Seven Network

Seven Network

Ownership
Owner	Seven Media Group

The Seven Network is an Australian television network, owned by the Seven Media Group. Seven dates back to December 2, 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Sydney and Melbourne. The network is currently the largest network in the country in terms of population reach. Seven has traditionally been the second highest rating television network in Australia, trailing its traditional rival the Nine Network, but ahead of Network Ten. Seven have won the ratings year twice since 1978, in 2000 and 2007.

Seven's headquarters are based in a converted warehouse at Jones Bay Wharf in Pyrmont, Sydney. National news and current affairs programming is based at studios in Martin Place, while the network's main production studios are located at Epping in Sydney's northern suburbs. In 2009, Seven will move their Epping based operations to a purpose built high-definition television production facility at the Australian Technology Park in Redfern. The majority of content is broadcast out of the network's digital Broadcast Centre in the Melbourne Docklands.

History

Origins

The Seven Network began as a group of independent stations in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. HSV-7 Melbourne, licensed to The Herald and Weekly Times Ltd (owners of two local papers at the time, The Herald and The Sun), was the first station in the country to use the VHF7 frequency. It launched on November 4, 1956, soon joined on December 2 by Amalgamated Television Services' ATN-7 in Sydney. By 1957 the two stations had begun to form content-sharing partnerships with their VHF9 counterparts - in ATN's case GTV-9, for HSV, TCN-9. HSV's relationship with the Victorian Football League, forerunner to the Australian Football League, began in April, 1957 when the station broadcast the first ever live Australian Rules football match. TVW-7 Perth began broadcasting almost two years later, on October 16, 1959. The city's first commercial station was licensed to TVW Limited, owned by West Australian Newspapers, publisher of The West Australian. BTQ-7 Brisbane, the city's second commercial television licensee, followed on November 1.

Throughout this time, the stations operated independently of each other, with schedules comprised of various simple, and relatively inexpensive, programmes - shows such as Pick a Box and spinoffs of popular radio shows. In the early 1960s, coaxial cable links, formed initially between Sydney and Melbourne, allowed the sharing of programmes and simultaneous broadcasts of live shows. Frank Packer, owner of HSV's Sydney partner TCN-9 bought a controlling share of the station's Melbourne counterpart, GTV-9, in 1960, in the process creating the country's first television network. HSV and ATN joined together to form the Australian Television Network in 1963. ADS-7 in Adelaide was the final capital city station to launch, on July 26, 1965. The station later swapped frequencies with SAS-10, however, in order to become SAS-7.

The newly-formed network began to produce and screen higher-budget programming in order to attract greater numbers of viewers, most notably Homicide - a series which would continue for another 12 years, becoming the nation's longest running drama series. It was not, however, until the 1970s that a national network began to appear, albeit still with independently owned and operated with localised advertising campaigns.

Colour television was introduced across the network in 1975, along with a new logo incorporating a bright ring of the colours of the visual light spectrum. Rupert Murdoch made an unsuccessful bid for the Herald and Weekly Times, owners of HSV-7, in 1979, later going on to gain control of rival ATV-10. Fairfax, however, successfully bought a 14.9% share of the company later in the same year.

1980s

This decade saw the introduction of stereo, as well as a number of successful shows, most notably A Country Practice in 1981, and Sons and Daughters, which began in 1982. Wheel of Fortune began its twenty five year run in July, 1981, produced from ADS-7's studios in Adelaide. The 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow were shown live on the network the year before. Neighbours began on Seven in 1985, however low ratings in Sydney led to the cancellation of the new series at the end of the year; the show later achieve international success with rival Network Ten.

Perth-based businessman Robert Holmes à Court, through his business the Bell Group, bought TVW-7 from its original owners, West Australian Newspapers in 1982. The Herald and Weekly Times, owner of HSV-7 and also ADS-7, was sold to Rupert Murdoch in December, 1986 for an estimated $1.8 billion. Murdoch's company, News Limited sold off HSV to Fairfax soon afterwards, for $320 million. Fairfax went on to axe a number of locally-produced shows in favour of networked content from its Sydney counterpart, ATN-7 (also owned by Fairfax at the time).

Cross-media ownership laws introduced in 1987 forced Fairfax to choose between its print and television operations - it chose the former, and later sold off its stations to Qintex Ltd., owned by businessman Christopher Skase. Qintex had previously bought, and subsequently sold off, stations in Brisbane and regional Queensland before taking control of the network. The next year, another new logo was introduced along with evening soap Home and Away and a relaunched Seven National News, now known as Seven Nightly News. The network expanded in 1988 when Skase bought out TVW for $130 million.

Despite the network's successes, a failed $1.5 billion bid for MGM Studios in the same year sent Qintex into receivership. Christopher Skase fled Australia in 1990, in order to escape extradition. The business' assets were bundled together by receivers and made into a new company, the Seven Network Limited, in 1991.

1990s

File:TTAnnaCoren.jpg

Today Tonight, presented by Anna Coren in some regions, replaced Real Life in 1995.

Real Life, a national current-affairs program hosted by Stan Grant, similar in format to the Nine Network's A Current Affair, was launched in 1992 but was later replaced by the more successful Today Tonight.

The network was listed on the stock exchange in 1993, soon after the entry of subscription television provider Australis. One of Seven's most popular series, A Country Practice, ended in 1993 after 1058 episodes. 1994 saw the introduction of Blue Heelers, which after a number of timeslot changes, was moved in 1998 to Wednesdays. This was in order to make room for a new series, medical drama All Saints. Both dramas rated quite highly, and along with new lifestyle shows Better Homes and Gardens and The Great Outdoors, resulted in a stronger ratings position for the network.

In 1995, Sunshine Television, a Seven Network affiliate in regional Queensland, was purchased by the network's parent company, Seven Network Limited. Sunshine Television's regional stations effectively became a part of the Seven Network, identical in appearance and programming to the rest of the business' stations.

A successful $1.3 billion bid for United Artists was made in conjunction with Kirk Kirkorian in 1996, however the network sold its stake two years later, for $US389 million. Seven took control of Australia Television, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Asian satellite channel, in 1997. The ABC still maintained a share in the network, and continued to produce news and current affairs programming for it.

2000s

The network's centralised digital playout facility, Broadcast Centre Melbourne, located in the city's Docklands precinct.

The year 2000 saw the launch of a new logo in time for the network's coverage of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. The opening ceremony was one of the highest-ever rating television programmes in the country, with 6.5 million viewers, contributing to the network winning the ratings year for the first time in twenty-two years.

Digital television was introduced to most of the network's coverage area on January 1, 2001. This was soon followed by the gradual introduction of widescreen and high definition programming. Always Greener, launched in 2001, received two million viewers in its Sunday timeslot, however, it was axed after its third season. In the same year, former Nine executive David Leckie was appointed head of television operations, re-launching the network with an updated logo, new advertising campaign and a new slogan.

In 2004, Seven launched the international game show Deal or No Deal to the 5.30pm timeslot, and later in the year Dancing with the Stars, based on the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing. The following year, a number of new programs were launched, from the United States network ABC, including Desperate Housewives and Lost. At the same time, Seven's news and current affairs ratings began to increase in viewers, with Today Tonight beginning to challenge rival A Current Affair, while the new format of Sunrise led to increased competition with the Nine Network's Today. Seven's evening Seven News bulletin also started to take the lead with successes in most cities.

In January 2006, the Seven Network, Pacific Magazines and online portal Yahoo! Australia and New Zealand combined in a joint venture to form Yahoo!7, representing all three companies online assets.

The network launched a number of new shows in 2006, including Prison Break, Dancing with the Stars spin-off It Takes Two, How I Met Your Mother, and My Name Is Earl. The ongoing success of these programmes resulted in a narrow loss to the Nine Network for the year, primarily due to its coverage of the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.

2007 saw Seven launch a ‘7 in 07’ campaign, promoting new shows Brothers & Sisters, Heroes, and The Rich List. The year also saw the launch of the Beautiful Sunday lineup comprised of Australia's Got Talent, Ugly Betty, Grey's Anatomy and What About Brian.

Seven HD was officially announced on September 15, 2007, with the Seven Media Group announcing their intention to start a high definition multichannel, that was initially expected to launch in December 2007. However, Seven HD became the first free to air commercial television channel introduced to metropolitan areas since 1988, when it launched prior on October 15, 2007, with 25th Hour being the first program broadcast at 10:30pm.

On February 14, 2008, the Seven Media Group and Foxtel officially signed an agreement allowing Seven's digital signal to be transmitted via Foxtel’s cable and satellite services. Prior to this, Seven was only transmitted via cable on Foxtel in an analogue format.

Programming

Further information: [[:List of programs broadcast by the Seven Network]]

New programmes introduced in 2005 led to a ratings increase, following a relatively poor 2004. A number of programmes introduced in 2006 continued on in 2007, in addition to many new entries - the bulk of which imported from US television networks.

Australian programming shown on the network includes medical drama All Saints , police drama City Homicide , lifestyle program Better Homes and Gardens, Home and Away, Dancing with the Stars, Deal or No Deal, Medical Emergency, Hot Property, travel show The Great Outdoors, as well as Australia's Best Backyards, It Takes Two , The Zoo, RSPCA Animal Rescue, Kath & Kim, Border Security, Surf Patrol, Most Shocking and The Morning Show . Children's programming includes Go Go Stop, Playhouse Disney and Saturday Disney, Toon Disney, Jetix.

The network has established output deals with a number of American production studios, including NBC Universal, The Walt Disney Company and ABC Studios. Programming imported from the US currently includes 24, The Amazing Race, Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy, Lost, Prison Break, How I Met Your Mother, My Name Is Earl, Bones, What About Brian, Ugly Betty, Brothers & Sisters, Boston Legal, Shark, Scrubs, Family Guy, Heroes, Dirty Sexy Money and Samantha Who?. Seven is still to air in 2008 Grey's Anatomy spin-off Private Practice, Heroes: Origins, Reaper, Eli Stone, October Road and Lipstick Jungle.

News & Current Affairs

Further information: [[:Seven News]]

File:Snm.jpg

Seven's Melbourne news set, with weeknight presenter Peter Mitchell.

The Seven Network's news service is called Seven News. After trailing for many years, to National Nine News, Seven rebounded in 2005, and claimed to be number one in news and current affairs. Seven News produces several news bulletins and programs including; Sunrise, The Morning Show, Weekend Sunrise, Seven Morning News, Seven 4.30 News, Seven News, Seven's Late News Updates, and Today Tonight. During the early hours of 4am to 6am, Seven rebroadcasts some of American television network NBC's news and current affairs programming, including Today, Weekend Today, Dateline NBC and Meet the Press.

In recent years under the guidance of former longtime National Nine News chief, Peter Meakin, Seven's news and current affairs have produced more locally-focussed content, which has been lifting ratings for key markets such as Sydney and Melbourne. Since 2004, the ratings of Seven News and Today Tonight have gradually increased. Seven News was the top rating news service nationally in both the 2005 and 2006 ratings seasons. A key aspect of Seven's recent ratings dominance in news and current affairs has been attributed to television game show Deal or No Deal, which provides Seven News with a large lead-in audience. In 2007, Seven News completed a clean sweep across the five capital cities in terms of being the most watched 6pm news bulletin.

Sport

Further information: [[:Seven Sport]]

Telecast to 6.5 million Australians via the Seven Network - The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympics.

Seven is a major player in Australian sports broadcasting. The 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney resulted in huge ratings for the network, with over 6.5 million Australians viewing the telecast of opening and closing ceremonies. The broadcast also ran on the short-lived C7 Sport subscription channel.

After the 2001 season Seven ended its famous 45-year run as AFL football broadcaster when the Nine Network and Network Ten, along with pay TV provider Foxtel, jointly won the television rights. On January 5 2006 the Australian Football League accepted a bid from Seven and Ten to broadcast AFL games from 2007 - 2011 at a cost of AU$780 million.

Seven's most popular recurring sporting events include the Olympic Games, AFL Premiership Season, the Australian Open Golf, the Australian Open Tennis, Bledisloe Cup Rugby, Melbourne Cup Carnival, Mt Buller World Aerials, the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, the Tri-Nations Rugby, V8 Supercars and the Champ Car World Series.

Seven has exclusive Australian free-to-air, pay television, online and mobile telephony broadcast rights to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. The live telecast of the XXIX Olympiad with be shared by both the Seven Network and SBS Television. Seven will broadcast the opening and closing ceremonies and mainstream sport's including swimming, athletics, rowing, cycling and gymnastics. In stark contrast, SBS TV will provide complementary coverage focused on long-form events such as football, road cycling, volleyball, and table tennis. On October 13, 2007, the International Olympic Committee announced that the Nine Network, in joint partnership with subscription television provider Foxtel, has secured broadcasting rights for the 2010 Winter Olympics and the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Current schedule

	6:00 PM	6:30 PM	7:00 PM	7:30 PM	8:00 PM	8:30 PM	9:00 PM	9:30 PM	10:00 PM
SUN	Seven News	The World Around Us		Kath and Kim	The Vicar of Dibley		Sunday Night Movie
MON		Today Tonight	Home and Away	Border Security	SCU: Serious Crash Unit	Monday Night Movie
TUE				It Takes Two		All Saints		Life Begins
WED				Seven Wonders of the Industrial World		A Touch of Frost
THU				Samantha Who?	How I Met Your Mother	Out of the Question	Family Guy	Lost
FRI				Better Homes and Gardens		Friday Night Movie
SAT		Saturday Night Movie						The Inspector Lynley Mysteries

Note: News and Current Affairs are in Grey; Drama is in Blue; Sitcoms, Animation and Comedy are in Purple; Lifestyle programs are in Green; Factual programs and Documentaries are Yellow; Variety, Reality, Game shows and Talk shows are in Red; Sport is in Orange; Movies are in Pink. The above represents Seven's usual primetime schedule. It does not reflect one-off events or region specific programming, and program starting times may vary from those shown. For up-to-date information, see the Seven Network's online television guide. (link)

Availability

Seven is simulcast in analogue, standard definition and 1080i high definition. On March 18, 2007, test simulcasts for 1080i commenced in the Sydney and Melbourne markets, Adelaide and Perth followed on June 24, 2007, with Brisbane following on June 25, 2007, and regional Queensland on June 26, 2007. Prior to this, the Seven Network provided a 576p enhanced-definition service.

Seven is broadcast in metropolitan areas and regional Queensland through a number of owned-and-operated stations including ATN Sydney, HSV Melbourne, BTQ Brisbane, SAS Adelaide, TVW Perth, as well as STQ Queensland. Seven Network programming is also carried into other areas of regional Australia by locally-branded affiliate networks Southern Cross Television, Prime Television, the Golden West Network, and WIN Television in South Australia.

Logos

The Seven Network became a nationalised network in 1970, with a shared logo produced and used across the metropolitan stations, featuring the numeral seven inside a ring. Colour television was introduced across the network in 1975, along with a new logo incorporating a bright ring of the colours of the visual light spectrum. This logo was used nationally until 1989, when a new red logo was introduced along with evening soap Home and Away and a relaunched Seven National News & Seven Nightly News now known as Seven News.

Following a decade in use, 2000 saw the launch of a new ribbon logo in conjuction with the launch of the Sydney 2000 Summer Olympics. The ribbon logo was used in conjuction with five other variants of differing colours, these included red, orange, yellow, green and blue, to symbolise passion, involving, fun, life and energy respectively. In 2003, the logo was updated losing its gradient and shadows, becoming solid red. In addition to this, the use of differing colours for the logo ceased.

Used from 1970 to 1975	Used from 1975 to 1988	Used from 1989 to 31st December 1999	Used from 1st January 2000 to 2003	Used from 2003 to future
1970 - 1975	1975 - 1988	1989 - 1999	2000 - 2003	2003 - future

External links

• Official Site
• Corporate Site