Seven Network
The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by Seven West Media Limited,[2] and is one of the five main free-to-air television networks in Australia. The network's headquarters are located in Sydney.
This article is about the Australian network. For other uses, see network seven (disambiguation).Type
8 Central Avenue
Eveleigh, New South Wales
English
4 November 1956
Australian Television Network (1963–1970, 1987–1991)
Network 7 (1970–1984)
1312 @ 6 (177.5 MHz)[1]
1328 @ 6 (177.5 MHz)
1344 @ 6 (177.5 MHz)
1360 @ 6 (177.5 MHz)
1376 @ 6 (177.5 MHz)
7/71/6/61
70
6/60/61
As of 2014, it is the second-largest network in the country in terms of population reach. The Seven Network shows various nonfiction shows—such as news broadcasts (Seven News) and sports programming—as well as fiction shows.[3] In 2011, the network won all 40 out of 40 weeks of the ratings season for total viewers,[4] being the first to achieve this since the introduction of the OzTAM ratings system in 2001.[5]
As of 2023, the Seven Network is the highest-rated television network nationally, in Australia, ahead of the Nine Network, ABC TV, Network 10 and SBS.[6]
Headquarters[edit]
Seven's administration headquarters are in Eveleigh, Sydney, completed in 2003.[7] National news and current affairs programming are based between flagship station ATN-7 in Sydney and HSV-7 in Melbourne. In 2009, Seven moved its Sydney-based production operations from Epping to a purpose-built high-definition television production facility at the Australian Technology Park in Eveleigh.[8]
History[edit]
Origins[edit]
The present Seven Network began as a group of independent stations in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.[9][10] 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 launched on 4 November 1956, the first television station in the country to use the VHF7 frequency.[10] ATN-7 Sydney, licensed to Amalgamated Television Services, a subsidiary of Fairfax, was launched on 2 December 1956, signing on as Sydney's third television station.[10][11] The two stations did not immediately share resources, and instead formed content-sharing partnerships with their VHF9 counterparts by 1957: ATN-7 partnered with Melbourne's GTV-9, while HSV-7 paired up with Sydney's TCN-9.[10][11] TVW-7 Perth, licensed to TVW Limited, a subsidiary of West Australian Newspapers, publisher of The West Australian, began broadcasting almost two years later, on 16 October 1959, as the city's first television station.[10] BTQ-7 Brisbane followed on 1 November 1959, signing on as Brisbane's second television station.[10][11] ADS-7 Adelaide was launched on 24 October 1959 as the final capital city VHF7 station.[12] The station later swapped frequencies with SAS-10 on 27 December 1987 as ADS-10 and SAS-7.[12]
HSV-7 began its relationship with the Victorian Football League (now the Australian Football League) in April 1957, when the station broadcast the first live Australian rules football match. Throughout this time, the stations operated independently of each other, with schedules made up of various simple, and relatively inexpensive, programs, such as Pick a Box and spinoffs of popular radio shows.[10] In the early 1960s, coaxial cable links, formed initially between Sydney and Melbourne, allowed the sharing of programmes and simultaneous broadcasts of live shows.[11]
In 1960, Frank Packer, the owner of Sydney's TCN-9, bought a controlling share of Melbourne's GTV-9, in the process creating the country's first television network[11] (unofficially called "the National Nine Network") and dissolving the ATN-7/GTV-9 and the HSV-7/TCN-9 partnerships. Left without their original partners, ATN-7 and HSV-7 joined to form the Australian Television Network in 1963.[12] The new grouping was soon joined by other capital-city channel 7 stations, ADS-7 Adelaide and BTQ-7 Brisbane. The new network began to produce and screen higher-budget programs to attract viewers, most notably Homicide, a series which would continue for another 12 years to become the nation's longest running drama series.[12] However, it was not until 1970, after the network adopted the Network 7 name, that a national network logo was adopted, albeit still with independently owned and operated stations with local advertising campaigns.[13]
Colour television was introduced across the network in 1975, when a new colour logo was adopted. 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.[11]
1980s[edit]
The 1980s saw the introduction of stereo sound, as well as a number of successful shows, most notably A Country Practice in 1981, and Sons and Daughters, which began in 1982.[14] Wheel of Fortune began its 25-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.[14] Neighbours began on Seven in 1985, but low ratings in Sydney led to the cancellation of the new series at the end of the year, which later moved to Network Ten and went on to achieve international success.[14]
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.[11] It was in 1984 that the network proceeded to drop the "Network 7" branding. The Herald and Weekly Times, owner of HSV-7 and ADS-7, was sold to Rupert Murdoch in December 1986 for an estimated A$1.8 billion.[11] Murdoch's company, News Limited, sold off HSV-7 to Fairfax soon afterwards, for $320 million.[11] 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).[14]
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.[14] Qintex had previously bought, and subsequently sold off, stations in Brisbane and regional Queensland before taking control of the network.[11] It was also in 1987 that the network returned to the "Australian Television Network" branding. 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 News. The network became truly national in 1988 when Skase bought TVW-7 for $130 million.[14] In 1991, the network changed its name once again to the Seven Network, though it had been unofficially using that name for some time before then.
Despite the network's successes, a failed $1.5 billion bid for MGM Studios in the same year sent Qintex into receivership.[11] Christopher Skase fled Australia in 1990 to escape extradition.[14] The business' assets were bundled together by receivers and made into a new company, the Seven Network Limited, in 1991.[11]
1990s[edit]
Real Life, a national current-affairs programme 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.[15]
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. 1993 saw the introduction of Blue Heelers, which after a number of timeslot changes, was moved in 1998 to Wednesdays. This was 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.[16]
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. Australian Gladiators Series 1 and Series 2 in 1995-1996 filmed in Brisbane, and Series 3 filmed in Sydney [17] proved popular. Seven Queensland won the annual audience ratings for the first time in 1998.[18]
Between 1995 and April 2001, Alan Jackson of Nylex was the non-executive director of Seven, after being asked by Stokes to lead the company.[19][20]
A successful $1.3 billion bid for United Artists was made in conjunction with Kirk Kerkorian in 1996; 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 Australian Broadcasting Corporation still maintained a share in the network, and continued to produce news and current affairs programming for it.[21]
ATN-7: 1968 – 5 October 1969
ATN-7: 5 October 1969 – 28 February 1975
HSV-7: 5 October 1969 – 28 February 1975
BTQ-7
ADS-7: 5 October 1969 – July 1976
ATN-7: 1 March 1975 – 23 January 1989,
HSV-7: 1 March 1975 – 23 January 1989
ADS-7: July 1976 – 26 December 1987
BTQ-7: July 1976 – 23 January 1989
TVW-7: October 1977 – 23 January 1989
SAS-7: 27 December 1987 – 23 January 1989
23 January 1989 – 31 December 1999
1 January 2000 – 13 September 2003
14 September 2003 – present
The network's first logo produced and used across the metropolitan stations in the early 1970s featured the numeral seven inside a ring (similar to the Circle 7 logo used mostly by the American Broadcasting Company for its owned-and-operated stations which ATN-7 used from 1968 to 1969). However, in some states from as early back as 1967 the "Seven eye" appeared and continued right through to 1975. Colour television was introduced across the network and the country on 1 March 1975, along with a new logo incorporating a bright ring of the colours of the visual light spectrum. This logo was used nationally until 23 January 1989, when the recently renamed Seven Network introduced a new red logo with the circle modified to incorporate the "7" (similar to the logo then used by WJLA-TV in Washington). The new logo was rolled out along with evening soap Home and Away and a relaunched Seven Nightly News (later to become Seven News).[14]
The current ribbon logo was launched to coincide with the new millennium celebration on 1 January 2000 and the 2000 Summer Olympics held in Sydney. The ribbon logo was used between 2000 and 2003 in five colour variants: red, orange, yellow, green and blue, to symbolise passion, involving, fun, life and energy respectively and represents the five stations of the network. The logo was simplified in 2003, effectively becoming simply two angled trapezoids, losing its gradient, shadows and colour-coded usages to become solid red but first it was used in solid white as an on-screen bug from 2000. In 2012, the Seven logo was slightly modified with the shape of it remaining the same, the upper right corner was lighter red than the remaining logo. On 1 February 2016, it reverted to red trapezoids.
The Seven Network's TV ad campaigns tend to follow NBC (mostly due to Seven's semi-close ties with the American network), but at times also used some imaging from fellow US networks ABC and FOX.
Each state has from time to time had their own specific slogans, but the following were the network's national identities:
Awards[edit]
Due to Seven's coverage of the 2008 Summer Olympics, the International Olympic Committee awarded Seven the 'Golden Rings' award for "Best Olympic Programme". The award is given for the best overall Olympic coverage.[110]
At the 2018 Sport Australia media awards, Seven won the "Best coverage of a sporting event" award for the coverage of the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast.[111]
The Seven Network's ground-breaking coverage of the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games saw them win three awards (gold, silver and bronze) at the International Olympic Committee's coveted Golden Rings Awards.[112]