Coming and goings at the ABC. There’s plenty happening at the ABC as key programs prepare to return for 2008:

  • Difference of Opinion, the ABC’s uneven attempt to project some “balance” into its public affairs coverage, is no longer. The series has died after its two runs last year and from chat around the ABC it seems to be a case of host Jeff McMullen saying goodbye. He didn’t want to have anything to do with a new series: apparently the experience, especially during the show’s 20 week second run, wasn’t an enjoyable one for him. That means the ABC will have an hour gap on Thursday nights but it should be fairly easy to fill. They’ll just slot in another doco, which will please head of TV, Kim Dalton.
  • Former Media Watch and Four Corners producer and researcher, Jo Puccuni, is the new executive producer of Media Watch, joining new presenter, Jonathon Holmes. Puccini, who’s on maternity leave and won’t take up the job until April, is the partner of former Four Corners EP, Bruce Belsham, now running the ABC’s online news operation. She worked at the program as a researcher back in 2000-01, having joined ABC TV from the Seven Network where she worked as a research/producer on The Times, Today Tonight and Witness. She moved to Four Corners in March 2001, working as a researcher and producer and as the program’s associate producer. She returned to Media Watch in 2005 to work as supervising producer and then story editor. Lateline producer and reporter Brett Evans will act as Media Watch executive producer until Puccini returns to work. Media Watch returns on Monday February 18.
  • Anne Kruger will be the new host of Landline as it moves to one and a half hours a week this year. There will be the usual hour program on Sundays at noon and then a half hour recut of highlights the next day at 6pm. Kruger, who was with the ABC’s Australia Network in Melbourne, is moving to Queensland and will present Landline from there. She replaces Sally Sara, who left the program last year this year to take up a fellowship in the US. Pip Courtney, who has been temporarily filling in, will return to full-time reporting with the program. Landline returns on Sunday, February 10.
  • Foreign Correspondent also returns next month at the new time of 9.30pm on Tuesday nights and moves to a 30 minute format, after the ABC decided to axe the low rating Tuesday evening ep of The Bill. The new format will be fronted by Mark Corcoran, an experienced ABC reporter. It will be interesting to see if he hosts from the studio in Sydney or continues hostings in the field. That was introduced as a cost cut but ended up adding to the authority of the program. — Glenn Dyer

Ten and Foxtel join forces for Commonwealth Games rights. The emerging friendship between Foxtel and the Ten network continues with the news that they have picked up the rights to the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi. The two already share the production contract from News Corp’s Fox TV business, having supplanted Seven. Ten also went on to the Foxtel electronic program guide, which upset Seven who had thought Ten would join its TiVo platform this year. The Commonwealth Games partnership gives both parties simultaneous live broadcast rights to all events, except that Ten has exclusive live rights to the Opening and Closing ceremonies. Foxtel has exclusive internet and mobile rights. As the games will run on Fox Sports, Foxtel will more than likely follow the way it handles the AFL Pay TV contract by sub leasing the rights to Fox Sports. That way News Ltd and Cons Media (the old media rump of PBL) will get to make money out of the games, while Telstra pays 50% and gets no benefit. — Glenn Dyer

Last night’s TV ratings
The Winners: Seven News was tops again with 1.323 million, followed by Tonight Tonight (1.274 million), Nine News (1.258 million), A Current Affair (1.215 million), Nine’s repeat of Cold Case at 8.30pm (1.198 million), the 7pm ABC News (1.151 million), In The Line of Fire on Nine at 8pm (1.136 million) and Police Ten on Nine at 7.30pm (1.110 million). Ten’s repeat of The Simpsons at 8pm averaged 975,000 and the repeat of NCIS at 8.30pm had 961,000. Pay TV took a bigger share than the same night a year ago because of the lack of interest in free to air TV, but some of that would have been tennis on Fox Sports.

The Losers: There was just nothing of remote interest last night, so I went the Elizabeth David route as suggested in yesterday’s report.

News & CA: Seven News and Today Tonight won nationally and in every market but Melbourne, but both needed their usual big margins in Perth to make sure of the national win. Ten News averaged 838,000; the Late News/Sports Tonight, 418,000. SBS News averaged 198,000 at 6.30pm. Nine’s Nightline, 403,000. The 7.30 Report, 819,000. 7am Sunrise 397,000; 7am Today, 269,000.

The Stats: Nine won with a share of 30.2% from Seven with 27.2%, Ten with 22.8%, the ABC with 15.2% and SBS with 4.7% (it came back to field after two strong nights). Seven leads the week 27.2% to 26.0% for Nine. Nine won all five metro centres. In regional areas Prime/7Qld and WIN/NBN tied with 27.3% in prime time, followed by Southern Cross (Ten) with 20.2%, the ABC with 15.6% and SBS with 9.7%.

Glenn Dyer’s comments: Tennis bored for the Seven Network last night, either sending viewers to sleep, to other channels or forcing them to turn off. It just didn’t work on the second night of the Australian Open and left the way for the Nine Network to entertain us instead. The first night on Monday rated 772,000, last night, 696,000. And yet two Australians, including “Come On” Lleyton played yesterday. Why Seven and the tournament organisers couldn’t have scheduled the two matches into the evening session is beyond me. A bigger audience for the games, the players, the organisers and for Seven. Simple! This afternoon the third Bollywood epic starts in Perth, so Nine will be a bit more competitive. Those are the options if you want to watch TV this evening.

Source: OzTAM, TV Network reports