Since news broke about the death of Queen Elizabeth II, Australian television networks have mounted comprehensive coverage.
Making the biggest investment and commitments have been Seven, Nine and Sky News Australia.
Mediaweek has spoken to the news directors of Seven and Nine for an update on coverage so far and the plans for the next week leading up to the funeral for Queen Elizabeth II.
Seven: “We have the best royal commentators”
On Friday, Seven’s head of news and current affairs Craig McPherson triggered the broadcaster’s plan about how they would cover the death of the monarch. “Things do change of course, but we enacted a plan we have had in place for many months.”
Natalie Barr and David Koch outside Buckingham Palace for Sunrise
That plan started with Sunrise hosts David Koch and Natalie Barr jumping on a plane to the UK. Both were hosting from outside Buckingham Palace Sunday morning only hours after touching down at Heathrow.
McPherson told Mediaweek Seven’s main hosting point would be near Canada Gate with other locations also being used around the capital and the country.
He then explained what he feels sets Seven apart from the competition. “We have the best royal commentators. You don’t get any better than Angela Rippon, 30 years as the BBC’s chief royal commentator. We had her as part of the team at the wedding of Harry and Meghan. Also exclusive to Seven is Vicky Arbiter and we have Rob Jobson and no one knows the King better than Rob who is his biographer. No other network can match that.
“Someone who has also been outstanding is Hugh Whitfeld from our London team. He has been supplying brilliant insights and he has every little detail covered.”
Whitfeld travelled to Balmoral earlier in the week with Seven deciding to keep him on location. “As it turned out that was the right call,” said McPherson.
Seven royalty: Angela Rippon, Vicky Arbiter and Rob Jobson
The Seven UK imports continued on Sunday with chief reporter Chris Reason touching down. “We also have a small team of camera people and producers. We have moved all our US team into London. Michael Usher heads off from Sydney on Monday. We also have Edwina Bartholomew and Bianca Stone in London for Sunrise.”
Anchoring evening news from a different location is challenging for Seven. McPherson noted that while they have five major metro bulletins, in total Seven broadcasts close to 50 separate news bulletins across Australia now that Prime is part of the family.
McPherson said Seven is committed to covering the death of Her Majesty and the accession of the new King as much as his competitors, adding “it’s just that we are doing it a bit better”.
In addition to its own output, Seven will be using its affiliation with Britain’s ITN which McPherson said Seven will call on when needed. “We haven’t had to take much of that so far. We have taken some of it when appropriate, and we also have options to use the BBC like others do.”
Nine at the Palace: Ally and Karl at breakfast, Tracy in primetime
Nine’s head of news and current affairs Darren Wick explained to Mediaweek how he was quickly able to supplement the UK news personnel late last week.
Nine’s Tracy Vo and Leila McKinnon in London
“We had a few people on holiday in Europe who we were able to call on – Leila McKinnon, Charles Croucher and Amelia Adams. They are three of our best people and we were pretty lucky in that respect.
“This is an event we have had a long time to prepare for. Last week it came down to getting people on flights which is a harder process in a post-Covid world.
“People we are sending over include Allison Langdon for Today and Tracy Grimshaw for A Current Affair. Karl Stefanovic is also making his way to London,” explained Wick when we spoke on Sunday.
Nine will utilise BBC coverage to supplement what it will produce itself. “We will have our own people with our unique coverage from all over the UK. For the funeral itself we will take the BBC broadcast.”
Wick noted that Nine’s plans remain fluid for the week, but it is most likely Today and A Current Affair will be hosted from outside Buckingham Palace. “The Palace is an iconic location and as the Queen’s primary residence everyone identifies with it knowing what it is.” Nine has a dedicated hosting spot outside the Palace, “we have had that booked for a few years,” said the news boss. “We also have one at Windsor Castle too.”
Charles Croucher and Allison Langdon anchored Today from London on Monday with Edward Godfrey at Windsor Castle
Nine had reporters on location when the Queen was moved to Edinburgh and then onto London, plus it will track the movements of the new King as he travels around the UK.
In addition to on-air reports and hosts, Nine has also flown in camera operators, satellite techs and producers. “There is a big machine that works behind the scenes on something like this,” said Wick.
Nine was live from 3.30am Friday when news of the death broke and was ad-free at least until midday Friday. Rolling coverage then continued for the remainder of Friday and then across the weekend with the exception of NRL Finals on Nine or Gem depending on the market. Seven did much the same, breaking only for AFL Finals.
Wick said the Today show this week will start daily at 5am and run until around 9.30am with Today Extra also covering UK developments.
Nine is also running late news across next week. The broadcaster considered sending a 6pm news anchor, but Wick said that is not decided yet.