A classic case of state timezones messing with content availability…
There’s an AFL match screening from 7pm – 11pm tonight in Melbourne and Brisbane, with a similar time in Adelaide.
This pushes 7News Spotlight to 11pm / 10:30pm in both cities, yet the same episode will screen at 8pm in Sydney, where it will also be available at 8pm on 7Plus.
So why is the episode held back on 7Plus in three states? Those days should really be behind us now.
7Plus has ads so the revenue is still there. And BVOD numbers are counted in overnight ratings. Making it available at a civil time (rather than 11pm) would doubtless deliver a higher Total Audience rating.
Surely there’s no compelling reason to delay if the content has played in other states.
7News Spotlight
Sydney, Perth
8.00pm on Seven and 7plus
Melbourne, Brisbane
11.00pm on Seven and 7plus
Adelaide
10.30pm on Seven and 7plus
Seven was contacted for comment.