Wednesday June 27, 2018

Can Melbourne cope with hearing a Pom on the radio? Welcome to The Christian O'Connell Breakfast Show

In nearly every part of the media and sports worlds, talent is exported and imported regularly. That just doesn’t happen though in radio. Until now.

By James Manning

ARN content director Duncan Campbell’s bold experiment to move Absolute Radio’s Christian O’Connell to Melbourne is a gamble.

Just ask the new immigrant.

“Once I arrived I appreciated the enormity of what I am taking on,” O’Connell told Mediaweek after his Tuesday program Gold 104.3 – show #17 in its fourth week.

“In England I was focusing on finishing my radio show after 12 years, the visa application process, kids in schools and where are we going to live.

“When we got here we realised just how big a change this was.

“Radio in Australia is a very big and very serious business and more intense than in the UK. I have never felt more excited to be on-air because I really have to work at this. When you have been doing breakfast radio as long as I have in the UK, you are known, you have an audience and they get the show and they get you. It is quite easy after a while to surf on that and just ride it.

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

AFL commercial boss Kylie Rogers: 'I can see our revenue tripling in the next three years'

Former Mamamia Women’s Network MD Kylie Rogers took a leap of faith in 2017 when she left the organisation after four years to move to AFL. She is the general manager for commercial at the sporting body.

By Kruti Joshi

• How the AFL is tapping into consumer data with Audience360 partnership

“I expected to walk into a boys club. It was surprising to see that it’s nothing like that,” Rogers told Mediaweek. “The diversity is obvious and the opportunities for women are real.”

Prior to Mamamia, Rogers had worked at Ten for over 15 years. “I have absolutely experienced boys club coming from Network Ten. Then I had a diversity problem working at Mamamia with 150 women. AFL is a happy mix between the two.

Rogers is born and bred in Melbourne. However, she’d been living in Sydney for the last 20 years. Therefore, moving back to her hometown was still a “big move” for the media veteran.

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

‘Sundays are changing’ but sport still key for News Corp's Sunday Telegraph​

Sport is a big part of The Sunday Telegraph’s offering for Sydney. The newspaper has gone through a number of changes in terms of its layout, but what hasn’t changed is the location of its sport liftout, which is in the middle of the book.

By Kruti Joshi

“It allows people to isolate that section from the rest. It gives it a premium feel,” editor Mick Carroll told Mediaweek.

During the winter season, NRL is the most popular sport among the readers of the Sunday paper. It becomes its #1 priority. In the edition before the second State of Origin game, it published a 16-page special. “We have the best NRL reporters by a thousand miles,” Carroll said, giving special mention to Phil Rothfield. “There’s not much in NRL that happens that Phil and the team don’t know about.”

Following the end of the NRL season, Carroll will be heavily focused on covering the cricket. Fox Sports, owned by News Corp Australia, won the broadcast rights for the sport in conjunction with Seven earlier this year. The deal between Cricket Australia and the two broadcasters is for six years.

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

Top photo: NRL CEO Todd Greenberg and The Sunday Telegraph’s Mick Carroll

SPA reveals top challenges facing screen producers: 22% making a loss

SPA has engaged Deloitte Access Economics to undertake a study into the current state of the independent film and television sector in Australia and the key issues it is facing.

Deloitte conducted a survey of production businesses and productions themselves to aggregate the size and scale of the independent sector in the calendar year 2017.

Summary of the key findings

• The independent screen sector generated $1.2 billion in production revenue and supported nearly 20,000 jobs.

The survey captured scripted (drama) and unscripted (reality, light entertainment) content, with an almost even split between the two genres.

• 47% of television productions surveyed received some government funding.
• 46% of commissions surveyed were from public broadcasters (ABC & SBS).
• 22% of surveyed production businesses made a loss (a very high proportion of these businesses had revenue under $1 million).
• 48% of production businesses made a slight profit.
• All production companies with revenue over $25 million made a profit.

Top challenges facing producers

• 44% of respondents cited broadcaster bargaining power as a challenge.
• 34% cited high labour/capital costs in Australia.
• 29% cited sector-specific government tax policy, international competition and competition from video on demand services.
• 26% cited the broadcasters’ trend towards vertically integrated production.

International opportunity

• 43% of production businesses exported, compared with 7.6% in the broader economy.
• 14% of total revenue was export revenue ($163 million).
• Key markets were North America and Europe.

Download the complete report here.

Top photo: Aaron Pedersen in Mystery Road (credit: John Platt)

E! Entertainment Television expands digital publishing business in Australia

E! Entertainment Television Australia – NBCUniversal International Networks’ (NBCUIN) pop culture channel – is expanding its digital publishing business in Australia with the appointment of a local E! News editorial team.

NBCUIN said in a release that E! News is the go-to destination for entertainment news stories, currently reaching over 800,000 unique visitors from Australia each month:

“The appointment of the E! News Australia editorial team is integral to our digital content strategy, which seeks to grow our local digital audience and in turn introduce new viewers to our linear channel,” said Chris Taylor, managing director, NBCUniversal International Networks and Television Distribution, ANZ.

“We have opened up new revenue opportunities in the branded content, native editorial and video space, offering our advertising clients integrated partnerships across our multiplatform ecosystem.”

The newly created E! News Australia editorial team will be responsible for delivering local pop culture news, red carpet event coverage, exclusive interviews, celebrity lifestyle content, video entertainment packages and social initiatives, which will sit alongside E! News US content.

The E! News Australia new appointments are:

• Ashley Spencer (pictured L) has been appointed managing editor, E! News Australia. Spencer was previously editor of Nine Entertainment Co.’s TheFIX and senior editor at Us Weekly in New York. She has also written for The Hollywood Reporter, VICE, Women’s Health and HuffPost.

• Winsome Walker (pictured R) joins as associate editor. Walker was formerly a digital content editor for marie claire and has also held roles at Who magazine and News Corp.

Additionally, a network of contributors in Australia will deliver long-form articles, opinion pieces and TV recaps.

Continued at mediaweek.com.au.

TV Ratings Analysis: Tuesday June 26

• Seven wins the night in primary and combined channel share
• MasterChef back on top: biggest 2018 crowd for immunity pin battle
• SBS pulls 850,000 after midnight as Australia departs World Cup

By James Manning

Seven

Home and Away lifted from 716,000 on Monday to 766,000 last night.

The third episode of House Rules this week was on 756,000 after 804,000 last week.

Interview was back over half a million last night with guests Denise Scott and Tim Winton. The show did 434,000 a week ago.

Andrew Denton and Tim Winton

Nine

A Current Affair has had a second consecutive audience of 847,000. The episode reported on the scam that could cost former MasterChef contestant Dani Venn her new home.

The new Buying Blind was again hovering just over half a million.

The movie Ocean’s 12 then did 254,000.

TEN

The Project started its hour on 370,000 and then lifted to 631,000 after 7pm.

MasterChef posted its biggest audience of the year as a professional chef in the immunity challenge posted what must be one of the lowest scores ever. The program did 939,000 while chef Alice had a total of 18. Her contestant challenger Kristen Sheffield also scored 18, which alas means no pin this week.

Shark Tank then did 610,000 after 567,000 a week ago.

ABC

At 8pm Making Childhood Prodigies did 309,000.

Back In Time For Dinner was visiting the 90s this week with 488,000 after 575,000 visited the 80s last week.

Sue Perkins And The Chimp Sanctuary then did 198,000.

SBS

The final week of FIFA World Cup group matches meant nothing again until midnight, which is when 842,000 were watching Australia take on Peru.

The Socceroos were defeated 2-0 by Peru

Iran v Portugal then did 66,000 at 4am.

Both matches covered live on Viceland at midnight and 4am didn’t make our data, meaning audiences under 50,000.

Earlier in the night a repeat of Who Do You Think You Are? was on 263,000 and Insight did 252,000.

Week 26 TV: Tuesday
TUESDAY METRO
ABCSeven AffiliatesNine AffiliatesTen AffiliatesSBS
ABC9.8%719.3%916.1%WIN15.9%SBS One9.2%
ABC 22.3%7TWO3.2%GO!3.8%ONE2.5%VICELAND1.0%
ABC ME0.7%7mate4.5%GEM3.4%ELEVEN2.3%Food Net0.8%
ABC NEWS1.3%7flix2.5%9Life1.2%NITV0.1%
TOTAL14.0%29.5%24.5%20.7%11.2%
TUESDAY REGIONAL
ABCSevenNineTenSBS
ABC9.6%721.9%913.2%TEN12.3%SBS One5.7%
ABC 23.1%7TWO4.0%GO!4.2%ONE2.6%VICELAND1.2%
ABC ME1.2%7mate6.4%GEM6.2%ELEVEN2.2%Food Net1.0%
ABC NEWS1.2%7flix2.4%9Life1.2%NITV0.2%
TOTAL15.1%34.7%24.8%17.1%8.1%
TUESDAY METRO ALL TV
FTASTV
86.3%13.7%
Tuesday fta
  1. Seven News Seven 1,107,000
  2. Seven News / Today Tonight Seven 1,091,000
  3. Nine News Nine 955,000
  4. Nine News 6:30 Nine 950,000
  5. Masterchef Australia Ten 938,000
  6. A Current Affair Nine 847,000
  7. 2018 FIFA World Cup: Aus v Per Live SBS 842,000
  8. Home And Away Seven 766,000
  9. House Rules Seven 756,000
  10. ABC News ABC 666,000
  11. The Chase Australia Seven 644,000
  12. The Project 7pm Ten 631,000
  13. Shark Tank Ten 610,000
  14. Hot Seat Nine 580,000
  15. Interview Seven 522,000
  16. Buying Blind Nine 519,000
  17. 2018 FIFA World Cup: Aus v Per Post-Match SBS 489,000
  18. Back In Time For Dinner ABC 488,000
  19. 7.30 ABC 460,000
  20. Ten Eyewitness News First At Five Ten 445,000
Demo top fives

16-39 Top 5

  1. 2018 FIFA World Cup: Aus v Per Live SBS 353,000
  2. Masterchef Australia Ten 309,000
  3. The Project 7pm Ten 219,000
  4. Shark Tank Ten 218,000
  5. 2018 FIFA World Cup: Aus v Per Post-Match SBS 211,000

 

18-49 Top 5

  1. 2018 FIFA World Cup: Aus v Per Live SBS 509,000
  2. Masterchef Australia Ten 473,000
  3. The Project 7pm Ten 319,000
  4. Shark Tank Ten 318,000
  5. House Rules Seven 309,000

 

25-54 Top 5

  1. Masterchef Australia Ten 506,000
  2. 2018 FIFA World Cup: Aus v Per Live SBS 473,000
  3. Seven News / Today Tonight Seven 357,000
  4. Shark Tank Ten 343,000
  5. House Rules Seven 333,000
Tuesday multichannel
  1. Outback Truckers-PM 7mate 229,000
  2. Highway Patrol E2-PM 7mate 209,000
  3. PJ Masks-PM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 200,000
  4. Floogals ABCKIDS/COMEDY 198,000
  5. Dinosaur Train ABCKIDS/COMEDY 191,000
  6. Teacup Travels-PM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 189,000
  7. Highway Patrol-PM 7mate 187,000
  8. Peter Rabbit ABCKIDS/COMEDY 186,000
  9. Love Island Australia 9GO! 185,000
  10. Octonauts ABCKIDS/COMEDY 185,000
  11. Peppa Pig-PM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 180,000
  12. The Big Bang Theory TX2 9GO! 176,000
  13. New Tricks 9Gem 162,000
  14. The Big Bang Theory TX1 9GO! 161,000
  15. Shaun The Sheep ABCKIDS/COMEDY 161,000
  16. Andy’s Baby Animals ABCKIDS/COMEDY 159,000
  17. Full Custom Garage-PM 7mate 156,000
  18. Kazoops!-PM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 152,000
  19. Thomas And Friends-AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 151,000
  20. Midsomer Murders 9Gem 149,000
Tuesday subscription tv
  1. Live: AFL 360 FOX FOOTY 87,000
  2. Wentworth showcase 87,000
  3. Family Guy FOX8 73,000
  4. Family Guy FOX8 60,000
  5. The Bolt Report SKY NEWS LIVE 56,000
  6. Live: NRL 360 FOX LEAGUE 55,000
  7. Bob FOX FOOTY 52,000
  8. Jones & Co SKY NEWS LIVE 51,000
  9. The Simpsons FOX8 50,000
  10. Criminal Minds TVH!TS 49,000
  11. Live: Back Page FOX SPORTS 501 47,000
  12. Peppa Pig Nick Jr. 46,000
  13. American Dad! FOX8 45,000
  14. Peppa Pig Nick Jr. 42,000
  15. NCIS TVH!TS 41,000
  16. Paw Patrol Nick Jr. 40,000
  17. Credlin SKY NEWS LIVE 40,0
  18. Kid-E-Cats Nick Jr. 40,000
  19. Paul Murray Live SKY NEWS LIVE 38,000
  20. AFL: Open Mike Classics FOX FOOTY 38,000

Shares all people, 6pm-midnight, Overnight (Live and AsLive), Audience numbers FTA metro, Sub TV national
Source: OzTAM and Regional TAM 2018. The Data may not be reproduced, published or communicated (electronically or in hard copy) without the prior written consent of OzTAM

Media News Roundup

Business Of Media

Patrick Delany adds to Foxtel leadership team ahead of platform relaunch

Foxtel CEO Patrick Delany has announced a number of appointments of the recently merged Foxtel/Fox Sports businesses.

Peter Campbell has been promoted to head of Fox Sports after working as COO. Campbell is a former director of sport and Olympic Games at Foxtel, and he also spent several years as general manager of AFL Media.

After consulting for Foxtel recently, former Nine executive Amanda Laing has been appointed Foxtel chief commercial officer. Delany said Laing will be responsible for the development and execution of content strategy and negotiations, partnerships and all major commercial relationships. In addition to this, Laing will take on responsibility for Foxtel’s Telstra and other wholesale relationships.

Julian Ogrin is joining Foxtel to head IP strategy as Foxtel plans on developing streaming products. He joins Foxtel from telecommunications company amaysim where he has been managing director and CEO since 2015, and will start his new role in late July.

Delany noted the above appointments complement recent additions to the Foxtel executive leadership team – Euan Smith, as chief operating officer, and James Marsh, as chief financial officer.

JCDecaux settles on price for acquisition of APN Outdoor – $6.70 per share

JCDecaux has agreed to acquire 100% of the issued share capital of APN Outdoor for a cash price of $6.70 per share.

The scheme of arrangement values APN Outdoor’s equity at approximately $1.119b.

The price of $6.70 per share represents:

• 18% premium to the closing price on June 19, 2018 of $5.68
• 26% premium to the 3-month volume weighted average price (VWAP) to June 19, 2018 of $5.32
• 34% premium to the 6-month VWAP to June 19, 2018 of $5.01.

The APN Outdoor board also intends to declare a fully franked special dividend of up to $0.30 per share immediately prior to implementation of the scheme.

The scheme is subject to certain conditions, including approval from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), the Australian Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) and the New Zealand Overseas Investment Office (OIO) (if required).

APN Outdoor’s board of directors unanimously recommend that APN Outdoor shareholders vote in favour of the scheme, in the absence of a superior proposal and subject to an independent expert concluding (and continuing to conclude) that the scheme is in the best interests of APN Outdoor shareholders.

APN Outdoor expects to update the market on an indicative timetable during July 2018.

Read more at mediaweek.com.au.

James Warburton pays tribute to APN Outdoor team, business as usual for now

APN Outdoor chief executive James Warburton has credited the out-of-home advertiser’s staff as the driving force that helped the business win back positive momentum, ultimately leading to its $1.2 billion all-cash takeover by JCDecaux, report The AFR’s Max Mason and Sarah Thompson.

“It’s real credit to the APN team,” Warburton told the Financial Review. “There are a lot of good people here. They don’t lose their ability – they just lose their confidence. It’s just been about putting it back.

“It’s been a great five months for the management team – we’ve been able to drive a significant level of value in terms of the business. Obviously, that’s led to where we are today in terms of the proposal and the takeover by JCDecaux.”

The deal is subject to APN shareholder, Foreign Investment Review Board, Federal Court and Australian Competition and Consumer Commission approvals.

Warburton said APN Outdoor will operate in a business-as-usual fashion, and is expected to announce key initiatives and contract wins in the coming months.

[Read the original]

Netflix co-founder and former CEO Marc Randolph speaks in Sydney

Netflix co-founder and former chief executive Marc Randolph was in town with an incredibly sober message: it takes only a handful of people to disrupt and eventually kill off a multibillion-dollar business, reports The Australian’s Chris Griffith.

That’s exactly what he and co-founder Reed Hastings, the current chief executive, did to video chain Blockbuster from 2000.

“So we had about 100 employees. They had 60,000,” he told the Macquarie Perspective 2018 conference in Sydney yesterday.

He said eventually he and Hastings pitched to Blockbuster that the two firms could join forces with Netflix running its part-time DVD mail-order business and Blockbuster its stores.

The two offered to sell Netflix to Blockbuster for $US50 million.

[Read the original]

Sumner Redstone’s Battle for Viacom, CBS, and Everlasting Control of Empire

The Hollywood Reporter is running an excerpt from a new book sure to find a place at the bedside of many media executives:

One of the biggest dramas in Hollywood today is the battle over Viacom and CBS, separate companies controlled by Sumner Redstone through his company National Amusements. As the 95-year-old Redstone nears death, his daughter Shari and CBS chairman Les Moonves are fighting for control of the empire. Shari wants to merge the two companies (as they were until 2006) and Moonves wants the stronger CBS kept separate.

In The King of Content: Sumner Redstone’s Battle for Viacom, CBS, and Everlasting Control of His Media Empire (HarperBusiness), journalist Keach Hagey charts Redstone’s life from his childhood in Boston to Harvard Law School to how he turned his father’s small theatre chain into one of the biggest media conglomerates in the world. Along the way she reveals the ruthless means Redstone used against not just business rivals, but his own family to achieve his business goals, his sordid personal life and his obsession with immortality.

[Read the excerpt]

News Brands

Queensland’s The Sunday Mail editor Peter Gleeson takes role with Sky News

Queensland’s The Sunday Mail editor Peter Gleeson has been promoted to a five-day on-air role with Sky News Australia.

Peter Gleeson

He will be the voice and face of northern Australia across a number of Sky News programs. Along with this, he will also take over the hosting duties from Janine Perrett on the channel’s late night national affairs program Heads Up from Friday to Sunday. The show airs at 11pm on Sky News Live.

With this change, Gleeson will step down as editor of The Sunday Mail – a role he has held since 2013. However, he will continue to pen a weekly column of the News Corp paper in Brisbane.

The deputy editor of The Courier Mail, Kelvin Healey, has been announced as the new editor of The Sunday Mail. Healey has been the deputy editor of The Courier Mail for the last two years and served in the same capacity at Sydney’s The Daily Telegraph for two years prior.

Read more at mediaweek.com.au.

MCN’s Cathryn Adams moving to Sky News as commercial director

Sky News has appointed Cathryn Adams to the senior leadership role of commercial director.

Cathryn Adams

Adams will lead the company’s commercial strategies, partnerships and content sales across its suite of premium and award-winning Sky News channels including Sky News Live, Sky News Extra and Sky News UK.

She will also drive commercial opportunities for the growing Sky News digital product offering across SkyNews.com.au, Qantas in-flight news, Sky News Radio, podcasts, out-of-home news services and its international OTT streaming service AustraliaChannel.com.au.

Adams brings more than 14 years of experience and market knowledge to the role. She has worked across a wide range of sales and brand marketing roles and was most recently at the Multi-Channel Network, where she was the group manager of Multiply. Prior to this, Adams managed MCN’s strategic partnership opportunities for Sky News from 2011 to 2014.

Television

ABC Commercial sells award-winning drama Redfern Now to France

ABC Commercial has sold the award-winning indigenous Australian drama Redfern Now (12 x 60 mins) to France’s national public broadcaster France Télévisions.

Following its successful run on ABC TV in Australia, the deal includes seasons 1 and 2 of the acclaimed drama, with France TV securing the broadcast rights for three years. The series will begin airing on France O and France Outre-Mer 1ère later this year.

Featuring an all-star indigenous Australian cast, including Deborah Mailman (Mabo, The Sapphires), Dean Daley-Jones (Toomelah, Mad Bastards), Miranda Tapsell (The Sapphires), Jimi Bani (Mabo, The Straits), Shari Sebbens (The Sapphires), Wayne Blair (Cleverman) and Kelton Pell (Cloudstreet, The Circuit), each season follows six powerful stories of inner-city indigenous life, written and directed by some of Australia’s most celebrated indigenous creatives.

Redfern Now has long been lauded here in Australia for its true-to-life storytelling, world-class indigenous cast and acclaimed creative team,” said Jessica Ellis, head of content sales and distribution for ABC Commercial. “We’re thrilled to be working with France TV to bring this award-winning Australian drama series to French-speaking audiences.”

Redfern Now is a Blackfella Films production, in association with ABC TV, Screen Australia and Screen NSW. Directed by Rachel Perkins, Catriona McKenzie, Wayne Blair, Leah Purcell, Adrian Russell Wills and Beck Cole, the series was produced by Darren Dale and Miranda Dear, with Sally Riley serving as ABC executive producer and Jimmy McGovern as story producer.

ABC’s early evening schedule: The future of Think Tank is under a cloud

The future of Think Tank is under a cloud with insiders saying there are no immediate plans to film any more episodes of the ABC quiz show, reports News Corp’s Colin Vickery.

The potential axing comes as the ABC looks at a range of ways to improve the ratings of its 7pm news, which has suffered a sizeable drop since last year.

The ABC originally commissioned 75 episodes of Think Tank, hosted by Paul McDermott, for the 6pm weeknight slot. The show launched on February 5.

Now the ABC appears to have run out of first-run episodes and is currently screening repeats of the program, which is based on a British format.

[Read the original]

Dave Hughes likened to modern-day Bert Newton ahead of Logies gig

Hughesy is reluctantly opening the Logie Awards for the fourth year in a row, reports News Corp’s Anna Brain.

Reluctant because he is delaying a family holiday in order to do so, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be phoning it in.

A perfectionist who won’t settle for sloppy comedy, he is constantly workshopping material for his all-important monologue during conversation and interviews.

“I do like it,” he says of TV’s most notoriously difficult gig.

“I mean it’s work, but it’s fun, you know?

“I’ll definitely be a target for myself. I mean, I bought a house on The Block last year and invested three million dollars of my own money on a television show… You can’t say I’m not committed to the industry.”

Hughesy laughs at the suggestion that in terms of broad appeal and consistency, he might be a modern-day Bert Newton.

“A few years ago, Bert Newton actually talked me up in that way. It was very flattering to hear Bert say that.”

[Read the original]

TV Demand charts: The Handmaid’s Tale in top spot as second season finishes

As the second season of The Handmaid’s Tale draws to a close, the series, screened on SBS in Australia and on Lightbox in New Zealand, has moved to the top of the Digital Originals charts in both markets.

Elisabeth Moss in The Handmaid’s Tale

Moving into the charts, and sitting at #3 in both markets, is the Netflix reboot of Queer Eye For The Straight Guy, now re-titled just Queer Eye. Netflix has pumped out two seasons of the show and also just recently released the Yass! Australia special.

The Love Island franchise is taking over the Overall TV charts with both Love Island Australia and the new Love Island season from the UK now top 10 in Australia while Love Island has moved up the NZ chart. New to that chart in Australia this week are Rupaul’s Drag Race (which has been charting in NZ for the past three weeks) and The Supernatural.

Nielsen Social Content Ratings: State Of Origin beats the World Cup

Nine News ranks #1 ahead of the SBS review program World Cup Today on the Non-Sport Nielsen Social Content Ratings.

The Blues celebrate winning the 2018 State Of Origin

Love Island Australia is also top five as is SBS World News.

On the live sport chart, game two of the State Of Origin series ranks #1 ahead of the World Cup coverage on SBS with the Denmark v Australia match plus England v Panama both ranking this week.

Sports Media

Telco OVO is bringing grassroots rugby via the Brumbies to its app OVOPlay

Telco OVO is bringing grassroots rugby to its app OVOPlay. The company has signed a digital broadcasting deal with the Australian rugby union football team Brumbies for the John I Dent Cup.

Under the agreement, the Brumbies will broadcast each Match of the Week from the ACT Club Rugby John I Dent Cup on OVOPlay from July 2018. OVOPlay will also broadcast highlights, interviews and behind-the-scenes content, making it all available free-to-air for Australians and data-free for OVO subscribers.

The telco is in talks with more club rugby organisations for similar deals. OVO is working toward introducing a self-serve production platform for grassroots rugby clubs to live broadcast and upload their own events to the platform by early 2019.

The Brumbies, who started streaming John I Dent matches in 2016, sought out OVO after seeing the success it had delivered to the likes of Water Polo Australia and Gymnastics Australia in building audience and encouraging participation in the sports.

Read more at mediaweek.com.au.

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