Jump to content

7two

Edit links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Pdwerryh (talk | contribs) at 08:15, 15 July 2012 (→‎Programming: the past tense of broadcast is 'broadcast'.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

7TWO
CountryAustralia
NetworkSeven Network
Programming
Language(s)English
Ownership
OwnerSeven West Media

7TWO is an Australian free-to-air standard definition digital television channel which was launched by the Seven Network on Sunday 1 November 2009 at 12pm.[2]

The channel broadcasts a variety of general entertainment programs, targeting a broad range of viewers, with much of the content originating from Australia, United Kingdom, and United States, and complements existing programming on the primary Seven channel.[3]

Launch and promotion

The channel was officially announced on 23 October 2009. Earlier, it was suggested that Seven would launch its secondary channel around November 2009, with numerous possible names in speculation including 7PLUS, PLUS7, Channel Mate and 7TWO. Seven programming chief Tim Worner has since stated that some of these potential names were red herrings to keep details of the channel a secret.[4] PLUS7 and Channel Mate (as 7mate) were later used for Seven's internet TV catch up service and Seven's second multi-channel respectively.

The channel launched with the airing of a promotional video called "Its Time", featuring Seven Network personalities and clips of shows and movies intended to be broadcast on the channel, followed by normal programming. This video was also launched on the multi-channel's website and received cross-promotion on the primary Seven channel. The Seven Network continues its' policy of cross promoting each of their channel's content across all of its three channels to this day. Seven presenters Tom Williams and Johanna Griggs serve as the "face" of the channel and were seen presenting 7TWO's Friday and Sunday night lifestyle line-ups in early 2011.

The channel did not launch on the same day to most regional areas. 7TWO was launched for Southern Cross Television viewers in Tasmania and Darwin on 1 December 2009,[5] and for Prime Television viewers in Regional Victoria, NSW and the ACT on 23 December 2009 from 9am. From launch, Prime broadcasted the channel as '7TWO on Prime'.[6]

In January 2011, Prime Television changed the name of its primary channel to 'Prime7' in a bid to align itself closer to its metropolitan counterpart. This led to the dropping of the 'on Prime' portion of Prime's 7TWO brand.

Programming

From launch, premiere seasons of previous Seven shows including Lost, Ugly Betty, Heroes and 24 were broadcast, along with a mix of other new and classic programming and movies sourced from Disney appeared on the channel.[7]

Prime-time programs used to screen under themed nightly blocks such as 'Action Time' and 'Movie Time', however these disappeared as the focus of the channel changed in 2010. With the introduction of 7mate, 7TWO gradually added 'Best of British' content such as murder/mystery (Heartbeat & Jonathan Creek), comedy (Are You Being Served? & Keeping Up Appearances), and lifestyle (Escape to the Country & Bargain Hunt). The launch of male-skewing sister channel, 7mate, in September 2010 led to a number of programs moving across from Seven's already existing channels, including 7TWO, to the new channel. Programs that moved from 7TWO included Air Crash Investigations, Scrubs, NWA: On Fire, Whacked Out Sports, Lost, Last Comic Standing, That '70s Show, AFL Game Day, Gary Unmarried, Club Reps, Fifth Gear, Monster Garage, and The Sopranos.

The weekday daytime schedule has seen numerous changes since launch as channel executives tried to find the right mix with viewers. At launch, 'Kid's Time' broadcast a block of children's programs each morning such as Count Duckula, and Power Rangers, soap operas aired in the early afternoon and 'Kitchen Time' featured in the late afternoons with Essence of Emeril and The Martha Stewart Show among the programs broadcast. In 2010, soap operas including Shortland Street, Coronation Street and, briefly, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks joined classic Australian soap Sons and Daughters and early years of Home and Away into its mid-morning schedule along with next-weekday airings of Deal Or No Deal (after their original Seven broadcast). Early afternoon, a mix of repeated fare such as Mistresses), Murphy Brown, Doctor Finlay, and classic movies is shown. Occasionally, shows which first-aired the previous night on the main Seven channel are encored on this channel during the day. These have included Grey's Anatomy, The X Factor, and My Kitchen Rules. A weekly omnibus of the previous week's new episodes of Home and Away airs on Sunday mornings.

The Seven Network introduced new blocks of children's programming to both 7TWO and its sister channel, 7mate, in 2012 with female-skewing series such as Hannah Montana and Wizards of Waverly Place airing as part of the branded block on 7TWO.

By the end of Summer 2010/11, 7TWO had proven itself to become the most watched multi-channel in the country dominating primetime slots with a total 6.4% audience share via the network across the 5 major cities and winning 9 weeks over GO!'s two weeks (one joint with 7TWO) which is largely attributed to the channel's increased broadcast of British-originated content across the week. In 2011, following GO!'s ratings share success (for digital channels) in previous years, 7TWO has stolen their crown as the number one multi-channel in Australia.

Current shows

Programmes currently broadcast on the channel include:

Past shows

General Programming previously broadcast include:

News

7TWO airs all national Seven News updates that air on the main Seven channel, usually two commercial breaks afterwards. They air weekdays 12pm-3:45pm, and each night from 7pm-11pm. All national news updates are produced from Seven's Sydney news studio.

Sport

7TWO televised live coverage of the Wimbledon tennis tournament for the first time in 2011, first going to air at 9:00pm AEST whilst the primary channel were still broadcasting to its prime time schedule. For the 2012 tournament, 7Two once again showed live coverage from 8:30pm AEST before switching to the primary channel from around 11:00pm[8].

In 2012 it televised exclusive coverage of the Brisbane International, Sydney International and AAMI Classic tournaments for the first time (in previous years, these tournaments had screened solely on the main Seven channel).

Occasionally, other sports coverage is shown on 7TWO, either because of programming on Seven that prevents the coverage from being shown, or the decision to show it on the digital channel rather than main channel. For the first time in 2011, 7TWO showed coverage of the Australian Open, when the main channel went to the news at 6pm. 7Two continued to roll-over Australian Open tennis matches in 2012.

In 7Two's early life, classic AFL and/or Australian Open tennis matches would make up the late night/early morning schedule.

Availability

7TWO is available in standard definition digital in metropolitan areas and regional Queensland through Seven Network owned-and-operated stations including ATN Sydney, HSV Melbourne, BTQ Brisbane, SAS Adelaide, TVW Perth and STQ Queensland. As well as this, Southern Cross Television rebroadcast the service through TNT Tasmania[9] and TND Darwin.[10] Regional affiliate Prime7 (Regional NSW/ACT and VIC) also broadcasts 7TWO, launching on 23 December 2009.[11] WIN Television Griffith launched 7Two on June 5, 2012, the day of the analogue switchoff.

Southern Cross Television (Regional SA, Central) and GWN7 (Regional WA) currently do not broadcast 7Two.

References

  1. ^ a b Available from 24 Nov. http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2009/10/foxtel-dates-go-7two-abc3.html
  2. ^ Jackson, Sally (23 October 2009). "Stock Quotes". The Australian.
  3. ^ http://au.tv.yahoo.com/seven-two/schedule/article/-/article/6373086/
  4. ^ http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2009/10/7two-tvs-best-kept-secret.html
  5. ^ http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2009/12/7two-for-tassie-darwin-one-for-mildura.html
  6. ^ http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2009/12/7two-to-launch-on-prime.html
  7. ^ http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2009/10/7two-to-launch-november-1st.html
  8. ^ Wimbledon 2012: guide | TV Tonight
  9. ^ "Tassie and OZTAM ready for 7TWO". The Spy Report. 26 October 2009. Retrieved 4 November 2009.
  10. ^ "7TWO to roll out to Darwin". The Spy Report. 30 October 2009. Retrieved 4 November 2009.
  11. ^ "7Two on Prime to launch on Wednesday". The Spy Report. 21 December 2009. Retrieved 8 February 2010.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=7two&oldid=502379332"