Blackley, and executive chairman Nick Falloon, oversaw the network’s $20 million foray into serious news and current affairs featuring grizzled TV veteran George Negus. Many said it couldn’t, wouldn’t work. It didn’t.
'Lach, stock and both barrels: who’s killing Channel Ten?' from Crikey.
It always felt to me like the approach, here attributed to Blackley, was one of a long game. It felt like they knew the game was changing substantially and risks needed to be taken to cement a new culture in TV watching.
There's a difference between 'not working' and 'not yet working'. Blackley's model may have needed some finessing but it was a solid and brave plan above and beyond the lowest-common-denominator crap being pushed out by Ten now.
Of course advertisers are going to say that the new model failed. All they understand is the knee-jerk response.
All these fucking consultants talk about "paradigm shifts" but when someone actually tries to do that, nobody wants to support it in case it fails.
Without support it is destined to fail.