As the cricket season eases into its being, it’s time to reflect on the Channel Nine commentary (read pensioners) team, most of whom are well beyond their use-by dates, mulls Michael Vaughan.
Channel Nine 
Talking the Town: Ray Martin’s book launch
Last night we time-travelled back to a kinder, gentler time, at the launch of Ray Martin’s autobiography, complete with an introduction from Sir Michael Parkinson and music by Geoff Harvey.
Expansive James Packer goes the full half hour
The man who used to like two-minute chairman addresses went on for half-an-hour at yesterday’s Crown AGM, boasting of PBL’s recent performance and making some pre-emptive attacks against the anti-pokies lobby.
Nine tries to buy itself some balls
Nine is paying about $450,000 an episode to secure the rights to air Top Gear next year and hopefully score itself more male viewers. That’s a lot of money for a network that is $3.8 billion in debt.
The world sees red over Hey Hey’s blackface
Whilst reanimating the fetid corpse of Hey Hey it’s Saturday, the show’s producers decided to also revive some ol’ fashioned 20th century bigotry, by putting on a Minstrel Show. Pundits across the pond didn’t quite see the funny side.
Tips and rumours: Tips and rumours: The return of Daryl Somers?
Could Daryl Somers be returning home to Nine? What’s Peter Dutton doing in the new seat of Wright? Is the RACV Board in breach of their Articles of Association? Crikey’s tipsters have all the hot tips.
Hey, Hey it’s… daggy and dated
Last night’s Hey, Hey reunion was a nice nostalgia trip, says Dan Barrett, but also a good reminder of why the show ended when it did. Channel 9 needs fresh ideas, not reanimated corpses.
Hey Hey, it’s… a long Tuesday night
Hey Hey It’s Saturday is coming back! Only… not on Saturday. And because you requested it (really?) for the extended time of two and a half hours.
The ABC: digital media’s stealth performer
I think Mark Scott’s ABC might end up inheriting the earth — or the dominant position in the Australian broadcasting world — despite itself, writes Adrian Swift.
Will Nine’s cash-cow KAK be put out to pasture?
Believe it or not, daytime TV queen Kerri-Anne Kennerley is a nice little money-spinner for Nine, and she’s paid accordingly, but with budget cuts looming at the network, tough decisions have to be made. Will KAK get the chop? Or will another network be willing to pay her $500k-plus salary?
Who found Tim Holden? Sorry, Holding
Who found Victoria’s missing Water Minister? Was it the Nine Network? Was it Channel Seven? Was it emergency services? Crikey intern James Pattison investigates.
Tips and rumours: Did Della Bosca fall into a honey trap?
What Crikey’s tipsters are telling us today: Was John Della Bosca set up? … Westpac not cutting back on off-shoring … University of Melbourne’s unqualified tutors.
And the Wankley goes to … Fashion Week coverage, belittling the big
For their championing of chubby, several media outlets have this week earned the Wankley.
Last minute injunction leaves 60 Minutes flat footed
The desperate spiking of last-night’s 60 Minutes “suicide cluster” story had an interesting lead-up, pitting BeyondBlue chief Jeff Kennett and adolescent psychologist Michael Carr-Gregg against Nine chief David Gyngell.
Navy wishes it could turn back time over Myer stunt?
Sailors are not to be treated as sexual objects — except, it seems, when male sailors can be officially pimped out to promote Myer’s latest summer swimwear range.
The Murdoch man on the Fairfax board: a screaming conflict
Fairfax board members are often very close to their competitor’s interests. But, for board member David Evans, his association with Murdoch’s BSkyB puts him in an untenable position.
The second coming of John Westacott
All the publicity about how John Westacott will return to save 60 Minutes from its current appalling performance ignores one very salient point: 60 Minutes’ problems are all of his doing.
What’s that terrible smell? Oh, it’s the resurrected corpse of Hey Hey
Our screens have been mercifully free of Hey Hey It’s Saturday for ten years — so why is Nine reanimating its corpse now? Dylan Behan searches for answers.
How Channel Nine fudged their chance to grab MasterChef
In the annals of Australian TV there are a few stories about networks rejecting programs that other networks subsequently picked up and made a hit — but this has to be the biggest doozie…
Hey Hey, it’s a comeback
In good news for lovers of bad puppetry and weak one-liners everywhere, Hey Hey It’s Saturday looks set to return to Australian screens.
