Nine pulls Château DIY Australia from 9Life schedule just six days before launch – Nine has made a late change to its 9Life schedule, pulling brand new local series Château DIY Australia less than a week before launch.
The five-part series had been set to premiere on Tuesday, 14 July on 9Life. Instead, Castle Impossible will now take its place in the timeslot.
Late change for new local series
The move stands out because Château DIY Australia is not simply another acquired lifestyle title. Nine announced the program as a new Australian version of the well-known Château DIY format.
The series also formed part of Nine’s broader content slate for the year.
Château DIY Australia follows Australians who move to France to restore historic châteaux. The format looks at the dream, the cost and the reality of major renovation projects in the French countryside.
Networks often adjust schedules. However, pulling a brand new local commission just six days before broadcast marks a much bigger programming shift.
The original 9Life placement also raised eyebrows. With a local production angle and a clear lifestyle audience, the series looked like a possible main channel option.
Nine has not confirmed the reason for the change.
It may simply be a schedule adjustment. It may also suggest the network is reconsidering where the series should sit. A move to the main channel would make sense on paper, but Nine has not verified that.
For now, Château DIY Australia no longer appears in its planned 9Life launch slot.
Its future broadcast date remains unclear.
Wimbledon pre-show missing in Melbourne and Perth
In another unusual Nine scheduling decision, Melbourne and Perth viewers will miss out on the Wimbledon 2026 pre-show this Friday night.
With Wimbledon nearing its conclusion, the pre-show would have made sense as a lead-in for tennis fans. However, Nine has not included it in the Melbourne or Perth schedules.
The Perth decision appears especially strange. Nine will air a repeat of Taronga: Who’s Who in the Zoo instead of using the slot for the Wimbledon build-up.
On first look, NRL coverage on 9Gem limits some room in the schedule. Even so, Nine has several multichannels available.
There also appeared to be other options.
In Melbourne, Nine could have moved the Harry Potter movie to a 7pm start. That would have opened a later slot for the Wimbledon pre-show.
Alternatively, Nine could have shifted the pre-show to another channel.
Instead, Melbourne and Perth viewers will go straight into the main Wimbledon coverage.
A strange week of Nine scheduling
Taken together, the Château DIY Australia change and the Wimbledon pre-show omission point to a strange week of programming decisions from Nine.
The Château DIY Australia move is the bigger story. It involves a brand new local series leaving the schedule just days before launch.
The Wimbledon decision also raises questions about how Nine uses its multichannel space during one of the biggest sporting weeks of the year.
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