One hour news service rumoured as Channel 7's Sydney and Melbourne news bulletins come under pressure Helen Kapalos' stumbling performance on Today Tonight during the leadership spill added to Today Tonight's woes. WHAT can Channel 7 possibly do to turn around the poor ratings for its nightly 6pm news bulletin and Today Tonight in Sydney and Melbourne? That is the question TV insiders are asking after a week in which Today Tonight host Helen Kapalos had a nightmare experience during Wednesday night's coverage of the Labor leadership challenge and Melissa Doyle left Sunrise to front what Seven calls 'a new Network news initiative'. Rivals are convinced that Seven is Channel 7 is considering a return to the merged one-hour news and public affairs bulletin it tested over summer. Seven had a special extended post-leadership spill one-hour bulletin last night. There are also suggestions that Seven could mount an upscale 7pm news service on its 7Two digital channel to challenge the ABC. TV insiders say that Doyle's 'new Network news initiative' could be a revamped 6pm bulletin on Seven in Sydney or the rumoured 7pm national bulletin on 7Two. "The network declines to comment," Seven spokesperson Susan Wood says of the one hour bulletin rumours Melissa Doyle's departure from Sunrise has fuelled speculation about what Channel 7 might do with its news service. Seven News and Today Tonight have been battling poor ratings figures in Sydney and especially Melbourne for the past year. Seven's problem has been compounded by the fact that lead-in 5.30pm quiz show Deal or No Deal is being thrashed by Eddie McGuire's Hot Seat. In Sydney Nine News and A Current Affair regularly beat Seven News and Today Tonight by around 50,000 viewers per night. In Melbourne the gap between Nine and Seven news bulletins can sometimes balloon out to nearly 200,000 viewers per night. Today Tonight regularly dips below 300,000 viewers. "There is a strong suggestion it (one hour bulletin) is back on the front burner," a TV insider says. Seven has made a number of changes to its news and current affairs team in recent times - with little reward. In May, Today Tonight executive producer John Choueifate left Seven after 15 months in the job. Seven brought in news and current affairs veteran Max Uechtritz to oversee the show. Former swim champion Giaan Rooney recently replaced veteran weather presenter David Brown on Seven News in Melbourne. "There has been a relentless push by Nine to regain the mantle of number one in news and current affairs, mostly at the expense of Seven," media analyst Steve Allen says. Melbourne is where (Nine's gains) started and Sydney has followed. That makes the various moves by Seven understandable, but so far they haven't improved one jot. In January, Seven tested the waters with expanded news bulletins at the height of the floods and bushfire crises and during the network's coverage of the Australian Open tennis. The one hour bulletin included longer feature pieces as well as the usual short news stories. "The ratings have shown that viewers are very comfortable with the (one hour) format," Ms Wood said at the time. The hour format has allowed us to tell stories properly.