TV networks gear up for an election night showdown
Amid a campaign shaped by the rise of political influencers, the stakes this election are high for both candidates and the media companies covering them.
As the election campaign draws to a close, the travelling press pack and broader political class have already branded it one of the dullest in recent memory. But at the nation’s largest TV networks, producers are holding out hope for a frenzy of election night action.
Election day coverage remains one of the last main events of the TV era outside sport. The nation’s biggest networks — ABC, Nine, Seven and, depending on who you ask, Sky News Australia — still dedicate massive resources to coverage throughout the day and deep into the night, as seats fall and talking heads spill blood while turning publicly on their colleagues.
On the heels of a campaign marked by the rise of political influencers and a steady audience drift from legacy media to social platforms, the stakes are high for both candidates and the media companies covering them. The networks head into Saturday with something to prove: that TV remains the best place to watch the election unfold.
In Canberra, the usual cast of current and former politicians, lobbyists and journalists are already digging for election-night information. A pulseless five-week campaign has left exhausted reporters and operatives hungry for gossip.
