One HD will no longer be "sharing one passion" for sport when Ten revamps the channel's schedule (Image: Ten Network)

One HD will no longer be "sharing one passion" for sport as the Ten Network aims to broaden the channel's appeal in the coming weeks.

According to The Australian, One will retain much of its sports programming, but its primetime schedule will soon feature general entertainment shows targeting younger men.

The changes come soon after the installation of Lachlan Murdoch as acting chief executive in February; responding to a falling revenue share at the network.

One's long term future as a sports dominated channel came under question when it began to add male-skewing movies and reality shows to its schedule in late January, such as Ax Men and Black Gold. American drama series Sons of Anarchy is now being pinned to air on One after originally being promoted to air on sister channel Eleven.

The repositioning of One's audience is just one of a number of major changes made at Ten since Murdoch's reign began. The network's news offering underwent changes shortly after January's news revamp, including the move of George Negus' programme to 6:30pm and ditching the 6:30pm local news bulletin.

It's understood that Murdoch and James Packer disagreed with One's original strategy, and are looking to broaden the channel's audience share by 1-2 per cent.

While Eleven became a quick performer against rivals GO! and 7mate, the main channel has been struggling since the new year due to the poor performing news lineup and a lack of solid-rating programmes available in the storage cupboard. However, Ten is predicting to have its overall share of the commercial market rise above 30 per cent between May and July, largely influenced by reality television giant MasterChef Australia.

The changes at One came on the same day that Ten announced that David Barham would replace David White as its general manager for sport. Barham currently serves as Ten's head of sport production.

As reported on Saturday, White will leave the network once negotiations for the 2012-2016 AFL broadcast rights are finalised. There is speculation that he will join V8 Supercars or Fox Sports, but he has not yet confirmed his intentions.

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