Ten boss cautious on takeover bids, admits Wake Up cancellation came after Boland exit
McLennan
Network Ten has cautioned shareholders that takeover bids might not result in a takeover, with executive chairman and CEO Hamish McLennan admitting the decision to axe struggling breakfast show Wake Up was made when executive producer Adam Boland went off on stress leave a few weeks into its run.
It was reported earlier this month Foxtel and Discovery Communications had tabled a 23 cents a share offer for Ten as it also emerged that two other bidders, including private equity firm Anchorage Capital and Haim Saban from Saban Capital, were in the race to acquire the troubled network.
“As you know, on November 6 this year we advised the market that we had appointed Citi to assist in assessing a range of potential strategic options for the company,” McLennan said.
What do the programmers actually do at Ten ? How can anybody keep their job in the last two years while the share price plummeted to almost worthless and people continue to desert Ten. The board should fire all senior staff and hire some people to make changes. Any changes will do, as nothing works. Family Fued is the only rehash that is holding some ground but will be short lived. Commission some new programs that are bold ? McLennan will last one week once a new owner is found as he had the chance to fix things up but has done nothing.
its a vicious circle: Ten aren’t getting the ratings, so they’re not getting the (advertising) money they need to buy good programming, so they’re not getting the ratings, so not getting the $ ….and so it goes round. To break the cycle, they need a big injection of $$ and/or great programming. A buyout by a huge network like Discovery, in conjunction with Foxtel, would presumably provide them with both.
What does “focus on a 25-54 demographic” even mean in 2014?
@ Ash, It means that they are not focusing on kids or old people, which is a huge mistake, since television is for everyone out there who will buy something.
A big injection of dollars may help, but it may also disappear down the same waste trap which has already accommodated millions.
Good programming and good television does not need to cost huge money.
Theatre can be performed on a deep revolving stage with a guilt proscenium arch, in a glittering neo classical building with three tiers of velvet covered seats and chandeliers, or it can be performed at the beach in a circle drawn in the sand.