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Live from Martin Place

It was just another day in the goldfish bowl for the morning casts of Sunrise and The Morning Show when TV Tonight dropped by Martin Place today.

Under the guidance of producer Adam Boland the country’s most popular morning brands ran seamlessly in the streetfront studio, constructed in the building that formerly housed Colonial Bank.

The studio space doubles for both the morning shows, plus Seven News Sydney and Today Tonight. As such, there is a continual storage of sets pushed to one side of the studio while another broadcasts live to air. The Sunrise team always finish their show outside the building to allow the Morning Show set to bump in. It’s a quick, but efficient switch by production crew.

As Larry and Kylie tag-team into their show, Kochie’, Natalie, Mark and Jessica all signed autographs for fans, and posed for photographs. I’m told they can sometimes stay there for 45 minutes for big crowds. Ahhh television….

Above the studio are two floors of open plan office space for news and Sunrise / Morning Show teams. You could be mistaken for thinking you had stepped into a call centre, and it’s not hard to see where financial accountants and banking staff once came to work in the 90s.

In fact Seven has had to make a number of compromises and changes to facilitate the space as a working television hub. There’s no traditional green room. There are no formal dressing rooms. International guests are given temporary use of the board room. And this must be the only television centre in the country to have a bank vault as its wardrobe.

Boland has even forged what Seven views as a stand-alone production team, with the ability to occasionally foster other light enertainment projects.











The overall mood of these breakfast television shows off-set remained as relaxed and smooth as on-air. With only minimal floor crew both casts linked smoothly from one topic to another. News, tax hints, dreams, 4 minutes to save the world, “cash cow” give-aways, interviews, showbiz…… it may not be the most challenging of content but it is digestible, radio-on-television as viewers are getting ready for work and catching up on overnight news.

Both Sunrise and The Morning Show continue to lead national ratings, helping Seven to run its very own “cash cow.”

3 Responses

  1. Looking at the set, how do they change from Sunrise to the Morning Show sets so quickly, back in “the day” you use to see and hear bus’s etc drive past? what has changed. Is there a control room on set or does that get sorted at the epping studio’s. Where is that McDonalds located that you see?

  2. Great report David – its easy to see why Sunrise & The Morning Show are ratings winners – a great mix of news & entertainment & a real rapport with the audience.
    I love Jessica Rowe, she seems like a breath of fresh air & the whole team always have a laugh.
    Mel & Nat are gorgeous & viewers adore both ladies – Kochie is just a big loveable dag, bless him!

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