There was always going to be casualties in Lachlan Murdoch’s war on the Channel 10 budget. Of all the shows (and Sports Tonight is the highest profile casualty) nobody expected it to be Video Hits – a show that, short of the location shooting and occasional interview – should be money in the bank for the network. Such is life. From the press release:

After an unparalleled 24 years as Australian television’s flagship music program, Video Hits will broadcast its final show on Saturday 6 August. Hosts Faustina Agolley and Dylan Lewis will celebrate the outstanding contribution Video Hits has made to the Australian music industry with a  retrospective of the show’s best moments from the past two decades.

Video Hits premiered on Network Ten on 15 February 1987, and quickly became a weekend  institution for music lovers around the country. It helped establish the careers of many Australian  artists including Missy Higgins, Angus and Julia Stone and Art Vs Science, and attracted the music  industry’s biggest international stars including Coldplay, Beyonce, U2 and Kanye West.

From humble beginnings as a video-clip based program, Video Hits developed into a one-stop-shop  for music fans with the introduction of hosts, interviews, live music events and presenting partners to  some of the biggest music tours in the country.

Chief Programming Officer David Mott said: “Video Hits’ contribution to the network and the music industry over the past 24 years has been outstanding. Music and how people listen to it, watch it and enjoy it has changed dramatically in last few years and now is the perfect time for the institution that  is Video its to sign off. The show will always hold a special place in TEN’s history.”

Video Hits’ Executive Producer Rachel Moor said, “We plan to leave the music landscape as we arrived – with a bang! It will be a big celebration that honours what the shows achieved over the years, what it has brought to music fans and the music industry as a whole.”

Video Hits will continue on air Saturday [10am – 1pm] and Sunday [8am – 10am] mornings until the final retrospective airs on Saturday 6 August at 10am.