Regional television in Northern NSW is set for a major shake-up, with WIN Corporation confirming deep cuts to NBN News just days after Nine celebrated the completion of the company’s regional TV exit.
WIN Corporation confirmed it will cut NBN News weekday bulletins in half and axe weekend editions entirely, from June 27th. Locally produced weekend NBN News bulletins will be replaced by Nine News at 6pm across Northern NSW, while on weeknights, a 30-minute local bulletin will air at 5:30pm – down from one hour – before Nine News takes over at 6pm.
WIN framed the changes as giving viewers “an extended 90 minutes of local, national and international news coverage each weeknight.” What it didn’t mention was that only 30 of those minutes would actually be local.
In an internal message to staff, seen by Mediaweek, Stanton declared the transition of Nine’s regional TV assets to WIN Network “the largest change to the shape of our business in over a decade,” completed alongside the QMS Media acquisition in March and the Nine Radio sale in April.
“The decision to sell any business is not made lightly, nor is it a reflection of the talented people who make up that business – but reshaping Nine is critical to our success,” Stanton said, before wishing the NBN and Darwin teams “all the best for the future.”
The warm words haven’t entirely settled nerves on the ground. The Newcastle Herald reported staff fears over potential job losses and reduced local coverage – concerns WIN has yet to address publicly.
NBN News has served Northern NSW for more than six decades and has been a consistent ratings performer in the 6pm slot. From late June, that slot belongs to Sydney.
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