ARN Upfronts 2027: Agencies deliver their verdict

ARN took its 2027 Upfronts to Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion, a venue where generations of pop-punk kids went to sweat through their favourite band’s set. This time, the pitch was for media budgets.

There was plenty for buyers to take in. Sport, travel, live music, podcasts, data and AI all had a place on the bill. The test is whether agencies see a more compelling proposition - and enough evidence to put it in a media plan.

With the presentations over, Mediaweek asked agency leaders for their verdict: what landed, what needs more explaining and what could shift their clients’ spending in 2027.

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Jess Torstensson, General Manager, Growth, Bench Media

The ARN upfronts were a strong showcase of a business thinking well beyond its traditional radio foundations.

No single announcement completely stole the show, but the collective direction stood out. ARN is clearly building towards a much broader entertainment and content ecosystem, connecting radio, podcasts, video, streaming, live experiences, data and now even travel.

For advertisers, that’s an interesting proposition. Audiences don’t consume media in silos, and the opportunity to connect with them across different formats and environments is becoming increasingly important.

The expansion of iHeart into video, including free-to-air TV, YouTube and Fetch, reflects that shift. Audio remains powerful, but the way people discover and consume content is changing, and ARN is clearly looking to capture more of that behaviour.

Carrie Bickmore joining KIIS Drive is a significant talent announcement and will undoubtedly bring attention to the network. But some of the less obvious announcements caught my attention too.

The ARN Traffic Network is a particularly interesting example of how media businesses can use technology to create new inventory and utility for advertisers. Similarly, KIIS Travel demonstrates an ambition to build commercial opportunities around audience relationships that extend beyond traditional media. These are perhaps smaller announcements, but they show how ARN is thinking about its audiences and commercial opportunities in different ways.

Spotty was another interesting announcement, particularly its promise of real-time visibility into competitor activity, category trends and share of voice. That kind of intelligence can be genuinely useful for media buyers. I’d like to understand more about how the platform will work in practice and how accessible the data will be. While it’s smart for ARN to develop its own tools to differentiate its offering, the broader opportunity for agencies lies in having consistent visibility across the entire audio market to support planning and investment decisions.

The data announcements more broadly are worth watching. iHeart Nation, with its first-party audience segmentation, and the extension of sales uplift reporting into linear radio point to a stronger focus on audience intelligence and accountability.

One area where I’d like to see more detail is the numbers behind the ambition. There were some impressive headline figures shared, but relatively little detail on audience duplication, incremental reach and the commercial impact of bringing these platforms together. For media buyers, the opportunity is exciting, but ultimately we need the evidence to understand how these investments translate into better outcomes for advertisers.

From a media planning perspective, the opportunity is exciting, but the real value won’t simply come from having more channels available through one network. It will come from how effectively those channels work together.

Media owners are naturally focused on building their own ecosystems, but advertisers and agencies need to see the bigger picture. Questions remain around incremental reach, audience overlap, transparency and, ultimately, measurable business outcomes.

ARN has laid out an ambitious vision. The next step is turning that breadth of capability into genuinely connected solutions that deliver value for brands, rather than simply giving them more places to spend. That’s where the real opportunity lies.

Jay Malig, National Trading Lead, Atomic 212°

Amy Dascanio, Managing Director, Enigma Media

There was something delightfully refreshing about ARN’s Upfronts this year. With plenty of anticipation surrounding the announcements, ARN delivered a vision that felt less about big promises and more about something we sometimes overlook in media: genuine human connection.

Under the theme The Start of a New Era, ARN outlined its ambition to move beyond radio into a multiplatform entertainment business, bringing together audio, video, social and real-life experiences.

There was certainly no shortage of announcements, from new breakfast and drive shows to its five-year Australian Open partnership and the continued expansion of iHeartRadio. But for me, the most interesting part wasn’t necessarily the scale of these announcements. Only time will tell whether they’re enough to drive ratings and audience share, which remain important currencies for advertisers.

What stood out was ARN’s focus on community and creating opportunities for audiences to genuinely participate. Initiatives like KIIS & Catch Up and Save Our Club felt different, grounded in real-life experiences, local communities and moments that bring people together. In an Upfronts season filled with big technology promises, ARN’s approach felt more human, more grounded, and genuinely focused on its audiences.

I also appreciated the nod to regional Australia and the recognition that every market is different. In an industry often obsessed with national scale, it’s a good reminder that local relevance and connection still matter. This thinking also showed up in ARN’s approach to KIIS breakfast, with distinct local shows for Sydney and Melbourne rather than a single national offering.

Of course, data, technology and the expansion of ARN’s digital ecosystem will play an important role. The challenge now is demonstrating how these touchpoints work together to deliver incremental reach and measurable value for advertisers. But what I appreciated most was that ARN led with people and genuine connection, rather than another technology promise or a claim to the biggest share of audience attention.

Dan Hojnik, Head of Strategy and Planning, Involved Media