6.30 with George Negus
6.30 with George Negus logo
Also known as6PM with George Negus (until 4 April 2011)[1]
Presented by
Country of originAustralia
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes200
Production
Executive producerTony Ritchie[2]
ProducerTen News
Production locationsSydney, New South Wales, Australia
Running time30 minutes
Original release
NetworkNetwork Ten
Release24 January (2011-01-24) –
28 October 2011 (2011-10-28)

6.30 with George Negus was an Australian television current affairs program broadcast on Network Ten. It aired at 6:30pm from Monday to Friday and was presented by George Negus (Monday - Thursday) and Hugh Riminton or Hamish Macdonald (Friday) from the TEN studios in Pyrmont, Sydney.

It premiered at 6pm on 24 January 2011.[3] On 19 October 2011 Network Ten officially announced that 6:30 with George Negus had been cancelled as a result of low ratings. The final episode of the series aired on 28 October 2011 in what was the show's 200th episode. The series was replaced by an extended version of The 7PM Project which was consequently retitled as The Project.[4]

History

In August 2010, Network Ten announced that it would spend an additional $20 million per year to strengthen its news and current affairs output.[5] Those changes included launching a 6pm national current affairs program, followed by local half-hour news bulletins at 6:30pm.[6]

On 8 October 2010, it was announced that George Negus would leave SBS's Dateline to join Network Ten.[7] Negus confirmed a day later that he would be hosting Ten's new 6pm program.[8] The first edition of 6PM with George Negus aired on Monday 24 January 2011.[3]

In March 2011, Network Ten announced that it would be moving the program to 6:30pm in an effort to address persistently poor ratings for its early evening schedule. The changes, introduced on Monday 4 April 2011, led to Ten's local news bulletins at 5:00pm being extended by a further 30 minutes with Negus' program in direct competition with the Nine Network's A Current Affair and the Seven Network's Today Tonight.[1]

On 19 October 2011, Network Ten announced that they had cancelled the program and replace it with an hour-long version of The 7PM Project, renamed The Project at 6:30pm after very poor ratings. The 200th and final ever edition of 6.30 with George Negus aired on Friday 28 October 2011.[4]

Reporters

6.30 with George Negus's reporters included:

Reception

The first episode of 6PM with George Negus aired on 24 January 2011 to an average of 605,000 viewers ranking it 18th for the day.[11] This was over the half a million target set by the show's executive producer, Tony Ritchie.[2] The program was third-placed in its timeslot behind Seven News and Nine News.[12] Colin Vickery from the Herald Sun commented on how fast-paced the show was, but concluded that the show "got off to a serviceable start tonight – but it seriously needs to slow down and take the time to live up to it's [sic] host's promises".[13] Tim Dick from the Sydney Morning Herald also noted the rushed nature of the show and stated that Negus "deserves more time".[12]

Nightly ratings for the program deteriorated in the weeks following the first broadcast, with the program ranking outside the top 100 weekly programs from its third week onwards, and its average audience falling below 400,000 viewers each night.[1][14] However, after the timeslot shift, by July 2011 audience numbers had risen and stabilised to just below 500,000 viewers each night.[1][15]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Ten moves Negus to 6:30". The Spy Report. Media Spy. 24 March 2011. Archived from the original on 15 April 2013. Retrieved 24 March 2011.
  2. 1 2 Tony Ritchie - executive producer 6pm with George Negus. mUmBRELLA. 13 December 2010. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
  3. 1 2 Knox, David (25 January 2011). "6PM with George Negus". TV Tonight. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
  4. 1 2 Devlyn, Darren (19 October 2011). "Ten dumps 6.30pm with George Negus, 7PM Project expanded to an hour". Herald Sun. Archived from the original on 20 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  5. ↑ Idato, Michael (27 August 2010). "Ten spends millions to boost news coverage". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Knox, David (19 January 2011). "TEN takes time for News". TV Tonight. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
  7. ↑ Knox, David (8 October 2010). "George Negus to quit SBS for TEN". TV Tonight. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
  8. ↑ "Negus confirms he will take 6pm job at Ten". The Spy Report. Media Spy. 9 October 2010. Archived from the original on 12 October 2010. Retrieved 26 March 2011.
  9. ↑ Knox, David (11 November 2010). "Hamish MacDonald joins TEN News". TV Tonight. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
  10. ↑ WAtvNews (23 December 2010). "6PM with George Negus - Coming Soon". Video. YouTube. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
  11. ↑ Knox, David (24 January 2011). "Week 5". TV Tonight. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
  12. 1 2 Dick, Tim (25 January 2011). "Fast-paced Negus in need of more time". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
  13. ↑ Vickery, Colin (25 January 2011). "Fast-paced Negus kicks off 6PM". Herald Sun. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
  14. ↑ "Week 7 2011". Media Spy. 13 February 2011. Archived from the original on 15 April 2013. Retrieved 26 March 2011.
  15. ↑ Knox, David (4 July 2011). "Negus may be in TEN's firing line". TV Tonight. Retrieved 14 July 2011.
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