ABC News celebrates a decade on air with revamped lineup including election coverage and the return of Barrie Cassidy
ABC News is celebrating a decade on the air in 2020, having launched on 22 July, 2010. The channel was Australia’s most-watched 24-hour news channel in 2019 with a reported average weekly reach of 2.1m broadcast viewers.
In 2020, the channel will continue its breaking news coverage and up-to-the-minute reporting, as well as welcoming back some old favourites.
“Viewers want an accurate, up-to-the-minute news service they know they can trust,” said director ABC News, Gaven Morris.
“I was proud to lead the launch of ABC News Channel and a decade on it continues to demonstrate its value to audiences in delivering factual news coverage and independent analysis.
“Having set the standard for live local broadcast news, this year ABC News Channel will also lead our strategy to provide the video-on-demand services Australian news consumers are increasingly demanding.”
The channel also commands a monthly average of 735,000 live-streams via ABC iview. Its coverage of the summer bushfire crisis saw the channel record its biggest ever audience – in the first week of January 2020 it reached 3.4m metro viewers and posted 709,000 iview live streams.
To cover the US election, Planet America will be in a new timeslot of 10.15pm on Wednesdays on ABC, with a second show, Planet America: Fireside Chat, airing 8pm Friday on ABC News. Chas Licciardello and John Barron will host, following the latest from the US campaign trail.
The Drum returns 6pm weeknights on ABC TV and 9pm on ABC News. Hosts Ellen Fanning and Julia Baird lead a panel of experts and opinion-leaders discussing the key issues gripping or confounding Australia. The Drum will also continue to go on the road for in-depth programs from regional Australian communities.
Exclusive to ABC News, Afternoon Briefing with Patricia Karvelas extends to every weekday from 4pm, delivering coverage of current events and sharp political analysis.
New in 2020 is the 2020 Series, regular segments led by presenter Jeremy Fernandez across broadcast and digital. Barrie Cassidy is back, after leaving Insiders in 2019, to host a special series of One Plus One on both ABC and ABC News. Kurt Fearnley will take over the hosting chair in the latter half of the year.
The latest breaking news will be brought to you, starting from 6am with the News Breakfast team: Michael Rowland, Lisa Millar, Nate Byrne and Paul Kennedy. Across the day and into the night join Joe O’Brien, Miriam Corowa, Ros Childs, Kirsten Aiken, Gemma Veness, Karina Carvalho, Andrew Geoghegan and Michael Tetlow and the presenting team in Canberra, led by Greg Jennett, Andrew Probyn and Jane Norman.
Rounding out the schedule are returning favourites: Arts program The Mix, The World with Bev O’Connor each weeknight at 10pm, Weekend Breakfast with Jo Nicholson and Fauziah Ibrahim and The Business with Elysse Morgan at the new time of 8.45pm on ABC NEWS Channel and 10:15pm on ABC TV following the Late News.
You need to widen your interviewing panels beyond the usual participants, who are becoming more like regulars. After listening to their opinions a few times, the question arises, who gives a bugger what they say anyway? They don’t really have more insight into the issues than I do. I also understand the need to be politically correct so as to be seen not to be biased. Predictably when an issue is political, it’s left versus right. It all becomes quite boring after a while. Also 1 hour is too long. It allows the overly vociferous to waffle on.
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