When asked about how much the loss of the Network Ten business could hurt MCN, Frain replied: “MCN had a brilliant business prior to the Ten representation and it will be a brilliant business in the future. It will change MCN to be sure, but with some of the plans Patrick is developing at Foxtel, the innovation we will bring to market will be very exciting.

“There is a new battleground emerging around the attention economy, which for media and advertisers is where the future is playing out.”

Frain admitted they might be able to replace some of the departing Network Ten revenues with new opportunities. “In the last couple of weeks I have had a very interesting introduction to life as a CEO in the media world.

“The number one focus has been on our people and how we transition the business over the next six to 12 months.

“There are a number of new opportunities from businesses that have approached MCN for representation. They would complement the powerhouse that is Foxtel and take us into different areas. They are screen and video based with premium brand-safe content, which is the core DNA of MCN and Foxtel.”

Patrick Delany, who is also the new chair of MCN, said the subscription TV business is about getting to masses through niches. “With the advent of streaming and even more niche programming, I see that as a huge opportunity for us.”

Delany used the TV appearance to emphasise how Foxtel will use streaming to engage with more customers. He explained that live TV will also continue to thrive on the platform.

“We will be repositioning Foxtel. Foxtel has always been a premium product and it will remain a premium product. We will deliver value like never before. We will deliver television innovation like never before. The iQ3 set-top box and subsequent upgrades are stream machines. Channels will have a role in the future, but perhaps not as big. Brands will be very important.

“You will see us get very big in drama and movies and that is part of repositioning the business.”

Delany said there would be announcements and the launches of new products every two or three weeks later this year.

He wouldn’t be drawn on special low-cost sampling packages for the two-thirds of the population who don’t have access to a Foxtel subscription.

Watch the special edition of Mediaweek TV on Sky News Business here.

The growth was partially offset by lower print advertising revenues at the news and information services segment. Adjusted revenues (which exclude the foreign currency impact, acquisitions and divestitures) increased 5%.

The company reported fiscal 2018 full year total revenues of $9.02 billion, an 11% increase compared to $8.14 billion in the prior year period, reflecting the inclusion of Foxtel’s results, strong growth in the digital real estate services and book publishing segments and a $172 million positive impact from foreign currency fluctuations. The growth was partially offset by lower print advertising and News America marketing revenues at the news and information services segment. Adjusted revenues increased 2%.

For the Australian businesses, News Corp reported revenues lifted 1% for the full year in the news and information segment.

CEO Robert Thomson reported confidence that new rights acquisitions, including cricket, would lift subscriber numbers at Foxtel. However the subscription TV service reported lower subscription and advertising revenues in the full year.

Commenting on the results, chief executive Robert Thomson said:

“Fiscal 2018 was a year of operational and transformational success at News Corp, with robust performance across our businesses, and positive and profound changes in the character of our revenue flows, which were more global, digital and subscription-based. We generated strong revenue and Segment EBITDA growth in the Digital Real Estate Services and Book Publishing segments, which, together with the consolidation of Foxtel, drove over $1 billion in profitability for the year.

“Digital Real Estate Services continue to flourish and we expanded into meaningful adjacencies, broadening our audience and our revenue sources. HarperCollins’s success underscores the importance of intelligent editors and great writers in creating premium content. Algorithms are, as yet, unable to write empathetic, compelling books. We also saw meaningful operational improvements at the News and Information Services segment led by higher digital paid subscribers and disciplined cost initiatives, notably in Australia. Mastheads like The Times, The Sunday Times and The Wall Street Journal reached new heights in their digital transformation, with digital paid subscribers now exceeding print subscribers. The new Foxtel is focused on product innovation and leveraging its valuable content.

“News Corp is now a more substantial company after the Foxtel transaction, with a much higher percentage of recurring, subscription-based revenues, which should help offset a volatile advertising environment.

“We are marking five years since our Separation and are confident News Corp has a lustrous future, built on a strong digital and global foundation.”

Fiscal 2018 full year revenues increased $50 million, or 1%, compared to the prior year, including the $119 million positive impact from foreign currency fluctuations.

Within the segment, News UK, Dow Jones and News Corp Australia revenues grew 4%, 2% and 1%, respectively, while revenues at News America Marketing declined 6%. Adjusted revenues for the segment were 3% lower compared to the prior year.

Advertising revenues declined $76 million, or 3%, while circulation and subscription revenues increased $105 million, or 5%, driven by the factors discussed above in the fourth quarter segment results.

The strategy was revealed at Tennis Australia’s First Serve event in Melbourne, which highlighted how Tennis Australia would work with Nine to continue to expand the Australian Open into a broader community event, built around food, music, kids and the game of tennis.

“The Australian Open is the greatest aggregator of eyeballs on consecutive nights in Australian television – bar none,” said Tom Malone, Nine’s director of sport. “But in 2019 we are going to do something different. We are going to bring not just the world-class on-court action, but the amazing atmosphere and excitement of the event itself into every Australian home.

“Nine’s coverage will be unique in that it will cater not only for the sports fanatic but also the event lovers, speaking to a broad audience that loves and engages with the great game of tennis.”

Nine will also look to integrate its key pillars – news, sports, lifestyle, entertainment – within the broadcast to showcase all aspects of the festival of tennis:

• Today (news): Nine’s breakfast show will take up residency at The Open, providing 14 days of live coverage from Melbourne – showcasing all facets of the event, the best of Melbourne, the best of tennis, the best experiences both on and off the court.
• Wide World of Sports Studio (sport): WWOS will set up camp at the heart of the precinct, providing a pop-up experience that brings fans closer to the magic of sports broadcasting, closer to the experts and entertainers and the technology that makes tennis world class.
• 9Honey (lifestyle): Nine’s women’s network 9Honey will launch a dedicated destination called Summer Serve, celebrating the very best of summer through story-led content.
• 9Now (entertainment): 9Now is being labelled the gateway for fans to watch the tennis anywhere and at any time.
• WWOS.com.au (sport): The Wide World of Sports platform is aiming to make tennis part of the conversation 365 days a year.

“When Nine secured the tennis rights we promised a true cross-platform strategy, and together Nine and we will do that by relentlessly pursuing a ‘Best Seat in the House’ strategy,” said Malone.

“Nine’s coverage of the Australian Open will showcase the best and the biggest matches through our various pillars and we can’t wait to bring that storytelling and Nine sizzle to the Australian Open – a celebration of food, music and kids.”

In terms of the broadcast, Wide World of Sports will be pursuing a “Best Seat in the House” strategy aimed at bringing millions of Australians all the tennis action on and off the court.

“Whether it’s the biggest names from Rod Laver Arena, highlights or post-match interviews, Nine’s coverage will be unwavering and all-encompassing – a premium blockbuster main channel event, on 9Now and wwos.com.au, alongside a multicontent experience dedicated to showcase all facets of the Australian Open right across the Nine ecosystem,” said Malone.

Nine has also confirmed that from January it will begin offering its new addressable advertising solution, via live streaming, to offer marketers 9Now’s 6.5 million+ declared sign-ups – the largest of any Australian broadcaster – throughout its tennis coverage.

“Australian Open 2019 will also mark another milestone for the way we connect marketers with their target audience,” said Matt Granger, Nine’s director of sales, sport.

“With the launch of our real addressable advertising across our live streaming platform 9Now, we are clearly catering to the demand for identity-based marketing through tennis, the biggest property of the summer.”

When the Australian Open begins on January 14, Nine will be the new home of tennis, with the tournament’s best matches and biggest moments broadcast across the network’s suite of channels and 9Now.

Spearheading Nine’s team is Grand Slam legend and superstar John McEnroe, one of the most in-demand broadcasters in the world. Viewers can expect the International Tennis Hall of Famer to be at his outspoken best. One of the all-time greats, McEnroe won seven Grand Slam tournaments (four US Opens, three Wimbledons) among his 77 singles titles, as well as 72 doubles titles. He was ranked No. 1 in the world in both categories.

Joining him with expert analysis and unparalleled insight into the game will be the highly experienced broadcaster Jim Courier. Ranked No. 1 in the world in 1992-93, Courier is one of the sport’s most popular characters. In his 12-year playing career, Courier won two French Opens and two Australian Opens.

A roll call of local hosts will also be on duty:

• Todd Woodbridge will join Nine’s new lineup. One of the most successful and dominant doubles players in history, Woodbridge racked up 16 major men’s doubles titles, including nine Wimbledons, three US Opens, three Australian Opens and one French Open.
• Alicia Molik, the current Australian Fed Cup captain, will provide unrivalled access and insight into the best female players. Molik broke into the world Top 10 in 2005, and won the doubles title at the 2005 Australian Open and the French Open in 2007.
• Also joining the new-look team are Jelena Dokic, Sam Groth and Dylan Alcott.

At the age of 16, Jelena Dokic caused one of the biggest upsets in tennis history by beating world No. 1 Martina Hingis at Wimbledon. By the time she was 19, Dokic was ranked No. 4 in the world. She has also penned the best-selling autobiography Unbreakable, a book which details her career and well-documented family life.

Sam Groth won the 2015 Newcombe Medal, awarded to Australia’s most outstanding tennis player for the year, and holds the world record for the fastest serve recorded in a tournament – a bullet-like 263.4 km/h.

Dylan Alcott is one of the most inspirational stories in Australian sport. From 2015-18, he won four consecutive Australian Open quad wheelchair singles titles and will be aiming for five in a row in 2019.

Hosting the Nine coverage will be Rebecca Maddern, James Bracey and Tony Jones.

Award-winning journalist Rebecca Maddern has previously covered the Australian Open as well as many of the world’s biggest sporting events, including the Commonwealth Games, Melbourne Cup and AFL.

Since earning his stripes at Foxtel, in a short time the sports fanatic James Bracey has become an integral contributor to Nine’s team, with duties spanning the network’s NRL coverage, hosting Sports Sunday and 100% Footy, and reporting on Today.

There are few sporting events that Tony Jones has not been involved with after more than 30 years at Nine. Whether it be the Olympic Games, the Commonwealth Games, the AFL or the Ashes, TJ has proved himself to be the master of sports presenting and reporting.

Tom Malone, head of sport for Nine, said: “For generations, Nine’s Wide World of Sports has set the benchmark that all others follow and we are confident that our new deal with Tennis Australia will continue that tradition.

“We have assembled a team of fresh faces while bringing back some familiar names who are the best at what they do. The Australian Open is the country’s pre-eminent summer sporting event and we’re confident our new-look team will help to instil a renewed passion for the game into lovers of tennis around Australia.”

Nine’s six-year broadcast deal encompasses the Australian Open in Melbourne as well as the lead-up tournaments around Australia – the Hopman Cup in Perth and the Brisbane and Sydney Internationals. Plus, Nine’s Wide World of Sports will give you the best seat in the house to Australia’s Davis Cup tie in September and the Fed Cup in February.

Further announcements on Nine’s commentary team will be revealed in the coming months.

Media Pride is an initiative generated by the SBS Pride and Allies employee affinity group, with the aim of bringing the Australian media together for the first time to focus on LGBTIQ+ diversity and inclusion.

Panellists at the inaugural event, presided by SBS Viceland’s The Feed presenters Patrick Abboud and Jan Fran, included outgoing SBS CEO and managing director Michael Ebeid, who spoke about his personal experience, the significance of the recent marriage equality campaign and the importance of creating an inclusive and respectful culture for a diverse workforce, an area that he has personally championed at SBS.

Ebeid was joined on stage by industry leaders including Brian Walsh (Foxtel), Bevan Lee (Seven Network), Darren Dale (Blackfella Films), Fiona Cameron (ACMA) and Tea Uglow (Google Creative Labs).

Chris Keely, chair of the SBS Pride & Allies Committee, said, “I’m thrilled that so many Australian media could join this important launch of Media Pride.

“Last year’s campaign for marriage equality propelled LGBTIQ+ diversity and inclusion to the forefront of the media conversation but what’s next?

“The answer is that there is no room for complacency. The work building diversity and inclusion for LGBTIQ+ communities has only just begun, and there is still much work to be done, particularly for the marginalised.”

Foxtel’s Brian Walsh noted that Foxtel was commissioning a drama series with a transgender teenager as the lead actor. Walsh also commended Ebeid and his team for creating such an inclusive workplace.

The key aims of Media Pride are:

• Focus on the unique responsibility of media in shaping community opinions of LGBTIQ+ individuals, communities, and their issues
• Highlight LGBTIQ+ media executives and talent, and their challenges and achievements
• Promote cultural change and diversity and inclusion for LGBTIQ+ Australians
• Send the message that all Australian media workspaces should provide an inclusive place of work, which includes LGBTIQ+ communities, based on mutual respect, understanding and support of all LGBTIQ+ individuals

Media Pride was sponsored by PwC, L.E.K. and Deloitte, and attended by a broad range of Australian media including representatives from the production industry.

By Kruti Joshi

This sees him look after the digital operations at papers like the Gold Coast Bulletin, Townsville Bulletin, NT News and The Courier-Mail. Johns tells Mediaweek that the zone he looks after has 16 dailies and 60-70 non-daily titles. “The 16 regional newspapers grew digital subscription by more than 50% last year,” Johns revealed. His key mission is to keep the momentum going.

“Journalism costs a lot of money and the issues facing the industry are obvious,” he said. “My role is about protecting journalism in communities where it might otherwise be injured.

“The more digital subscriptions we sell and the faster we sell them, the more robust the journalism model is.”

Johns is currently based in Brisbane. This is because The Courier-Mail is as big as the other 15 titles combined.

“At the moment I am spending a lot of time in Brisbane, working on making The Courier-Mail newsroom as digitally savvy as it can be.” This has meant less travelling for Johns than he did previously. However, at the time of our conversation, Johns had driven up to the Sunshine Coast from Brisbane. “I am in paradise and our office is built on a little lake. I am looking out of my window at the little lake with swans and ducks in it. So life is good.”

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This is an excerpt from the full article, which appears on Mediaweek Premium. Read the full article here or subscribe to Mediaweek Premium here.

By Andrew Mercado

The program was released on a night beside Ten’s much better known programs like Australian Survivor and Russell Coight’s All Aussie Adventures. It felt a little like Street Smart got barely enough publicity and promotion.

If Dance Boss hadn’t bombed on Seven the following night, Street Smart probably would have attracted much more negative comment from the tabloid press, which seemingly can’t wait to use random tweets from nobodies just so they can run the clickbait headline “Worst Show Ever” (as reported by TV Tonight recently, noting that Pointless had suffered the same fate just two weeks ago before Dance Boss got the same label). Street Smart was lucky to escape that tag, but it still got moved because it had just 365,000 viewers following All Aussie Adventures with 881,000 viewers. But Street Smart actually had better ratings than All Aussie Adventures’ lead-in, The Sunday Project, which had only 358,000 viewers. And yet Street Smart is considered the flop?

Next week, Nine begins its new Aussie cop drama Bite Club, but will it flop like their Aussie cop shockers Kings Men (1976), Waterloo Station (1983), Young Lions (2002), The Strip (2008), Cops L.A.C. (2010) and Hyde and Seek (2016)? Surely not, given the network has also had huge success with local cop shows like Division 4 (1969-1975), Water Rats (1996-2001) Stingers (1998-2004) and Underbelly (2008 – ad infinitum), and, let’s be honest, the cops were supporting characters compared to the crims).

Bite Club comes with an unusual premise, with its title referring to a cop (Todd Lasance) getting his foot bitten off by a shark. The last time an Aussie cop series tried using shark bait to get viewers hooked, it was the unfortunate Shark’s Paradise (1986), a laughable Miami Vice rip-off that starred David Reyne and was set on the Gold Coast.

Having not been able to preview Bite Club, I cannot tell you whether it is better or worse than Shark’s Paradise, but one would assume it has to be better. Australian TV dramas have come a long way since the 1980s but then again, given I predicted Dance Boss would be a hit in this very column last week, what would I know?

Maori journalist tells critics not to patronise

A top TVNZ Māori journalist has pushed back against public attacks on her coverage of an emerging freedom of speech debate. The high-profile presenter of the Sunday current affairs show, Miriama Kamo, went public against activist demands Māori journalists step down from an item about threats to stop engagements by alt-right speakers Lauren Southern and Stefan Molyneux. Kamo said: “Many people are insulted, offended and disgusted by the views of the Canadian duo. I appreciate that. However, there have also been suggestions that I, as a Māori woman, should not front this episode. I reject that,” she said, “Sunday’s story this week is told by reporter Tania Page, another Māori woman. The notion that we should distance ourselves from this story is patronising. The story went ahead and there has been extensive coverage of freedom of speech issues, leading to the permanent establishment of a watchdog free speech coalition.”

Where are the audiences?

This week, the funding agency New Zealand On Air presented its second biannual consumption report Where Are The Audiences, 2018. Overall traditional broadcast TV continues to dominate, with 82% tuning into linear TV and 78% tuning into radio. Subscription video-on-demand increased from 35% weekly in 2016 to 62% in 2018. The weekly reach of physical music formats decreased 13% while Spotify continued to rise. More people watched videos on YouTube and Facebook than read a newspaper. On demand viewing was stable, but there was growing use of on demand as a source of content rather than catch-up viewing. The gap between older and younger audiences was narrowing, with older adopting new technology, the NZ On Air report found.

National leaders supports media merger

Opposition National Party leader Simon Bridges has given surprise support for a merger between NZME and Fairfax-owned Stuff. The merger has been knocked by the Commerce Commission and High Court, but is currently awaiting a decision by the Court of Appeal. Asked on Radio Live for his view on the controversial merger, Bridges said: “What we are seeing at the moment is a [business] model that is broken. The economics don’t work. So if this is what media outfits have to do to stay strong and keep providing content that is relevant to us, I see that.”

Start your engines

NZME has appointed Greg Cassidy to be head of the motoring title, Driven. Cassidy has been NZME general manager in the upper South Island where he was credited with “strong success” in five markets.

MediaWorks and the minister

Tensions appear to be high between MediaWorks and Communications minister Clare Curran over chief executive Michael Anderson’s criticism of government policy to create a free-to-air TV channel at state-owned Radio NZ. Planning appears to have stalled with no funding boost in the May budget. But Curran accused Anderson of running a campaign using “Murdoch-like language” in criticising the ABC. Sources say the Government is unhappy that MediaWorks leaked comments that the potential for government policy on TVNZ and RNZ might

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TOP PHOTO: Micheal Anderson

By John Drinnan

The politics show has been a foundation for the non-commercial Sunday morning schedule. This style of talking heads current affairs has been seen as risky for commercially focused TVNZ in recent years.

Meanwhile, John Gillespie has poached a star journalist John Campbell from TVNZ’s sister state broadcaster, Radio New Zealand. Starting next month he will take on a new role as a “roving reporter and presenter” working across platforms.

Both are significant changes for TVNZ, which has been seen as cautious and stable amidst earthquakes in the media landscape. “Steady as she goes” makes sense with a 6pm news bulletin that dominates the audience over five. On Tuesday, it had an audience of 700,000. Rival MediaWorks’ Newshub on Three has made some incursions into 18-39 demographic and 25-54s, especially on breakfast TV.

But the TVNZ news boss insists that he sees the wider media as the competition, not just Newshub.

Gillespie trained as a journalist at Mitchell College in Bathurst (now Charles Sturt University) after a period travelling. He later worked in New Zealand provincial TV, then breakfast in 1997. He ran the consumer show Fair Go, headed daily news shows and was head of current affairs. He replaced Australian Anthony Flannery as head of news and current affairs (HONCA) five years ago. TVNZ has been seen as more conservative than TV3 and the big print/digital players like Stuff and nzherald.co.nz.

Gillespie says change is inevitable with migration into social media and mobile devices. TVNZ – especially its digital news operations – is seen as more conservative by many.

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This is an excerpt from the full article, which appears on Mediaweek Premium. Read the full article here or subscribe to Mediaweek Premium here.

By James Manning

Seven

Home And Away had a second successive night just over 600,000 to finish the week. Its biggest audience was again on Monday this week with 700,000+.

The Single Wives then did 298,000.

The Front Bar

The Front Bar pushed over 200,000 in Melbourne again with a three-market audience of 328,000. Hopefully Seven might screen it a little earlier on a multichannel in Sydney and Brisbane during the finals.

Nine

A Current Affair did 709,000, which was its first time under 840,000 this week.

The live NRL match had a metro audience of 438,000.

The Footy Show in Melbourne was up to 175,000 after 139,000 last week. In Sydney after the football, the NRL edition was on 114,000.

TEN

Pointless had a second night close to 250,000.

The Project did 295,000 and then 532,000.

At the end of a busy week of eliminations, Moana Hope was the next to go on Australian Survivor. The episode did 664,000. The editors seem to give viewers a hint of what might unfold later in the show with some lingering images of Hope during the first challenge for egg and bacon roles. The aerial photography from Fiji is dazzling and tenplay should give viewers a compile of some of those stunning images captured by the producers.

ABC

Grand Designs Australia was on 480,000 followed by Everyone’s A Critic on 250,000.

SBS

Britain’s Ancient Tracks with Tony Robinson did 297,000, down from its launch on 341,000 last week. That could still be enough to make it the channel’s #1 show this week.

The doco Batavia Revealed then did 255,000.