The incoming boss of 7 Tasmania has revealed he plans to expand the channel’s presence and local content offering to reinforce its role as the state’s leading television service.
Australian Digital Holdings Director Jason Morrison told Pulse that the deal to acquire 7 Tasmania and several other regional stations from Southern Cross Austereo has been in the works for several months.
A former news director at 7 in Sydney, Morrison said the acquisition process gave the consortium insight into the station’s importance to the state.
“The Tasmanian 7 team should be very proud of what they put to air every day and the very long and distinguished reputation they have as being the choice that Tasmanians make each night, overwhelmingly,” he said.
“We look at that and say … Tasmanians love this news service, let’s expand it. And that’s the intention.”
“We want to build on the investment in Tasmania … and we want to invest in local production and we want to invest in local news.”
Morrison said viewers will continue to see the familiar faces of current presenters on their screens and the same programs, including the AFL.
He hinted at potential plans for an afternoon news bulletin, live TV broadcasts of major community events and specialised local programming.
The sale also provides certainty for staff and should leave viewers with “absolutely no questions” about the commitment of the channel to Tasmania, Morrison said.
“Kim and Murph and Nick doing the sport and Louise on the weekends. They’re all going to be there. They’re all going to be the same people doing it,” he said.
“You look at how they have performed in the shadow of a bit of doubt. How will they perform now that they have an Australian owned private company that has bought them because we admire what they do?”
Once regulatory approvals and licence transfers are finalised, Morrison said the focus would shift to attracting advertisers.
“I want to give them more reasons to support their local TV station,” Morrison said.
“We have companies cut back on news and cut back on production services and wonder why they’re losing advertiser dollars. Well, you know, you’ve got to give to expect something back.”
“And that’s our intention … because this is a great market and Tasmania is a growth market and we don’t see any reason why we can’t continue that trajectory in the ownership of these TV stations.”
Morrison dismissed suggestions that ADH’s acquisition of SCA’s TV assets would form part of their conservative online programming, saying the 7 Tasmania News product will remain independent.
Other local TV offerings in Tasmania include the 30-minute local WIN News bulletin produced in Wollongong on weeknights and the ABC’s daily 7pm bulletin from their Hobart studio.
Australian Digital Holdings was founded by now 25-year-old Jack Bulfin.
