TEN's blog

Channel 10 will broadcast a dedicated gadget and gaming show Tuesdays at 11pm.

In a first for network television Channel 10 mixes geeks, games, gadgets and gorgeous girls in a new must see Australian produced show for gamers and technology nerds.

CYBERSHACK TV showcases the very latest from the world of games, a growing industry worth over 7 billion per annum. In fact, 76% of all households have a computer, console or handheld device for playing games.

Each week model, presenter and gaming enthusiast ‘Fuzzy’ will road test the latest games from Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo and compare the gaming experience to real life!

Fuzzy takes on the Sydney Kings at b-ball, the best young female snow boarder Tora Bright on the slopes at Thredbo and Team Extreme on a military obstacle course.

When asked if she was daunted by some of the extreme sports Fuzzy said ‘I have my fair share of bumps and scrapes!’.

‘At first I thought this will be pretty easy doing things like shooting some hoops with the Sydney Kings, the next minute I’m sitting in the passenger seat of a fighter jet – Its awesome!’

Sporting heroes and stars are also thrown in the mix with episode one seeing Anthony “The Man” Mundine taking on a string of challenges – fortunately for all that contended Mundine’s lightening jabs were constrained to the table tennis court.

CYBERSHACK TV, a joint venture between Chic Media and CBN Media, is already Australia’s number one independent and dedicated gaming & gadget website (www.cybershack.com) and is a successful radio show with over 200,000 weekly listeners nationally.

rove returned to an average audience of 1.68m viewers last night – his biggest ever. rove swept his timeslot in all major demographics, highlighted by a 56.3% commercial share in people 18-49.

TEN’s chief programming officer, David Mott, said: “This is a fantastic debut for rove in the week’s most competitive timeslot. We know the competition will only get stronger as first-run episodes return on our rivals, however, this is an amazing start.”

Network Ten today (9/02/07) announced the Nine Network would sub-license up to 25 (twenty five) US ’60 Minutes’ stories per year from TEN.

TEN has exclusive Australian broadcast rights to US-produced ’60 Minutes’ content under its long-term program supply agreement with CBS Paramount International Television.

Nine will have a specific time from the US telecast date to inform TEN it has selected a certain ’60 Minutes’ story(ies) for broadcast on Nine.

TEN’s chief executive officer, Grant Blackley, said: “TEN sought expressions of interest from all Australian free to air broadcasters, and the Nine Network positioned themselves as preferred bidder.

“To that end, TEN negotiated with Nine towards a commercial outcome with which we are absolutely delighted.

“This arrangement provides TEN an efficient way to manage the literally hundreds of hours of CBS News and ’60 Minutes’ content delivered under our agreement with CBS Paramount.”

Mr Blackley added TEN continued to evaluate where US ’60 Minutes’ stories not selected by Nine would feature in its schedule.

CBS produces approximately 100 ’60 Minutes’ segments each year

Terms of the multi-year arrangement between TEN and Nine are confidential.

Network Ten today announced that for the first time it had secured the Australian broadcast rights to The Masters to be played at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia from 5 – 8 April, 2007.

In a further significant announcement, TEN also confirmed that its telecast of The Masters will be delivered in High Definition Digital making The 2007 Masters the first major international sporting event to be broadcast in Australia in High Definition.

TEN will broadcast all four days of The 71st Masters Tournament live from Augusta National Golf Club. TEN will host its broadcast on location at Augusta National as well as file daily stories from Augusta for its news bulletins and Sports Tonight.

Network Ten’s general manager – sport, David White, said “We are delighted to have acquired the Australian broadcast rights to The Masters in 2007 and we are especially proud to be telecasting the tournament in High Definition.

“To secure an event with the prestige and tradition of The Masters is a significant boost to TEN’s already outstanding portfolio of sport. And the decision to telecast The Masters in HD further reinforces TEN’s commitment to broadcasting high quality, award-winning live sport.”

In addition to broadcasting The Masters in High Definition, TEN will also telecast all of its prime time AFL matches in HD as well as all its matches of the 2007 Rugby World Cup.

TEN and FREMANTLEMEDIA ANNOUNCE EVEN BIGGER LOSER WEBSITE

Network Ten and FremantleMedia Australia today announced unprecedented new features for The Biggest Loser website, giving fans more opportunities than ever before to engage with the hit show and create their own Biggest Loser experiences.

thebiggestloser.com.au will offer extensive web-only video, regular contestants’ weblogs, and community facilities including a dedicated forum and scope to post user-generated content.

TEN’s general manager – digital media, Damian Smith, said: “The Biggest Loser website is absolutely indicative of TEN’s digital strategy.

“We are answering viewers’ demands for MORE at the end of each television broadcast, particularly their wish to see additional and unique video content, converse with other fans, opportunities to talk to the talent, and the ability to share their own Biggest Loser experiences.

“With such a high-involvement, compelling show – and weight loss and health such topical and universal issues – we expect The Biggest Loser online community to continue well after this series concludes.”

Mr Smith added the enhanced website would support viewing to the television program.

“Use of the 2006 Big Brother and Australian Idol websites soared, coinciding with very strong broadcast ratings, proving a growing number of highly engaged online users can drive traffic back to the principal telecast,” he said.

FremantleMedia Asia Pacific vice president of licensing and interactive, Jon Penn, said: “The rise of broadband, video and user-generated content provides for much deeper levels of engagement with viewers and new commercial opportunities.

“As program producers, we’re very excited about extending the life and personality of The Biggest Loser well beyond the television property.”

Online media specialist, @www Digital, has built the The Biggest Loser website infrastructure for the second consecutive year.

Biggest Loser fans will have a range of choices by which to consume the exclusive online content, including web streaming, iPod and PSP downloads and podcast feeds.

@www Digital’s creative director, Tristan Fawley, said: “The upcoming season of The Biggest Loser online is designed to genuinely enhance the viewer experience with its mix of rich media content, streaming video and fan forums.

“And to back up these high impact website features we’ve invested heavily to ensure the infrastructure is available to meet online demand being driven to the website.”

The Biggest Loser 2007 series launches on TEN on Sunday 4 February.

The first Biggest Loser series was an immediate hit for TEN.

The program won its timeslot with viewers aged 18-49, and the finale was among the most-watched programs of 2006, with 2.31m viewers.