With kids calling AFL, Seven banks on news and sport to steady the ship

Channel Seven is banking on its reputation as the home of AFL and a renewed commitment to news and current affairs as it looks to steady the ship after a tumultuous 12 months. During its annual upfront presentation, the network announced its programming slate for 2025, with sports and news as the prominent focus, alongside a continued investment in reality TV, including a new dating series from the creators of Married At First Sight, and the return of Dancing With The Stars, with ABC comedian Shaun Micallef announced as the first celebrity of the series.

Football fans are in for a treat, with Seven presenting AFL content every day during the 2025 season. In addition to in-season matches, audiences will be treated to the return of The Front Bar and The Agenda Setters, Unfiltered, Extra Time, Sunday Footy Feast, The Wash Up, and Kane’s Call, starring recruit Kane Cornes.

Seven has announced AFL content every night of the week and a fresh news bulletin, but there’s not much in the way of original programming. Credit: Seven

Seven Network director of sport, Chris Jones, said: “We felt it was time to change it up, to prepare for our new and younger audiences.”

“One of the first things we identified was that if we wanted to be the home of footy, we needed to fill out the offering. From Monday to Friday every night, there will be AFL content to watch or stream on Seven and 7plus Sport.”

Seven also announced that the 7plus Sport team is working on an alternative kids’ commentary for selected Sunday afternoon matches to lure in a new audience.

Off the field, Seven will focus on its news offerings in 2025 with a new hour-long noon bulletin.

The bulletin will follow The Morning Show, hosted by Gold Logie winner Larry Emdur and Kylie Gillies, which will now run an extra half hour from 9 to 12. According to Anthony De Ceglie, Seven Network director of news and current affairs, the increased output will counter the divisive state of news and current affairs. “In an increasingly dystopian world of conspiracy theorists, deepfakes and misinformation, our journalism has never been more important,” said De Ceglie.

Anthony De Ceglie, Seven Network director of news and current affairs, is overseeing a push to expand the network’s offering.Credit: Seven

Away from dystopia-busting journalism, Seven will return to its tried-and-tested suite of reality TV programming with new seasons of Australian Idol, The Voice, Farmer Wants A Wife, Dancing With The Stars, and My Kitchen Rules.

Meanwhile, a new tent pole format, Stranded on Honeymoon, is a twist on your regular dating show. Couples are matched by experts following a speed dating event, then abandoned on a deserted tropical island for the adventure of a lifetime.

Other newcomers to Seven’s local line-up in 2025 include Once In A Lifetime, a new vehicle for Seven’s high-profile talent, Dr Chris Brown. Brown was previously host of Dream House, a home renovation program that won’t return after one season.

Dr Chris Brown is back to doing what he does best: travelling the world with his famous (and furry) friends.Credit: Seven

Seven’s television boss Angus Ross said ratings, advertiser performance and cost factor into programming decisions, and in the end there wasn’t “enough to justify [Dream Home’s] return”.

Once In a Lifetime is a comedy-travel program in which Dr Chris Brown is joined by Australian personalities (Mick Molloy, Amanda Keller, Kate Ritchie, and Matt Preston) on his globetrotting adventures.

Jim Jefferies And Friends sees the comedian hosting an “adults-only” late-night show featuring a roster of his friends, including Dave Hughes, Jimeoin, Arj Barker, Tommy Little, Nikki Osborne, Mel Buttle, and Felicity Ward.

The network also unveiled a series of music-themed special event programs, including Working Class Man, a documentary based on Jimmy Barnes’ best-selling book, which sees the legendary singer tell his story, and Live It Up: The Mental As Anything Story.

Noticeably absent from Seven’s upfronts were any new original local drama commissions. Stephen Peacocke’s RFDS will receive a third season, and Home & Away returns for another year, but the network didn’t announce any new local scripted content.

Ross said while Australians want more locally produced dramatic content, and programmers like himself want to commission more, Seven and its free-to-air counterparts “have to be sensible around budgets”.

“You’re seeing it now in the streaming world, where spend was out of control during that peak TV period. Now what they’re introducing is ad-tiers, less shows and that sort of thing. Everybody has to be accountable in the end,” Ross said.

Seven has an influx of new dramatic programming on its free streaming platform 7Plus via its content deal with US studio NBC, such as a Suits spinoff, Suits LA.

“When we invest in a drama we want it to work on broadcast and on streaming, whereas with things such as the overseas content [...] most of them tend to deliver more of the audience in on the streaming side of things, but that’s OK because they come in at a lower price point,” Ross said.

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