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News war at 4:30 in Perth

Local news bulletins at 4:30 in Perth highlight the gap between Nine and Seven in the west.

The battle for Perth viewers, the bulk of whom are predominantly Channel Seven viewers, has recently taken a new turn with local editions of news replacing national 4:30pm bulletins.

Nine launched a bulletin fronted by Matt Tinney in mid-March while Seven was still screening a national bulletin from Sydney. With the time-zone difference there were clearly some advantages in having a local bulletin.

Two and a half weeks later, Seven fired back with its own local afternoon bulletin fronted by Natalia Cooper.

On Twitter, Tinney responded with, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. @NineNewsPerth The FIRST with a LIVE & LOCAL 4.30 News.”

But the gap between the two reflects the hard yards that lay ahead for Nine, and the way Seven enjoys an historic link with its audience that impacts on national figures every day.

Yesterday Seven’s afternoon news in the west was 34,000. Nine was just 7,000.

Thumping them both was TEN’s The Bold and the Beautiful on 56,000.

As Seven News Director Howard Gretton told Perth Now, “The result is a tribute to the professionalism of the Seven News team in Perth. It reflects the continued success of Seven News as the dominant force in TV news in Perth.”

As well as Chairman Kerry Stokes being a Perth local, Seven has a 43 year history with its Telethon, plus a local edition of Today Tonight.

Meanwhile, Nine has limits to its ability to effect change with Perth and Adelaide affiliates under the control of WIN TV.

7 Responses

  1. If I had to choose I would watch 7 just out of preference. Though its good to see them try and do some live news at that time. Especially since now that the daylight saving is over and The Drum is on at 4pm on ABCNews24 so there is no proper news update.

    I do like TEN’s Perth news team. Everyone really enjoys themselves.

  2. To Howard Gretton : The Nine news team are as professional as your team are.
    Would never watch your news service if you paid me.
    Well done Matt Tinney you are great.
    robert

  3. I actually prefer the 9 bulletin at 4:30, at this stage anyway, for content; but the 7 one does seem more polished — if a little lonely with just Natalia.

    If one thinks of this as a replacement for WIN News, which it kinda is, then hey, WIN has just doubled their viewership from 7000 to 16000.

  4. OK so TVTonight is looking at one day of ratings. Why not at Mon, Tues & Weds to make a more accurate read.

    And my not compare the local figures for Perth for new local 430 news to what the national news used to get.

    1. Because the Perth Now link I listed already did that. The point of the article was how far ahead Seven is on Nine in WA. I don’t believe that will have changed if I go back and add each day.

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