Since Helen Kapalos took over Today Tonight in February, she has lifted the ratings and narrowed the gap between arch rival ACA. Credit:Tanya Ingrisciano Since the NSW bushfires broke out, Nine has been airing a one-hour bulletin in Sydney and screening ACA at 7pm. Earlier this year, Seven also rolled out an extended bulletin to cover floods and bushfires. In both cases, it worked. But that does not guarantee success for a permanent 60-minute news service. Audiences are accustomed to their concise daily dose of news, sport and weather. Stretching out the bulletins to an hour – especially on slow news days – could prompt restless viewers to begin flicking their remotes. Besides, ACA and TT rate very highly. Nearly every night, they crack the top 10 and frequently, the top five. Seven, not surprisingly, is keen to hose down rumours it will axe TT or replace its Sydney and Melbourne host, Helen Kapalos.

"Business as usual," said a network spokeswoman, insisting TT will return in 2014 and that Kapalos remains under contract. (Fairfax Media understands she is signed to Seven for at least another year.) Since Kapalos took over in February, she has lifted the ratings and narrowed the gap between the Tracy Grimshaw-hosted ACA, which has won every ratings week this year in Sydney and Melbourne. Nationally, however, TT has won three of the past four weeks. The program is hardly on its last legs – even though TT remains hampered by the poor lead-in from Seven's news, which gets thumped by Nine in Sydney and Melbourne. Still, there are plenty of reasons these tabloid shows appeal to the networks. For a start, they're cheaper to produce than news, which keeps costs down. Advertisers love them because of the audiences they attract: people who sign up for supermarket loyalty schemes, interest free offers at Harvey Norman and instalment plans for new cars.

Sometimes, sponsors get to promote their wares in the programs themselves, under the guise of consumer interest stories. (This infuriates the ABC crowd but the commercial networks simply shrug off the criticisms. Every morning, they get a minute-by-minute breakdown of how each segment rated. The fact is, viewers love these stories.) Indeed, the networks use these programs to plug their own shows. (Though arguably, it works both ways. My Kitchen Rules has a bigger audience than TT, for instance, so TT running a segment on MKR could conceivably attract viewers.) A Nine spokesman denies there is an overhaul ahead, saying: "We have no current plans to change our evening news and current affairs schedule." Nine insiders, however, say ACA's move to 7pm remains a real possibility. Senior Seven executives, meanwhile, are hoping their rivals proceed with the change.

"We'd love for Today Tonight to compete with the second half-hour of Nine's news," says one. "People will get bored with the one-hour news every night. They'll start changing channels and they'll come to us." Should Nine's extended bulletin trump Seven, of course, all bets are off. Yet if both networks do what they say they'll do, then ACA and TT will continue competing in the 6.30pm slot next year. These programs occupy an unusual spot in the Australian media landscape. Britain has its tabloid newspapers, full of sensationalist reporting, undercover stings and bizarre human interest stories. Australia's tabloid papers, by comparison, are relatively sober. (Seriously. Compare them to see the difference.)

In fact, the local equivalents of Britain's The Sun or The Daily Mail are ACA and TT. As such, they have their fair share of critics – and many of their criticisms, from race-baiting to fearmongering, are deserved. At best, however, they act as consumer watchdogs and public advocates, and report in a simple but engaging fashion. ACA has even been nominated for two Walkley awards this year. Tracy Grimshaw's interview with the 2Day FM "royal prank" DJs snared one of those nominations. A magnificent interviewer, she shines when tackling the big stories directly. It's strange, therefore, that Seven has not made more use of Kapalos as an interviewer. A former ACA reporter herself – with years of radio and TV interviewing experience on ABC, SBS, Prime and NBN – she'd enhance her connection with viewers if freed from the confines of her desk. If Seven or Nine really is plotting an overhaul of their news and current affairs offering, they're unlikely to reveal it now. Neither wants to show their hand first. There'll be a lot of bluffing and denials until the very last minute.

Even if the format and the timeslots remain unchanged, though, the battle will intensify. Seven has long reigned supreme in Adelaide and Perth but with Nine recently buying the WIN stations in both cities, it intends to fight Seven head on. Seven, on the other hand, is sick of being trounced by Nine in Sydney and Melbourne in the early evening slot. It has already gained some ground and will do everything it can to claw back more. "We won't be waiting until next year to get the edge," says a source from one of the programs. "We're always in fierce competition." mlallo@fairfaxmedia.com.au