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60 Minutes reporter Tara Brown talks for the first time of the moment she appeared infront of Lebanese authorities.
Nine’s CEO has a plan to help fix 60 Minutes. Picture: Channel 9Source:Channel 9
NINE Network chief executive Hugh Marks has vowed to put troubled 60 Minutes into a consistent timeslot in 2017.
The promise comes as the controversial current affairs show makes its eighth timeslot change this year.
This Sunday, 60 Minutes will revert to 7pm now that The Voice has finished. So far this year, the show has screened anywhere from 7pm to 9.45pm thoroughly confusing viewers.
The multiple timeslot changes on top of the damaging Lebanon fiasco is a double whammy that Nine needs to address.
Hugh Marks, CEO of Channel Nine, says 60 Minutes needs a consistent timeslot. Picture: Britta CampionSource:News Corp Australia
“We want to bring consistency back to what is an event current affairs program,” Marks says.
Early in the year, 60 Minutes screened at 7pm before Australia’s Got Talent. But since April it has been held hostage by other shows.
Four episodes screened at 8.15pm after Daryl Somers hypnotism show You’re Back In the Room. Another screened at 8pm after an episode of 20 to 1. In April, 60 Minutes had a 2016 high of 972,000 viewers across the five capital cities.
60 Minutes scored year-high ratings after Daryl Somers hypnotism show You’re Back in the Room. Picture: Nine NetworkSource:Channel 9
In recent weeks 60 Minutes had an advertised start time of 9pm but that plan was thrown out the window due to live episodes of The Voice running long.
Three episodes of 60 Minutes didn’t start until 9.30pm. Another didn’t commence until 9.45pm.
That 9.45pm episode on July 3 averaged a mere 526,000 viewers across the five capital cities.
It isn’t only viewers that are confused. Marks admits the constant timeslot changes are also a problem for the makers of the show.
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In recent weeks 60 Minutes has screened much later at night after The Voice. Picture: Nine NetworkSource:Supplied
“A 7 o’clock 60 Minutes can be quite different to a 9.30pm 60 Minutes,” Marks says.
“If I’m a 60 Minutes executive producer and one week I’m making a show for 7 o’clock and the next week I’m on at 9.30 what is my story mix? How do I plan six months ahead for key stories to build into that?
“Enabling your program makers to know the environment they’re making a show in is a huge advantage.”
This Sunday’s episode will include a story from Michael Usher on the US riots and an interview with Absolutely Fabulous stars Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley by Liz Hayes.
So will 60 Minutes go early evening or late night in 2017? Marks is playing his cards close to his chest.
Tara Brown leaving Baabda Woman's Prison, Lebanon. Picture: Liam Kidston.Source:News Corp Australia
Nine’s head of television, Michael Healy, head of programming Andrew Backwell, and head of News, Darren Wick, will all have a say.
“There are two schools of thought,” Marks says. “I do have a view. All I’ll commit to at this stage is that consistency is important.”
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In April, 60 Minutes reporter Tara Brown and crew Stephen Rice, Ben Williamson and David Ballment were arrested in Beirut. The team was covering Aussie mum Sally Faulkner’s attempt to recover her children from father Ali Elamine.
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Marks has said he was “sorry” for debacle. The 60 Minutes team was released after 14 night. Rice was later sacked.