After months of negotiations, the Nine Network has won the broadcasting rights for this year’s ARIA Awards.
Longtime broadcaster Ten ditched the telecast due to its million-dollar production costs, and there was some early speculation that it may go to pay TV.
The Nine deal also includes a weekly ARIA singles chart countdown, to be launched later this year. Because goodness knows with Rage, Video Hits, and Eclipse we need another video clips program on free-to-air television.
But it is good news that the ARIAs aren’t leaving our television screens. We’ve lost so many award shows to pay TV in the past, including the Grammys and the AMAs, so I’m thankful for whatever we get. It also seems likely that the Channel Ten contracted Rove won’t be hosting again, which is also a wonderful thing.