Channel 7 still without late news more than a year after axing THE LATEST

Seven helped spur the commercial return of late-night news in Australia when it launched The Latest from 7 News — yet more than a year after the bulletin disappeared, there’s still no clear replacement.

TV Blackbox exclusively revealed in January 2025 that Seven would not be returning its late-night bulletin, which had already undergone several changes including a shift in production to the network’s Perth studios.

Originally developed under founding executive producer Sean Power, The Latest launched in 2018 as a sharper late-night alternative to traditional bulletins, combining breaking news with analysis and discussion from a rotating panel of guests.

However, the program’s format gradually shifted in later years, particularly after production moved to Perth with a new presenting line-up as part of broader cost-saving measures within the network’s news division.

At the time, the network sought to downplay our reporting, framing the situation as a possible change in format rather than the end of late news, telling TV Blackbox:

“It would be wrong to suggest there won’t be a late-night news bulletin on Seven,” adding, “We’re just considering our options as to what it might look like.”

However, more than a year on, no regular late bulletin has ever returned to the schedule.

Instead, Seven appears to schedule late updates only when significant news events warrant it, including this week as tensions involving Iran escalated, while also experimenting with digital-first formats such as the short-lived The World with Hugh Whitfeld.

When asked this week about the network’s long-term plans for late news, including whether a regular bulletin is still being developed, a spokesperson did not directly address the questions we put forward, instead stating:

“7NEWS is critical to Seven and our newly merged business. We remain focused on delivering Australia’s most-watched news and trusted journalism, while continuing to explore opportunities and formats that strengthen our coverage.”

Seven spokesperson

Launched in late 2018 and originally anchored by Michael Usher from Seven’s Sydney newsroom, The Latest marked the return of a commercial late-night news bulletin in Australia and quickly prompted rival networks to introduce their own late updates.

Channel 9 soon launched a competing late bulletin, while Network 10 later revived its long-running 10 Late News, recently expanding the program to an hour and regularly bringing it forward in the schedule, sometimes as early as 9:30pm.

Today, Seven is the only network across both the commercial and public broadcasters without a regular late-night news bulletin — a space long dominated by ABC and SBS after the commercial networks abandoned it.

The decision not to return The Latest in 2025 is understood to have been made under former news director Anthony De Ceglie, before his departure triggered a leadership change inside Seven’s news division.

His tenure saw several controversial changes to the network’s output, including the axing of popular presenters such as Sharyn Ghidella, along with experiments with astrology and satire segments that failed to resonate with audiences.

Ray Kuka, previously Seven’s Perth news director and deputy director of news and current affairs, now oversees the network’s national news and current affairs operations.

Industry sources say the late bulletin’s absence is also likely linked to the changing economics of television news, particularly as networks continue to face declining advertising revenue.

With Seven’s 6pm bulletins consistently dominating the ratings — driven largely by strong audiences in Western Australia and regional markets — the network can win the night without a late bulletin, making the additional cost harder to justify.

This comes as Seven navigates broader structural changes following its merger with Southern Cross Austereo to form Southern Cross Media, alongside the sudden departure of chief executive Jeff Howard just last week.

I asked fellow TV Blackbox co-owner and Media McKnight host Rob McKnight (pictured above) why he thinks Seven has yet to restore a regular late news bulletin.

“Things are changing very quickly when it comes to network spending, mainly because advertising revenue continues to fall,” McKnight said.

“Unless a network gives a late news a consistent time slot there’s no real point in doing it. Not only does it cost money — although its costs are usually small and manipulated to look like it costs nothing on paper — it doesn’t actually achieve anything because it can’t be appointment viewing without a proper time slot.”

McKnight, who has worked across all three commercial networks including Seven, says the appetite for late bulletins often differs between newsroom teams and those responsible for scheduling.

“Newsrooms are always keen for a late news but programmers just don’t care,” he said.

“A proper late news could work, but there’s just no appetite from those in charge to put resources into projects like this any more.”

For now, Seven’s late news presence appears limited to occasional bulletins when major stories break, while the network continues to say it is exploring what future formats might look like.