Audience moving to Prime position

5May07

By JAMES JOYCE

PRIME Television’s Newcastle audience in the all-important 6pm timeslot has more than doubled since it axed local news, ratings figures show.

As fears grow that Nine Network owner PBL Media’s $250 million purchase of NBN could lead to a dilution of the Newcastle station’s local content, ratings data shows that rival Prime’s relay of Seven’s Sydney news and Today Tonight is luring viewers from NBN’s hour of locally produced news.

Shown since the station began 45 years ago, NBN News has been the cornerstone of its ratings dominance since Prime and Ten arrived in Newcastle in 1992.

Last year, NBN had 36.9 per cent share of prime time viewing in Newcastle, ahead of second-placed Prime’s 22.3 per cent share.

But the gap has narrowed in 2007, with NBN’s share so far this year down to 34.6 per cent and Prime’s up, at 26.9 per cent.

A Key component of Prime’s growth has been Seven News and Anna Coren’s Today Tonight.

In 2001, when Prime axed its Newcastle news bulletin after years, Prime Local News and Seven News averaged 28,000 and 26,000 viewers a night, respectively, well behind NBN News, with 115,000 viewers.

This year, NBN News is averaging 92,000 viewers against Prime’s Seven News and Today Tonight, with 50,000 and 68,000 viewers respectively.

Prime’s general manager of news and regulatory affairs, Alan Butorac, said there was "no question" regional viewers wanted local news.

"The people in Newcastle who want their local news dished up in a long form at 6pm are fairly happy getting it from NBN but our alternative is proving to be increasingly successful," he said.

Licence conditions stipulate that regional stations must accrue an average of 90 points a week of "local information programming".

Prime and Southern Cross Ten screen brief news and weather spots in Newcastle, with Prime’s broadcast from Canberra.

"we get across the line each week by a handful of points not by multiples," Mr Butorac said.

Australian Communications and Media Authority data confirms that NBN accrues the most local content points in northern NSW, far more than required.

"No obligation exists to accrue points over and above the required minimum," an authority spokesperson said.

Media analyst Steve Allen, of Fusion Media, said PGL Media would assess the ratings inroads Prime was making against NBN’s more expensive local news.

"They will definitely weigh it up, they will have to," Mr Allen said.

Sourced: ‘The Herald’ Saturday, May 5, 2007

Some other stories

• Nine gets its balls back
• Back to the future at NEWFM
• The Week That Was TV Ratings 1 Dec 2008
• Newcastle TV Ratings Week 18
• Industry websites under the NLYZR microscope

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