Wikipedia

Seven Sharp

Seven Sharp is a half-hour-long New Zealand current affairs programme produced by Television New Zealand. The programme was created after the discontinuation of Close Up. It broadcasts at 7 pm (straight after 1 News at Six) every weekday on TVNZ 1. Seven Sharp typically presents 3 stories within a 30-minute timeslot every weeknight,[2] and is designed to be more integrated with social media and real time opinions than its predecessor.

Seven Sharp
Presented by
Country of originNew Zealand
Original languageEnglish
No. of series6
No. of episodes1560 (as of 30 October 2019)
Production
Executive producerPaul Moor[1]
ProducerAndrew Hallberg
Editors
  • Sam Thomas
  • Kirsten Bolam
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time30 minutes (with commercials)
Production companyTVNZ
Original release
NetworkTVNZ 1
Release4 February 2013 (2013-02-04) –
present
Related
Close Up

Seven Sharp also shares its time slot with sister channel TVNZ 2's drama Shortland Street, and Prime's The Crowd Goes Wild.

The show is currently presented by Hilary Barry and Jeremy Wells.[3] Toni Street and Mike Hosking left the show in December 2017. Previous fill-in presenters have included Pippa Wetzell, Melissa Stokes, Sam Wallace, Tim Wilson, Carolyn Robinson, Erin Conroy, Stacey Morrison, Heather du Plessis-Allan, Te Radar, Clarke Gayford, Tāmati Coffey, Matt Gibb, Chris Cairns, Brendon Pongia and Rose Matafeo. On one occasion, American actor Rob Schneider appeared as co-host.

The show's primary sponsor is ASB Bank.[4]

Panelists edit

 
Former logo
Presenter Role Tenure
Hilary Barry Presenter 2018–
Jeremy Wells Presenter 2018–
Toni Street Backup presenter 2018-
Presenter 2014–2017
Anika Moa Backup presenter 2018
Mike Hosking Presenter 2014–2017
Pippa Wetzell Backup presenter 2015–
Melissa Stokes Backup presenter 2016–
Nadine Chalmers-Ross (now Higgins) Backup presenter 2015
Jesse Mulligan Presenter 2013–2014
Alison Mau Presenter 2013[5]
Greg Boyed Presenter 2013[6]

History edit

Series 1 (2013) edit

Seven Sharp premiered on 4 February 2013, with Alison Mau, Jesse Mulligan and Greg Boyed at the desk. The episode featured an interview with Josh Groban and a tour of Prime Minister John Key's office. There are 230 episodes in the first series.

Ratings fell to just under 401,000 viewers for the second episode on 5 February,[citation needed] and hovered between 300,000 and 400,000 for the next week. On 12 February, Campbell Live beat Seven Sharp in the ratings with Campbell Live gaining 346,850 viewers compared to Seven Sharp only gaining 290,710 viewers. This was the first time Campbell Live had ever gained a higher audience than TV One for the 7 pm–7:30 pm timeslot.[7]

Greg Boyed left the show on 6 September, and returned to hosting Tonight.[8]

Alison Mau left on the final episode of the series, to host a show on Radio Live with Willie Jackson from noon to 3 pm on weekdays.

Series 2 (2014) edit

The second series of Seven Sharp premiered on 27 January 2014 with Mike Hosking, Toni Street, and Jesse Mulligan at the desk,[9] and has 230 episodes.

On 7 February, there was no episode because the IRB Sevens was aired in the timeslot.

On 8 April, the show gained just over 500,000 viewers – the first time the audience number has gone above that of the debut episode.[citation needed]

Jesse Mulligan left the Seven Sharp panel on 17 April, and TVNZ announced that it wouldn't hire another host. This changed the show from the three-presenter format it had held since its inception to a two-presenter format.

On 18 April there was no episode because it was Good Friday (despite an episode being aired on Good Friday in 2013).

On 28 August, 5 September, and 17 September, Seven Sharp was not aired, instead, the 7 pm timeslot was used to broadcast the One News leaders' debates regarding the 2014 New Zealand general election, moderated by Seven Sharp host Mike Hosking. The first debate was between current Prime Minister John Key and Leader of the Opposition David Cunliffe,[10] the second between the leaders of eight minor parties,[11] and the third between Key and Cunliffe.[12]

Series 3 (2015) edit

The third series of Seven Sharp premiered on 2 February 2015,[13] and has 229 episodes.[14]

On 6 February, there was no episode because the IRB Sevens was aired in the timeslot.

While Street was on maternity leave in mid-2015, her position was filled by Pippa Wetzell on Mondays–Thursdays and Nadine Chalmers-Ross (now Higgins) on Fridays.

Series 4 (2016) edit

The fourth series of Seven Sharp premiered on 1 February 2016,[15] and has 231 episodes.

On 25 March, there was no episode because it was Good Friday.[citation needed]

Series 5 (2017) edit

The fifth series of Seven Sharp premiered on 7 February 2017,[16] and has 217 episodes.

No episodes aired on 14 or 17 April due to Easter. There was also no episode on 5 June due to Queen's Birthday.

On 31 August, 8 September, and 20 September, Seven Sharp was not aired, instead, the 7 pm timeslot will be used to broadcast the 1 News leaders' debates regarding the 2017 New Zealand general election, moderated by Seven Sharp host Mike Hosking. The first debate was between current Prime Minister Bill English and Leader of the Opposition Jacinda Ardern, the second between the leaders of minor parties, and the third between English and Ardern.[17] Hoskings' appointment as the moderator was controversial; a 76,000 petition to remove him as moderator was signed and delivered to TVNZ's head of news and current affairs John Gillespie.[18] Due to Hosking's illness, Corin Dann moderated the minor party debate.[19]

There was no episode on 23 October for Labour Day.

On 14 December (during the year's penultimate episode), Street and Hosking announced that they would be leaving Seven Sharp at the end of year due to their breakfast radio commitments.[20]

Series 6 (2018) edit

The sixth series of Seven Sharp premiered on 5 February 2018, with new hosts Hilary Barry and Jeremy Wells,[3] and has 226 episodes. In April 2018, a house was burnt down live on air with the goal of teaching people about fire safety. Lucas de Jong and camera operators remained inside when the fire was lit.[21]

Series 7 (2019) edit

The seventh series of Seven Sharp premiered on 21 January 2019, and has 197 episodes (as of 30 October 2019).

2023 edit

On the episode of 15 August 2023 in collaboration with Fire and Emergency New Zealand, a controlled house fire was carried with the purpose of teaching viewers about dangers of lithium-ion batteries and how quickly fires spread, it was started from an electric scooter. The house was in Levin, and was designated for demolition before the broadcast.[22][23][24]

Reception edit

Seven Sharp was criticised around its inception for its new format, with some media commentators saying that "TVNZ [had exchanged Close Up's] current affairs for a mess of pottage".[25]

References edit

  1. ^ "Seven Sharp – Credits". NZ On Air. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  2. ^ "Seven Sharp – out to redefine cutting edge". The New Zealand Herald. 30 January 2013. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  3. ^ a b Rutledge, Daniel (31 January 2018). "Jeremy Wells confirmed as Mike Hosking replacement on Seven Sharp". Newshub. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  4. ^ "It's Seven Sharp for ASB". 9 June 2016. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  5. ^ "Alison Mau to leave Seven Sharp". 17 December 2013.
  6. ^ "Greg Boyed announces he is leaving Seven Sharp". (video)
  7. ^ "Campbell Live beats TV One – first time ever – Business – NZ Herald News". The New Zealand Herald. 13 February 2013.
  8. ^ "Greg Boyed quits Seven Sharp". Stuff. 4 September 2013. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  9. ^ "Alison Mau leaves Seven Sharp as Hosking and Street sign on". The New Zealand Herald. 17 December 2013. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  10. ^ "Hi guys, don't forget we're off air tonight because of the first ONE News leaders debate between John Key and David Cunliffe with Mike moderating". 28 August 2014. Retrieved 28 August 2014 – via Facebook. Hi guys, don't forget we're off air tonight because of the first ONE News leaders debate between John Key and David Cunliffe with Mike moderating. We'll be back as usual tomorrow at 7pm. In the meantime we're keen for your feedback on the debate while it's happening, and when it's all done you can hop onto Vote Compass on tvnz.co.nz/votecompass and assess who performed better. {{cite web}}: External link in |quote= (help)
  11. ^ "As it happened: ONE News Multi-Party Leaders Debate". TVNZ. 5 September 2014. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
  12. ^ "As it happened: Final Leaders Debate – John Key vs David Cunliffe". TVNZ. 17 September 2014. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  13. ^ Casserly, Paul (3 February 2015). "The return of Seven Sharp and Campbell Live". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  14. ^ "Watch Seven Sharp Episodes - TVNZ OnDemand". TVNZ On Demand. Archived from the original on 3 May 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  15. ^ "Watch Seven Sharp Episodes". TVNZ. Archived from the original on 29 February 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  16. ^ "Seven Sharp – Timeline". Facebook. 1 February 2017. Retrieved 8 March 2017. We're back next Tuesday
  17. ^ "TVNZ's election leaders debate dates and coverage team for September's vote revealed". 1 News Now. 10 August 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  18. ^ Bamber, Shaun (30 August 2017). "Petition from 76,000 not enough to remove Mike Hosking as TVNZ debate moderator". Stuff. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
  19. ^ "Mike Hosking too unwell to host TVNZ's second debate". Stuff. 7 September 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  20. ^ "Mike Hosking, Toni Street leaving Seven Sharp". Newshub. 14 December 2017. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  21. ^ Mitchell, Kirsty Lawrence and Paul (30 April 2018). "Children walk through house about to burn down". Stuff. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  22. ^ "Seven Sharp Live House Burn | The Portal". portal.fireandemergency.nz. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  23. ^ "Watch: Seven Sharp burns down a house live on-air". One News. Archived from the original on 15 August 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  24. ^ "Fenz prepares to burn house down". NZ Herald. 16 August 2023. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  25. ^ "TVNZ exchanges current affairs for a mess of pottage at 7pm". Retrieved 25 October 2016.
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