Nine denies The Summit on the brink | TV Tonight

Network pushes back against media headlines over its latest series, which is part of a bigger play for IP in its content.

Nine network has denied a report claiming The Summit “is officially on the chopping block amid poor ratings and astronomical production costs.”

Daily Mail quoted an unnamed network insider stating “The show wasn’t worth the headaches that came with it to be honest. At this stage, it won’t be recommissioned for a second season.”

It also claimed producers recreated the ending, after flying the cast down from the mountain for a week, waiting for weather to subside, then flying them back to the top to recreate the ending.

Nine sources told TV Tonight while there may have been periods waiting for safe weather to film, it did not fly cast down and recreate the ending.

Nine is indeed yet to make a decision on a second season, having been averaging 720,000 in VOZ numbers, but remains optimistic about international format sales for the show developed with Endemol Shine Australia.

The Summit is part of a larger play by Nine in having IP in its new formats, joining shows such as Parental Guidance, The Block and the upcoming travel adventure series Rush. The article also suggested Nine was now “apprehensive” about screening series Rush, but sources dismissed that suggestion, saying the network was in the business of creating new content.

Nine programmer Hamish Turner recently told TV Tonight, “From a business perspective, having IP ownership and being able to control those rights, and exploitation of those is really important. We know content is king, but if you’re not owning the content, then you’re probably not going to be left with much at the end of the day.”

Last night Nine unveiled its first promo for Rush, coming soon and hosted by David Genat.

The Summit reaches its finale episode 7pm on Sunday.