Impact and Controversy of Tonight Live
Tonight Live was a substantial ratings and revenue success for the Seven Network at a time when the Network was in difficulty and had just gone into receivership. The show extended prime time revenues into late night and generated substantial revenues for the Network.Tonight Live dominated the ratings around Australia in every year of it broadcast. For the year 1990, the Nielsen ratings surveys reported that Tonight Live gained an average viewer share of 42.6% of viewers in all households in Australia (nearly double Channel 9 at 26% and Network 10 at 20%). In 1991 it won with an average share of 35%. In 1992, it won with an average share of 32.24%. In 1993, it won with an average share of 31.22%.
Tonight Live was originally commissioned to take on the dominating late night show on its competitor Nine Network, Graham Kennedy’s Coast to Coast at 10.30pm Monday to Friday. Coast to Coast was co-hosted by journalist John Mangos who had replaced previous co-host Ken Sutcliffe. When Seven announced they were putting up Tonight Live against Coast to Coast, Kennedy announced that he would not be continuing the next year
In later years, Tonight Live featured a Friday night guest host, usually Richard Stubbs.Vizard enjoyed taking nights off and more than 100 guest hosts were tried including Agro, Ben Elton, Bob Geldof, Paula Yates, Ronnie Corbett, Glenn Robbins and John Singleton.
In the last two years of the show, up to two nights per week were pretaped. This became the subject of complaints (similar claims about a broadcast being 'live' despite being taped and broadcast hours later are often made on Australian television, in the context of sports events and so on). At one point the show's broadcast carried a message disclaiming that the show was 'live'.
Tonight Live was broadcast live from the Seven studios on Dorcas Street, South Melbourne, Victoria, Studios numbered 7 and 8. Shows produced from there include, Dancing With The Stars, Rove, The Bert Newton Show, Blue Heelers. After Tonight Live finished, the set from Tonight Live was donated to RMITV with which to produce television shows for Channel 31. Owing to a critical lack of resources at C31, the set elements have been reused and repainted for many shows over many years and are still in high use many years after Tonight Live went off the air.
Read more about this topic: Tonight Live With Steve Vizard
Famous quotes containing the words impact, controversy, tonight and/or live:
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