Seven has secured the broadcast rights for the Logies, in a shake-up which, at this stage, leaves us with more questions than answers.
It’s not yet clear if Nine, the incumbent broadcaster since 1996, or even 10, were in the battle ring for the rights, and what, if anything, their feelings are about not having them.
Also up in the air is the location for the event.
This decision is perhaps more political than you might think, both in terms of where the key TV personalities want the event to take place, and the amount of money and lobbying efforts state governments will put into securing the event.
For all the scorn thrown at the Logies by certain sectors of the industry and the public, they can be part of a bigger tourism and marketing play by various state bodies.
When the event moved to The Star at the Gold Coast in 2018, it ended a 21-year run (1997 to 2017) at the Palladium Room at Melbourne’s Crown Towers.
This wasn’t just a decision to preference one troubled, “unfit” Casino conglomerate over another. It was part of a push by the Queensland Government to bring more major events and screen production to the state.
This push, despite potentially losing the Logies, is very much ongoing.
Barely a day goes by without Screen Queensland issuing a press release.
This year, Season 10 of The Bachelor Australia is being filmed in Queensland, rather than its traditional home of New South Wales.
The 2022 Bachelors
Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has her voice in virtually every press release, spruiking the state’s unique brand of pride and confidence that they are simply the best damn place in Australia (and probably the world).
As mildly comical as it is to see a state premier talking about giving roses on dates – her exact quote being “We gladly accept the rose to host The Bachelor in Queensland” – after years of press conferences and releases about COVID-19 and lockdowns, there is no doubt she is doing a better job of marketing her state’s screen production credentials than NSW premier Dominic Perrottet.
The Gold Coast received endless publicity for its association with Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis, while Netflix original Boy Swallows Universe is also being filmed in the state as are countless other international films including Wizards!
The location of the Logies, therefore, isn’t just about what’s convenient for network stars and their executive bosses. It’s big money, and the decision will point to Seven and the production sector’s relationship with various state screen bigwigs, lobbying by tourism bodies and how the “new, refreshed” event will be packaged and marketed.
I wonder if we can find anywhere to host it that isn’t a casino though?
Even Seven’s own entertainment reporter Peter Ford couldn’t reveal the location when he revealed it on the network’s flagship breakfast program Sunrise on Tuesday morning at the pivotal time of 7:28am.
In a statement, CEO James Warburton said the multi-year agreement was in its “early days”, but the network has “big, exciting plans for the awards in 2023 and beyond”.
James Warburton
Unfortunately, Ford also didn’t have many details about what this could look like, only saying: “So I know already there’s some vague planning going on as to what they’re going to do. Everything has to be rejigged, everything has to be freshened up when you have a show.”
He also offered up some previous highlights of the 63-year-old event, saying: “Everybody harks back to some moments where people have kind of disgraced themselves, and that’s part of the fun of the Logies – and not to forget of course the red carpet. People love that red carpet, the fashion element, seeing people go in.
“Then as the night wears on – as it does wear on, it’s usually a pretty long event – all sorts of things start to happen, many of them unplanned, but still in their own right very special moments.”
Hopefully, when Seven comes to announce its big exciting plans for the event, they’re a bit clearer on what they’re going to offer to reshape the event, other than the occasional disgraced celebrity, on-camera gaffe, or ill-advised tweet.
As I’ve talked about previously, Seven has a lot to talk about at its upcoming Upfronts – including its record-breaking AFL deal – so perhaps Warburton will give us more to chew on at the event in a matter of weeks.
For their part, Nine was gracious in defeat.
The network has occasionally been known to offer a sassy retort when broadcast rights shift hands.
When Seven picked up The Voice from Nine, it said: “Unfortunately due to the age of the show and declining demographic profile, The Voice had become by far the poorest performer on our slate. We wish Seven well in their quest to revive yet another Nine show.”
At other times, the network has perhaps been a bit too bold in its predictions.
In an iconic moment in 2017, Nine’s head of content production and development, Adrian Swift, told my then-colleague Zoe Samios that he would “have a dance and a jig” if the new format Family Food Fight had a metro audience of 800,000, with 400,000 across the network’s favoured demographic of those aged 25 to 54.
Adrian Swift
When it came to premiere time, the jig was perhaps more of a shuffle, with Family Food Fight pulling a metro audience of 614,000, with 314,000 from the 25 to 54s. Seven’s The Wall topped entertainment that night in October 2017 with 974,000 in the metro markets and 381,000 in that key demo.
The iconic jig quote by Swift was used many-a-time as Family Food Fight’s ratings floundered.
By comparison, Swift and Nine have been incredibly circumspect about the Logies.
When Nine still had the Logies earlier this year, Swift told me the event is all the better for all the networks putting their rivalries aside and using the event as a platform to celebrate the best content they collectively create.
Instead of an industry love-in, he said it was transforming into a more sophisticated event that better reflected the content landscape and audience preferences – as well as being a genuinely entertaining piece of variety television for consumers.
While Seven’s plans aren’t clear for the event and its broadcast just yet, Nine is willing to continue back it.
In a statement on Tuesday, the former host broadcaster said: “The Logies are an important and valuable platform to celebrate the great work of our television industry, a night for our audience to connect with all parts of the industry and celebrate.
“It has in its 62-year history been screened on all networks. We look forward to the TV Week Logies in 2023 and joining in the celebrations.”
With everyone’s Upfronts just around the corner, perhaps we’ll soon have a clearer picture of what this will all look like in 2023 (and what will have us dancing and jigging).