7Mate video games program ScreenPLAY surprised fans yesterday afternoon with the abrupt announcement that the show had been cancelled, citing “commercial realities in TV” as the reason for its demise.
The announcement thread from the official ScreenPLAY twitter account can be read in full here, but we’ve embedded the first one for you below:
screenMATES!
We wanted to say to you all how incredible you’ve been supporting our show since the very beginning. But the time has come to say goodbye. #screenPLAYau pic.twitter.com/Qco7K4FhSI
— screenPLAY (@screenPLAYau) April 30, 2018
The same farewell message was reposted by many of the show’s cast and crew.
ScreenPLAY’s cancellation comes only a year after its premiere on 7Mate. ScreenPLAY began life embroiled in controversy after former Good Game hosts Stephanie Bendixsen and Nich Richardson announced they were leaving the long-running ABC program for the commercial network. The ABC, apparently seeing an opportunity to dismantle a perfectly good thing, quickly cancelled Good Game.
If Aunty’s goal was to tar and feather Bendixsen and Richardson on their way out the door, it backfired. Good Game Spawn Point, the show that remained after the duo’s departure, continues to thrive. Bendixsen and Richardson, along with new ScreenPLAY host Miles Ross, remain respected voices in the Australian games community. They took their fledgling show and built an audience across multiple platforms with energy, candour, good humour and what appeared on the outside to be pretty minimal network support.
There’s no word yet on whether ScreenPLAY will continue to air or upload any programs they’ve already shot, nor whether Seven will allow the existing YouTube channel to live on beyond cancellation.
We send our love to everyone from the ScreenPLAY team, wish them the very best for the future and thank them sincerely for all their hard work.
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