Queensland first.

This is albeit one vision, there has to be many people who are walking around everyday, thinking what they watched on "their Channel 7" from their childhood, has gone, so leave a comment.

50 years of Brisbane TV: Special Announcement

2009-07-31T16:41:00.000+10:00

I remember saying back on June 25, that the 50 Years Of Brisbane TV blog series may not end with the upcoming QTQ fiftieth. Well, I have a major announcement, and...

There will be four more installments, due before the end of 2009!

Also, the "Top 50" list is currently being collated, in preparation for the unveiling on August 15, and lets just say, there is a few surprises, including the "Only In Brisbane" category, which has been broadened to include some fads, that Brisbane took hold of, and our local events, that define what being a Brisbanite is.

The QTQ fiftieth post's title will also be revealed now.

The blogs title will be "Still The One: 50 Years of Brisbane's Channel 9."

Why Still The One? Simply, Nine in Brisbane has gone through some down times in the ratings, on the opposite end of the network scale, during those first fifty years, yet it always will have the bragging rights, as the first commercial station outside Sydney and Melbourne to open, (and incidently the first of the stations turning fifty in 2009 (QTQ-9,BTQ-7,NWS-9,ADS-10 and TVW-7) to mark their birthday) as well as the first TV station in Queensland, hence the old Nine tagline, "Still The One" will always apply to QTQ, no matter what place it finishes in the ratings.

So, sit back on QTQ birthday weekend, and celebrate Brisbane's TV history, with the Top 50, and the QTQ fiftieth post.

(Note: There will be a special post or two soon, talking about my personal vision (not Seven's) of the future of BTQ-7, something that has been a real talking point lately, and what BTQ needs to do for the big 5-0.)

And one more thing: GO! launches soon: Don't forget to rescan your digital recievers!

Becoming 10 TV Australia: 20 Years On.

2009-07-22T18:24:00.001+10:00

Where were you, on July 23 1989?

You were most likely sitting down, to watch National Nine News over dinner, then flick over to see something on 7 or 10 (Disney or in league mad states, the replay of that Sunday's afternoon game as Ten had shared TV rights back then), then watch either 60 Minutes on 9 or The Comedy Company on 10. Those who chose the lighter option noticed a "new Ten", something that had been promoted for weeks on TV and with full page ads in Sunday newspapers, As the slogan stated... "Something's Going On Around Here..." and then the ID played, and a new era had begun, which eventually led Ten to recievership just over a year later, and ratings hell all at the same time.

This is the story of what led to the "10 TV Australia" rebrand.

September 1988... Five Tens, in Five Capitals.

Network Ten, prior to 1988 was a network in name only. Three of the four members were on VHF 10, with the fourth member, TVQ in Brisbane, being on channel 0, which it had been on since the networks establishment in 1965. Perth had no 10, instead relying on a weird arrangement between 7 and 9. But it was soon to change. Aussat's (now Optus) launch of the first A-series satellites in 1985, was the first wakeup call, which helped solve the Perth dilemma where the federal government offered the third commercial licence to the WA capital, alongside a switch in Adelaide in 1987, where ADS-7 (a station Ten picked up, along with the Perth 10 licence and Capital Television in Canberra from a young Kerry Stokes, now owner of Seven) switched from being a Seven affiliate, to a Ten O&O, giving 7 Perth-owned SAS-10, the chance to become SAS-7, alongside the Perth 7 station (which became a full Seven affiliate in 1988.) The second wakeup call, was the changes in media ownership, that led to a Qintex duopoly (the only one ever in a capital city) of the now 7 O&O and 10 affiliates in Brisbane. In September 1987, regional broadcaster Darling Downs Television bought TVQ-0 for $123 million, and prepared it for the same task that ATV-10 did in 1980, which was move from channel 0 to channel 10. In May 1988, the NEW-10 in Perth opened, followed by TVQ-0 becoming TVQ-10 in September that year, thus now, Ten was able to compete better with Seven and Nine, as there were five-city Network Ten ratings results for the first time, with a level playing field in the main capitals.

The changes, that came with the five city Ten Network: Ten "losing itself"

1989 started with with a couple of endings, first being that each station dropped their local morning program branding (Living, Good Morning Melbourne etc.), replaced with the concept of "Til Ten" (which ended in 1992) and second was the loss of network Saturday Night stalwart Young Talent Time in January. Then ratings season started, and a decline in ratings, (especially off a Olympic year the previous year) forced some changes to be made, and Bob Shanks (a American) was recruited to refurbish the networks image.

10 TV Australia: The lineup.

What Bob Shanks tried to do, was tentpeg Ten's schedule with of all things, gameshows. Some were old concepts revived (Price Is Right, Superquiz) one was a new "futuristic (for 1989)" concept, (The Great TV Game Show), And one was a experiment (Family Double Dare, a primetime adaptation of kids afternoon gameshow Double Dare). All flopped, and were shelved eventually,Ten News became Eyewitness News again, before becoming Ten Evening News in 1990. But bigger news was to come, with the network ending up in recievership in 1990, with major job cuts, and planning began of sales of Ten's production facilities in Sydney and Melbourne, with a move into smaller facilities closer to their respective CBD's. Eventually the mess ended in 1991, when the TV Australia ID's (the branding was dropped months prior) was dropped, and became "The Entertainment Network" as a 16-39 (in other words, aiming for the youth demographic) friendly broadcaster.

Videos:

"Look, Youv'e got a friend on Ten": pre TV Australia launch promo.

10 TV Australia ID-Brisbane

10 TV Australia ID-Adelaide

10 TV Australia ID-Capital

10 TV Australia ID-Melbourne (with Neighbours promo)

1990 ADS-10 closedown

1989 Eyewitness News opener

1990 Ten Evening News opener

Youtube: aussiebeachut,dogcafe,d0nkeyshines,TelevisionAU,AssociatedBroadcast,Conniptions886,shizermagizer

50 years of Brisbane TV: Part 7-1959

2009-07-09T14:00:00.007+10:00

After the thoughts of the great stuff we have watched in the last fifty years as a prelude to the wonderful fiftieth celebrations that QTQ-9 will offer this time next month, it makes sense, that Part 7 is a look back to where it all began in Queensland, the year of 1959.

1959 was also important, as it was the year Queensland celebrated 100 years as a state, amidst a major boom period.

The Queensland Centenary: What we did to celebrate!

The recent Q150 celebrations, have reminded many of what it was like to celebrate 50 years ago. The two biggest events, of the calendar for Queensland's Centenary were a royal visit, by Princess Alexandra (for which the Princess Alexandra Hospital (or the PA Hospital for short) in Buranda was named) and the Proclamation Day celebrations on the 10th of December (not Queensland Day which is the 6th of June (which was the day Queen Victoria signed the Letters Patent declaring Queensland a separate colony) which we celebrate today, but the date of the proclamation from the first Governor of Queensland was read from the Deanery at St Johns Cathedral in the centre of Brisbane.) The race to be first on air in Brisbane, was to be on air prior to the royal tour arriving in Brisbane, and to a lesser extent Proclamation Day.

Brisbane also got new facilities built, including the Centenary Pool on Gregory Terrace, and a real estate boom began in the "Centenary Suburbs" including Jindalee, being subdivided into housing for a expanding Brisbane (The Centenary Highway, which runs through the "Centenary Suburbs" was built later, was extended to Springfield in 2001 and recently extended to Yamanto to provide a bypass of the existing Ipswich Motorway and to stimulate growth in the 21st century's version of the Centenary Suburbs, the "Western Corrridor.) heading towards a new era.

Brisbane's urban growth: then and now.

Other things had happened in Brisbane too (the baby boom, overseas migrants etc.), in that decade, which spurred the growth of many new suburbs, with a lot of forward thinking necessary. It is hard to imagine, that fifty years ago Brisbane's outer northern suburbs consisted of Aspley, Chermside, Zillmere and Geebung, with large tracts of land between Aspley and Bald Hills, Sandgate and Nundah and areas in and around Petrie, Kallangur and Deception Bay (which slowly became the outer northern suburbs) where there is development today. A particular example is Chermside, where intense growth in the fifties led to the development of the Chermside Drive-In Shopping Centre (the first of it's kind in Australia) by Brisbane department store Allan and Stark, (now Myer) and then a "renaissance" in the early part of the 21st century with the now expansive Chermside, (sold by Coles-Myer in 1996, to Westfield who revitalised Chermside, into a destination), which in turn saw the transforming of some 1950's housing areas near the centre, which people bought in the 50's for $2000-$3000 sold for $300,000+, only to be demolished for apartments, which lured even more people in, and a rise in office space, due to decentralisation caused by rising costs in the Brisbane CBD and Chermside is now a classic example of urban renewal in Queensland, with Westfield Chermside, the heart, of a burgeoning "city in the suburbs". But there can be some lessons learned from 50's planning. Brisbane's tram network, was expansive, but thought well, of two key extensions, to then new suburbs, Stafford and Chermside, to cater for the growth, that had occured. Brisbane City Council, rapidly built pools and libraries to assist with the growth of the fifties and sixties, as well as sewering the city. That is, planning ahead of growth, has it's benefits.

Television and the consumer society:

What grew, out of Chermside's opening however, was the consumer society. Basically the old traditional lines that Brisbane had for shopping, (which were the dominant retail areas of Fortitude Valley and Queen Street) were starting to erode. The same effects were being felt in the suburbs, with some cinemas shutting down (the main effect for cinemas was in the CBD), due to the effects of television, even though a few, held on, and prosper, with major adjustments to the way they did business. Television became what many thought it was, in the "big country town" a dominant medium, which felled a few other icons, most notably the afternoon newspapers The Telegraph, and the Brisbane Sun, due to audience reach.

As 1959 closed, Brisbane saw the Proclamation Day celebrations on their new TV stations, QTQ-9, BTQ-7 and ABQ-2, all three a shining symbol of how far Queensland had come in 100 years, from news only coming by ship (taking many months), to television's glow, with film of events within days.

In 2009, Proclamation Day will be celebrated once again, with bells ringing statewide, a celebratory concert, and a major think back over 150 years, just how far have we have come from horse and cart, to space travel...

Videos:

1959 Colour footage of Brisbane.

7 News Flashback-Queensland's Centenary in 1959

Youtube: pugsley2005, aussiebeachut

50 years of Brisbane TV: Part 6-Celebrating TV Queensland style, and the ads that we loved!

2009-07-09T00:08:00.002+10:00

Welcome to Part 6, of this blog series, where we celebrate Brisbane TV's 50th, but this post will share the mantle with Queensland's 150th birthday of statehood. We are going with a small celebration, of video, of what makes Queensland, Queensland. We'll look at what we like in rugby league, cricket, and of course TV advertising. Some old brands will return, that have sadly left the marketplace since Brisbane TV began, like a recently discovered 1960's sales reel for Bulimba Gold Top beer. We'll look at some tourism ads, that have defined the early 21st century, including the "Not just a sleepy town" promotion for Brisbane. There will be some fast food on the menu, with locally produced ads for KFC (proudly celebrating 40 years in Queensland in 2009) and other restaraunts. All titles are below the videos. But first, we start off with...

1- Queensland proud, local institutions, local messages.

A 1980's ad for Bank of Queensland, "You Can Count On A Queenslander"

1989 ad for Suncorp, "The Helpful Queenslander"

2-Lang Park footy, The Brisbane Rugby League in the 80's.

Rugby League Football is the Greatest Game Of All (sung by Danny McMaster)

1982 TVQ-0 BRL opener.

Highlights of the last BRL grand final before the Broncos debuted in the Sydney NSWRL.

3-The Gabba: Home of AFL and the Queensland Bulls.

The Allan Border testimonial game 1993, including "that catch"

Brisbane Bears team song

Bonus Clip: Footage from the Brisbane Bears first season at Carrara in 1987.

4 Tourism, and all it's benefits...

Where Else But Queensland: original version

Where Else But Queensland: 2007 version

Brisbane "Not just a sleepy town" tourism ad.

And finally 5-Queensland food and beverage ads, with forgotten brands!

1960's Bulimba Gold Top sales reel, announcing their new product, a six pack of stubbies!

Big Rooster ad from 1989

Locally made KFC ad from 1984 (with of all things, KFC selling Coca-Cola!)

I hope you enjoyed this trip down memory lane.

Credits to all uploaders, too numerous to mention!

The road to August 16: Update

2009-06-25T10:55:00.003+10:00

Hi everyone!

I am just announcing, that due to some unexpected recent events, the 50 Years Of Brisbane TV Part 6 post will be delayed until mid July. It will be posted as a doubleheader, with Part 7, on July 16.

Also, I can now reveal, that on QTQ's birthday weekend, there will be a top 50 list, inspired by the recent successful Q150 Icons poll. Ours will have five categories, each with ten slots each, Think of it to be our version of 50 to 1. The categories are as follows:
The 10 greatest Brisbane TV personalities of the past 50 years
The 10 greatest Brisbane produced TV programs of the past 50 years
The 10 most memorable local promotion campaigns of the past 50 years
The 10 greatest "Only In Brisbane" TV moments of the past 50 years
The 10 greatest interstate TV decisions to affect Queenslanders in the past 50 years

The top moment/personality/program/campaign/decision will become the "unofficial" icons of Brisbane TV, over the last fifty years. The QTQ birthday itself, will be home to Part 8, which is unknown at this time. The post "tagline" (not tags, but the catchy name) will also be unveiled on the day, when the post is published.

But the 50 Years posts may not stop on August 16. More will be known in due time.

Also, stay tuned around the 23rd of July, as we will have a special post, talking about the 20th anniversary of the event that sent Ten on the path to today's youth network, that is "Becoming 10 TV Australia: 20 Years On." We will have some of the ID's as well as the "Something's Going On Around Here" campaign, which preluded the switch.

Enjoy reading,
See you in mid-July!

Brisbane TV-Let's Make It Local!

2009-06-21T14:55:00.002+10:00

PRESS/BLOG RELEASE: BRISBANE TV-LET'S MAKE IT LOCAL!

With the recent axing of Extra, this blog will make it's mission clear. Brisbane's three commercial stations, you are all on notice. Brisbane is fed up with Sydney networking, and interference with our sacred cows.

I personally am fed up with "Networking lite" that 7 offers, and the "Networking full strength" that 10 and now 9 offers. This blog's message will spread. Nationalising schedules equals networking with a different name. Look at Adelaide and Perth, smaller cities than Brisbane, yet support localised versions of Today Tonight and A Current Affair. Brisbane, was, is and always will be the big country town, should revolt against this. I don't want a program airing, where people will flick off more than they will flick on. THISafternoon has no place on Brisbane screens, if it's live, it will be delayed, during daylight saving.

This blog has supporters, from many places, feel free to leave a comment. But this campaign's backbone is the development of a slogan, and a Facebook presence.

The Slogan is simply: Brisbane TV-Let's Make It Local!

What I want to see more of, during the current global financial crisis, is a increased spend on local programming (which creates local jobs, both directly and indirectly), not decreased spend and decreased quality. Look at Brisbane Ten's news, they have a outdated set, and no local promotion. Seven's 50th planning has been flawed, as well as a reluctance to revive the Love You Brisbane campaign and a need for local programming outside weekends. Nine is the latest member of the cutting localism club, with the Sydney ordered axing of Extra, to bolster their news. Last time I checked, Extra was beating Deal or No Deal.

To help push the campaign, I wish to start with a boycott, of Seven's networked programming, as well as their news as part of pressure for more local programming on 7. Refuse to watch Sunrise, The Morning Show, any 7 News bulletin (including 6pm), Deal or No Deal, Today Tonight and Sunday Night, until they replace Deal with a respectable local program and return to Brisbane screens a local Today Tonight.

Victorians who have moved up here in the last twenty years may remember the struggles that Melbourne had in 1987, when their Channel 7 was bought out, and wrecked. I urge Brisbane to remember this saying...

Say No To Networking! Say Love You Brisbane.

The address for the Facebook group (Brisbanites Against the Axing of Brisbane Extra) is: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=88637576867

Brisbane is waiting for the response...

Kuttsywood
Operator of kuttsywoodscouch.blogspot.com

Founder of Brisbanites Against the Axing of Brisbane Extra.
Founder of the Love You Brisbane Appreciation Society.
A average Brisbane TV viewer.

Q150: What does Queensland mean to you?

2009-05-22T18:06:00.002+10:00

As we leave May behind, we head towards June, Queensland Week, and the official 150th birthday of Queensland on June 6.

The 50 Years of Brisbane TV series will take a wide look, on what makes Queensland great, including some classic ads, and some of our defining moments, that only Queenslanders can produce. As the saying goes, "It's our land, my land, Queensland".

But we first pose to you a question, from the official Q150 station (Thats right 7, official), TVQ-10, What does Queensland mean to you?

This is a great effort, by a station not known for localism, as the last local campaign by the station was done in 1994. But could a surprise local campaign come out of the woodwork? After all, 2009 is also-

-21 years since TVQ-0 became TVQ-10.

-Nearing 45 years since TVQ-0 opened in 1965.

But, I pose to you, the average Queenslander, the same question. What does Queensland mean to you?

Kuttsy's answer:

Queensland means more than a great place to live. It is a place, where the best things in life, can be achieveable. It is where our lifestyle is envied by people in other states and other nations, when they come up to our state and holiday, and sample Queensland hospitality. It is a way of life, that cannot be bettered anywhere else. So what if we have our problems, we always conquer them and show the world how it is done. Expo 88 was a prime example, and there will be more examples as the 21st century rolls on.

So, I leave it to you, and we may get some responses published here, soon!

50 years of Brisbane TV Part 5: The Gold Coast, Queensland's TV production hub

2009-05-15T16:40:00.013+10:00

Dedicated to... Charles "Bud" Tingwell AM, a icon of Australian film and television, who has achieved many honours in his long career, 1923-2009.

This month we have left Brisbane behind again, to this time focus on Queensland's TV production heart, the Gold Coast, and look at it's two distinct roles in the history of the Queensland industry, first being the place where our early stars got away from it all, and second, the film and television sector wanting a piece of "Australia's Hollywood".

The 1960's: GC glitter meets Brisbane television's early stars.
The Gold Coast of the late 1950's, was a different place. The ubiquitous canal system hadn't been developed, most accomodation was in the form of guesthouses, the motel hadn't quite taken over, and there was two places to be on the Coast, either the Surfers Paradise Hotel (where today's Paradise Centre stands) or the newly completed Lennons Broadbeach (sister of the original Brisbane Lennons, standing around where The Oasis Shopping Centre is today), and they were lures for visitors, from Brisbane, as a alternative to the other main attraction to the GC, the beaches. When Brisbane TV started, good signals could be picked up of the three Brisbane commercials (similar to the Brisbane FM stations of today on the GC), and in the mid 1960's some of Brisbane TV's brightest stars, used the Gold Coast as a base. The late George Wallace, had a home down there and commuted up to BTQ-7 to do Theatre Royal, Nancy Knudsen would entertain her GC fans, by waterskiing on the Nerang River, and in one memorable incident, she would end up landing in mud, instead of a standard landing on dry land, and got mud all over her waterskiing costume, specially designed for a waterskiing pageant. QTQ's Brisbane Tonight, did a few live performances on the Coast, which attracted large audiences, and by the mid 1970's, Gold Coast resident, Paul Sharratt starred in QTQ's Studio Nine, as compere, won a few Logies and set his own career path, as a producer, which was the seed for what was to come, but some minor hiccups, hampered the GC's path.

The 1980's-Boom or Bust: The Gold Coast's major TV change.

The first thing that caused this boom or bust era, was the elimination of death duties in Queensland, which saw older people move to the Gold Coast, from the southern states, so they could stop paying a "death tax", which eventually saw the southern states drop death duties, to stop the exodus. The other major contributing factor was highrise development, which also "ended" the era of VHF broadcasting on the Gold Coast, with a decision in 1980, to allow the Brisbane metropolitan stations, to open UHF feeds to the GC. Lismore-based Northern Rivers Television wanted a piece of the GC UHF pie, having also been requested by viewers to upgrade their signal, and in 1983, NRTV was added to the UHF conundrum, and opened their own Gold Coast facilities. In 1985, SBS was launched on the Gold Coast, at the same time as Brisbane viewers, and in 1992, NBN and Prime Television started broadcasting on the Gold Coast as part of the aggregation of NRTV's market with NBN and Prime's. Many highrise buildings started to have UHF antennas, with connections into most rooms, and the next major change would see the Coast's birth as a production hub.

1990's Warner-Roadshow Studios, The beginning of a new era.

In the slipstream of Expo 88, came the construction of a film studio complex, at Oxenford, near a recently opened water park (which became Wet 'n Wild) with soundstages, and eventually one of the best water filming facilities in the world, attracted international acclaim. In 1991, the project was "officially" opened, with the completion of the Warner Bros. Movie World theme park, and the slogan that the park had from day 1, "Hollywood on The Gold Coast" stuck, for the Oxenford/Pacific Pines area, (complete with a locality "Studio Village") expanded rapidly after the park's opening. The keynote event of the Movie World opening, was a live telecast, of Nine's Hey Hey It's Saturday, which was so successful, it was repeated the next year. Before long, Australian viewers saw the attempts at making a sun/surf drama (to sell overseas) on the Gold Coast that failed, like Paradise Beach and Pacific Drive. but the film industry saw paydirt, with the foundation in 1991 of the Pacific Film and Television Commission, which lured productions to Queensland that filled the new studios, and used various Gold Coast landmarks as filming locations. But the next "big" change, was something that the GC fell in love with, the willingness of Network Ten to pour money into the industry, with great results.

The beginning of the 21st century: Big Brother and the reality TV revolution.
In 2001, Network Ten partnered with Southern Star Endemol, to produce, the Australian version of Big Brother, out of a newly completed Dreamworld facility, complete with a purpose-built house, which itself became a drawcard to the park. It not just launched the early 2000's reality TV boom in Australia, it broke the wall down. Many staff have worked in the facility, up until the programs axing in 2008, as well as hundreds of thousands of people who attended evictions, went on off season tours of the house and on-season tours of the studio facility. Ten had made their imprint, as at one stage, their entire childrens line up was done in Queensland, from preschool programs, to Toasted TV (which is still taped at Sea World). But the "stigma" of the 1990's was finally lifted, when noted childrens drama producer, Jonathan Shiff decided to film his third great series for Ten (first being Ocean Girl, then Cybergirl, which was completely shot in Brisbane and launched the careers of the Origlasso twins, aka The Veronicas) H20-Just Add Water, on the Gold Coast, using the city as a backdrop, to a tale about teenage mermaids. It became a runaway hit, selling overseas and even cracking the biggest hurdle, the burgeoning Pay TV market in Australia, by appearing on the Australian Disney Channel, alongside another unrelated product which also used the GC as a backdrop (and also had the earliest TV appearance of Beau "Nitro" Walker) and originally produced for the Nine Network, Mortified, which brings us to 2009.

2009 and beyond... The future.
As we march towards the beginning of a new decade, The Gold Coast has become a film destination, sometimes posing as the most un-Australian locations, like in the 2006 WWE Films release, The Marine, where it posed as South Carolina, other times posing as itself, but always showed its class. 2009 is also a special anniversary, for Gold Coast residents, as it is fifty years since their proclamation as a city, and the term "South Coast" replaced with "Gold Coast", with only two major changes, the first being the merger of the GCCC with the Albert Shire in 1995, and second being the excising of Beenleigh from the now-merged GCCC area in 2008. The saying goes, "all that glitters is gold", Well, the Gold Coast glitters brightly, in many ways, that people will remember for years to come...

A opener for Nine's Gold Coast News:

The opener for The Strip, 2008 drama series filmed on the Gold Coast

Credits: Youtube-aussiebeachut,

Book-On Air, 25 Years of TV in Queensland (my trusty resource about the early days of Brisbane TV) for various references to Brisbane talent and programs, long remembered and not forgotten by older viewers.

Regional Television Month, bids adeiu...

2009-05-10T19:10:00.002+10:00

As we say goodbye to Regional Television Month, we forward on to our next themed month, GC Shines Month, where our focus switches again from Brisbane, this time to our fast growing neighbour to the south, the Gold Coast, which has become a major production centre, in the last twenty years, all due to the development of Warner Roadshow Studios at Oxenford, which also spawned the Warner Bros Movie World theme park (which opened in 1991).

But all growth has it's teething problems. The plans for aggregation in Northern NSW in 1992 included a section of Queensland, from Beenleigh, down to the state border, which was part of the licence area of NRTV, and also was served by the Brisbane commercials via UHF, and had been since the 1980's. As a result the Gold Coast is served by six commercial stations, three metro, three aggregated. But the digital revolution, combined with the rapid growth of the Coast (which has sparked interest from the NRL, A-League and AFL, all wanting to establish teams), has caused a curve ball, where the rapidly increasing GC national sport sides don't get preference to Brisbane sides in Brisbane-based news bulletins, and when matches are telecast, and there is a lack of local GC news produced by the majority of the broadcasters, while the minority give good coverage.

My idea, is that by the time Northern NSW switches off analogue, ACMA should have plans in place for a GC "mini metro" market, with three commercial digital stations (on the former NBN,NRTV and Prime frequencies) , with the Brisbane commercials to stop telecasting on the GC when Brisbane switches off analogue in 2013, and the GC stations affiliation, would have to be defined, clearly including carriage of all multichannels, and a minimum amount of news/local content per night, that is higher than the current regional market standard (to have a minimum of one full local half-hour bulletin, a night, where as most regional stations in aggregated areas provide 5 minute updates and retransmit capital city bulletins.)

Why does it have to be extensive? Any prospective GC licensee would realise their audience is coming home later, and missing either a Brisbane-run GC bulletin, the NBN hour-long with GC inserts, or the Brisbane commercials 6pm bulletins. Advertisers would benefit too, with a more local approach to ad sales, instead of the current, five-way advertising split that GC advertisers face, with a third of all Gold Coast TV ad sales currently, going to PBL, thanks to their ownership of NBN and QTQ Brisbane's Gold Coast feed.

Digital takeup would also be boosted, as guarantees on local content, would encourage, not hinder apartment building and hotel owners alike to upgrade their coaxial systems, that serve hotel rooms, and apartments with clear access to the current six channel system, as well as various Foxtel/Austar channels which run from a central hub in the individual buildings. A development of a three commercial channel service for the Gold Coast could also result in the introduction of a community/tourist channel, possibly run by the Gold Coast City Council, to help sell the city's products and attractions to visitors and locals alike.

It is now up to the growing urban mass, to petition the federal government, for what they need. Three commercial channels, in digital, for the growing Gold Coast viewership. I have heard projections of a million residents in a few years time, meaning the strain on Brisbane stations wallets to maintain 2nd feeds, without sacrificing Brisbane's quality of programming. This solution, gives back what GC viewers lost with aggregation, that is, variety, with a local voice.

50 years of Brisbane TV: Part 4-Queensland's regional television stations, the heart of Queensland's rural life.

2009-04-10T21:18:00.010+10:00

Dedicated to those regional Queensland viewers who waited nearly thirty years for the same choice as Brisbane TV viewers.

Regional Television Month continues, with this fourth installment, of 50 Years of Brisbane TV, which will leave the big smoke, for a journey down the old bush track, we call memory lane, and stop and remember Queensland's great contribution to regional television.

The Beginning, regional stations open up the world to their viewers...

Queensland viewers were a early bloomer to regional television, with three years gap, between the launch of the Brisbane metro stations, and the first regional station in Queensland, appropriately within distance of Brisbane. DDQ-10 Toowoomba, serving the Darling Downs agricultural district, opened in July 1962, followed by the far north's first station, TNQ-7 in Townsville in November 1962. 1963 saw the opening of Central Queensland's first commercial station RTQ-7 in Rockhampton, in September of that year, while regional viewers in Wide Bay waited until April 1965, when WBQ-8 opened in Maryborough. Cairns viewers had their first glimpse in September 1966 when FNQ-10 opened, while Mackay's MVQ-6 opened in August 1968. One of the most notable things of early regional television was that news from Brisbane took longer to get there as it was film based, except DDQ-10/SDQ-4 which took QTQ's news on relay, until the early 1980's. By 1975 and the arrival of colour broadcasts, television had reached all the way along the eastern coastal strip, with one sole station, ITQ-8 (which opened in September 1971) serving the outback city of Mt Isa, in the far west of Queensland.

Personalities that regional Queensland produced, that went on to big things.

This first name I am mentioning, people would never have associated with regional television in Queensland, but became it's greatest export thanks to their involvement in a program that revolutionised current affairs in this country. The person? Ian Leslie. The program? 60 Minutes.

Ian Leslie, the Toowoomba boy, who took on the world.

Ian Leslie began his television career as a young employee at a recently opened DDQ-10 in his hometown of Toowoomba in 1962, and worked numerous roles at the pioneering regional station, both on and off camera, and found his true calling, journalism. By the mid 70's Ian left DDQ for Ten's Sydney newsroom, then went over to Nine Sydney just a few years later. It was his years at Nine that were his pinnacle of his career. For the first ten years, of Australia's 60 Minutes, Leslie was the glue that held the first and second generation 60 Minutes teams together and led the program to become a ratings success. After a brief return to Ten prior to the network's recievership in 1990, Ian retired from commercial journalism, and is currently running his own production company.

Another person who revolutionised the journalism profession, is Babinda's favorite daughter, Sharyn Ghidella.

From the Far North, to the newsdesk- Sharyn Ghidella.

Born in Babinda (south of Cairns) in 1968, Sharyn's career started at what was known then as NQTV (which became QTV in 1990) the way most journalists do, working in the NQTV newsroom (which also produced, Samantha Kume, who went to Nine Brisbane, prior to Bruce Paige's return) and presenting news and programming. After witnessing the vibrations which caused QTV to lose their 9 affiliation, she went to read news in Brisbane alongside Marie-Louise Theile, Tracey Spicer, and Geoff Mullins at a recovering Brisbane Ten until she got the call up from Nine in Sydney. At TCN, she often did fill-in news reading at first, then she started anchoring bulletins, and finally working her way up to the newsreading position on the network's breakfast program, Today after veteran newsreader Ian Ross "retired" (in reality he retired, but was lured out of retirement by new executives at 7 in Sydney to read their 6pm news in 2003) in 2002, and stayed until the end of 2006. Sharyn made the decision to leave Today and 9 just as she was pregnant with her first child (which arrived April 14 2007), and move back to Queensland, and read 7's weekend news bulletins, and is a cruicial part of the "networked" third peak that Channel 7 Brisbane enjoys.

The 1980's: a time of change in regional television in Queensland

The 1980's were a critical turning point. Unlike, down south, which had various station groups like The Six Network, TV8, The Prime Network, NRTV etc., Queensland only had one major group, which was NQTV Cairns/Townsville which also owned ITQ-8 Mt Isa. Also critical, was the fact that both Seven National News and Brisbane's State Affair started airing statewide, on every regional station. This caused headaches for Nine, especially as it lost DDQ-10 which relayed 9's news for nearly twenty years. But the biggest story was to come as at one stage, during the 1980's NQTV was worth more than Brisbane's Channel 0. Then in September 1987, a headline would shock the entire industry.

"Darling Downs Television buys TV0 for $120million"

Christopher Skase had only just bought the capital city Seven Network, and had owned TVQ-0 (a loyal Ten Network affiliate) since 1984. Skase's purchase included the Brisbane member of the 7 Network, BTQ-7. It gave Skase a rarity in Australian television, a duopoly, and was forced to sell 0 Brisbane by the regulators to keep BTQ and they sold to Darling Downs Television in September 1987. What made this deal unique, was that DDQ-10 was going to switch channels with TVQ-0, which occured on September 10 1988, during Brisbane's wildly successful World Expo 88. Eventually DDQ sold TVQ prior to aggregation, as the only regional station to ever buy a station in the "Big 3" TV markets of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, procceeded in its own path.

The end of the road, 31 December 1990... while the outback gets TV.

Queensland was aggregated in 1990, with QTV taking 10 affiliation (after losing the 9 affiliation), WIN Queensland taking 9 affiliation (formerly Star TV using DDQ's links at 10 for affiliation) and Sunshine Television taking 7 affiliation. But the story didn't end. In 1988, NQTV bought a prized satellite FTA licence (which only SC Central, Imparja, GWN in WA and Win WA hold), and opened QSTV, a satellite operator running from NQTV-owned ITQ in Mt Isa. As the changes in Queensland television happened, QTV was bought by Southern Cross in 2001, and the satellite feed became SC Central, with a 7 feed running on it, competing with Nine affiliate Imparja, to win viewers in Queensland's outback.

"Television is 25 years old to most of us, but people in some of the more remote areas of this state have yet to have television in their homes..." Majella Marsden, former TV sidekick to Wayne "Waynie Poo" Roberts (a Brisbane radio icon), from On Air: 25 Years Of Television In Queensland, published in 1984.

As we approach the dawn of a new age, where television will give us the choice, of fifteen channels, all in digital quality sound and vision, there are some corners of Queensland which have no digital TV access, relying on the analogue satellite feed, which only gives you two commercial channels, SBS and ABC, or where you get five channels, but only in analogue, it makes you wonder how far regional television in Queensland has come since the 1962 opening of DDQ-10 in Toowoomba. The future is looking better, by the day.

1985 report by Queensland's ABC, on the impacts of aggregation.

MVQ-6 Mackay 1989 transmitter listing.

Star Television ID (the original Ten affiliate for Queensland, prior to the 9/10 affiliation wars that defined aggregation in Queensland) 1990

Youtube-Aussiebeachut.

BREAKING NEWS: Kuttsywood's Couch to become segment on 7 News.

2009-04-01T09:00:00.001+10:00

Note: This was the blog's 2009 April Fools Joke, so all content in this post is jocular in nature.

Kuttsywoods Couch is pleased to announce, that we have been contacted by Channel 7 to produce their Sunday Flashback segments, due to cost-cutting in the newsroom.

Newsroom wanderer, A Fool, has said "Having Kuttsy produce our flashbacks, will reinvigorate the segment, which has been lacking as of late, with us running back to Waynie Poo for ideas." Kuttsy's reaction has been one of shock, with him saying, "What? I thought we got the Rick-Rolling championship... Rick... I am never going to give you up, I am never going to let you down, I am never going to run around and desert you... I am never going to make you cry, say goodbye, tell a lie..."

In other news, Youtube's aussiebeachut will produce a new half-hour program, completely based from his extensive tape library, for 7 later this year. It will be five minutes of classic footage and twenty five minutes of advertorial content featuring various 7 network personalities.

In news from Channel Ten, they are apparently going move their news back to 6pm tonight, with Neighbours at 7 followed by The Comedy Company, then Perfect Match followed by Thirtysomething, which describes 10's audience in a nutshell.

And finally, Seven has decided to revive their local 5pm program Local Edition, to take on Heather Foord at Extra. Hot tips for hosts include Jillian Whiting, Ken Brown and Eric Summons.

And by the way...

I think I did tell a lie... Of course I wouldn't sign a deal with 7! (the fake wanderer is a dead giveaway!), Aussiebeachut wouldn't give up YT, Ten wont move their news and 7 wrecked all localism... Then it must be... April Fools Day!

Cheap prank!

I will leave you with three pieces for perusal, as my April Fools pranks for 2009!

Nine For Queensland-on Seven

Love You Queensland-on Nine

What QTQ should do to promote Garry Youngberry.

Aggregation-Twenty years on.

2009-03-29T23:04:00.001+10:00

This post officially starts Regional Television Month in honor of the 20th anniversary of the start of aggregation in Australia, where this blog will take looks into the history of regional telly, with the 50 Years of Brisbane TV feature having a country twang (with a small history of regional television in Queensland prior to 1991, when Queensland was aggregated), as well as a specific look at NQTV, the former solus broadcaster for Cairns and Townsville, which became QTV for aggregation, and eventually became Southern Cross Ten's Queensland affiliate. But now onto the first topic in this post:

Aggregation, what is it?

Aggregation, in Australian TV terms, is where three previously solus regional operators expand into each others coverage areas, each carrying a capital city network's programming e.g Southern NSW/ACT: You have three operators, Capital (based in Canberra), Win (based in Wollongong), and Prime (based in Orange/Dubbo). As a result of aggregation, let's say, Win is now licenced to operate in Capital and Prime's broadcast areas, while Capital and Prime can expand into Win's broadcast area, as well as Capital/Prime's, to provide a three commercial channel service similar to the capital cities for all three former solus licence areas.

Aggregation's splits-Who got what.

The original plans for aggregation were for six aggregated markets, two in QLD (which were merged to form one super TV market), two in NSW (which went ahead) and two in VIC (which were merged into one statewide market while Mildura was excluded) Tasmania was added later on in 1994, but with two stations, and recieved a third station (Australia's first TV station to air on digital television only with no analogue simulcast) in the early 2000's.

30th of March 1989- A-Day.

The first stage of aggregation began in Southern NSW/ACT on the 30th of March 1989, with former solus stations, Prime Network, Capital 7 and Win TV expanding into each other's markets. All three had name changes, and logo changes, depending on which affiliation they took, with Prime adopting Channel 7 "like" (which used the same music, but their own logo) ID's (and eventually adopted ID's in 1990 fully based on 7's ID's of the time), Capital Television adopting the "X" Ten branding (as they were owned by the main Ten Network, and later adopted the "TV Australia" branding, dropping the "Television" and just becoming Capital, a name that stuck in many forms until 2001.) and Win adopting the 9 dots of their capital city partner, Channel 9. This was on the edge of the 1990 recession, which affected all stations, but Win came out on top. By the time round two started in 1991, this time in the Queensland super TV market (running from Cairns to Caloundra) Win snapped up a couple of Queensland stations (including DDQ-0, a former owner of Channel 10 Brisbane), and "bought" the 9 affiliation away from Cairns-based QTV. It was this moment, where Win became a force, where the money it made in two markets, went into acqusitions. By 1999, 10 years after aggregation started, Win was the success story, where it had 9 affiliation in almost every aggregated market (with NBN being the sole independent 9 affiliate (only to be bought by PBL in 2007), in northern NSW.) and was undergoing a western push, with the launch of Win Western Australia going up against Prime owned, GWN, for loyalty. But the winds of change were coming...

2001: A local news disappearing act.

Aggregation was a boon for news, but as costs spiralled, some broadcasters, like Queensland's QTV cut local news to their new markets, but retained their former solus bulletins. But 2001 was a major downer, as Prime cut local news from their least represented markets, and Southern Cross cut local news in their heartlands, prior to rebranding as Southern Cross Ten. A government inquiry was done, and regional broadcasters were heavily regulated to provide some local news. Some went beyond the call, like 7 Queensland which expanded their news back, after dropping it outside the Sunshine Coast in the early days of Queensland aggregation, to take on Win in most sub-markets, while others only produced updates to fulfill their commitment. But the local news cuts have continued, with satellite regional broadcaster, Imparja, cutting local news in 2008, becoming the only 9 affiliated station to do so.

Where to for regional television in the 21st century?

The major issue facing regional television in this country today, is the same as the capital cities, that being digital television. Some regions who were left in the cold by aggregation like Tasmania, and Mildura in Victoria (which got a second station in 1998, and a third digital-only station in 2006) were given extra licences, to give them choice. The three markets with digital only Ten affiliates, Tasmania, Mildura and Darwin (which recieved licence two in 1998 and their third digital-only licence in 2008), have the highest digital TV takeup rates in the country. What these markets use, is the alternate system to aggregation, a multichannel scheme, which was dropped in the mid 1980's, where these markets have three operators in town (This was modified to two and 1/2 operators in digital markets, where the third station is a joint-venture between the existing two broadcasters), with local content. But in the rest of aggregated Australia, digital takeup is slow. New transmitters and playout facilities have been built to expand for digital signals, with complaints at the rate this is going. But this is just like the battles regional television have fought, like aggregation, one that will change the way television (regardless of location) is seen forever.

50 years of Brisbane TV: Part 3-The Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin's contribution to Queensland's TV industry.

2009-03-15T08:00:00.001+10:00

Dedicated to Steve Irwin 1962-2006

2009, is a year where we don't just reflect on the living legacy of Brisbane (and indeed Queensland) television. We reflect on the fallen stars, who either died too young, like Brisbane TV personality Tony Gordon, who died tragically in a aerobatics accident in 2001, or died after a distinguished career, like former QTQ newsreader Don Seccombe who passed away suddenly in 1993 and BTQ-7's most notable personality from their 1959 launch, Brian Tait who passed away peacefully in late 2007. But one name is sadly part of this list, the person who brought their Queensland experiences into living rooms worldwide. That man is Steve Irwin.

The genesis of "The Crocodile Hunter"

Steve Irwin was a second generation wildlife expert, growing up, living at his parent's reptile park at Beerwah, before becoming a volunteer for Queensland's crocodile relocation program. Eventually, his parents handed the reptile park to Steve (which became Australia Zoo), and the evolution of the "Crocodile Hunter" began. In 1992 he married his wife, Terri, a American, and by 1996, the first "Crocodile Hunter" episodes aired in Australia. Everyone had not foretold what would happen next.

"The Crocodile Hunter" hits the US

In 1997, the first episodes aired in the US, and was a hit. By 1999 Steve Irwin became a household name in the US, eventually being invited on to Tonight with Jay Leno, and by this time, the program was screening in 167 countries, a major effort (if not the greatest ever) for a Queensland produced television program. People warmed to Irwin's larrikin nature and Australia Zoo became a tourist attraction for overseas visitors to South East Queensland. By 2001, the popularity of Steve Irwin was so great, that he appeared in Dr Dolittle 2 with Eddie Murphy and in 2002 a feature film "The Crocodile Hunter-Collision Course" was released.

A promoter of Queensland and Australian tourism

Steve's success overseas, made Australia Zoo a must see Queensland attraction, and Steve always promoted the virtues of Queensland and Australian tourism overseas. Steve was always on the bill at the "G'day USA" events as part of Australia Week, and his family always came along. Steve was a family man, with both his children Bindi and Robert getting the same education he did, this time with the now massive Australia Zoo as a backyard. The Discovery Channel (which owned Animal Planet, where the Crocodile Hunter series airs) eventually developed a concept for Bindi, which Steve worked on, right until that fateful day in 2006.

Steve Irwin's last documentary, and his passing.
The last documentary Steve Irwin worked on, was "Oceans Deadliest", was filmed on the Great Barrier Reef, near Port Douglas. Brisbane and international TV viewers found out about the tragedy that happened on September 4 through newsflashes, the man they called "The Crocodile Hunter" died doing what he loved, risking his life (in this case, with a stingray, who stuck it's barb into Irwin's heart), to educate the public. Before long, the three Brisbane commercial stations were flooded with journalists from overseas, and Australia Zoo became a moving tribute to the work that Steve did, in protecting the enviroment. Barbera Walters even flew into Brisbane, to do a interview for American television with Terri, which saw many viewers tune in. After the tearful memorial service, there were some more honors to come.

Steve Irwin's legacy, and the honours...
In May 2007, Australian TV publication, TV Week, decided to induct Steve (posthumously) into the Logies Hall Of Fame. But the Irwin legacy lives on through his oldest child, Bindi, who won a Logie for herself as most popular new female talent (in a Queensland sweep of the popular new talent awards, with Lincoln Lewis, son of Wally Lewis winning most popular male new talent) in 2008. Australia Zoo is still a tourist attraction, a Queensland icon, and is a popular place for overseas visitors to go to, when they come to Brisbane for holidays.

50 Years Of Brisbane TV-Part 2-Shine On Brisbane, the 1982 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony.

2009-02-22T22:01:00.006+10:00

Dedicated to the victims of Black Saturday, including former GTV-9 newsreader Brian Naylor and his wife Moiree...

Prolougue...
Television changed sport in Australia. It turned sport from a mainly spectator medium, to a national obsession. Radio did some work, same with newsreels, but it wasn't until television arrived in 1956 that people saw sport in a new light. Melbourne's Olympic Games that year was the first major event broadcast on Australian television, with all three Melbourne stations providing coverage, with film replays (the Sydney-Melbourne coaxial cable bearer not being built until the early 1960's) being screened in Sydney the next day. By the time the Brisbane stations launched in 1959, sport became a staple of any new television station's schedule.

The changes in technology, that brought television sport forward.
In 1962 Perth hosted the Commonwealth Games, while in 1964 Japan hosted the Olympics. These two telecasts still used the old fashioned film, with delays in events getting to air, even though they were on timezones friendly to Australians, but a major change was about to happen... Satellite broadcasting was developed, but was a expensive matter, with a number of commercial broadcasters, covering the Olympics due to the expense of satellite links for packages from the Olympics, it was not until 1980 in Moscow, that a Australian network went solo with satellite coverage of events. The ABC settled into a position with the Commonwealth Games that commercial broadcasters respected, until the 1990 Auckland Commonwealth Games, when the first solo commercial broadcast was undertaken by the Nine Network. But Nine's Commonwealth Games involvement wasn't new...

Broadcasting the Games...
Nine and the ABC as a partnership, broadcast the Games to a nation, with Nine and the ABC providing coverage in the capitals, while the ABC used their vast regional network to make sure most Australians could see Brisbane's great spectacle. This partnership also bid for the rights to the 1984 Olympics, only to be pipped by Rupert Murdoch at Ten (whose Brisbane affiliate was on channel 0 still). It wasn't just the official broadcasters getting in the spirit of the Games...

Brisbane united: The rising wave of localism.
Brisbane's other commercial broadcasters became voices that defined a era. Channel 0, launched their "Hello Brisbane" (not the Frank Gari campaign the 7's in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth as well as TasTV used in the mid 80's) campaign to bring in viewers, a tactic that worked, and Channel 7 launched their remarkable "Love You Brisbane" campaign which worked even more, which led to the start of Seven Brisbane's "second peak" which lasted until 1987.

Videos:
The Opening Ceremony part 1 and 2 from pugsley2005

Hello Brisbane, Hello Channel 0, from omni99- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykIBRFfxrXw
Seven News Flashback on 1982 Commonwealth Games from August 2008 from aussiebeachut-

A footnote:

After the success of the 1982 Commonwealth Games, Brisbane went for the 1992 Olympics. It lost to Barcelona, but proved if done right, a Australian bid could get close to winning, which eventually we did in 1993, when Sydney won the bid for the 2000 Olympics, which showed the changes in TV technology that we had since 1982, which were many, this time at the dawn of a new century, and a new digital age. The next Commonwealth Games in Delhi in 2010 will show this even more. Even though they are outside Australia, it will be a first, as Network Ten, using their soon to be launched digital multichannel ONE and pay TV operator Foxtel will screen the Games, in high definition. But Brisbane may not wait long for a second Commonwealth Games. A QLD government backed bid, will probably bid for a Gold Coast Commonwealth Games for 2018, as was announced mid 2008. Imagine the wonder of the new Queensland showing off... with the best in technology in ten years time. I can hardly wait...

50 years of Brisbane TV: Part two update...

2009-02-11T00:00:00.003+10:00

Part Two, of the 50 years of Brisbane TV blog series will not be seen as planned on the 16th of February.

I have decided as a mark of respect, for the victims of the horrific bushfire disaster in Victoria, including former Channel 9 Melbourne newsreader Brian Naylor, that the planned post will be uploaded on the 26th of February and will be dedicated to Brian Naylor.

I am asking all Brisbanites, who stumble upon this blog, to think of their fellow man, and please dig deep for what will be the toughest test, many families in the affected areas will ever face.

2009- A special year... in more ways than one.

2009-02-05T11:08:00.001+10:00

2009 is a important year. It is our state's 150th birthday, QTQ-9, BTQ-7 and ABQ-2 celebrate their 50th birthdays, and some other events may or may not get a mention in the media... But I will mention them here...

30th anniversary of the beginning of electrified suburban rail services in Brisbane:

In November 1979, Queensland Rail, introduced the first suburban electric trains to Brisbane, running from Ferny Grove to Darra, using the first fully airconditioned electric suburban fleet in the country (Melbourne introduced their airconditioned Comeng's in 1981, while Sydney will retire their unairconditioned double decker suburban trains in 2013, when the new A set (currently in production) comes into revenue operation, while their interurban fleet (that runs from Sydney to the Blue Mountains, Newcastle and Wollongong) is fully airconditioned.) By the time the first QR EMU's turned 10, the entire Brisbane network was electrified. In the late 1990's the Citytrain network reached Nambour, Gympie and the Gold Coast. But as we go into the thirtieth year of electric services, the Queensland Government is looking forward, with the extensions to Springfield, Coolangatta Airport, the Sunshine Coast as well as a future-proofed inner-city rail network on the drawing board, we have QR's vision in the 1970's, to thank.

20th anniversary of the completion of Main Line Electrification (Brisbane-Rockhampton)

2009, is also the twentieth birthday of electric TravelTrain services between Rockhampton and Brisbane, which could not have been achieved without the electrification of the North Coast Line for coal, and for passengers as well as freight. There have been two different services, first, the "Spirit of Capricorn" which ran from 1989 until 2003 using the EMU-based InterCity Express (which was transferred to Citytrain's interurban fleet in 2003), and the Rockhampton Tilt Train which gradually replaced the "Spirit" from 1998.

30th birthday of Legal Aid Queensland:

In December 2009, Legal Aid Queensland (a service that allows disadvantaged people to get subsidised legal advice) turns thirty. Originally known as the Legal Aid Commission of Queensland, then later the Legal Aid Office (Queensland) and finally in 1997, under a act of Parliament the organization became Legal Aid Queensland, and is a statutory authority of the Queensland Government.

20th anniversary of the NSWRL's first use of Tina Turner in advertising:

Rugby league has had it's troubles with advertising the game in the mainstream. Rugby league was in a small lull, in 1989, after the hyped introduction of the Brisbane Broncos the previous year. So the game was turned up, a lot. The Sydney-based league brought in Tina Turner, to do a campaign, based on her song "What You Get Is What You See" to promote the game. It succeeded, and added to the best season in many years for the league which culminated in what many say is the greatest Grand Final of all time. As for the league's association with Tina Turner, it continued until 1995, using Turner's 1989 hit, "The Best", which got re-released in Australia during 1992 as "Simply The Best" (using a duet between Turner and Jimmy Barnes), being used in advertising, even screening at one stage in AFL heartland, Melbourne, where State of Origin games were held at the MCG, to gauge reaction for a future Melbourne team. The "Simply The Best" slogan was retired in 1995, just before the fight for the now ARL's survival began, with the Super League war.

20th anniversary of the founding of the South Bank Corporation:

Another big event that happened in 1989 was the cancelling of the Rivercity 2000 proposal for South Bank. Rivercity 2000, was the original plan for South Bank post Expo 88, which would have seen a mini CBD across from the regular CBD. But Brisbane people wanted river access, which was severely limited in the Rivercity 2000 proposal. So the Queensland Government created the South Bank Corporation, and put the South Bank redevelopment to a global design competition. While this was happening, the World Expo Park theme park which was slated to be a permanant legacy of Expo 88, closed in September 1989. Accordingly it was added to the South Bank Corporation's juristiction, and was earmarked (and eventually became) for a Brisbane convention and exhibition centre (during different phases of the planning for South Bank, it was planned for a separate convention and exhibition centres, similar to Sydney's at Darling Harbour, another successful urban revitalisation, Brisbane took a combined facility.)

By 1991, South Bank was a hive of construction again, and by June 1992, the original South Bank Parklands was opened, Numerous changes have happened since, including the 1995 opening of the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, the late 1990's replacement of the canals with the Energex Arbour, and the return of the traditional South Brisbane traffic grid pattern with the addition of Little Stanley St. Development has since taken off with a unique backdrop of tall and midsize buildings behind the parklands.

The centenary of the founding of Surf Life Saving Queensland.
2009, is also a very special year for Surf Life Saving Queensland. This year the organisation turns 100. 100 years of protecting Queenslanders from the dangers of the surf, saving lives, and training volunteer lifeguards for our surf beaches, that attract 30 million people every year. While the national centenary was in 2007, The Queensland centenary is also a important occasion.
The celebrations for the centenary are on the 21st of February at the Coolangatta SLSC, with a parade of surf lifesaving technology as well as a re-enactment of the first surf rescue in Queensland.