24 replies to this topic

[TimC]

Quote

From TV Tonight.com.au

The ABC will launch ABC News Breakfast programme on Monday November 3rd -a day before the US presidential election.

The new look morning programme will air live on ABC2 from 6 - 10am. It also streams live online.

Hosted by Virginia Trioli, Barrie Cassidy and Joe O’Brien the programme will cover news, analysis, debate, finance, sport and weather, and draw upon the vast resources of ABC newsrooms and radio programmes.

The broadcaster has spent the past few months installing cameras into its radio studios to provide visual footage of its many radio interviews. ABC News Breakfast (previously titled simply as Breakfast) will compete with Sunrise, Today and talkback radio, but promises to aim for a different feel to current morning television.

The show will also incorporate viewer SMS and email feedback, with comments displayed on screen during the programme.

Also joining the team are Canberra correspondent Ben Worsley, sports presenter Paul Kennedy, with Vanessa O’Hanlon (formerly of Sunrise and TEN News) presenting the weather. Barrie Cassidy was brought in to the team following the arrest of foreign correspondent Peter Lloyd in Singapore.

Significantly, the programme has a youthful production team, with producers all in their late 20s and early 30s.

Executive Producer Ben Darcy, says “Breakfast will aim to deliver news, analysis and debate in an intelligent way. We’ll deal with breaking news by calling on the ABC’s network of reporters at home and abroad. For the first time, the audience will be able to watch live radio interviews and the program will also be streamed live online. Breakfast will bring together the best of the ABC in one place.”

Sounds good, better than the crap on 7 & 9.

[cartman]

I just realised that given ABC2 isn't timeshifted across the different timezones they're not going to get as many viewers for this show in WA given that it'll air between 4am and 8am WST. Who'll be watching at 4 in the morning? I would imagine more people would tune in after the show finishes at 8am than would be viewing at 4am.

[Spiral Media]

at least they give a crap about bring UP-TO-THE FREAKING MINUTE news...unlike crappy 7 or crappier 9...

[dude]

cartman, on Oct 1 2008, 11:11pm, said:

I just realised that given ABC2 isn't timeshifted across the different timezones they're not going to get as many viewers for this show in WA given that it'll air between 4am and 8am WST. Who'll be watching at 4 in the morning? I would imagine more people would tune in after the show finishes at 8am than would be viewing at 4am.

A decent format being offered, particularly the on-cam radio interviews. What a shame that it isn't timeshifted.

[TimC]

cartman, on Oct 1 2008, 11:11pm, said:

I just realised that given ABC2 isn't timeshifted across the different timezones they're not going to get as many viewers for this show in WA given that it'll air between 4am and 8am WST. Who'll be watching at 4 in the morning? I would imagine more people would tune in after the show finishes at 8am than would be viewing at 4am.

ABC2 is live on foxtel but I think it is timeshifted on FTA.

[cartman]

TimC, on Oct 2 2008, 2:10pm, said:

ABC2 is live on foxtel but I think it is timeshifted on FTA.

Nope it's live FTA too.

[TimC]

I don't think so, The Cook and the Chef is currently on ABC2 on Fox and some ABC Kids show is on FTA.

[cartman]

TimC, on Oct 2 2008, 3:10pm, said:

I don't think so, The Cook and the Chef is currently on ABC2 on Fox and some ABC Kids show is on FTA.

Hmm maybe it is timeshifted then. It could be FOXTEL that I was thinking about because ABC didn't want to pay for the additional satellite capacity to have timeshifted feeds on C1.

[button pusher]

ABC2 is timeshifted where required throughout the country, the same as the rest of the network.
In other words two hours later in WA. Soon to be three for a few weeks when daylight saving kicks in on the southeastern edge of the continent this weekend and then end of the month for WA.

[TimC]

[youtube-old]SFvComvRZWM[/youtube-old]
Promo.

Some more news - the show has been cut down to 6-9.

It starts this Monday everyone, so no more Sunrise or Today for the thinking man.

[phileasmann]

Hmmm. Interesting.

[cartman]

What a small set up both in terms of the set and the control room.

[TimC]

Yeah, ABC is bringing automated studios across the county - so only one or two people are needed to press the buttons for the bulletin.
I think the are also centralising gfx to Ultimo.

Edited by TimC, 30 October 2008 - 05:21 PM.

[aamslfc]

Hmm... I think I'll give it another day or two before I decide whether to make it permanent viewing, but so far it's been a mixed start.

Graphics & On-air presentation

Frankly, the opener is terrible. Just terrible. The music is awful and the visuals - with those yellow boxes - are even worse. I mean, the music they play during the headline sequence sounds like it's from some Mexican soap opera.

The logo and sets are also both hideous. Something a bit more stylish and visually appealing would have been good.

But the actual on-air graphics (bugs, supers, ticker, etc.) are all very nice. They've gone for a minimalist style like CNN but there are hints of the former 7News package in there too. It's one of the few good things about the show.

Meanwhile, there are some major issues re: sound. The switching between microphone is often late and the volumes are very variable - the studio is loud but the reports are almost inaudible at times. There are also some problems when switching to footage, with the clips either late or wrong (cricket report played twice in two minutes, and once during a report about rugby league or something). I know there are always teething problems on the first day or two, but this just looks careless and lazy.

And why the hell do they stand up for some stories? It's really not a good look when you see the hosts sitting on the couch saying something, and then 30 secs later they're standing up in front of another awful yellow key just repeating what they said 30 secs earlier.

Content

Whilst the coverage is what you'd expect, at times it can be boring. Incredibly boring. Not only are the live crosses/reports tedious, they're repeated every 30-60 mins and just say the same damn thing over and over again. Once is bad enough; twice is a cure for insomnia.

Having fluff interviews with randoms like that woman about some Gough Whitlam book doesn't help either - she was even more boring than the ABC reporters.

Also, it just seems they're stretching 1 hours worth of news into 3 hours, and that perception is made worse when they don't really bother to rewrite the script or rejig the running order of stories. Thank goodness they cut out the 4th hour.

Repetition and monotony are early themes with show, and dull and boring content rather conflicts with the tacky bright yellow splashed all over the set and some of the graphics.

Presenters

And whilst we're on boring, I'll segue nicely into the sports presenter. Seriously, he's an absolute robot - monotonous and disjointed, can't read an autocue or hold a conversation at all. I don't know where they found this guy, but he makes Grant Hackett look good.

But it's not all bad with the presenters. Barrie Cassidy is perfectly suited to this show, IMO, and he's pretty comfortable having done this sort of thing on Insiders for years. He's one of the few good things about this show so far.

Trioli on the other hand is not so good. I'm still unconvinced about Trioli - I still think she's more suited to radio - and someone needs to tell her to stop moving her left arm all over the place. It's bloody irritating - just sit still and read the damn autocue. It's not difficult.

Meanwhile, that weather girl is a breath of fresh air in a sea of tedious monotony. However, she was visibly nervous at times even behind that awfully cheesy and fake smile, and at times she also moved her arms like a chicken. Hopefully she didn't go to the same presentation school as chook Inouk.

Interaction

It's a news show, not a Sunrise/Today imitation. But some of the banter/interaction has been nothing short of gut-wrenchingly awful. They're obviously trying to lighten the atmosphere and pretend like it's discussion show and not an exercise in autocue reading, but it's so awkward it isn't funny.

They keep stepping over each other's lines; Barrie's comments often sail over the head of Virginia; Virginia can't string two ad-libbed words together; and the sports presenter would be better off keeping his mouth shut. It's so contrived and awkward that it's uncomfortable to watch - I actually turned to Sunrise and Today for a bit after 7am because it became unbearable.

Also, they keep banging on about emails and SMS messages but don't actually read them out, which makes me wonder whether people are actually sending any in and whether they even need this sort of gimmick as a news show.

Conclusion

Some problems in the opening show with sound and video, as is to be expected. But at times it does look lazy and careless rather than a genuine technical glitch or teething problem.

But there are major issues regarding the content and the presenters. They need to loosen up, mix things up a bit and change things around over the 3 hours. They also need to learn how to hold a conversation on live television and how to ad-lib successfully whilst not simultaneously drowning out your co-presenters.

They also need to fix up the horrible yellow they've splashed everywhere, as well as the music and logo. It all looks tacky, cheap and bland.

I'll give them a week before I decide who to watch in the mornings, but I'm not sure I'll actually become a Breakfast devotee. To be honest, right now I prefer Ten's Early News.

[phileasmann]

aamslfc, on Nov 3 2008, 8:33am, said:

Frankly, the opener is terrible. Just terrible. The music is awful and the visuals - with those yellow boxes - are even worse. I mean, the music they play during the headline sequence sounds like it's from some Mexican soap opera.

The logo and sets are also both hideous. Something a bit more stylish and visually appealing would have been good.

Agreed. But they can easily change the sets - I believe it's chroma keying for the most part.
But they seriously need to change their theme - they should follow in the footsteps of BBC, and make a "relaxed" version of the current ABC News theme, a la BBC Breakfast.

aamslfc, on Nov 3 2008, 8:33am, said:

Meanwhile, there are some major issues re: sound. The switching between microphone is often late and the volumes are very variable - the studio is loud but the reports are almost inaudible at times. There are also some problems when switching to footage, with the clips either late or wrong (cricket report played twice in two minutes, and once during a report about rugby league or something). I know there are always teething problems on the first day or two, but this just looks careless and lazy.

Can't blame them really - new ppl, new set, new format, so I think we should give them some slack and give them the benefit of the doubt.

aamslfc, on Nov 3 2008, 8:33am, said:

Whilst the coverage is what you'd expect, at times it can be boring. Incredibly boring. Not only are the live crosses/reports tedious, they're repeated every 30-60 mins and just say the same damn thing over and over again. Once is bad enough; twice is a cure for insomnia.

I thought I was the only one that was thinking the same! After 50 minutes I just realized that they're repeating the same stories, so I couldn't bear to watch any more of it.

aamslfc, on Nov 3 2008, 8:33am, said:

Meanwhile, that weather girl is a breath of fresh air in a sea of tedious monotony. However, she was visibly nervous at times even behind that awfully cheesy and fake smile, and at times she also moved her arms like a chicken. Hopefully she didn't go to the same presentation school as chook Inouk.

Is it me, or did she use her Autocue waaaaaaay too much?

aamslfc, on Nov 3 2008, 8:33am, said:

It's a news show, not a Sunrise/Today imitation.

And that's what's so disappointing. We already have that, it's called Ten Morning News or international channels. I was hoping this channel would (finally!) get the balance right with lifestyle & news, unlike the existing shows, where they've gone trashy trying to get it right.

aamslfc, on Nov 3 2008, 8:33am, said:

I'll give them a week before I decide who to watch in the mornings, but I'm not sure I'll actually become a Breakfast devotee. To be honest, right now I prefer Ten's Early News.

Not me. I'm sticking with AJE/Sunrise.
Quite disappointed - I thought this would be a serious choice. I was wrong.

[aamslfc]

Still awkward and boring at times.

It's becoming more and more apparent that the weather girl needed more time and practice - she's a blind autocue reader and is wooden in her presentation.

Meanwhile, Barrie is pretty much the only thing holding the show together - he does most of the talking, does most of the commentary and makes the most effort to initiating some banter and interaction. Problem for him is that he's got Trioli on his left and that robotic sports guy on his right - indeed, neither seem capable of conversation and both look like rabbits caught in the headlights.

Plus they were very very slow on the news about Obama's grandmother. In fact, I'm not sure Breakfast even mentioned it, despite having a live cross to the election about 15 mins after the story first broke in Australia. What made it worse was that Sunrise were the first ones to break the story and managed to do a quick live cross to Rahni Sadler in LA and covered the story while Breakfast were just repeating what they'd said for the previous 2.5 hours. Still, I don't think Today covered it either, so read into that what you will.

[Tim]

I think you missed the point about it being a "rolling" show. You're not supposed to sit and watch it for three hours, no wonder it seems repetitive.

Think of it as the basis for a 24-hour news channel.

[phileasmann]

Nope. It's much more boring than a 24-hr news channel.

[Tim]

Better than Sky News.

I actually quite appreciate not being patronised at that time of day, it's refreshing. I get the impression that if you find it a 'boring' program there are several other alternatives that'll do the job.

[button pusher]

Tim, on Nov 4 2008, 7:27am, said:

I think you missed the point about it being a "rolling" show. You're not supposed to sit and watch it for three hours, no wonder it seems repetitive.

Exactly.
The Today program repeats about 75% (well maybe 50%) of what is said/shown in the first hour in each hour thereafter, with very little change in the content of the news or sports reports. Each one is just about verbatim the previous one.
How many normal people are going to get out of bed and just sit in front of the telly at that time of the day and watch for the duration?

But like any program it needs time to settle in and find the pace and rhythm, and for the presenters to get their niche. They may all know each other but not in the context they are in at this time.

[aamslfc]

Tim, on Nov 4 2008, 9:27am, said:

I think you missed the point about it being a "rolling" show. You're not supposed to sit and watch it for three hours, no wonder it seems repetitive.

Think of it as the basis for a 24-hour news channel.

I know full well it is different and intended to be more like Ten's Early News than Sunrise/Today.

Problem is, I can watch other rolling shows and 24-hour news channels like CNN or BBC News 24/World constantly on a slow news day without being bored (the countdowns on the latter help )

As for Sky, what would one expect given that it's basically run by 7, 9 and 10?

[Tim]

Ten have no share, it's Newscorp, hence the name.

I think a couple of weeks are needed before completely writing it off. There are certainly bizarre aspects but fundamentally it's a good show.

[aamslfc]

6000 viewers on Thursday. There's no point wasting everyone's time and money putting it on a digital only channel like ABC2 which nobody watches.

If they want this to be successful and have a proper run, then it simply has to be put on ABC1, and to hell with the kids. I'm sick of kids television taking up space in schedules. If anything, they can shift the kiddie rubbish onto ABC2 or ABC3 - those channels might as well make themselves useful.

And when are they going to show an interview from 702/774?

Edited by aamslfc, 07 November 2008 - 10:11 AM.

[Mediawatch]

i think maybe simulcasting the 6-7am hour on both channels would he a good idea

[trisreed]

http://www.tvnewsday.../12/11/daily.9/

Quote

The Australian Broadcasting Corp. (ABC) is using a Grass Valley Ignite HD integrated production system from Thomson to produce its new three-hour live morning news and information show entitled ABC News Breakfast.

Installation, commissioning, training and ongoing support of the systems was carried out by Australian-based Grass Valley engineers and trainers, who followed an aggressive timeline to meet the desired launch date required by the ABC.

The new program is delivered from a new automated studio control room, complete with a Grass Valley Ignite HD system. It includes an HDC robotic camera system remotely controlled by an Ignite SHOT Director, a Kayak HD production switcher and a Yamaha digital audio console.

The Melbourne-based ABC News Breakfast is now on air from 6 to 9 a.m., making extensive use of studio interviews and interviews with newsmakers around Australia and around the world. The show often switches live to ABC newsrooms around the country and correspondents overseas, with a link to radio studios in Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra, taking advantage of the ABC's extensive domestic and international editorial resources while offering the latest in news, finance, sports and weather.

As part of this new installation, the ABC has signed a major purchase order with Grass Valley for the progressive rollout of the Grass Valley Ignite systems throughout the ABC major city and regional areas over the coming months.

HD cabable eh? A sign of things to come?