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New channel coming: 7mate

The Seven Network has announced a new digital channel, 7mate, to launch on September 25, aimed at men 16-49.

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The Seven Network has announced a new digital channel, 7mate, to launch on September 25, aimed at men 16-49.

It will launch with high definition coverage of the AFL Grand Final.

Seven’s CEO, David Leckie said, “Seven is Australia’s most-watched network and our suite of multi-channels delivers more viewers than anyone else,.

“7mate is the next step in building on our leadership in broadcast television. 7mate is going to be great.

“The launch of 7mate delivers us a tremendous platform of channels targeting specific audience demographics – leveraging our primary channel’s success with women and 7TWO’s targeting of a 25+ adult audience.

“We’re delighted to be the first commercial network to move to three channels. With 7HD we were first into multi-channelling for the commercial networks and this is another significant step for our television business,” Mr Leckie said.

Programming Chief Tim Worner, said “We’re using the biggest sports event to launch 7mate but this new channel will be so much more than sport. We are after the most elusive demographic in media and we think we’ve got the offering to get them.”

New episodes of Family Guy, American Dad, Parks And Recreation and Last Comic Standing will lead the primetime comedy schedule. 3o Rock, How I Met Your Mother, That 70’s Show, Scrubs and Crank Yankers round out the laughs. New drama will include the sci-fi series Caprica and the adventure series Warehouse 13 and Stargate Atlantis. The reality slate will feature US ratings hits Jersey Shore and Pawn Stars, along with popular MTV series Punk’d and Gene Simmons Family Jewels, featuring the controversial KISS guitarist and his LA-based family, and Monster Garage with Jesse G. James. Factual on 7mate will see series such as Fifth Gear, The Universe, Life After People, The Boneyard, Ax Men, Jacked: Auto Theft Taskforce, Mega Movers, Mega Structures, Air Crash Investigations and Shockwave in primetime. 7mate will also be the home for first-run big movies for the blokes, including The Ringer, Strangers and Primeval.

Mr Worner said: “The channel is not designed to alienate female viewers. On the contrary we will be launching several initiatives that will see the female audience watching 7mate as well.”

To receive 7mate from 25 September, viewers will need to tune into channel 73 on an HD capable Digital TV, PVR or set top box. If you have an analogue television you will need to connect your old TV to an HD capable Digital set top box, PVR, or Digital recorder and tune in to channel 73.

A new website is online at yahoo7.com.au/tv

A spokesperson from Seven told TV Tonight: “7mate replaces 7HD, as this is all we can fit in our spectrum until 2013 or the end of Analog.

“It will be Broadcast as per 7HD currently is but will appear on channel 73.

“On Grand Final day 7mate will simulcast with Seven and then commence life as its own full time HD channel.”

This post updates.

194 Responses

  4. Good news for Parks and Recreation fans! Best comedy on television, bout time it got a decent timeslot even if it is holed away on a channel like 7mate. Ugh.

  5. Pretty lame name. I reckon they shoulda gone with just ‘mate’ or stuck with 7HD.

    I think the worst aspect about this channel is that there are quite a number of shows that aren’t HD and yet are being show on this HD channel. They should stick to airing HD (or at least high quality widescreen) on this new channel, and stick all the 4:3 and other sd programmes on Seven2.

  6. Some shows sound good (e.g. Caprica, American Dad, Primeval), many don’t. In another forum it was suggested that given the demographic they’re after they should have called the channel 7m8. Can’t argue with that!

  8. One of the networks should really bite the bullet and make their HD channel the *only* way to watch the main channel. Users with SD-only boxes have a few years to buy an HD box and can watch the analogue.

    My problem with using the HD channels for non-main programming (7Mate or ABCNews24) is that when it comes to big events — World Cup, Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc — we don’t get to enjoy them in HD like the rest of the world — unless the channels dilute their branding. OneHD, sure. 7Mate…eh, maybe. But ABCNews 24?

    The government really screwed us around, dictating in 2000 what our HD format should be while disallowing the commercial networks from doing anything new or creative with it until 2007 and pushing back the analogue switchoff date.

    End result we’re stuck with an old MPEG-2 codec for our HD channels, not enough bandwidth for proper multichanneling, until 2014 at least.

    UK did it right. Multichannel early, drive adoption, and then look at adding HD several years later, being able to take advantage of better codecs like H.264 to deliver good HD quality in 5-6Mbps.

  9. Looking forward to Caprica and Warehouse 13 in HD. I am a little dissapointed by the number of SD shows on that list though, I would prefer SD programming be shown on 72 and move the HD programming on 72 over to 73.

  11. There is nothing wrong with the name, appealling to bogans works in this country- look at what has become of the GO! schedule. I like the logo, it is the opposite of 7 and 7two, it is different and makes this channel stand out.

    I don’t get why anyone is surprised that there won’t be HD, that was always what was going to happen, each of the commercials are allowed 2 SD and 1 HD, there is no room to budge on that. they are required to keep one of them HD to meet legislated HD quotas and they are not allowed to stop broadcasting the main channel on SD. They are not allowed extra SD channels the way ABC is, there are different rules for public broadcasters. They are opperating within the constraints of the government and they will all have to do the same thing. When 10 does a new channel ONE will become HD only and the SD channel will be repurposed. When 9 does a new one 9HD will be repurposed, either for the new channel or GO! will switch over to it and the new one will be SD. I’m shocked by how many people didn’t understand this, it became clear when 10HD disappeared and was replaced by ONEHD, in trying to understand that mess we were told they had to have 1 HD and 2 SD and no other configuration.

    I’d like to see prisonbreak season 1 played again and that fits with the demographic of this channel.

  12. Are we able to suppose from this that Nine is probably planning a channel aimed at women? There was talk of a lifestyle channel awhile back.

    TEN’s next channel is easy – MasterChef24 – At night there’s just footage of Matt Preston eating and it’s hosted by Mike Goldman.

  14. I’m a chick but i like guy stuff and a couple of these things sound pretty cool

    Channel 7 selects the worse names ever.. seriously… 7mate. and i thought 7Two was horrendous. They really want to make sure you know it belongs to seven. I even think 7Three would have possibly served better

  20. As for the 20 hours per week of HD, when you take into account Sunrise and the Morning show (both in HD I believe) and the news at different times of the day then they easily beat the 3 hours a day.

  25. @belinda, yeah you could hear them laughing (after Chris called Tony mate) as they went to the ad break. Even Sarah Groen had trouble keeping a straight face. Funny.

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