Channel Seven has presented its Melbourne upfronts programming line-up, leaving questions over the futures of two of its biggest stars, Sonia Kruger and Chris Brown.
The upfronts are annual spring events at which TV networks reveal their coming year's programs to media, sponsors and advertisers. Seven held the Melbourne leg at Ormond Hall on Thursday under its new Seven Media Group branding, which follows the merger of its television assets with Southern Cross Austereo.
Talent from across the combined TV and audio business gathered in the room, including chief executive Rohan Lund, Sunrise host Matt Shirvington, Fox FM's Fifi Box and game show host Larry Emdur. The Age's CBD column describes Ricki-Lee Coulter as the network's new golden girl, with hosting duties on Australian Idol and I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!, and says Jim Jefferies has added the I'm A Celebrity co-hosting role to his work on The 1% Club.
"Everyone on our network is a star. I think in this case, they were just the right people for the job," Angus Ross, Seven's managing director of TV and streaming, said.
But the column suggests the stocks of Kruger and Brown are cooling, with both having surprisingly little on their plates for the year ahead. Kruger, a former Gold Logie winner, and Brown, who joined Seven in July 2023, co-hosted Dancing With the Stars, but that show is on the shelf for 2027. Brown's My Reno Rules is not coming back, and Seven is yet to confirm whether The Voice, which Kruger hosted, will go ahead next year.
Ross said Kruger was still part of the Seven family and one of the great hosts of Australian television. He said the network was looking at how to potentially bring The Voice into the schedule and, for 2028, Dancing With the Stars, while also looking at different production models for those shows. “They're both very expensive programs, but if they come back, Sonia will definitely be involved,” he said.
Brown's only screen offering next year is Once in a Lifetime, an animal show filmed more than a year ago. Ross said Seven had already had conversations with Brown about how to bring it back if it did the numbers in the ratings. Brown will host breakfast radio in Sydney for ARN-owned KIIS in 2027.
Analysis
Why it matters
- The decisions on The Voice, Dancing With the Stars and Once in a Lifetime will shape Seven's prime-time schedule for the next two years.
- The treatment of two of Australian television's highest-profile hosts signals how the merged Seven Media Group is allocating talent and production budgets.
- The line-up also matters to advertisers and sponsors, who use the announced programs to plan their media spending.
Background
Seven's annual upfronts, held each spring, are the occasion when the network presents its coming year's programming to media, sponsors and advertisers. The company recently merged its television assets with Southern Cross Austereo to become Seven Media Group, combining its TV broadcast and audio businesses under one roof.
What to watch
- Whether Seven confirms The Voice for next year, after Ross said the network was still looking at how to bring it into the schedule.
- The ratings performance of Chris Brown's Once in a Lifetime, which Ross said would determine whether it returns.
- Any announcement about Dancing With the Stars returning in 2028 under a different production model.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 12 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedSeven’s new line-up raises questions over the futures of Sonia Kruger and Chris Brown.The Age - Latest News: “the glossy offering has left questions hanging over the future of two of its biggest stars.”
- SupportedRicki-Lee Coulter and Jim Jefferies are prominent in Seven’s coming line-up.The Age - Latest News: “It would seem Ricki-Lee Coulter is very much the new golden girl at Seven”
- SupportedSeven is considering the future of The Voice and Dancing With the Stars.The Age - Latest News: ““We are still looking at how we can potentially bring The Voice into the schedule and [for 2028] Dancing With the Stars, but we are looking at different production models for those shows.””
- SupportedSeven held the Melbourne leg of its annual upfronts presentation at Ormond Hall on Thursday.The Age - Latest News: “talent from both sides of the divide came together for Thursday’s roadshow at Ormond Hall, off St Kilda Road.”
- SupportedThe upfronts are annual spring events where TV networks reveal the coming year’s programs to media, sponsors and advertisers.The Age - Latest News: “The upfronts are events that take place annually in spring at which TV networks, including Nine, the owner of this masthead, reveal their line-up of programs for the year to come to media, sponsors and advertisers.”
- SupportedSeven’s television assets merged with Southern Cross Austereo, and talent from its TV and audio businesses attended the event.The Age - Latest News: “following the merger between its TV assets and Southern Cross Austereo, is in its new guise a TV broadcast and audio business, and talent from both sides of the divide came together”
- SupportedAngus Ross said, “Everyone on our network is a star. I think in this case, they were just the right people for the job.”The Age - Latest News: ““Everyone on our network is a star. I think in this case, they were just the right people for the job,” Angus Ross, managing director of TV and streaming for Seven, told CBD.”
- SupportedRicki-Lee Coulter is hosting Australian Idol and I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!The Age - Latest News: “Ricki-Lee Coulter is very much the new golden girl at Seven, with hosting duties on Australian Idol and I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here!”
- SupportedJim Jefferies has added the I’m A Celebrity co-hosting role to his work on The 1% Club.The Age - Latest News: “after adding the family-friendly I’m A Celebrity co-hosting gig to his work as host of The 1% Club”
- SupportedSonia Kruger and Chris Brown have surprisingly little on their plates for the year ahead.The Age - Latest News: “Both have surprisingly little on their respective plates for the year ahead.”
- SupportedKruger and Brown co-hosted Dancing With the Stars, which is on the shelf for 2027.The Age - Latest News: “The pair co-hosted Dancing With the Stars, but that show is on the shelf for 2027.”
- SupportedSeven has yet to confirm whether The Voice will go ahead next year, and Ross said Kruger would be involved if the show returned.The Age - Latest News: “Seven is yet to confirm if The Voice, which Kruger hosted, will go ahead next year. “They’re both very expensive programs, but if they come back, Sonia will definitely be involved.””