1991: November 2-8

Hey, Ben’s a dad!
It might be a shock to some to realise that Ben Oxenbould, the newcomer to the cast of Hey Dad!, is himself a dad.  The 22-year-old, who got his big break at the age of seven in the film Fatty Finn, has a one-year-old son but is very protective of him and won’t have him photographed by the media.  “He keeps me very busy when he’s with me,” Oxenbould (pictured with co-star Rachael Beck) told TV Week.  “He’s a classic combination of his mother – with whom he lives – and myself.  And, thankfully, I think he got everything good from us.  So that’s something.”  The Hey Dad! role is Adelaide-born Oxenbould’s first comedy role, having previously appeared in E Street and GP and will star in the upcoming SBS series Six Pack.

No naked ambition!
Former The Flying Doctors star Liz Burch (pictured) is no stranger to nudity, having starred in the controversial stage production Steaming, but when speaking of her upcoming role in Nine’s Chances she says the producers wouldn’t dare.  “They wouldn’t dream of asking me to take my clothes off… the ratings would plummet!  I did Steaming, but that was very different.  We rehearsed that for four weeks, the show was well-written and there was justification for it.  With Chances, the issue of nudity never comes into it,” she said.  In Chances, Burch plays a chemist, Sally Kirk, who is involved in a relationship with Jack Taylor (Tim Robertson) – but Alex (Jeremy Sims) plots to steal her away from Jack after realising she has information that could earn him millions. 

‘I was moved to tears…’
Maryanne Fahey, best known from The Comedy Company, is about to tackle one of the most demanding roles in her career – portraying the life of one of Australia’s most controversial and amusing personalities, Mary Hardy (pictured), in the upcoming play Mary Lives.  Hardy, who committed suicide in 1985, was well-known to Melbourne radio and television audiences in the 1960s and 1970s, in particular as presenter on the long-running variety show The Penthouse Club and on radio 3AW.  She also won a number of TV Week Logies for her popularity with Victorian audiences.  “I was moved to tears when I first read the play,” Fahey told TV Week.  “It was something I really wanted to do.  Mary was one of the real forerunners of women’s comedy in this country.  Hopefully, I will do her justice.  She was outrageous and prepared to cop the flak because she was an idealist, and I admire that more than someone who just goes out there to be funny.”

Briefly…
Hard Copy reporter Jane Hansen (pictured) has confirmed reports that she has been approached by former 60 Minutes producer Gerald Stone to join his new current affairs venture for the Seven Network, though stresses that nothing has been signed or agreed to as yet.  The new program, yet to be named, may potentially be slotted against Nine’s ratings giant 60 Minutes.

Joan McInnes, the host of Network Ten’s morning program ‘Til Ten, has announced her engagement to winemaker and yachtsman James Hardy.  The pair have known each other for more than five years but began seeing each other seriously two years ago and are expected to wed in December.

New Zealand actress Catherine Wilkin (Cop Shop, Rafferty’s Rules) is set to return to Australia after three years, starring as an ambassador in the next series of ABC’s Embassy.  “I’ve played a lot of strong-minded career women but never an ambassador,” she said.  “I’ll have to pay the Australian ambassador a visit here and do a crash course in diplomacy before I leave New Zealand!”

John Laws says…
”Who was it, I wonder, who allowed the Beyond 2000 format to slip from the clutches of the ABC and into the hands of the Seven Network all those years ago?  Those responsible must still be suffering recurring bouts of programmers’ guilt – as must be those misguided Seven executives who elected to give up on Neighbours and meekly hand it to Ten, where it was transformed into a long-running international smash-hit worth millions.  Watching Beyond 2000 the other night – and admiring its bright, informative segments on everything from eatable potato-chip containers to sonar fences to stop whales beaching themselves – only reinforced my long-held belief that it is one of Australia’s best programs.”

Program Highlights (Melbourne, November 2-8):
Saturday:  Network Ten’s coverage of the Melbourne Cup Carnival kicks off with all-day coverage of Derby Day, live from Flemington Racecourse, presented by Tim Webster with racecaller Dan Mielicki.  This week’s contestants on Celebrity Wheel Of Fortune (Seven) are Rod Marsh, Lynda Stoner and Larry Pickering.  ABC presents live coverage overnight of the Rugby World Cup final from Twickenham, United Kingdom.

Sunday:  Nine’s crosses to Adelaide for its all-day coverage of the Australian Grand Prix, hosted by Ken Sutcliffe with commentators Alan Jones, Jackie Stewart, Murray Walker, Darrell Eastlake and Barry Sheene.  Author Colleen McCullough is this week’s guest on ABC’s Sunday Afternoon With Peter Ross.  Sunday night movies are Sex, Lies And Videotape (Nine) and The Great Outdoors (Ten), up against the debut of two-part mini-series Love And Hate (Seven).

Monday:  In A Country Practice (Seven), Matt (John Tarrant) admits he has had enough of marriage to Lucy (Georgie Parker).  Ben Mendelsohn guest stars in Col’n Carpenter (Ten).

Tuesday:  Melbourne Cup Day, and Network Ten presents live coverage of the highlight of the Australian racing calendar, starting at 9.30am and continuing through to 5.30pm, hosted by Tim Webster.  In GP (ABC), the sudden return of Dr Nicola Tanner’s (Judy McIntosh, pictured) wild brother Danny (Brett Climo) leads to the uncovering of a dark secret in the Tanner family.  In Beyond 2000 (Seven), Simon Reeve reports from the UK on the Weatherall racetrack, made up of granulated rubber from old car tyres. 

Wednesday:  In E Street (Ten), Lisa (Alyssa-Jane Cook) tries to find the answer to Michael’s (Graham Harvey) death.  In Hey Dad! (Seven), Simon (Chris Mayer) is panic stricken with the fear of incipient baldness while Betty (Julie McGregor) solves the problems of the ozone layer.

Thursday:  Former Prisoner star Betty Bobbitt guest stars in The Flying Doctors (Nine).  ABC’s documentary series Wildscreen looks at the camel as a wild animal, detailing its fascinating and complex social behaviour.

Friday:  Talent quest series Star Search (Ten) presents its series semi-final, hosted by Mike Hammond.

Source: TV Week (Victoria edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide.  2 November 1991.  Southdown Press

Sandra Sully signs off from Late News

It was the end of an era last night as Network Ten newsreader Sandra Sully signed off from the Late News for the last time.

The former Canberra correspondent, who’d also had a stint as co-host of Good Morning Australia and the Sydney edition of the 5pm Ten News, took on the role of presenting the network’s 10.30pm bulletin in 1995 – following the departure of newsreader Anne Fulwood to the Seven Network.  With Sully at the helm, the late night edition of Ten News fought off opposition from both the Seven and Nine networks, to the point that neither network now has a significant news coverage at that time of night.

Like with many newsreaders the job often put her in the position of covering some very significant news events.  In 1997 she was on location at Thredbo when the sole survivor of a massive landslide, that claimed the lives of 18 others, was pulled from the wreckage after being trapped for three days.

Then, on the night of September 11, 2001, during the Late News, she was the first in Australia to break the news of a passenger plane flying into one of the World Trade Center towers in New York, and would continue to present news into the night as the tragic events unfolded.

In 2005 she had an exclusive interview with former Iraq hostage Douglas Wood.

As well as covering major news events, Sully has a lighter side – as host of the former quiz show Australia’s Brainiest, as co-host and interviewer on Network Ten’s annual Melbourne Cup coverage, hosting the annual Australian Of The Year presentation and not to forget her often lighthearted handover to Sports Tonight presenter Brad McEwen on the Late News.

Sandra Sully leaves the late-night timeslot to focus on her new role, anchoring the Sydney edition of Ten’s new 6.30pm bulletin which is due to launch early in 2011.

Ten has yet to announce who will formally take over the role of newsreader for the Late News bulletin.

YouTube: Ten

The Melbourne Cup: 1960, 1970, 1980

The running of the 100th Melbourne Cup, on 1 November 1960, was a significant one for television. It was the first time the race was telecast direct to Sydney in a rare co-operative effort between Sydney’s three TV channels – ABN2, ATN7 and TCN9. The direct telecast, scheduled to run for about half-an-hour, included the race, the presentation of the Cup and interviews with the winning jockey, trainer and owner.

ABC’s Michael Charlton hosted the coverage and the commentary of the race was given by ABC’s Joe Brown – whose commentary was also broadcast through ABC radio nationally and overseas through Radio Australia – with TCN9’s Ken Howard presenting the post-race interviews. The telecast was directed and produced by Ron Davis of Melbourne’s GTV9.

Meanwhile, Melbourne viewers – denied the chance to see the race live on television until the late 1970s – would have to make do with delayed coverage of the race during the evening news bulletins on ABV2, HSV7 and GTV9. The film of the race would also be shown during In Melbourne Tonight (GTV9) and Sports Cavalcade (ABV2) and after The Bobby Limb Show on HSV7.

But, being the centenary running of the Melbourne Cup, ABV2 and HSV7 presented special programs devoted to the history of the event. ABV2’s The Cup – 100 Years was screened on Cup Eve and tracked the history of the event from Archer’s win of the very first Melbourne Cup in 1861. The special, which required more than three months of research, also included film footage of the 1897 Melbourne Cup.

HSV7 presented a one-hour Cup Eve special. The program, hosted by Michael Williamson with racing commentator Bill Collins, included newsreel footage of past Melbourne Cup races, dating back to the 1930s, and covered the important races leading up to the current event. The program also featured commentators from local and interstate newspapers with their selections for the day’s races.

Ten years later, the 1970 Melbourne Cup was televised live to interstate viewers but continued to be a delayed telecast within Victoria. ABV2 and ABC regional stations in Victoria presented delayed coverage of the race at 6.00pm and again at 8.00pm. GTV9, which presented a ten-minute Cup preview the night before, also had its delayed coverage at 6.00pm. HSV7 – always keen to get one above its main rival – scheduled its delayed broadcast for 5.55pm. All four Melbourne channels featured the race in their main evening bulletins.

By the time 1980 came around, the telecast of the Melbourne Cup was a major television event. The Ten Network, presenting the Cup coverage for the third year running, started its day’s coverage with a 90-minute preview before crossing to Flemington Racecourse for six hours of live broadcast. The host broadcaster, ATV10, had seventeen cameras placed at strategic points around the track. Their coverage was headed by Phil Gibbs, with races called by Clem Dimsey, with the six-hour telecast also featuring Ray Warren (from TEN10 Sydney), Rob Readings (TVQ0 Brisbane) and John O’Neil (SAS10 Adelaide). Everyday co-host Annette Allison (pictured, below) hosted the fashion and celebrity interviews.

Network Ten’s 1980 coverage was also relayed direct to New Zealand, and remote areas in Australia saw the coverage via ABC through a special arrangement made with Ten. With nationwide coverage, it was at the time reported to being the largest sporting telecast ever undertaken in Australia.

Network Ten continued to cover the Melbourne Cup every year up until 2001. This year’s Melbourne Cup will be broadcast live tomorrow (Tuesday 2 November) through the Seven Network.

Source: TV Times (27 October 1960), The Age (27 October 1960), TV Times (28 October 1970), TV Week (1 November 1980), The Age (30 October 1980)

• 1959: The race that stopped a station

Seven wins ‘09

No real surprises here.  The Seven Network has claimed victory for the 2009 season, based on the 40 weeks of prime-time (6.00pm-12.00am) ratings competition.

It is Seven’s third consecutive year at the top – this year managing an audience share of 28.8%, followed by Nine (26.8%), Ten (22.2%), ABC (16.4%) and SBS (5.9%).  Taking the various networks’ digital channels into account, Seven/7TWO wins on 28.1%, followed by Nine/GO (26.6%), Ten/One (22.4%), ABC1/ABC2 (17.0%), SBS1/SBS2 (5.9%).

Seven’s primary chanel won 34 out of the 40 ratings weeks, though when adding primary and digital channels together, the Nine/GO combination brings Seven/7TWO’s total wins down to 29 weeks.

In the more advertiser-friendly demographics, Seven will claim victory in the 18-49 and 25-54 age groups (although adding Nine + GO will see them just edge ahead in 25-54), while Ten will claim victory in the 16-39 age bracket.

Although Seven continued to maintain strong consistency with its early evening line-up – Deal Or No Deal, Seven News, Today Tonight, Home And Away – and continued to score highly with its weekly drama Packed To The Rafters, there was one series that surprised everyone and created the year’s biggest buzz – Ten’s Masterchef Australia. 

There was a lot of scoffing when Ten announced that it had taken on the Masterchef format to replace Big Brother, but the new show turned around the 7.00pm timeslot for Ten and the grand finale captured a total of 3.726 million viewers (OzTam, 5 cities) – making it the most-watched program for the year, even out-rating the AFL Grand Final (2.878 million), the Melbourne Cup (2.673 million) and the NRL Grand Final (2.528 million).

Ten also managed a surprise hit when it launched Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation in the wake of losing Thank God You’re Here to the Seven Network.  The new Shaun Micallef show returned high figures with an average of 1.601 million viewers over its series, while Thank God You’re Here in its first series on Seven averaged 1.515 million viewers.

The Nine Network had a couple of stand-out hits this year – the second series in the Underbelly franchise (averaging 2.158 million viewers) and two top-rating Hey Hey It’s Saturday reunion specials (2.149 million and 2.213 million).  Nine also scored well with the NRL State Of Origin series (2.121 million average) and the TV Week Logie Awards (1.664 million).

ABC’s best figures came from Midsomer Murders (1.421 million), New Tricks (1.221 million), Spicks And Specks (1.219 million), The Chaser’s War On Everything (1.203 million) and The Gruen Transfer (1.176 million).

The 2010 ratings season starts on Sunday 7 February and continues through to Saturday 27 November, with a two-week break over Easter.  Next year will also mark a significant change in ratings reporting as it will also incorporate time-shift viewing via devices such as VCRs, personal video recorders (PVR) or branded equipment such as Tivo or Foxtel IQ.

It’s Seven in ‘08
Seven wins ‘07

1979: November 3-9

Sammys golden night out
The fourth annual Australian TV and Film Awards, the Sammys, have been presented at Sydney’s Seymour Centre.  Winning the Gold Sammy awards, for excellence in performance during the year, were daytime TV host Mike Walsh and singer and TV presenter Marcia Hines.  For Walsh it is his second Gold Sammy and Hines also won a Sammy for Best Variety Performer.

But the biggest hit of the night was the mini-series Against The Wind, taking out four awards including Best Drama Series, Best Actor in a TV series (Gerard Kennedy) and Best Actress in a TV Series (Kerry McGuire).

1979 Sammy Awards TV category winners Gold (male): Mike Walsh Gold (female): Marcia Hines Chips Rafferty Memorial Award: Stanley Hawes Best Actor in a Single TV Performance: John Hargreaves (A Good Thing Going) Best Actress in a Single TV Performance: Belinda Giblin (Say You Want Me) Best Actor in a TV Series: Gerard Kennedy (Against The Wind) Best Actress in a TV Series: Kerry McGuire (Against The Wind) Best Variety Performer: Marcia Hines Best Drama Series: Against The Wind Best Comedy Program: Neutral Ground (Tickled Pink) Best TV Play: The Plumber Best Variety Program: Hollywood (TV Follies) Best Documentary: The Last Tasmanians Best News Coverage: Pentridge Riot (GTV9 Melbourne) Best Current Affairs Program: 60 Minutes Best Sports Coverage: Australian Open Golf (Nine Network) Best Children’s Series: Top Mates Best Light Entertainment Series: Parkinson In Australia Best Art Direction: Quentin Hole (Ride On Stranger) Best Writer (TV Series): Peter Yeldham (Run From The Morning) Best Writer (TV Play): Peter Weir (The Plumber) Best Editing: Michael Balson (Mutiny On The Western Front) Best Costume Design: Clare Griffin (Against The Wind)

Trapping Lorraine was a piece of cake!
It was Lorraine Bayly’s sweet tooth that led her into being featured on the Seven Network’s This Is Your Life.  TV Times reporter Joanna Parsons and photographer David Murray were asked by the show to invite Bayly (pictured) to an interview while she was in Sydney attending the Sammy Awards.  The interview was to take place in a hotel restaurant where TIYL host Roger Climpson and camera crew would sneak into the restaurant via the kitchen and quietly set up at a table behind Bayly.  The maitre d’hotel would then present Bayly with flowers “sent by the gentleman sitting at the next table.”  Then Bayly would turn around to find Climpson to declare “Lorraine Bayly, This Is Your Life.”  But the plans for the mock interview almost went awry when Bayly suggested the interview be conducted in her hotel room.  It was a quick-thinking Parsons, knowing Bayly’s weakness for chocolate cake, who then responded, “but they have the most wonderful chocolate cake in the restaurant.  Wouldn’t you like to try it?”  Bayly fell for it and the set-up continued as planned.  Bayly then responded, “Do you mean the interview wasn’t really…?”  Parsons assured her that it was still a genuine interview, to be published soon in TV Times.

They’re off!
In the lead-up to the Melbourne Cup, TV Times talks to four of Australia’s top race callers about the ‘race that stops a nation.’  ATV0 race caller Clem Dimsey (pictured) admitted that when he first called the Melbourne Cup for the 0-10 Network last year, he lost a stone in weight due to the tension.  Although Dimsey has called the Melbourne Cup race on a number of prior occasions, last year was the first as part of a nationwide coverage of the race.  Dimsey’s tip for the Melbourne Cup is a New Zealand horse, Kankama.  ABC race caller Joe Brown will notch up a milestone when he calls the Melbourne Cup for the 32nd time, equalling the record set by the late Ken Howard.  “It’s the highlight of the working year,” he says.  Brown has tipped Dulcify for the Melbourne Cup.  Radio 3UZ caller John Russell, who will also call the race for the Macquarie Radio Network and the Nine Network, has called the Melbourne Cup only twice before now but had been the understudy for veteran caller Bert Bryant for 23 years.  Russell is reluctant to give a tip for the big race as he is involved in various phantom race calls involving big prizes, though he does name Dulcify, Kankama and Our Big Gamble as good chances.  The Seven Network and radio 3DB’s Bill Collins will be calling the Melbourne Cup for the 26th time this year, but still admits to getting nerves before the race.  “I still remember the nerves before I called my first cup and the drama still gets to me these days.  The build-up is impossible to resist,” he says.  Collins, nicknamed ‘The Accurate One’, was reluctant to give a cup tip too far in advance but did feel that Dulcify and Double Century should do well.

Briefly…
Many of the staff from Riverside were present for the baptism of Cop Shop’s latest addition, Prudence Jane Marion Benjamin, the daughter of Claire (Louise Philip, pictured) and Tony Benjamin (Greg Ross).  Prudence, played by a baby boy named Zigi Barrett, took to the filming calmly with only a small cry of protest towards the end of filming.  The episode airs this week in Sydney and Melbourne, next week in Brisbane and later in Adelaide.

Three former TV cops, George Mallaby, Leonard Teale and Warwick Randall, have recorded safety messages for Melbourne radio station 3MP.

The Seven Network is negotiating to buy the TV rights to the film Cathy’s Child, the film which won three awards at the recent Sammys.  However, it will be some time before the film appears on TV as it has still yet to be released in cinemas in Perth and many country areas.

ATV0 newsreader Bruce Mansfield likes to dress well.  His current favourite tie is a classy number with a rose motif.  Anyone can buy a similar one, if prepared to pay $75.

Actress Penny Ramsey has made a return to work, after seven years as a full-time housewife and mother of two, as the wife of deputy governor Jim Fletcher (Gerard Maguire) in Prisoner.  The daughter of actress Lois Ramsey has had a varied career, including appearing on The Mavis Bramston Show as a teenager in the ‘60s, hosting a children’s show and appearing in the stage musical Hair.

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor:
”After more than 10 years of journalists using the word “charisma” I have a vague notion of what it means.  Could you ask ABC journalists in Canberra if I have to wait as long to crack on to ‘hiatus’?” W. Murphy, NSW.

“I would like to express my extreme disappointment at the way ABC deprived us of the presentation of the awards at both the State of Origin Australian Rules carnival and the 1979 grand final in Western Australia.  On 6 and 8 October, ABC were good enough to televise the State of Origin matches.  This included something like nine hours of top-class football, and surely, if this was possible an extra half-hour at the conclusion was possible.  When they returned to the studio it was only to show an absolutely pathetic cartoon, The White Seal, or, on the weekend of the WA grand final, a repeat of Countdown.  Remember that country viewers are, unfortunately, stuck with only this one annoying channel.” L. Beaton, WA.

“Lately, I don’t think Prisoner has had its usual quick humour and zest.  This seems to have come about only since the character of Noelene Bourke (Jude Kuring) left the series.  Although she was unpopular, I believe she put the finishing touches to the show.  She and her daughter, Leanne (Tracey-Jo Riley), should be reintroduced.  Having a youngster in the program is a good idea, as it keeps us in contact with the difficulties of the young.” D. Harvey, NSW.

What’s On (November 3-9):
Weekend sport includes the NSW Open Championship Golf, from The Lakes in Sydney, live on ABC.  ATV0’s coverage of the Melbourne Cup Carnival kicks off on Saturday with Michael Williamson hosting the Derby Day Sportsman’s Breakfast, followed by Phil Gibbs and Clem Dimsey’s preview of the Derby Day races and then ATV0 crosses to Flemington for five hours of live coverage of all the day’s races.

GTV9 presents the first in a series of Australian-made specials featuring Ronnie Corbett, of The Two Ronnies.  The special features guest stars Pamela Gibbons, Chris Kirby and June Bronhill.

ATV0’s Melbourne Cup coverage starts with a half-hour special on Monday night followed by a 90-minute preview on Tuesday morning.  At midday, ATV0 crosses to Flemington for five hours coverage of all the day’s races for Melbourne Cup Day.  Phil Gibbs and Michael Schilberger head the coverage, with Annette Allison providing interviews with special guests during the day.  Clem Dimsey calls the day’s races.

Motoring expert Peter Wherrett, host of popular shows Torque and Marque, returns to TV to present a 40-minute special, Torque About A Crisis, on ABC.  Wherrett examines the Federal Government’s campaign to educate drivers about improving the efficiency of their vehicles with proper treatment and improved driving style.

ATV0 presents a repeat of the documentary, The Last Tasmanian, a recent winner at the Sammy Awards.

GTV9’s Friday night movies is ABBA The Movie, the 1977 production featuring the story of a radio disc jockey (played by Robert Hughes) following the pop group on their Australian tour in order to get an interview with them.  The movie also features Tom Oliver, formerly of Number 96 fame.

Sunday night movies: The Hindenburg (HSV7), Nightmare In Badham County (GTV9), Holocaust 2000 (ATV0).  ABC presents the latest in its series of Australian plays, Money In The Bank, starring Tom Richards (Matlock Police), Barbara Stephens and Max Meldrum.

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 3 November 1979.  ABC/ACP

The race that stopped the station

Viewers will tomorrow (Tuesday) take for granted that many major sporting events, such as the Melbourne Cup, will be televised in some form. 

However, this wasn’t always the case.  Even though television flickered on for the first time in Australia in 1956, it would be another 22 years before Melbourne television viewers could see live-to-air the “race that stops a nation.”

Flashback to fifty years ago, Melbourne Cup Day, 3 November 1959.  Live outside broadcasts were certainly possible but live coverage of events like the Melbourne Cup were kept off local television, presumably not to affect attendances at the venues.  But Melbourne’s GTV9 did not let that deter them and they were determined to bring the result of the big race to viewers as soon as they could.

TV Times reported that GTV9 used new Polaroid technology to bring viewers a photo of the winning horse crossing the finish line a mere 2 minutes and 54 seconds after it occurred – a far cry from the half-hour it took to achieve the same feat the year before.

GTV9 newsman Peter Maund described the process:

“We filmed the whole race on closed circuit TV, which was being videotaped in the studios, to be shown later.  Cameraman Mike Browning took a picture with the Polaroid camera as the finish appeared on a monitor set.  He mounted it on a card and we interrupted another program to flash it on the screen.”

HSV7 screened film of the Melbourne Cup race at 6.00pm and then, after the news, at 6.45pm screened Melbourne Cup Cavalcade, a documentary showing Cup runners in the mounting enclosure, full running of the race, presentation of the Cup and other highlights.  The 15-minute program was repeated late that night.  ABV2 had a Melbourne Cup special edition of its regular program Sports Page at 8.30pm. 

Later that night a stroke of luck meant that the winning jockey, Pat Glennon, was able to appear in the studio on GTV9’s In Melbourne Tonight to receive the traditional gold-mounted riding whip and then went to the studios of HSV7’s Bandwagon to be presented with a miniature Melbourne Cup.  His original plan was “win or lose” to fly back to Adelaide as soon as the race was over as he’d promised to be home for his son’s eighth birthday.  It was a disappointment for GTV9’s promotions executive Eric Welch who had hoped to have the winning jockey on In Melbourne Tonight that night.

However, against 100-to-1 odds, his horse Macdougal won the race and his wife, thrilled at his second Cup win, had quickly boarded a plan from Adelaide to be with him.  The pilot was able to radio a message to Melbourne to be passed on to Glennon.  “I was just leaving for Essendon (Airport) when the message came through,” he said.  He was then able to do the late-night rounds of the two TV channels.

Melbourne viewers would continue to be denied live coverage of the Melbourne Cup race, although interstate viewers would eventually be allowed to watch it live. Even the advent of ATV0 in 1964, and the channel’s owner Reg Ansett having a love of horse racing, was not able to persuade any change despite the new channel pioneering live coverage of weekly race meetings from around Victoria.  On Melbourne Cup Day, 3 November 1964, ATV0 did devote five hours of programming to previews of the day’s event but was still precluded from covering the race itself.

Then in 1978 Ansett finally managed to score live coverage rights to the Melbourne Cup Carnival, incorporating four days of live coverage including Melbourne Cup Day.

ATV0 and its successor ATV10 maintained the annual coverage of the Carnival until 2001.  The Seven Network had taken over the rights to the Melbourne Cup from 2002.

Source: TV Times (Melbourne edition), 30 October 1959, 13 November 1959.

The 2009 Melbourne Cup Carnival: Melbourne Cup Day.  Tuesday 3 November, 10.00am AEDST.  Seven*

* HSV7 Melbourne.  Other areas/timezones, check local guides