What does the collapse of Network Ten mean for viewers?
<p>Yesterday, Network Ten announced it was going into voluntary administration, putting hundreds of employees – not to mention some of our favourite shows – in jeopardy. So what went wrong? And how will its collapse affect viewers?</p>
<p>The announcement comes six years after a major shake-up in which the channel vastly expanded their news line-up and shifted their traditional evening shows to digital Channel Eleven – a move criticised at the time by interim CEO Lachlan Murdoch and shareholder James Packer.</p>
<p>Within just one and a half years of the change, Ten had fallen from its position as one of Australia’s most profitable networks to one of its least, losing millions of dollars.</p>
<p>Rumours have been circulating for a while now regarding the struggling station, but the final nail in the coffin came when Murdoch, Packer and fellow shareholder Bruce Gordon refused to guarantee a $250 million loan to help Ten repay its $200 million debt to the Commonwealth Bank.</p>
<p>“This decision follows correspondence received from Illyria [Murdoch’s investment vehicle] and Birketu [Gordon] over the weekend which left the directors with no choice but to appoint administrators,” the network announced to ASX.</p>
<p>However, it’s not the first time Ten has found itself on the brink of disaster. In 1972 and 1990, the network was saved by new strategies, including more content targeted at younger demographics. It’s this move away from youth audiences that Aussie TV historian Andrew Mercado believes is responsible for the collapse.</p>
<p>“The last time Ten was in receivership, one Australian show survived,” he recalled to <a href="http://www.news.com.au/finance/business/media/what-went-wrong-at-network-ten/news-story/f81c50a91b464af536faf94bf328bfad" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">News.com.au</span></strong></a>. “That show was <em>E Street</em>, because it had the best advertising demographic of 18-35, it had male viewers, and Ten realised young people could be their future, they could program for that age group.”</p>
<p>“That became their strategy through the ‘90s, with <em>The Simpsons</em>, <em>Twin Peaks</em>, <em>Melrose Place</em>, <em>Seinfeld</em>. Ten became the youth network. They weren’t coming number one in the ratings, but they ended up making the most money from advertising.”</p>
<p>Mercado believes Ten tried too hard to compete with Seven and Nine, bringing in more news and breakfast programs. “Seven and Nine blatantly copy each other, but Ten always used to have a point of difference. But they got cold feet and automatically reverted back to the same breakfast shows.”</p>
<p>As for programming, it will likely be business as usual at Ten and you’ll still be able to tune in to your nightly <em>MasterChef</em> or <em>The Project</em>. It’s lower-rating, American-produced shows that will take the hit. Australian TV networks are required to air at least 55 per cent Aussie content between 6am and midnight, so chances are all our favourites will stay – they’ll just be trimmed back a bit thanks to cost-cutting measures.</p>
<p>What do you think about Ten going into administration? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.</p>
<p><em>Image credit: AAP.</em></p>
