Rush features an ensemble cast including Rodger Corser (The Starter Wife, Last Man Standing, Underbelly), Callan Mulvey (Underbelly, Heartbreak High, Home and Away), Catherine McClements (The Secret Life Of Us,Mary Bryant, After the Deluge) and Claire Van Der Boom (Love My Way, East West 101). It is a Southern Star John Edwards production, and will be produced by John Edwards (The Secret Life of Us, Love My Way, Out Of The Blue) and Mimi Butler (Forensic Investigators, Blue Water High).
"Ten gave us the opportunity to break new ground in drama with The Secret Life of Us and now we've been given that kind of opportunity all over again," said producer John Edwards. Mimi Butler (producer) added, "It's exciting to be part of the next generation of action based drama. It's a very sexy cast, gun writers and a great chance to push the storytelling." Executive producer, drama and production, Network Ten, Rick Maier said: "Tonally this is a perfect fit for us. The idea is clean, the characters are complex, and the production team is the best in the business. It's also terrific to be working again with Script Producer Chris Lee (Police Rescue, The Secret Life Of Us). As with Secret Life of Us, the scripts are the key to a great series, and the writing team for is one of the best you will see. With Andrew Prowse (Farscape, Wildside, McLeod's Daughters) to direct, and the sensational calibre of this cast we're hopeful Rush will have an immediate impact for the audience."
Film Victoria CEO, Sandra Sdraulig, welcomes the production to Victoria saying, "We are thrilled that John Edwards and his team chose to film the series here. We look forward to working with the cast and crew, and believe Victoria's quality locations and skilled practitioners will contribute significantly to the success of the production." Production of Rush will be based in Victoria and will commence in May 2008.
These are prosperous times for Ten Network Holdings who claim the television advertising market is remarkably resilient despite the current global market malaise. Releasing the broadcaster's first-half results, Ten executive chairman Nick Falloon said the company was already tracking ahead of last year in the March and April period and tracking well in other months. Ten today posted a 617.3 per cent increase in first half net profit to $270.547 million. Shares in Ten (ASX: TEN: quote) rose 1.8 per cent to $2.26 in late afternoon trading today, as the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index slipped 0.4 per cent.
The profit result at the broadcaster includes an income tax benefit of $183.7 million stemming from the creation of the company as a consolidated group in February 2008. The 2007 half-year result also included a subordinated debenture interest of $43.3 million, which doesn't apply in 2008. On a normalised basis, net profit in the period to February 29, 2008, rose 16.9 per cent to $86.86 million. "We are already ahead of last year in the March/April period and tracking well in other months,'' Mr Falloon said. "As management predicted, Ten is gaining market share and we expect to further improve on our record start in key buying demographics. Television costs are firmly under control and, based on current projections, Ten is set to better 2007 EBITDA (earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortisation) in the current financial year.'' That projection would depend, however, on the Beijing Olympic Games and the state of the advertising market during that period, he said.
There was no such positive news over at ABC, where it has been revealed staff are to be made redundant as part of a restructure of the national broadcaster's television production department. Announcing the changes, ABC managing director Mark Scott would not say how many staff would be axed. Numbers would be revealed after consultations with staff, he said. However, he admitted the changes would be "a little tough" on workers.
Mr Scott confirmed the looming job losses as he announced the creation of a new division, ABC Resources, which will formally begin operation from July 1. Mr Scott said the changes would free money for Australian content and "quality journalism". The changes would lead to an emphasis on new technologies such as automated studio equipment and the creation of a more flexible, multi-skilled production workforce, he said, adding that new technologies would reduce the need for camera operators and production staff. TV news journalists will also trial new desktop editing systems.
News of the changes follows plans by the ABC to set up a dedicated 24-hour news service for TV, radio and online. Mr Scott said the ABC would try to minimise redundancies. "We're not specifying numbers today. We're not specifying precise money that we might be able to save," he told ABC Radio. "The ABC will be strengthened as a result of these changes, even though it's a little tough to go through." Mr Scott said the changes would make the ABC more efficient, but would not reduce quality. "We have received advice that there are significant opportunities to strengthen the ABC that can come if we take advantage of the technology that exists now to create news. And, if we can ensure that our television production processes are as efficient as they can be and are as efficient as they are in the independent production sector."
Critics have expressed concern about the ABC's outsourcing of TV jobs and work. Mr Scott said the broadcaster was committed to both internal and external production. But he pointed to The Chaser's War On Everything and Andrew Denton's Enough Rope chat show as examples of where external production worked well. "There are great benefits for us to be able to make programs in partnerships as well," he said. "This is taxpayers' money we're spending and if we can't make it as efficient internally as we can outside, then inevitably there'll be pressure to move production outside."
Mr Scott appealed to unions not to run scare campaigns over the changes. Graham Thompson, the ABC section secretary of the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU), said he had concerns about the new direction. "Automation of TV studio will limit production," he said. "It will drive further production outsourcing to the private sector. There will be a lot of anxious people in the ABC workforce." He said he wanted to talk to the ABC in more depth about the changes before any action was considered.
Finally, there is little doubt Australia's TV ratings system is antiquated. The sample is laughably small — 1250 homes nationally are used to reflect the viewing tastes and frequency of more than 20 million Australians — and it fails to capture the full spectrum of consumption, including time-shifted programs, personal digital recorders, portable video players, broadband and downloads.
Last week Foxtel and Austar announced they would launch, in partnership with their commercial advertising joint venture Multi Channel Network (MCn), a new audience survey that will monitor 10,000 homes nationally and include time-shifted viewing and audience engagement with interactive advertising (so-called i-Ads). Such a system would be tilted towards the pay sector — all the homes will be pay TV homes — but it's a step in the right direction. It will allow a television business to monitor the audience's viewing habits away from the conventional TV set.
What seems astounding is that the free-to-air television industry hasn't taken steps to reinvigorate its own measurement system, particularly as the numbers it crunches seem to shrink annually. Ten years ago, hit shows were watched by 2.5 million viewers or more. Now the benchmark is closer to 1.3 million. The smaller numbers are caused in part by more shows in the middle spread and fewer high peaks, which leads most reporters to inaccurately conclude there are smaller volumes overall. However, they highlight the statistical difficulties of working with such a small sample.
Current ratings would have us believe just 1.3 million people are watching Underbelly, even though it has inspired a pirate DVD boom in Victoria. The system in its current form employs a sample that is statistically useless and hopelessly out of touch with rapid changes in the realm of personal home entertainment. The mantra for survival in the new-media world is adapt or die. Australia's commercial broadcasters would do well to heed it.
Further reading: Ten starts ratings war with Rush
