Channel 7 poaches Peter Helliar to host new weekly AFL footy program * Colin Vickery
* Herald Sun
* January 16, 2010 THE TV footy show wars have exploded with Channel 7 poaching comedian Peter Helliar to host a new weekly AFL footy entertainment program.
Seven is tipped to screen Helliar's as yet unnamed show in a 7.30pm or 8.30pm midweek timeslot - before rival The Footy Show on Nine.
Nine wants to answer the challenge by moving The Footy Show to 8.30pm Thursdays this year - an hour earlier than its usual 9.30pm start.
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"There's a strong consideration that we'll go at 8.30pm," Nine Melbourne's program director Len Downs said.
Securing Helliar is a coup for Seven. The popular comedian only became available after the demise of Rove on Ten.
Helliar's weekly live one-hour show will include pre-recorded comedy skits, interviews, match footage, a "heroes and villains" segment and even footy street parties. There will be no footy panel.
In a shock, Helliar won't be doing his popular comic creation, Collingwood-wannabe Strauchanie, on his new show. Instead, he will introduce three or four new comedy characters.
"It is time for a fresh start to create some new characters. I would like it to be a very family-friendly show," an excited Helliar said.
Former Richmond great Matthew Richardson will feature prominently as Helliar's sidekick in Seven's new show. Richardson was one of the most popular panellists on The Footy Show.
"The warmth of Pete Helliar and Matthew Richardson will light up the studio and the audience," executive producer Rick McKenna (Kath & Kim) says.
Helliar's show is another challenge for The Footy Show, which has been embroiled in controversy in recent years.
Over the past five years its average Melbourne audience has shrunk from 463,000 viewers to 386,000 per week.
Women, especially, have deserted the show, particularly since Sam Newman's infamous mannequin incident in 2008. In its heyday, The Footy Show averaged more than 300,000 female viewers per week, but that has dropped to fewer than 200,000.
McKenna says there will be a significant female presence on Helliar's new show.
Newman was unfazed when told of Seven's rival show. Seven's previous prime-time football shows, Live and Kicking and Four Quarters, have had mixed fortunes.
"I wish them (Seven) well. It's obviously an exciting time for them. The more times you have a go at it (creating a footy TV show), the more likely you are to succeed," he said.
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