Foxtel's blog

FOXTEL stars will light up the stage and red carpet at the 2011 TV Week Logie Awards, to be held at the Crown Palladium in Melbourne this weekend.

The cast of the much-anticipated Tim Winton’s cloudstreet (showcase) will be in attendance, including Stephen Curry – also presenting an award on the night – Todd Lasance, Essie Davis, Geoff Morrell and Huge Johnstone-Burt. cloudstreet will premiere on Sunday, May 22.

Justine Clarke, Silver Logie nominated actress and star of Tangle (showcase) will also attend TV’s night-of-nights, as she prepares to commence production on the third season of the hit drama series in Melbourne.

Host and Executive Producer of Australia’s Next Top Model (FOX8), Sarah Murdoch, will present an award at the ceremony and will be joined on the red carpet by Australia’s Next Top Model judge, Charlotte Dawson, as production commences on Series 7 of FOXTEL’s most-watched series.

Gorgeous model Tahnee Atkinson, winner of Series 5 of Australia’s Next Top Model returns to the Logies stage for the second year in a row to present the winners with their Awards.

Megan Gale, the new host of Project Runway Australia (Arena), will grace the red carpet in a custom-made gown by Project Runway mentor and red carpet divo Alex Perry. The fashion reality series recently wrapped production in Melbourne and will premiere on FOXTEL’s Arena channel in July. Megan will also take the stage to present an award on the night.

Nominated for Most Outstanding Sports Coverage, FOXTEL’s own Matt Shirvington, Tiffany Cherry and James Bracey will represent the team from FOXTEL’s coverage of the XIX Delhi Commonwealth Games and will be joined by superstar athletes Geoff Huegill and Liesel Jones.

In 2011, one of the most tumultuous years in political history, SKY NEWS has received a nomination for its coverage of Election 2010 in the Most Outstanding News Coverage category – and representing Australia’s News Channel will be Political Editor, David Speers, Senior Political Reporter, Kieran Gilbert and Political Reporter Ashleigh Gillon.

One of the biggest ratings hits of 2010, Grand Designs Australia (The LifeStyle Channel), has received a nomination in the viewer voted Most Popular Lifestyle category. Host Peter Maddison will attend the 52nd annual Awards, alongside LifeStyle stable mate Sarah Wilson.

For the second year in a row, the hosts of Nickelodeon’s Camp Orange: Castle Mountain, Luke Joseph Ryan and Wyatt Nixon-Lloyd will rock the red carpet in celebration of their nomination for Most Outstanding Children’s Program.

Three of the most photographed and beautiful woman on Australian TV – host of Cricket Superstar (FOX8) Lee Furlong, host of Dating in the Dark (FOX8) Laura Dundovic and MTV’s Erin McNaught – will add some glamour to the red carpet.

From the new Movie Extra series Small Time Gangster, lead star Steve Le Marquand and Sacha Horler are also on the guest list this Sunday night.

Rounding out the guest list are the stars of FOX8’s hot new reality series WAG Nation, who are leaving their ball-playing men at home for a night of glitz and glamour. Shoe designer Terry Biviano, fiancée of NRL Sydney Roosters player Anthony Minichiello; event planner Lynette Bolton, wife of AFL Sydney Swans player Jude Bolton; fashion boutique owner Jackie Spong, fiancée of AFL Carlton Blues player Jarrad Waite; promotions manager Jana Peterson, long-term girlfriend of NRL Cronulla Sharks player John Williams; and flight attendant Chantelle Raleigh, girlfriend of NBL Gold Coast Blaze player Adam Gibson will all attend the Logies.

FOXTEL and AUSTAR will televise every AFL game live, nationally and commercial free, siren to siren, under a historic new agreement announced today that will revolutionise sports broadcasting in Australia.

FOXTEL will partner with AUSTAR, FOX SPORTS and Telstra to deliver Australian viewers and AFL fans alike a long list of stunning broadcasting firsts which they will love, including:

·         Most comprehensive live coverage ever – for the first time, Australian AFL fans will be able to watch every single AFL Home & Away game and FOXTEL Cup game live, in High Definition, and uninterrupted siren to siren on FOXTEL and AUSTAR.

·         Guaranteed live Finals coverage nationally – for the first time on Australian television, FOXTEL and AUSTAR subscribers will be able to watch the entire Finals Series (not including the Grand Final) live, in HD and uninterrupted siren to siren.

·         Guaranteed Live Pre-Season Competition – for the first time ever, FOXTEL and AUSTAR subscribers will be able to watch the entire Pre-Season Competition, including the Grand Final, live in HD and uninterrupted siren to siren. All Pre-Season matches other than the Grand Final will only be available on television on FOXTEL and AUSTAR.

·         Live games delivered via mobile/broadband – for the first time ever, all AFL games will be delivered live over Telstra Next G® mobiles. Additionally, one match per round will be available via the internet to Telstra T-Box customers. Additional matches will be available to Telstra T-Box customers and Microsoft Xbox LIVE customers who subscribe to the FOXTEL channels.

·         FOX SPORTS AFL – FOXTEL, AUSTAR and FOX SPORTS will bring back to our screens a dedicated AFL channel to celebrate and engage subscribers for each AFL season – all in stunning High Definition (and available to sports tier subscribers).

·         Brownlow on FOXTEL and AUSTAR live – for the first time in broadcasting history, both FOXTEL and AUSTAR will carry the Brownlow Medal ceremony live and in full, right across the country.

·         Historical and memorable matches “from the vault” – FOXTEL and AUSTAR will have full access to all matches and events to which the AFL has rights from its rich history stored in their archive vault.

·         Even more resources for grass roots competitions – the deal is the richest in Australian sports history and will ensure that the AFL can continue to support: players, world class facilities, its grass roots competitions and the AFL’s expansion to Western Sydney and the Gold Coast. This expansion will increase the weekly competition to 9 games per round – with all 9 matches being shown live on FOXTEL and AUSTAR nationally.

FOXTEL, AUSTAR and FOX SPORTS will schedule their games on the new dedicated AFL channel (the FOX SPORTS AFL channel) as well as scheduling some games on FOX SPORTS 1, whenever there is a game overlap or conflict, to ensure every game is broadcast live and the viewer is in charge. FOX SPORTS AFL will broadcast the widest-ever range of AFL games live, in High Definition, including historical and memorable  matches from the AFL’s archive vault as well as continuing to broadcast the much loved and watched magazine shows On The Couch, After the Bounce,  AFL Winners, AFL 360, AFL Insider, AFL Teams and AFL Winners Presents – The Greatest.

“This is a great day for Australian sports fans who love the AFL because for the first time they will be able to see every game of the AFL live, get real choice over which network to watch their team on, and they’ll have the option of watching AFL games on their mobiles, personal computer, Microsoft Xbox 360 or Telstra T-box,” said Kim Williams CEO FOXTEL.

“It’s an agreement for the 21st Century which takes all the truly amazing possibilities of digital technology to put the viewer firmly in control of their television viewing and to deliver to them live sports coverage like never before and over a device of their choice”  Mr Williams added.

AUSTAR CEO John Porter said, “We are truly excited at the opportunity to deliver our subscribers the depth of coverage that AFL deserves, every match live and uninterrupted, in beautiful High Definition. We look forward to working with our partners at FOXTEL and FOX SPORTS to raise the bar even further, and ensure that our sport offering is a must have for anyone with even a casual interest in AFL.” 

FOX SPORTS CEO David Malone said, “FOX SPORTS is delighted to announce its most extensive AFL offering ever, including the addition of a new channel dedicated solely to the AFL. The new channel will enable us to broadcast every AFL game live, nationally and uninterrupted in glorious High Definition, while providing AFL fans with a one-stop destination for AFL coverage including classic matches from the archives and the game’s leading opinion and analysis through our seven dedicated weekly AFL magazine programs. FOX SPORTS will produce unsurpassed live AFL coverage, strengthening our commitment to the code and reinforcing our position as Australia’s Sports Leader.”

The agreement will ensure the AFL has an even stronger funding base to continue to support the players, world class sporting venues and grass roots competitions – which make such a huge contribution to local communities and the health of Australia’s young people.

The agreement complies with current anti-siphoning provisions in the Broadcasting Services Act and is also consistent with the Government’s stated new anti-siphoning policy which the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy announced in November 2010.  Under this policy the Minister specified that the Government will delist 4 weekly AFL games.

Last night on FOXTEL the premiere of the exclusive series BALLS OF STEEL AUSTRALIA smashed ratings records for THE COMEDY CHANNEL, becoming it’s most-watched programme ever.

Hosted by Craig Reucassel, the series reached an impressive 195,000 viewers and was the number one program on Subscription Television last night, according to figures released today by OzTAM.

The first episode of BALLS OF STEEL AUSTRALIA will encore on Sunday April 24 at 6.00pm, and Monday April 25 at 10.30pm.  The 10-part series will continue next Tuesday at 9.30pm on THE COMEDY CHANNEL.

BALLS OF STEEL AUSTRALIA is produced by Southern Star Entertainment’s Courtney Gibson and Johnny Lowry.

Nation-wide coverage of the opening heats of the 2011 Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach has commenced this morning in pumping four-to-six foot waves on FUEL TV.

Australia’s only 24-hour action sports broadcaster, which is home to the ASP World Surfing Tour, will deliver EXCLUSIVELY LIVE coverage of the event as it unfolds from the world famous Southern Ocean point break near Torquay.

Stay tuned as 10-time world champion Kelly Slater guns for back-to-back titles at Bells, with Aussies Mick Fanning, Owen Wright, Joel Parkinson, Taj Burrow and Bede Durbidge all searching for their first victory of the season.

FUEL TV’s coverage of the 2011 Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach is available to FOXTEL and AUSTAR subscribers.

The History Channel is proud to announce the launch of its latest locally-produced series, TONY ROBINSON EXPLORES AUSTRALIA, on Tuesday, May 3 at 7.30pm aest.

In this exciting new 6 x 60 minute series, iconic British actor, comedian and television host TONY ROBINSON – best-known for his role as Baldrick in television series ‘Black Adder’ as well as popular history series, ‘Time Team’ – takes us on a quirky romp through time and place and reveals a history that will surprise and sometimes challenge what we know about our land down under.

Throughout this colourful series, amazing stories of conflicts, hardship and discovery are revealed for the first time, as Tony brings his energetic and very funny hosting talents to the screen.

Filmed on location around Australia in November and December 2010, Tony is also joined on his mammoth journey by some of Australia’s foremost historians and writers, including Tim Flannery, Thomas Keneally, Eric Wilmott, and Geoffrey Blainey.

From the search to identify the Great Southern Land, through the colonial trials and tribulations, right up to the establishment of a dynamic modern Australia, Tony Robinson covers a huge amount of ground as he reveals the key events and major influences that define Australia – and Australians – today.

For example, the first Englishman to step ashore was not Captain James Cook but a pirate, a century earlier.  And, if the evidence of an amateur Egyptologist is given any credence, the first person from the northern hemisphere may have visited Australia thousands of years before that!

Airing weekly over six fascinating episodes, Tony will retrace the steps of the earliest explorers, delve into the harrowing stories of the early days of white settlement, find out how indigenous Australians responded to their invaders, look at the turning points in Australia’s development and explore the influence of multi-culturalism and two world wars on Australia’s relationship to Britain – the Mother Country.  

Tony will also discover that, in some ways, Australia is more British than Britain – and in others, Australia is of course worlds apart.

TONY ROBINSON EXPLORES AUSTRALIA is produced by WTFN Entertainment and is exclusive to The History Channel.

Starts Tuesday, May 3 at 7.30pm aest

The premiere episode of KALGOORLIE COPS on Crime & Investigation Network last night was an enormous success, watched by a total of 303,000 FOXTEL viewers.

The series premiere was the number one program on the platform last night, the highest-rating documentary on STV since April 2007 and the third highest-rating programme in the history of Crime & Investigation Network.

The locally-produced series is the first observational documentary series for CI Network.

KALGOORLIE COPS is an 8 x 30 minute series airing on Thursdays at 7.30pm AEST, exclusive to CI Network.

An encore screening of last night’s episode will air this Sunday, April 17 at 8.00pm AEST.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard yesterday launched The History Channel’s forthcoming production, KAPYONG, at a special screening at Parliament House in Canberra.

The event was hosted by the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, the Honourable Warren Snowdon and was attended by a host of VIP’s including Members of Parliament, representatives from the Australian Defence Force and Korean War veterans.

The Prime Minister commended The History Channel on its commissioning of the exclusive documentary, which premieres on April 24 at 7.30pm on the 60th anniversary of the battle of Kapyong.

The Prime Minister said the documentary was a fitting tribute to the Australian soldiers, sailors and airmen who fought alongside our allies in this defining battle of the Korean War.

KAPYONG is the story of one of the most significant battles in Australia’s military history – but is remarkably, the least acknowledged.

The moving 60 minute documentary, narrated by actor John Waters, explores one of the most heroic battles of the Korean War and how a small band of Australians, New Zealanders and Canadians in Korea stopped the Seoul-bound Chinese Army in its tracks.

FOXTEL’s Executive Director of Television, Brian Walsh and Screen Australia Chief Executive Ruth Harley also spoke at yesterday’s launch.

“No other Australian network saw merit in this project, but when we heard about it, we jumped at the chance to be involved, as Kapyong is the perfect example of the type of high quality documentaries that audiences have come to expect from FOXTEL.” said Walsh.

Harley acknowledged FOXTEL’s and The History Channel’s significant contribution to the documentary genre, at a time when fewer documentaries are being aired on Australian free-to-air television.

According to Screen Australia, the government body that tracks documentary production and broadcast,

the screening of documentaries on Australian free-to-air television is in decline – even though their research shows that there is a clear and growing preference for Australian documentaries amongst viewers.

KAPYONG is part of a slate of exclusive local productions premiering on The History Channel in the coming weeks.

Also premiering on the Channel to commemorate Anzac Day 2011 is THE DIGGER, a stunning 90 minute documentary film that explores the legend of the digger.

Following that is the exclusive 6-part series, TONY ROBINSON EXPLORES AUSTRALIA, premiering on May 3.

Hosted by the iconic British actor and comedian Tony Robinson, the series takes viewers on a journey through time and places across Australia, offering a revealing and unique perspective on Australian history.

FUEL TV will once again deliver EXCLUSIVELY LIVE coverage of the Rip Curl Pro from Bells Beach Victoria this month, as the season’s second ASP World Tour event celebrates its 50th anniversary.

After Kelly Slater continued his dominance in the opening event on the Gold Coast last month, all signs are pointing towards the Southern Ocean swell near Torquay where Slater and his rivals will battle it out for the right to ring the infamous bell.

FUEL TV will mark the occasion with an all-encompassing coverage of the competition, which will begin each morning with ‘The Rip Curl Pro Morning Show’ LIVE from the event site.

The Rip Curl Morning Show will premiere at 7.30am AEST on Tuesday 19 April, the opening day of the waiting period for the Rip Curl Pro, and will screen at 7.30am AEST each day on FUEL TV until the competition concludes. (NB live surfing coverage will interrupt Morning Show if competition is active).

The FUEL TV cameras will then turn to the water as soon as surfing begins, taking in all the action from the opening heats right through until the champion is crowned.

Adam Howarth, FUEL TV Australia Channel Manager, said FUEL TV was aiming to provide a fitting coverage to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Bells with surf fans across the country.

“Easter marks the 50-year anniversary of professional surfing at Bells Beach, but as well as celebrating the tradition and history of the event, Rip Curl has put a stack of effort behind the broadcast with some great innovation to make this a truly comprehensive coverage of the event,” said Howarth.

Our audience will see a variety of key additions to the production and we’ll have more angles at Bells than ever, including a full time water camera. We are absolutely foaming at the mouth to get this event to air. It’s going to be the best live surfing broadcast ever.”

In addition to the EXCLUSIVELY LIVE coverage of the event, FUEL TV will provide a nightly highlights package showcasing the best action from each day of competition at 6pm AEST each night.

The waiting period for the 2011 Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach opens on Tuesday 19 April. FUEL TV’S coverage of the event is available to both FOXTEL and AUSTAR subscribers.

2010 RIP CURL PRO BELLS BEACH 2011

EXCLUSIVELY LIVE on FUEL TV: Tuesday 19 April – Saturday 30 April, 2011

THE RIP CURL PRO MORNING SHOW

Every morning at 7.30am AEST LIVE from Bells: Premieres Tuesday 19 April

*With additional 90-minute highlights shows after each day of competition at 6pm AEST

In May FOXTEL will premiere a slew of new and exclusive Australian programs including the much anticipated drama mini-series Tim Winton’s cloudstreet.

The blockbuster month of local programming highlights the commitment subscription television has to providing Australians with a wide range of locally produced and created series, specials and documentaries.

Tim Winton’s cloudstreet is adapted from the classic Australian novel and features a stellar cast, including Stephen Curry and Emma Booth. The three-part mini-series was filmed in Western Australia last year and will premiere exclusively on showcase on Sunday, May 22 at 8.30pm.

The History Channel’s Tony Robinson Explores Australia will premiere on Tuesday, May 3 and discovers the often surprising impact British settlers had on Australian life as we know it today.

The Weather Channel also premieres its Australian documentary Forecast for Disaster: La Niña Strikes on Sunday, May 15 and takes an in depth look at the extreme weather experienced throughout the country from drought to fire and then followed by floods.  

Nat Geo WILD premieres two new fierce local productions in May. Maximum Predator studies the killer animals found wild in Australia, airing on Saturday, May 21, and Extinction Sucks follows two young Aussies as they attempt to raise money for endangered species around the globe premiering on Tuesday, May 3.

SKY NEWS keeps FOXTEL viewers abreast of all the 2011 Federal Budget developments on Tuesday, May 10 explaining in simple terms how changes will affect Australia’s global financial performance as well as local businesses and families. 

Tim Winton’s cloudstreet

showcase (simulcast on showcase HD)

Local Production

Sunday, May 22 at 8:30pm

In May 2011 showcase is proud to present the highly anticipated mini-series of the modern Australian classic: cloudstreet. Set in and around Perth during the 1940s and 50s, cloudstreet tells the story of two rural families who suffer separate catastrophes and flee to the city to pick up the pieces of their lives and start again. Brought together in the same house at No.1 Cloud Street, the Lamb and the Pickles families share numerous tragedies and triumphs that draw them closer together, until the roof over their heads becomes a home for their hearts. Featuring an outstanding ensemble cast including Stephen Curry, Essie Davis, Emma Booth, Geoff Morrell, Kerry Fox, Todd Lasance and Hugo Johnstone-Burt.

Tony Robinson Explores Australia

The History Channel

Local Production

Tuesday, May 3 at 7:30pm

Tony Robinson’s journey takes us through time and places across Australia, introducing us to locations where deeds great and grotesque, heralded and hidden took place. This documentary is a revealing, unique perspective on Australian society and history that details surprising stories of conflicts, hardship, notoriety and discovery as Tony brings fascinating new insights into the impact the British have had on Australian life. Tony is an English comedian and actor previously starring in Blackadder as Baldrick, and host of Time Team and The Worst Jobs in History.

Forecast for Disaster: La Niña Strikes

The Weather Channel

Local Production

Sunday, May 15 at 6:30pm

After a decade of drought and a series of catastrophic fires, who would have believed in two short years, Australia would be underwater? Drought-breaking elation and the promise of record crops turned to tragedy, as rain swept whole towns and economies down the river. This climate flip-flop has left Australians reeling and confused as they count the cost and fear as to what happens next. In this landmark two-part documentary, Forecast for Disaster: La Niña Strikes reveals the science behind the calamity. Combining eyewitness accounts and numbing images of destruction, through our own brand of insightful commentary, this is a clear explanation of the relentless weather events that tested Australia, and could do so again.

Maximum Predator

Nat Geo WILD (simulcast on Nat Geo WILD HD)

Local Production

Saturday, May 21 at 8:30pm

Saltwater crocs that reach a staggering eight metres in length, pythons large enough to swallow an adult whole, a snarling 90 kilogram Komodo dragon – even in the hands of experts, they’re all extremely dangerous carnivores. What happens when apex predators so mean and mighty get a taste for human prey? This documentary takes an in-depth look at the predatory species within Australia and their killer instincts.

Extinction Sucks

Nat Geo WILD (simulcast on Nat Geo WILD HD)

Local Production

Tuesday, May 3 at 7:30pm

Two young West Australian girls embark on a riotous adventure to educate people about critically endangered animals and raise money for them at the same time. Conservation duo Aleisha Caruso and Ashleigh Young will go to any lengths to bamboozle people into parting with their money to help threatened species at home and around the world. The girls’ sense of foolery and adventure infuses every challenge they take on, but they never sugar-coat the facts or shy away from telling it like it is. Their unique fundraising stunts publicise their cause and carry the message that anyone and everyone can do their bit to help.

Federal Budget 2011

SKY NEWS

Local Production

Tuesday, May 10 at 7:30pm

SKY NEWS will have complete coverage as the Federal Budget is handed down on Tuesday, May 10. Led by SKY NEWS Political Editor David Speers, the SKY NEWS Canberra team will join forces with SKY NEWS Business to bring you unrivalled multi-channel coverage. As the government battles to bring the Budget back into surplus, you will witness full coverage of the Treasurer’s speech to Parliament and the Treasurer’s news conference. SKY NEWS will go one-on-one with Wayne Swan and Joe Hockey and get the verdict from leading commentators and industry analysts.

On Sunday, April 24 at 7.30pm, on the eve of the 60th anniversary of Kapyong, The History Channel remembers one of Australia’s most heroic battles of the Korean War with the world premiere of KAPYONG.

Narrated by actor John Waters, KAPYONG is the incredible story of how a small band of Australians, New Zealanders and Canadians in Korea stopped the Seoul-bound Chinese army dead in its tracks during the Korean War.

It is one of the most significant battles in Australia’s military history – but remarkably, the least acknowledged.

In this moving 60-minute documentary film, veterans of the all-but-forgotten conflict talk about a battle which, half a century later, is still deeply chilling.

On April 24, 1951, the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army pursued their enemy to the lines of Australian and Canadian troops

Here, sometimes at the length of a bayonet, often in total darkness, individual was pitted against individual in a struggle between a superpower and a cluster of other nations from across the world. They fought for a valley, the ancient and traditional invasion route to Seoul. If it fell, the southern capital and the war, was lost.

The United Nations troops had the military advantage of the high ground and artillery support – the Chinese relied entirely on vastly superior numbers.  As a result, young men from both sides found a battle which was very close and very personal

The Battle of Kapyong became the turning point of China’s Fifth Offensive in that Korean spring. The aim of the offensive was to finally drive the Australian, New Zealand and Canadian troops out of South Korea and into the sea. What happened instead, changed the history of the Korean War. The Chinese were denied victory and forced back into negotiations.

Had China succeeded, another crushing defeat for the US could have triggered events that led to a nuclear holocaust in Asia – and World War Three.

KAPYONG is a film about the reminiscences of veterans on both sides of the Battle of Kapyong – veterans from Australia, New Zealand and Canada and a retirement home for Chinese soldiers in Taiwan.

Their story is told through dramatic reconstruction, archival imagery, maps and archival film, complimented by the commentaries of military historians from both sides of the Cold War.

KAPYONG is produced by John Lewis of Arcimedia and is exclusive to The History Channel.