Shark Tank (Australian TV series)
Shark Tank was an Australian reality competition television series that premiered on 8 February 2015 and aired until 7 August 2018 on Network Ten, in which aspiring entrepreneur-contestants made business presentations to a panel of "Shark" investors.[1] Shark Tank was filmed at Fox Studios Australia.
| Shark Tank | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Reality |
| Directed by | Randall Churchill |
| Presented by | Sarah Harris |
| Starring |
|
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 54 |
| Production | |
| Production location(s) | Sydney, New South Wales |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Shine Australia |
| Release | |
| Original network | Network Ten |
| Picture format | 576i (SDTV) 1080i (HDTV) (2016-2018) |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Original release | 8 February 2015 – 7 August 2018 |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Four seasons of the program were aired. It was announced on 31 October 2018 that the show would not return for a fifth season.[2]
Season overview
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season premiere | Season finale | ||
| 1 | 15 | 8 February 2015 | 7 June 2015 |
| 2 | 13 | 8 May 2016 | 7 July 2016 |
| 3 | 13 | 20 June 2017 | 19 September 2017 |
| 4 | 13 | 15 May 2018 | 7 August 2018 |
Overview
Hosted by Sarah Harris, the show featured a panel of multimillionaire investors called "Sharks" who listened to entrepreneurs pitch businesses or products they wished to develop. If one or more Sharks were interested, investment deals could be made on the show. However, if all sharks declined, contestants left with nothing. A 2018 investigation by Fairfax Media revealed that during the 2017 season, fifty pitches resulted in twenty-seven deals, of which only four actually closed.[3]
Shark Tank has been described as demonstrating "the drama of pitch meetings and the interaction between the entrepreneurs and tycoons."[4] Sharks were compensated for their participation but invested their own money.[5]
History
Shark Tank was the second Australian series to be based on the show format. A previous unsuccessful adaptation, Dragons' Den (2005), aired on the Seven Network.[6]
Shark Tank premiered on 8 February 2015 and aired 15 episodes through to 7 June 2015 with a regular timeslot of 8:00pm Sunday. It was renewed for a second season in the season finale. Season 2 premiered in 2016 with Glen Richards replacing John McGrath as a panelist. The series was renewed for a third season that began airing on 20 June 2017.[7]
Timeline of sharks
| Sharks | Seasons | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| Current | ||||
| Steve Baxter (Internet pioneer) |
Main | |||
| Janine Allis (Boost Juice) |
Main | |||
| Andrew Banks (Talent2) |
Main | |||
| Naomi Simson (RedBalloon) |
Main | |||
| Glen Richards (Greencross Vets)[8] |
Main | |||
| Former | ||||
| John McGrath (McGrath Estate Agents) |
Main | |||
Season ratings
| Season | Timeslot | Episodes | Premiere | Finale | Season Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday 8:00pm | 15 | 8 February 2015 | 7 June 2015 | 649,000 | |
| Various | 13 | 8 May 2016 | 7 July 2016 | 568,000 | |
| Various | 13 | 20 June 2017 | 19 September 2017 | 530,000 | |
| Tuesday 8:30pm | 13 | 15 May 2018 | 7 August 2018 | 522,000 |
References
- Knox, David (1 September 2014). "TEN confirms Shark Tank for 2015". TV Tonight. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
- Lallo, Michael (31 October 2018). "Network Ten in 2019: What's new, what's returning, what's gone?". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
- Waters, Cara (17 May 2018). "'I'm out': Shark Tank bites fail to net deal once show goes to air". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
- Lewis, Hilary (31 March 2009). "ABC To Humiliate Entrepreneurs On National TV". Business Insider (Australia). Archived from the original on 10 April 2013. Retrieved 21 March 2013.
- Ten, Network. "About - Shark Tank". TenPlay - About - Shark Tank. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
- Lee, Ada (29 January 2015). "Reality TV show Shark Tank is where entrepreneurs sink or swim". The Sydney Morning Herald.
- Knox, David (29 January 2015). "Returning: Shark Tank 2017". TV Tonight.
- Knox, David (2 November 2015). "New Shark enters TEN's Tank". TV Tonight. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
External links
- Shark Tank on IMDb