Thursday February 15, 2018
HT&E full year results: Radio recovers after slow start, Adshel lifts
HT&E has reported revenue from continuing operations up 58% to $472.3 million compared with $298.6 million in the previous year. The results incorporate the acquisitions of Adshel and Conversant Media in October 2016, with $161 million in revenue directly attributable to these acquisitions, and the balance predominately due to organic growth across Adshel, offset by declines at Australian Radio Network (ARN) in the first half.
Underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 30 per cent to $118.4 million, with underlying net profit after tax and before amortisation (NPATA) attributable to shareholders up 28% to $54.1 million.
The loss of the Yarra Trams contract announced in October 2017, and specifically the assumptions regarding the potential network impact, have resulted in a non-cash impairment of Adshel Australia goodwill and intangibles of $163.3 million in the 2017 accounts. This follows the $220 million accounting value uplift recorded in 2016. Statutory net profit after tax (NPAT) attributable to shareholders for the year was therefore a loss of $117.5 million, compared to a loss of $6 million in 2016.
HT&E CEO and managing director Ciaran Davis said: “While 2017 had its challenges, we ended the year with strong momentum in our radio and outdoor businesses. Regaining and retaining the number one position was a key priority for ARN in 2017, which subsequently delivered the best ratings year in its history, and we finished 2017 as the leading national radio network in Australia.
“Adshel continued to outperform the market in terms of revenue share and we are actively pursuing new contracts, having already secured the Metro Trains Melbourne contract for seven years. Adshel New Zealand had another robust year of above market growth.”
HT&E has completed a strategic review of its Hong Kong outdoor business and the decision has been made to continue to operate the business with a focus on returning it to profitability.
Australian Radio Network
While ARN full year revenues were down 0.6% year on year, growth of 5.1% in the second half, in a market that grew 1.7%, offset a 6% decline in the first half.
Second half costs were up 2%, driven by increased variable cost of sales on increased revenue and investment in staff and talent, offset by the abolishment of broadcasting licence fees. Full year costs were up 0.7% with EBITDA down $2.3 million for the year.
ARN’s Jonesy & Amanda
ARN had the best ratings year in its history, regaining the number one national 10+ network position in surveys 5 to 8, ending the year as the leading national radio network in Australia, with strong survey 8 results across all markets.
Adshel
Total revenue for 2017 across Australia and New Zealand rose 7.5% to $221.3 million. EBITDA grew 11.3% to $51.5 million, with digital revenues contributing to overall margin improvement. Adshel had a very strong performance in the first half of 2017, with significant revenue and earnings growth. The loss of the Yarra Trams contract, announced in October, affected momentum in the fourth quarter in Australia.
Adshel CEO Mike Tyquin
In Australia, Adshel experienced growth of 4.2%, compared with the roadside-other market segment, which was up 3% on 2016. In New Zealand, Adshel revenues grew 24% against market growth of 18%.
Trading update ARN
Momentum from H2 2017 has continued into 2018 with forward bookings indicating similar revenue growth in Q1 2018. Talent changes in 2018 are cost neutral.
Trading update Adshel
With good revenue visibility into Q1, Adshel bookings for the quarter are in line with 2017, after adjusting for Yarra Trams contract-only revenue (-$5m in Q1 2017) to enable like for like comparison.
Foxtel hosts world premiere of FMA’s Picnic At Hanging Rock
By James Manning
Foxtel has revealed the TV world premiere airdate for its much-anticipated event drama series Picnic at Hanging Rock.
The six-part series, produced by Fremantle Media Australia, will premiere on the showcase channel on Sunday May 6 at 8.30pm and will also be available for On Demand customers and streamed on Foxtel Now.
Foxtel screened the first episode for the first time yesterday at an event for cast and critics at Hanging Rock in Victoria.
The series attracted key production investment from Screen Australia, with CEO Graeme Mason in attendance to view the investment.
The series was shot in Victoria, Australia with the assistance of the Victorian Government through Film Victoria and has already garnered global attention with Amazon Prime Video in the US, BBC for the UK, Canal+ in France and SKY New Zealand’s premium entertainment channel SoHo, all set to premiere this year.
Foxtel had an ambitious launch day planned, which they managed to successfully execute despite a few massive challenges along the way.
The first episode screening was important as cast, many Foxtel executives and critics had yet to see a completed edit.
The first public screening of the series, where the first two episodes will be available, will be at the opening of the TV section of the Berlin International Film Festival next week.
FMA executive producer and director of drama Jo Porter told Mediaweek yesterday the company had so far delivered the first three episodes and was polishing the final three.
Foxtel’s big day out
Foxtel planned a big day, which started for senior executives and Sydney media with a flight to Melbourne and then a bus ride for the short hop to Mount Macedon.
The blustery Melbourne weather played havoc with the schedule though. The plane was late after the closure of a runway in Melbourne, the proposed walk to the top of the Rock nearly had to be abandoned, and an outside event inside a marquee had to be moved when high wins buffeted the structure.
Joining 13 of the cast, key FMA executives including Jo Porter and Anthony Ellis, were Foxtel’s Brian Walsh, Andrew Mulready, Penny Win, Ross Crowley and Stephen Baldwin.
The new CEO of Film Victoria Caroline Pitcher was there, along with her predecessor Jenni Tosi.
One interested onlooker was music guru, film and TV investor, and local resident, Michael Gudinski. He has used Hanging Rock for a number of memorable musical events, including performances from Bruce Springsteen and Ed Sheeran.
FMA’s Jo Porter and Foxtel’s Brian Walsh
Episode one: How good is it?
Excellent. When reading the first reviews you should factor in the critics were seeing the first-ever screening, were seated amongst cast and the commissioning executives, before getting to climb Hanging Rock with the cast and then dining with them.
However, taking all that into account, FMA has delivered a stunning piece of work that should hit all the right buttons for Foxtel.
With all the talk about sports rights investment, it is easy to forget one of the big drawcards is quality drama, and Foxtel has possibly just been handed its best ever by the producers, incredible cast and talented crew.
The six-part series, a re-telling of Joan Lindsay’s iconic novel, stars acclaimed British actress Natalie Dormer along with Australian rising stars including Lily Sullivan, Samara Weaving, Madeleine Madden and Ruby Rees.
Dormer is brilliant from the moment she appears onscreen in silhouette at the start of episode one. The producers also managed to secure Weaving, who is among the hottest stars on the planet from any country after her role in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and the brilliant TV series SMILF, screening on Stan.
Natalie Dormer
—
Picnic at Hanging Rock is a FremantleMedia Australia production for Foxtel. Executive producers are FremantleMedia Australia’s Jo Porter and Anthony Ellis and Foxtel’s Penny Win, script producer and establishing writer Beatrix Christian, writer Alice Addison, producer Brett Popplewell, directors Larysa Kondracki, Michael Rymer and Amanda Brotchie.
FremantleMedia International is distributing the series worldwide.
Mediaweek's Magazine Preview: InStyle editor Emily Taylor
Title: InStyle
Editor: Emily Taylor
Publisher: Pacific Magazines
On sale: February 15
Is the March issue your biggest in the year?
Both March and September are key issues as we welcome the new fashion seasons. It’s an exciting time – new stock is beginning to hit the stores and InStyle’s fashion pages offer an aspirational yet service-focused approached to the new looks. In addition to our regular fashion content, our upcoming March issue features a 21-page runway report accompanied by shopable pieces to help our readers translate the trends at home.
For InStyle, our June issue is also one of our biggest as we celebrate the winners of the InStyle and Audi Women of Style Awards, which will mark 10 years in 2018.
What are the editorial highlights from the forthcoming issue?
InStyle’s biannual Clothes We Love special translates the trends straight from the runways. I’m also particularly proud of our beautiful new-season main fashion feature starring Australian actress and huge talent Natasha Liu–Bordizzo. There are also new-season beauty looks to try, and so much more. It’s a jam-packed issue and we can’t wait for it to hit the shelves.
TV Ratings Analysis: Wednesday February 14
By James Manning
Combined channel share still close to 40% for Seven despite an easing in the numbers for My Kitchen Rules. Seven’s primary share was on top with 25.5% and, thanks to 8% for 7mate, Seven’s combined share was on 39.0%.
Seven
Home and Away was down just 10,000 from Tuesday to 677,000.
My Kitchen Rules saw Adelaide cricket tragics Dan and Gemma hoping for a century but they fell well short on 63 after a lemon pudding fail saw the judges give them two out of 20 for the third course. The show was under 1m, which is a very rare event. In fact the smaller crowd of 930,000 was the lowest metro audience ever for the series now in its ninth season.
Night 5 of competition at the Winter Games then did 750,000, which was well down on previous evenings.
Nine
A Current Affair was just over 750,000 for its midweek episode.
The Valentine’s Day episode of Married At First Sight again pushed over 1.13m giving it a clear win all people and again in the key demos. The new post-show Talking Married on 9Life did 128,000 metro last night.
Nine turned to crime after 9pm with Serial Killer With Piers Morgan on 533,000 and then George Freeman’s Australian Crime Stories on 228,000.
TEN
Like a few programs on the channel this week, The Project has been challenged in the first week of survey. After 7pm last night the episode was under 450,000.
I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! remains the best for the channel at just over half a million.
Just why The Good Doctor can regularly do over 1m yet others are well short of the mark continues to puzzle. No doubting that Doctor is a great program, but so is This Is Us. The drama returned to TEN last night with perhaps its most-anticipated episode so far, yet it did 250,000 after Celebrity.
ABC
The final of QI, for now, did 385,000 at 8pm.
Shaun Micallef’s Mad As Hell then built the ABC audience to 489,000.
The second week of Squinters followed with 333,000 after 9pm.
Adam Hills: The Last Leg then did 199,000.
SBS
The World’s Greatest Bridges was on 253,000 and Simon Reeve’s Russia then did 244,000.
Week 7: Wednesday
| WEDNESDAY METRO | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Seven | Nine | Ten | SBS | |||||
| ABC | 9.5% | 7 | 25.5% | 9 | 22.2% | TEN | 9.6% | SBS One | 4.8% |
| ABC 2 | 2.3% | 7TWO | 3.7% | GO! | 1.7% | ONE | 1.9% | VICELAND | 0.5% |
| ABC ME | 0.8% | 7mate | 8.0% | GEM | 1.5% | ELEVEN | 2.2% | Food Net | 0.7% |
| ABC News | 1.2% | 7flix | 1.8% | 9Life | 2.0% | NITV | 0.2% | ||
| TOTAL | 13.7% | 39.0% | 27.4% | 13.7% | 6.2% | ||||
| WEDNESDAY REGIONAL | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Seven Affiliates | Nine Affiliates | Ten Affiliates | SBS | |||||
| ABC | 8.9% | 7 | 24.5% | 9 | 19.0% | WIN | 9.5% | SBS One | 4.5% |
| ABC 2 | 3.2% | 7TWO | 5.9% | GO! | 2.2% | ONE | 2.5% | VICELAND | 0.7% |
| ABC ME | 1.0% | 7mate | 7.0% | GEM | 2.2% | ELEVEN | 2.3% | Food Net | 0.7% |
| NEWS 24 | 1.4% | 7flix | 1.9% | 9Life | 2.3% | NITV | 0.1% | ||
| TOTAL | 14.5% | 39.3% | 25.7% | 14.3% | 6.0% | ||||
| WEDNESDAY METRO ALL TV | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FTA | STV | ||||||||
| 88.0% | 12.0% | ||||||||
Wednesday fta
- Married At First Sight Nine 1,133,000
- Seven News Seven 933,000
- My Kitchen Rules Seven 930,000
- Seven News / Today Tonight Seven 908,000
- Nine News Nine 825,000
- Nine News 6:30 Nine 815,000
- A Current Affair Nine 765,000
- Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games: Night 5 Seven 750,000
- Home And Away Seven 667,000
- ABC News ABC 662,000
- The Chase Australia Seven 560,000
- Serial Killer With Piers Morgan Nine 533,000
- 7.30 ABC 523,000
- I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! Ten 515,000
- Shaun Micallef’s Mad As Hell ABC 489,000
- Ten Eyewitness News First At Five Ten 445,000
- Hot Seat Nine 436,000
- The Project 7pm Ten 435,000
- The Chase Australia-5pm Seven 401,000
- QI ABC 385,000
Demo top fives
16-39 Top 5
- Married At First Sight Nine 376,000
- My Kitchen Rules Seven 207,000
- Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games: Night 5 Seven 198,000
- Serial Killer With Piers Morgan Nine 159,000
- I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! Ten 145,000
18-49 Top 5
- Married At First Sight Nine 563,000
- My Kitchen Rules Seven 352,000
- Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games: Night 5 Seven 325,000
- Serial Killer With Piers Morgan Nine 263,000
- I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! Ten 250,000
25-54 Top 5
- Married At First Sight Nine 606,000
- My Kitchen Rules Seven 392,000
- Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games: Night 5 Seven 369,000
- Serial Killer With Piers Morgan Nine 290,000
- I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! Ten 279,000
Wednesday multichannel
- Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games: Night 5 Feed 2 7mate 263,000
- X-Men 2-PM 7mate 185,000
- A Touch Of Frost-PM 7TWO 165,000
- Peppa Pig-AM ABC2 159,000
- Hey Duggee-AM ABC2 159,000
- Dot. ABC2 154,000
- Andy’s Prehistoric Adventures ABC2 152,000
- Floogals-PM ABC2 147,000
- Peppa Pig-PM ABC2 146,000
- Octonauts ABC2 145,000
- Kazoops!-PM ABC2 145,000
- Ben And Holly’s Little Kingdom-AM ABC2 144,000
- Peter Rabbit ABC2 144,000
- Go Jetters ABC2 143,000
- The Hive-PM ABC2 141,000
- Neighbours ELEVEN 140,000
- PJ Masks-AM ABC2 138,000
- Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games: Day 5 Feed 2 7mate 134,000
- Ben And Holly’s Little Kingdom ABC2 134,000
- Fireman Sam-PM ABC2 133,000
Wednesday subscription tv
- Gogglebox Australia LifeStyle Channel 116,000
- Melbourne: Real Housewives Of… ARENA 54,000
- Paul Murray Live SKY NEWS LIVE 50,000
- The Bolt Report SKY NEWS LIVE 49,000
- Location, Location, Location LifeStyle Channel 42,000
- Picnic At Hanging Rock: Director’s Cut FOX Classics 41,000
- NCIS TVH!TS 38,000
- Credlin SKY NEWS LIVE 38,000
- Live: Football: AFC Champions League FOX SPORTS 501 36,000
- Paw Patrol Nick Jr. 36,000
- The Simpsons FOX8 35,000
- Silent Witness BBC First 33,000
- Richo SKY NEWS LIVE 32,000
- The Simpsons FOX8 32,000
- Silent Witness BBC First 32,000
- Nella The Princess Knight Nick Jr. 31,000
- Police Ten 7 FOX8 30,000
- NCIS TVH!TS 30,000
- Police Ten 7 FOX8 29,000
- CSI: Crime Scene Investigation TVH!TS 29,000
Media News Roundup
Business Of Media
Network Ten appoints former sales chief Angela Neville as GM, Brisbane
Angela Neville
Neville was previously Network Ten’s Brisbane commercial manager. She first joined Network Ten in 1997 and has held several roles with the company, including group sales manager and Brisbane sales director.
Herd said: “I’m very pleased to announce this new role for Angela.
“For many years, Angela has been an integral part of the Ten team in Brisbane and nationally. She knows Ten, she knows Brisbane and South-East Queensland, and she knows what our viewers and business partners want.
“Brisbane and South-East Queensland are a very important market for Network Ten and the home of our award-winning children’s television production unit. We see a lot of potential for Ten in Queensland, and Angela will make a great leader in that market.”
Neville said: “As a proud Queenslander, I am thrilled to take on the role of General Manager for Network Ten in Brisbane.
“We have an exceptional team at Ten in Queensland, which I am honoured to lead. With our local commitment and expertise, we look forward to further enhancing our relationship with our business partners and the South-East Queensland community.”
MediaCom appoints Willie Pang CEO of MediaCom Australia & New Zealand
Willie Pang
Pang will take the reins from Sean Seamer, MediaCom’s incumbent CEO following Seamer’s recent appointment as CEO of Supercars Australia.
Pang joined MediaCom in 2015 as chief digital officer, and was then promoted to chief operating officer in July 2017.
Mark Lollback, CEO Australia & New Zealand, said of Pang’s appointment, “I am extremely pleased to announce the leadership succession of MediaCom to Willie Pang as the agency’s new CEO. Willie is an impressive and talented individual who I have no doubt will continue the incredible momentum Sean has created within MediaCom over the last two years.”
Willie Pang, CEO MediaCom ANZ, added, “I am incredibly humbled to have been appointed CEO of MediaCom ANZ. I am passionate about continuing to build upon an already skilled team, one that will deliver incredible business performance for our clients’ brands.”
The change of leadership is effective from March 1 and will see Pang continue to reside in Melbourne.
Adshel’s Sarah Brightwell moves to Southern Cross Austereo’s PodcastOne
Sarah Brightwell
Based out of Melbourne, Brightwell will report into director of sales for PodcastOne, Kim Norman.
Brightwell comes to SCA from Adshel, where she was a sales account manager in Sydney and Melbourne.
In her new role with PodcastOne, Brightwell will focus on servicing the clients and agencies in the Melbourne market.
She will commence the role on Wednesday, March 7, 2018.
News Brands
AAP to close New Zealand Newswire after failing to attract enough customers
AAP will continue to provide 24/7 Australian and world news – text, images and video – to the New Zealand media and the corporate sector.
NZN, with offices in Wellington, Auckland and Christchurch, was launched in September 2011 to report on breaking news events around the country following the closure of the 132-year-old news agency New Zealand Press Association a month earlier.
“This is a challenging and personally trying time for us,” said AAP editor-in-chief Tony Gillies.
“We threw all we could at this. Our staff, some of the best journalists in the business, have worked extremely hard to deliver a news service we have been so proud of these past seven years.”
Aside from local news, NZN journalists also filed coverage from overseas including numerous All Black rugby tours, prime ministerial trips, Olympic Games in London, Sochi and Rio plus the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
It will provide NZ coverage of the Commonwealth Games on Australia’s Gold Coast in April.
“This has been fantastic work and we will miss this,” Gillies added.
“In the end we have not been able to sustain the business. Our media customers whom we rely on for revenue continue to confront challenges in the industry.”
Having had an editorial presence in New Zealand for more than 40 years, AAP will retain two full-time journalists in the country to cover NZ events for Australian audiences.
NZN, which currently employs 14 journalists, closed its local digital news video team in September 2017.
Radio
Bloody ripper! Betoota Advocate to launch new podcast on Acast Australia
The Betoota Advocate’s Clancy Overell and Errol Parker
Acast is slating the podcast as a fresh and exciting opportunity for marketers and advertisers to tap into Betoota Advocate’s niche audience.
Acast is Nova Entertainment’s partner in the Australian podcasting market. Nova CEO Cathy O’Connor told Mediaweek in 2017 that it is now the biggest player in the Aussie market with over 2,000 podcast shows on both platforms and in excess of 3.5 million monthly listens locally and 56 million globally. The partnership sees Nova representing and selling all of Acast and Nova’s combined inventory in the Australian market.
Betoota Advocate editor Clancy Overell said of the new podcast: “Our readers rely on us for much more than the news. They need to be told how to think. They know this too.
“They need to have both their biases and remaining independent thoughts confirmed and validated by our editors and guests.
“This is what we aim to achieve, not only through ad-fuelled online articles, but now also through headphones.
“Through this internet version of radio, we can appeal to our audience’s most obscure interests, insecurities and fears – in an accessible and human format!”
Acast Australia country manager Henrik Isaksson said:
“The Betoota Advocate podcast represents the most exciting and hotly anticipated Australian podcast of 2018. With flagship podcasts like The Economist and The Financial Times on our platform globally, since launching in Australia in 2017 we’ve been on the hunt for great Aussie influencers that can provide the Australian market with local, entertaining and informative content…
“In a world where so much content competes for our attention, podcasts give consumers an opt-in experience. The Betoota Advocate podcast presents an exciting opportunity for marketers and advertisers, and enables relevant brands to leverage the niche and engaged audience.” said Isaksson.
A satirical news site founded in 2014, The Betoota Advocate describes itself saying:
For close to 200 years, our newspaper has championed and focused on the issues that affect the everyday Betootanese person, whether that be local politics, sport or a wider investigation into an aspect of the community.
Daily Telegraph’s JMo talks about jungle on Miranda Devine’s online radio show
During his time in the jungle with the celebs (Moran lived in a nearby chalet, but has expressed a desire to be an actual contestant in the jungle – “I’d love to go in there and lose so much weight!”), the Daily Telegraph entertainment reporter interviewed boxer Anthony Mundine, with the prominent convert to Islam expressing hardline views on homosexuality.
“It was one of the hardest interviews I’ve ever done,” he told Devine.
“He told me as a gay man – I’m gay, he’s not – that gay people, his solution, would either be capital punishment or the death penalty.”
Television
Nine CEO Hugh Marks hosts gathering to celebrate Michael Healy milestone
A more formal get-together will take place today in the Nine boardroom.
Colleagues of Healy at the lunch included Hugh Marks, Tom Malone, Darren Wick, Victoria Buchan, Hamish Turner, Geoff Dyer, Michael’s EA Mary-Ann Selosse, Andrew Peace, Kim Kevans, Karen Madden and Adrian Swift.
Stan and CBS All Access announce second season of the US No Activity
The US adaptation is made by executive producers Will Ferrell and Adam McKay.
Nick Forward, Stan’s chief content officer, said: “The first US season of No Activity continued the success of the original Australian series, and was a huge hit with Stan subscribers, featuring some of the biggest names in global comedy. We can’t wait to see where Trent, Patrick and the team take these characters next.”
The cast of the first season of the US adaptation of No Activity included co-developer Patrick Brammall and Tim Meadows, along with guest stars Mark Berry, Arturo Castro, Mackenzie Davis, Bridget Everett, Will Ferrell, Darren Gilshenan, Travis Guba, Jake Johnson, Sunita Mani, Jason Mantzoukas, Adrian Martinez, Jesse Plemons, Fred Pohl, Alex Rodriguez, Amy Sedaris, J.K. Simmons, Courtenay Taylor, Michaela Watkins and Daniel Zolghadri.
No Activity is produced by CBS Television Studios in association with Funny Or Die, Jungle and Gary Sanchez Productions, and is based on the Stan Original series of the same name produced by Jungle, currently streaming exclusively on Stan. The series is co-developed and executive produced by Trent O’Donnell and Patrick Brammall, alongside executive producers Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, Jason Burrows and Joe Farrell. Trent O’Donnell directed all episodes.
Producer Ryan Murphy moves from Fox to Netflix: The lure – $300m
Ryan Murphy
Ryan Murphy’s new original series, Ratched and The Politician, will premiere globally on Netflix. Murphy also oversees production on the following series: American Crime Story, American Horror Story, Feud, 9-1-1 and the upcoming Pose.
Murphy will be leaving 20th Century Fox for a deal reportedly worth US$300m over five years.
“Ryan Murphy’s series have influenced the global cultural zeitgeist, reinvented genres and changed the course of television history. His unfaltering dedication to excellence and to give voice to the underrepresented, to showcase a unique perspective or just to shock the hell out of us, permeates his genre-shattering work,” said Ted Sarandos, chief content officer at Netflix.
“From Nip/Tuck – our first licensed series – to American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson and American Horror Story, we’ve seen how his brand of storytelling captivates consumers and critics across the globe. His celebrated body of work and his contributions to our industry speak for themselves, and we look forward to supporting Ryan in bringing his broad and diverse stories to the world.”
“The history of this moment is not lost on me,” said Murphy. “I am a gay kid from Indiana who moved to Hollywood in 1989 with $55 dollars in savings in my pocket, so the fact that my dreams have crystallised and come true in such a major way is emotional and overwhelming to me. I am awash in genuine appreciation for Ted Sarandos, Reed Hastings and Cindy Holland at Netflix for believing in me and the future of my company, which will continue to champion women, minorities and LGBTQ heroes and heroines, and I am honoured and grateful to continue my partnership with my friends and peers at Fox on our existing shows.”
Digital Content Ratings
Digital Content Ratings: MSN News finds itself in top 10 in news category
The rest of the chart remains unchanged with news.com.au, nine.com.au and ABC news websites again holding the top three positions.
We also look at the Travel category this week where news.com.au – Travel is a clear leader. Sitting at #2 is the Fairfax Media destination Traveller.
Sports Media
Sky and BT again claim most of Premier League games after rights auction
With four packs of rights totalling 128 Premier League games a season, up from 126 matches currently, the deal will offer Sky Sports viewers every first-pick weekend match, plus Saturday evening fixtures for the first time, all screened on Sky’s dedicated Premier League channel.
Sky has chosen to pay £1,193 million per annum under the terms of the new deal, down £199 million per annum, a 16% cost reduction per game versus the current agreement.
Sky noted it strengthened its position as the best provider of the broadest range of content, which includes 10 channels of sport covering live Premier League, English Football League, Scottish Football, exclusive coverage of Formula 1 from 2019 to 2024, plus England cricket through to 2024.
British telco BT reported BT Sport will continue to show games at 5.30pm on Saturdays next season and then move to Saturday lunchtime fixtures from August 2019.
BT also recently agreed to a multiyear agency deal to market and sell Sky’s NOW TV service to BT customers, which includes Sky Sports, from early 2019. Sky is also marketing BT Sport to its customers.
Rights to some games did not meet the reserve price so there are two rights packages still for sale. As BT noted, the Premier League auction remains ongoing and BT will continue to engage with the Premier League regarding the remaining rights.
Despite reported interest from internet giants Facebook, Google and Amazon, it seems bids were not forthcoming.
New Magazines This Week
