The resulting disruption meant regular prime-time news and current affairs shows were swapped for repeats, upending ABC’s usual scheduling and disappointing loyal viewers used to tuning in for live national bulletins and flagship interviews. The strike saw familiar shows swapped out for reruns, with BBC content filling daytime schedules and repeat episodes of Australian Story and Hard Quiz airing during high-profile evening slots. Audience numbers paint a stark picture of the impact. In Melbourne, ABC’s 7pm viewership collapsed from 222,000 to 55,000 for the repeat, with a small uptick to 77,000 for Hard Quiz, still far below its usual audience. Sydney saw numbers at 7pm drop by over two-thirds to just 32,000, with the later quiz show pulling in only about half its usual viewers.

Source: Los Angeles Times March 26, 2026 14:36 UTC