TV Blackbox & McKnight Tonight

This week there was not enough time for us to adequately cover the full breadth and depth of even these topics:As quickly as the horror unfolded at what became the tragedy of WESTFIELD BONDI JUNCTION, so too the TV networks leapt into rolling coverage. Well, most did. The ABC ignored it, and Seven had the horses to finish running (with the latter managing to name the wrong person as the perpetrator). AND THEN they milked it for all it was worth through Sunday and Monday. Nothing like a bit of GRIEF PORN to help people simultaneously remember and forget.Come Monday, Justice Michael Lee delivered his judgement on the BRUCE LEHRMANN v CHANNEL 10/LISA WILKINSON DEFAMATION CASE. Wow. WOW. Molk offered his opinions on the winners and losers were, and the implications of the Justice's findings. The biggest loser? Bruce Lehrmann by a country mile and a hat.After the impassioned conversation on last week's podcast ep, so much has happened even within the corral at 7NEWS SPOTLIGHT. The collateral damage of Seven being dragged into the Lehrmann/10 defo case by former producer Taylor Auerbach is that executive producer MARK LLEWELLYN has terminated his relationship with the Seven Network, and the Network snuck the release out during Justice Lee's reading of his summary judgement. Will the show continue, and how does the 7News brand recover?The best documentary about a family of cartoon dogs has wrapped up...or has it? Speculation around BLUEY and her future continues to swirl, with nothing by spin from the ABC and silence from creators Ludo Studios. The benefit of the 28 minute episode airing Sunday past is that it now holds the title of "highest rating program in VOZ history" (total audience average). SO WHAT NOW?!Another glorious instalment of the TV BINGEBOX rounds us out (upmolks and downmolks aplenty). Join in the fun and comment below to share what have you been watching...We're so glad you watched or listened this latest episode of the TV BLACKBOX Podcast - that's firteen, firteen, firty-two.

You almost could have predicted what we we going to talk about this week:Seven confirm that, despite the growing public displeasure with the behind the scenes shenanigans coming out as a part of the Lehrmann/Channel 10 defamation case, 7NEWS SPOTLIGHT will return this week...but they have not confirmed that executive producer MARK LLEWELLYN will maintain his role; Continuing with Seven, budget cuts are affecting programs and staffing...that means the end of the former EP of Sunrise MICHAEL PELL and his magical United States mystery tour that seemingly has offered nothing to the domestic business; Panic has set in for fans of the show, as BLUEY makers Ludo Studios remain tight-lipped about the future of everyone's favourite animated documentary about Blue and Red Heelers; Nine and Foxtel compete to grab a hold of TABCORP's streaming animal cruelty competition that also destroys human lives; All-around TV nice guy and Lego Masters Australia host HAMISH BLAKE conveniently lands a profile in Stellar magazine and talks about his reaction to Sonia Kruger's Gold Logie acceptance speech joke-that-wasn't-a-joke; and Kevin Perry delivers another exclusive, advising the airdate for the six episode run of JEOPARDY AUSTRALIA, hosted by Stephen Fry and buried on Saturday nights.We round things out with the much-loved and highly-anticipated TV BINGEBOX segment (upmolks only). Join in the fun and comment below to share what have you been watching...We're so glad you watched or listened this latest episode of the TV BLACKBOX Podcast - the cats of Australia have made their choice.

Brand new things we talked about this week:Rob delivers an exclusive update on the Bruce Lehrmann defamation case with Channel 10;Denise 'Ding Dong' Drysdale lands sprout-deep in the I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! Australia jungle, which allows Rob and Robbo to wax lyrical about the taping of that infamous Christmas segment;Seven brings home the goods in the second week of the the Easter non-ratings period (so does it matter if it's non-ratings?);Rove mentions that "people will watch live TV", which allows Rob to go on a tear as to what he thinks should happen with live TV, while Robbo shares his valid opinion also, and Molk brings some sanity and reality to it all; andJudge Judy returns to TV while in syndication on another network, and is making out like a bank robber.The episode ends, as usual, with the highly-regarded TV BINGEBOX segment (massive upmolk). What have you been watching?Thanks for tuning in for this episode of the TV BLACKBOX Podcast - it's for when a hard-earned thirst needs a big cold beer...

Relax, fella. The ratings don't matter this week. Come over here and give me a cuddle.It's a steaming fresh pile of stuff you may be interested in:New ABC Chair and the one filling the biggest stillettos in the business Kim Williams fires a shot across the entire collective ABC staff's bow to ensure they know he means business when it comes to impartiality (no matter what The Australian thinks they can define "impartiality" as);How can Channel 10 solo-CEO Beverley McGarvey axe the same show...twice...while shedding another 60 staff?;Australian Idol "judge" Marcia Hines collapses at the second last hurdle and is rushed to hospital, but in a rapid turn of Easter-ish events is resurrected and returns to crown the new winner;Rob has a chat with co-host of the new Nine show Gordon Ramsay's Food Stars Australia in Janine Allis and asks for an original King William Chocolate on the way out;The high-profile resignation list fills out: Brooke Boney gives up The Today Show for England, and Bruce McWilliam gives up Seven for something more profitable; andRob uncovers the 'pee protocol' on The Price Is Right.We back out the episode with another chock-full edition of our highly-lauded TV BINGEBOX segment (often copied, never matched). Get upmolking and downmolking with us.We're so glad you joing us to participate in this ep of the TV BLACKBOX Podcast - the one you can eat between meals without ruining your appetite.

Here we go, friends. It's another extremely frest episode of the TV Blackbox podcast wtth Rob, Robbo, and Molk...all completely livestreamed live, with audio as-live.Every Tuesday night in season from 8pm AEDT/7pm AEST/etc., you can join us live on the TV Blackbox Facebook page or YouTube channel. We'd absolutely love it if you joined in - as many keep doing - by commenting on the livestream...which allows us to include a broad sample in the episode to help punctuate our conversation. For those that join us live-thanks for playing along, friends!So what did we talk about? How about all of this:Nine's National News Director Darren Wick steps away in kind of awkward circumstances, and nobody can agree on what's actually happening;Rob has a chat with Nine's director of programming Hamish Turner about their best start to the year (and that's saying something), and how that positions the network for the rest of 2024;In news absolutely everyone saw coming Paramount Global confirmed Beverley McGarvey as stand-alone CEO to run the ANZ business all by herself like a proper grown-up and everything;There is controversy (look, not really) at the new airdate (release time) of popular (with some) series Doctor Who (they are on first) now that it's part of Disney's content family (regimented programming) and this is what happens when capitalism overtakes public broadcasting (naturally).We finish this ep with our traditional TV BINGEBOX segment, full of endorsements and warnings (some upmolks here and some downmolks there).

The end of an era in Australian comedy writing offers an answer to the classic "Why did the chicken cross the road?"..."To pay tribute to Mike McColl-Jones"So what did we talk about? Check this out:It finally happened...streaming has overtaken linear broadcast TV as the predominant way we watch television (and it happened last year!);Channel 9 Perth (yes, it exists WA - that's the channel between 8 and 10) shake up their afternoons in a programming tipping point;Molk manages to wedge in some chat about the new VOZ ratings metrics and how everything is travelling (zero surprises, honestly);Sharon Osborne attempts to be relevant by ranting against Simon Cowell and a tree fell over in a forest and nobody heard it so it never happened; andThe last of the old-school television comedy writers Mike McColl-Jones submits his last script and heads to the eternal green room for a nightcap with Graham, Don, Bert, and the gang.Then, as always, we round out the night with another TV BINGEBOX segment, bursting at the seams (some upmolks here and some downmolks there).So glad you could join us for this episode of the TV BLACKBOX Podcast (the finest in podcasty podcastness that ever podded).

The boys are back in town - Rob, Robbo, and Molk are locked and loaded to deliver you another massive podcast. Just be careful what you wish for (in both livestreamed video and audio formats).We punch out the livestream every Tuesday night in season from 8pm AEDT/7pm AEST/etc., you can watch live on the TV Blackbox Facebook page or YouTube channel. We'd absolutely love it if you joined in - as many keep doing - by commenting on the livestream...which allows us to include a broad sample in the episode to help punctuate our conversation. For those that join us live-thanks for playing along, friends!Here's the highlights from this week's episode:Meta promise to cuck the commercial News organisations in Australia (including the commercial TV ones) and chuck their news-flavoured toys out of the cot...so is it a big Aussie bye-bye to Facebook, WhatsApp, and Insta?;Seven attempt to take the moral high ground with regard to sports streaming rights and...the cynics are circling;Changes to categories and judging for the 2024 Logie Awards prompt the question: "Is it too little, too late?";Unmade's Tim Burrowes had a great chat with Foxtel & Hubbl CEO Patrick Delany and we have thoughts; andWarner Bros Discovery shuts down almost the entire New Zealand newsroom of Newshub, which means the land of the long white cloud media cloud just got real dark...and we ponder the impact for Australia.Then, as always, we round out the night with another TV BINGEB

A little bit of kumbya goes a long way when you have to present to a joint Parliamentary committee, asking them to help save your struggling business model. Hello darlings - Robbo is out sick this week, so Rob and Molk welcome back super-sub and producer to the stars Abbey to the podcast! Also, despite all the encouragement we've returned in simultaneous video and audio format with the livestream. You allegedly wanted it - we finally did it!Livestreamed every Tuesday night in season from 8pm AEDT/7pm AEST/etc., you can watch live on the TV Blackbox Facebook page or YouTube channel. We'd absolutely love it if you joined in - as many did - by commenting on the livestream and we've included just a sampling in the episode to help punctuate our conversation. We're so glad so many of you turned up again.For those with the songs of Taylor Swift still ringing in their ears, here's the big topics of the week (as decided on by us)...It was a unique day in the Australian TV landscape where pretty much every executive in the country to do with free-to-air TV - ABC MD David Anderson ; SBS MD James Taylor; Commercial FTA CEOs James Warburton, Mike Sneesby, and Beverley McGarvey; Foxtel CEO Patrick Delany; Fetch CEO Scott Lorsen; and a bunch of others - all fronted up on a joint Parliamentary enquiry to offer their submissions and answer questions on the proposed Prominence legislation. It's serious business and not an easy solve - if the legislation doesn't happen, will it kill Australian FTA TV? Didn't they do that to themselves already?! (If you missed it and want to check the entire day's submissions and questions, you can watch it all here on the APH website. It's actually mostly interesting for almost all of it.)The tragedy of the death of Jesse Baird and his partner Luke Davies has hit the Australian media industry hard. The team reflect on Jesse's work at Channel 10, and share Sarah Harris' heartfelt memories from The Project.Rob & Molk attended Foxtel's launch of their big new thing - Hubbl (🎶 every day I'm Hubbl-in' 🎶) - and think it might actually have legs. Spoilers, there was no reaction pod as they didn't get their hands on anything, but that will come in a week or so.Last, but never least, we unwrap a huge TV BINGEBOX segment that also now doubles as your chance to throw in the comments the things you're watching, upmolking and downmolking (copyright us).It's a big one not short of opinion. Welcome to another edition of the TV BLACKBOX Podcast (so big you can see it from space).

One half the co-CEO duo at 10Paramount gets the chop as Paramount Global boss Bob Bakish downsizes everything (again), and the Wilkinson/10 trial takes an interesting turn as Bruce Lehrmann weighs in by filing a complaint on one of 10's lawyers. We dive into hypothesizing on Lisa Wilkinson's future media opportunities and...look, we think they're not great.Nine seals the new Melbourne Cup deal, and it's not without intricacies (and a lack of care by many). Has the race that used to stop the nation jumped the televisual shark?Foxtel will officially launch their 'game-changing' new device HUBBL and the embedded TV product HUBBL GLASS so we chat about what we know, what we think it might do, and make up the rest (keep an eye out for a special reaction pod from Rob & Molk after the event where hopefully they come with more detail).Finally, Seven announce the full cast for the 2024 edition of DANCING WITH THE STARS, and two-thirds of us are keen and the other one thinks it isn't even worth macarena-ing over.Another sizeable TV BINGEBOX segment rounds out the pod, this time with some of your recommendations to boot. How good is engagement?! 😉Sit down and settle in for another exciting episode of the TV BLACKBOX podcast (guaranteed 57% factual).