In our column that takes you inside the world of media we looks at some terrible news for Channel 10 as it reveals its TV licence is now worthless | FOXTEL sold… so what does this mean for viewers? | A special preview of the shows coming out after Christmas Day as an actor from Gavin and Stacey drops a major spoiler about a certain fishing trip.
If you know, you know.
*A video verision of this article containing clips is available in the player above*
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CHANNEL 10 NOW WORTH NOTHING
Here’s a cheery Christmas story for the TV industry – Channel 10 has written down the value of its television broadcasting licence to zero.
The bombshell report in today’s AFR reveals the local arm of Paramount Global recorded a loss of $322.1 million in the last 12 months to December 31. While the company has been flirting between profit and loss for the past few years, this terrible result comes off a profit of $42.2 million the year before.
MasterChef is not the powerhouse it once was for Channel 10 Credit: 10
The network is blaming write-downs and a challenging advertising market.
Channel 10 is now the fourth placed free to air TV network, behind the ABC. Traditionally the broadcaster has been in the number 3 position.
It’s no secret high profile shows like MasterChef and The Amazing Race are not performing as well in years past. In fact, the network is struggling in the 7.30pm timeslot but has been applauded for its investment in post 8.30pm programming with shows like Have You Been Paying Attention?, The Cheap Seats and Gogglebox. These shows are often winning their timeslots but considering 7.30pm is where the big money is, the network just isn’t keeping up with current viewing trends.
FOXTEL SOLD
The other big media story today is the sale of FOXTEL to DAZN (pronounced da-zone for those in the know) for a deal worth a whopping $3.4 billion. The deal includes a 6% stake and a board seat, while minor partner Telstra will receive a 3 per cent stake.
News Corp had made it known a few months ago its pay TV platform was on the market after “third-party interest” and rumours of DAZN being the potential buyer soon followed.
FOXTEL has already lost content deals with BBC and Disney and is set to lose its HBO content next year with the launch of HBO Max.
For DAZN this is a sports rights play as the company has already shown interest in showing Australian codes overseas. I presume this is part of that strategy. One thing the new owners will have to contend with is Australia’s anti-siphoning laws which prohibit sports of national significance from only airing on pay-per-view platforms. Sport is a big driver of subscriptions but our biggest sporting codes must still be available on free-to-air TV.
The Australian (owned by News Corp) reports that Fox Sports operations will move across to DAZN but Sky News will remain part of News Corp. That doesn’t seem like a long-term play for DAZN but I wouldn’t be surprised if News Corp has negotiated a minimum number of years Sky News must continue to be broadcast/streamed.
Long term News Corp might decide to launch a dedicated live YouTube channel for Sky News if it ends up being punted from the new-look FOXTEL. The news channel has big influence in Parliament House and influence is very important to News Corp.
So, expect to see the channel continue in one form or another.
POST CHRISTMAS SHOWS TO WATCH OUT FOR
While TV is usually a dead zone here in Australia over Christmas, over in the UK it is the highest rating day of the year. Families gather round the box after a big lunch and watch special episodes of popular shows made specifically for the day.
In 2005 my wife and I went to London for the Christmas period to visit my sister-in-law who was living there at the time. It was a dream come true for a TV nerd who had always wanted to experience the UK’s TV Christmas tradition. I was so excited watching David Tennant in the Doctor Who Christmas special of that year as we cooled our drinks on the windowsill after devouring a roast pork.
Rob McKnight cooling drinks on the windowsill in London at Christmas in 2005 Credit: Rob McKnight
In the old days, if you weren’t living in the UK you’d have to illegally download any shows you wanted to see them straight away because our TV Networks would hold onto them to play in the new year when ratings started in February. Now though, thanks to streaming services, that’s no longer the case with most shows being released around the world at the same time.
So, due to the fact we are a day ahead the rest of the world, here are the shows to look out for from Boxing Day.
Doctor Who
After a bumpy first season, new Doctor Ncuti Gatwa is in great form for this Christmas special, which will stream on Disney+ on Boxing Day. I’ve been lucky enough to watch this episode ahead of its release and fans will really enjoy this Steven Moffat penned romp.
A scene from the 2024 Doctor Who Christmas special Credit: BBC
One of the biggest issues in the past season was the lecturing viewers were subjected to on just about every social issue, but this special mostly avoids all that and simply entertains the audience.
Joy (Nicola Coughlan) is an absolute…. ahhh joy (sorry) as the guest star and the twist at the end of her character arc will leave a smile on your face.
I really enjoyed this Christmas special after thinking I had finally outgrown the show after a disappointing previous season.
Gavin & Stacey: The Finale
As it says on the tin, this will be the final episode ever of the popular British sitcom written by Ruth Jones and James Corden (who also play Nessa and Smithy ). This quirky sitcom, made by the BBC, has become a ratings juggernaut thanks to many repeats over the years.
****STORYLINE SPOLIER****
Neil ‘Smithy’ Smith (JAMES CORDEN), Nessa Jenkins (RUTH JONES) – (C) G&S TV Productions Ltd. – Photographer: G&S TV Productions Ltd. Credit: G&S TV Productions Ltd.
BINGE will be streaming the special on Boxing Day but have not been given preview copies by the BBC, such is the secrecy surrounding the plot of the final episode, including whether Smithy and Nessa married after her proposal at the end of the 2019 episode.
Fans will also be wanting to know what happened on THAT fishing trip but it would appear that mystery will NOT be resolved.
Speaking on the Off The Telly podcast with Natalie Cassidy and Joanna Page (who plays the title character Stacey), Robert Wilfort (Jason) seems to indicate he still doesn’t know what happened.
It’s worth reading this exchange (or watching in the video player above):
Joanna Page: Have you ever been told what happens on the fishing trip, have they ever said to you?
Robert Wilfort: No.
If that wasn’t clear enough, Wilfort continues:
Robert Wilfort: When people ask, I do have to say “the whole joke is you don’t find out what happens on the fishing trip” and people are getting excited about…
At this point co-star Adrian Scarborough (Pete) jumps in to try and stop Wilfort from giving the game away, teasing:
Adrian Scarborough: Except on the Christmas special of course, which is coming up.
After an awkward pause everyone bursts into laughter.
Even without the big reveal of the fishing trip (which would never live up to the hype), this is definitely one to watch. You’ve still got time to catch up on this classic sitcom by watching the entire three seasons and specials on BINGE. I promise, you’ll do it very easily and you’ll thank me for it.
NFL Christmas Gameday (Boxing Day for Aussies)
The hype would suggest this will be bigger than the Superbowl with Mariah Carey kicking off the day with a new pre-recorded rendition of her Christmas classic, “All I Want for Christmas Is You”.
But the showstopper will be none other than Beyoncé who will perform the halftime show during the Texans game. According to the PR guff it will be the first live performance of tracks from her “Cowboy Carter” album.
Beyoncé will perform at half time on the Netflix BFL gameday special Credit: Netflix
Netflix will be hoping for a smoother broadcast than its recent Jake Paul v Mike Tyson fight back in November. Despite the match generating 100-million streams, much has been made of the 90,000 or so customers who experienced glitching during the fight.
To be honest, I think too much has been made of that when you’re talking about those kind of numbers.
Meanwhile, Netflix should be applauded for not forcing customers to take out an extra sport tier to watch the games, it’s all included in your regular subscription.
Squid Game
You probably don’t need me to remind you the second season of this international mega-hit is about to drop on Netflix. This Korean thriller took the world by storm, despite being in a foreign language and led to a reality game show spinoff.
It’s been so long since season one though (can you believe it was back in 2021!) will we all remember the plot? Might be time to rewatch the final episode before I start season 2.
Beast Games
I know a lot of people in the TV industry read this column, so do yourself a favour and take my advice: go and watch Beast Games immediately.
This is the kind of show Aussie TV workers will salivate over – from the money on offer to the production values to the insane challenges – anyone working in reality TV in this country would probably give their left arm to be able to make something on this scale.
With a US$5 million prize on offer, Beast Games is not like any show you’ve ever seen Credit: Prime Video
From a viewing perspective it’s great TV, based on YouTube video Mr Beast makes. In the episode it’s claimed the ‘city’ they’ve built cost US$15 million alone.
This is one to check out.
MERRY CHRISTMAS
Inside Media is continuing over Summer but I wanted to take a moment and wish everyone a fabulous Christmas and happy New Year. Don’t forget you can email me at rmcknight@seven.com.au if you have a comment, question or tip.
Rob McKnight is the co-owner of TV Blackbox.
