Mediaweek started the week of radio survey 1 speaking with SCA’s Brian Gallagher. We finish what has been a big week for radio spending time with one of the key drivers behind the success of Nova Entertainment.

• Radio Ratings: Network programmers on GfK survey #1, 2018

“I love my music,” Andrew Will told Mediaweek about why he decided to leave the TV sector for radio seven years ago.

“The community feel that the Nova workplace has was another appeal.”

Nova Entertainment’s Melbourne commercial director was talking to Mediaweek in his Melbourne office adjacent to the sales floor, which was brimming with energy.

Although he enjoyed his time in TV working for Nine and then Seven, Will admitted he wished he’d made the move to radio a little earlier in his career.

When we suggested there seemed to be a little less pressure in the radio world than working in television, Will replied: “I would agree with that. TV takes a little longer to reach the audience. Some of the content is filmed and goes to air much later. Everything in radio is live or on a much shorter cycle.”

That has benefits for advertisers too. “If you want to get a message to air, we can head into the studio and get it to air within an hour.”

Will looks after a sales team of 45 in Melbourne who cover agencies and direct business. “Our job is to commercialise any asset that Nova Entertainment creates.”

When asked if there was much internal checking of how much business the respective markets write, Will said there was “healthy competition”.

—

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

• SEN and Crocmedia announce merger plans, Hutchy to run new company
• Pacific Star reports improved results ahead of Crocmedia merger

The proposals all related to the merger of Pacific Star with Crocmedia, which was in effect a reverse takeover with Pacific Star acquiring Crocmedia and then engaging Crocmedia to run the business.

Pacific Star operates a number of media businesses, most prominent among them Melbourne radio station 1116 SEN.

The proposed board and senior management team includes three existing Pacific Star Network executives, chairman Craig Coleman and directors Andrew Moffat and Colm O’Brien, plus three from Crocmedia – managing director Craig Hutchison, executive director Chris Giannopoulos and general manager Jodie Simm.

The meeting was presented with an overview of the sports, entertainment and lifestyle content business, details of its footprint and details of the revenue sources.

Shareholders were told the deal placed the value of the merged business at the lower end of comparable media businesses.

Proxy voting resulted in a Yes vote recorded for every resolution with the highest No vote related to the proposals to give a performance bonus via shares to Hutchison and Giannopoulos. Even then the No vote was less than 1% of the overall.

As part of a national roadshow to launch Crocmedia’s coverage of the AFL and NRL seasons, Hutchison was in Adelaide last night for an AFL Nation launch.

Photo: Craig Hutchison with Malcolm Blight

• Every 2018 F1 event after Melbourne exclusively live on Fox Sports

Fox Sports is promising to deliver its biggest-ever coverage of the 2018 Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix, with the qualifying sessions and race available ad-break free for the first time ever.

Fox Sports will deliver live, start-to-finish coverage of the event, all on a dedicated 24/7 pop-up channel, with all practice sessions also available live in HD.

The Australian Grand Prix launches the biggest year of Formula 1, with every event after the season opening race available exclusively live on Fox Sports.

Fans can also stream all of the action live via Foxtel Now.

Fox Sports’ head of television Steve Crawley said: “In 2018, we’ll deliver motorsport fans what they want – ad-break free coverage of the Melbourne Grand Prix qualifying and race for the first time. This means that every race on the Formula 1 calendar is now ad-break free for Foxtel viewers.

“After the season opener in Melbourne, Fox Sports will be the only place to watch every race from practice through to the main race live. If you love F1, Fox Sports is the place to be.”

Daniel Riccardo (credit: Shutterstock)

Fox Sports 506 will become the home of the Australian Grand Prix from Monday (March 19), before the live action begins on March 22.

And for the first time, the Coates Hire Supercars Melbourne 400 will count towards the Championship, launching a massive four days of live racing.

Supercars Trackside returns from 5pm on March 22, and 7.15pm on March 25 to preview and review the Supercars action.

Fox Sports’ commentary team, featuring Jess Yates, Mark Skaife and Russell Ingall, returns to host the 60-minute programs alongside Supercars experts Neil Crompton and Greg Murphy, and technical analyst Mark Larkham.

Chris Stubbs and Riana Crehan will keep fans up to date with the latest and breaking news from Pit Lane.

In addition to wall-to-wall coverage of both events, the pop-up channel will feature classic Formula 1 and Supercars races and reviews of past seasons.

Fox Sports will broadcast Sky Sports’ world-class production to Australian viewers, providing them with unparalleled Formula 1 coverage. With ex-drivers Martin Brundle, Damon Hill and Johnny Herbert and commentators Ted Kravitz and David Croft as part of the lineup, fans receive all the news and analysis from the ground at every race.

Fox Sports’ Formula 1 Race Centre will be the ultimate companion to the TV broadcast. Available via foxsports.com.au and the Fox Sports app, the Race Centre will offer fans unrivalled access to four additional video streams including live timing, in-car cameras, pit lane with snippets from team radios and a driver tracker, plus an up-to-the minute blog of key events during the race.

The Supercars Race Centre will offer fans access to team radio, car telemetry for all 26 Supercars, plus live timing and racing stats, along with a dedicated Supercars blog.

News Corp Australia’s united TV and news publishing businesses undertook the epic tour, showcasing their combined NRL and AFL expertise to footy fans across the country.

The event at Prahran’s Flying Duck Hotel in Melbourne caps off the four-week tour, which has visited 10 towns in three states and engaged thousands of footy fans at school visits, footy clinics and expert footy panels at local pubs in each location.

Building on the success of the original tour in Victoria last year, Foxtel and News Corp Australia again joined forces with the stars of Fox League, Fox Footy and footy writers from Australia’s most-read newspapers to stage the roadshow as part of an expanded Full-On Footy Tour.

Fox Full-On Footy Tour panellists Lehmo, Jonathan Brown and Mick Malthouse with a replica of the 2018 AFL Premiership Cup. Picture: Ian Currie

Former NRL and AFL greats and the faces of Foxtel’s dedicated Rugby League and AFL channels along with News Corp’s top footy writers visited regional centres including Newcastle, Wollongong, Bathurst, Townsville, Cairns, Sunshine Coast, Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo and Melbourne.

Viewers and readers were invited to register to attend the free events which were held at schools and Foxtel venues across the eastern seaboard.

NRL icons Matty Johns, Gorden Tallis, Justin Hodges, Corey Parker, Bryan Fletcher and Nathan Hindmarsh along with League Life hosts Jess Yates and Hannah Hollis visited Queensland and New South Wales and met fans on the NRL tour.

Some of AFL’s biggest names, including Jonathan Brown, Dermott Brereton, Nick Riewoldt, Garry Lyon, Jason Dunstall, David King and Paul Roos, joined Fox Footy’s Sarah Jones and Kelli Underwood as part of the AFL tour.

Also attending was MD of commercial for HWT Peter Zavecz and he was joined by some of the editorial team from the Herald Sun – head of sport Matthew Kitchin and editorial business manager Tom Salom.

It’s a busy couple of days for Zavecz who front up with 1699 other people at the World’s Longest Lunch today, which launches the Melbourne Food and Wine festival. The Herald Sun is one of the event partners.

Fox Full-On Footy Tour panellists: Melbourne ruckman Max Gawn (centre) with a replica of the 2018 AFL Premiership Cup and (from left) David King, Sam Edmunds, Jonathan Brown, Lehmo, Mick Malthouse and Mark Robinson. Picture: Ian Currie

In addition to the Herald Sun, other News Corp Australia newspapers supported the tour across print and online including The Daily Telegraph in NSW, the Townsville Bulletin, Cairns Post and Sunshine Coast Daily in Qld and Geelong Advertiser in Victoria.

In Melbourne, a star-studded panel – moderated by the Herald Sun’s Sam Edmund – featured chief football writer and AFL 360 co-host Mark Robinson, new recruit columnist Max Gawn, three-time premiership coach and columnist Mick Malthouse, plus Fox Footy’s Jonathan Brown and David King.

—

Top photo: St Kilda champion Nick Riewoldt with kids at Pleasant Street Primary School in Ballarat as part of the Full-On Footy Tour. Picture: Ian Currie. Source: News Corp Australia

Now, I have been campaigning about this for years (just ask Jonesy and Amanda, although Jonesy would prefer Cops LAC to return) but the timing could not be more perfect now. The 90s are back, baby, and TV series like Will & Grace, Roseanne and Murphy Brown are all picking up where they left off (even if that involves re-writing a bit of history… like Will & Grace’s kids and Dan Connor’s death).

The Age’s Karl Quinn recently wondered which Aussie series should come back and he suggested Heartbreak High (sure), Chances (um, no) and E Street (hell yeah, but what about Pacific Drive too – hope you still treasure your autographed Trey Devlin fan card). Anyway, no surprise that Quinn’s top pick was Frontline, which he described as “one of the best comedies to ever come out of this country”. Ditto that.

TV has changed a lot since Frontline but tabloid TV is still strong. Back then, there was Real Life, Hinch and Today Tonight but today, only A Current Affair and 60 Minutes survive. I agree with you that Tracey Grimshaw is brilliant but how do you send that up? Luckily, during the past 25 years there was also Naomi Robson, so put a lizard on your shoulder and pull out those shoulder pads again, because Frontline would now be hosted by Brooke Vandenberg.

You joked that Brooke probably has her own show on Sky “very late on a Friday night” where she has to “do her own hair and makeup” (could she also have to share a bathroom with Andrew Bolt and Alan Jones?). Maybe something happens to Brooke on some celeb reality show (so tragic it even features the Oldfields) and that opens the door for her to return to Frontline. Come on, you know you want to do this – who wouldn’t want to play Brooke Vandenberg when she gets to be the star and therefore, ever more monstrous than before?

Is Mike Moore (Rob Sitch) working for CNN overseas but looking for any excuse to return? Has Marty Di Stasio (Tiriel Mora) been reduced to doing infomercials? Can you please bring back publicist Jan Whelan (Genevieve Mooy)? And might someone have a fashion-mad son who wears skirts and handles Frontline’s social media while waiting for his big break … Christian Wilkins would be perfect for it.

Can’t wait to see Frontline’s version of 60 Minutes does Beirut, but what about the gender pay gap (Lisa Wilkinson), skits on Sunrise (like their all-white panels talking about indigenous issues or Samantha Armytage playing Samantha on Sex And The City opposite a horrified Kristin Davis) and Studio 10’s infamous Christmas shoot (involving Denise Drysdale, Ita Buttrose and some brussels sprouts). Plus, don’t forget, all these shows love a reality TV “controversy”, so you can send up all the shows you love too.

Jane, you did tell The Australian’s Stephen Brook in his podcast that preliminary talks were “interesting” so you’d better not be teasing me too. Frontline 2.0 is a no-brainer so I will stop pressuring you when Working Dog starts those scripts. And after that, how about D Generation: The Next Generation?

[insert insincere Brooke Vandenberg sign-off here]

Andrew Mercado

The event, hosted by breakfast show hosts Jodie & Soda, featured a hidden pop-up bar, unlimited St Louis ice cream and delicious burgers cooked by MKR’s Tim and Kyle.

The Garden of Unearthly Delights officially wraps up this weekend. Check out some pics from last night below.

Mix 102.3’s Street Crew – Grace Redden, Alex Craig, Sarah Parker, Ruby Genborg

Mix 102.3’s Jodie & Soda

Sports

Sky TV chief executive John Fellet (pictured above) has played down any potential risk from Australian pay TV operator Fetch considering a foray into New Zealand, while not ruling out bidding for rugby rights. “We have competition from Netflix and Lightbox, now supposedly Amazon or Google. Fetch is just another.” Sky faces negotiations to continue Rugby rights past 2020, but Fellet told the NZ Herald he will “not be losing any sleep” over the potential competition from Fetch.

Business

National Business Review owner Todd Scott has taken a high profile on social media, attacking advertising agency media buyers who have cut spending on NBR since it stopped paying agency commissions. NBR news contract video anchor Simon Dallow has said his boss should “tone it down”, but Scott says he will continue to say what he believes. Scott said he withdrew from commissions over frustration with “junior” agency buyers who did not understand NBR. NBR has also stopped running share tables from the NZX, saying it will be using three pages for more news stories.

News pundits

State broadcaster Radio New Zealand is reviewing its processes for using lobbyists and PR people as pundits. Questions were raised in Parliament by the Opposition National Party over use of the prime minister’s undeclared PR staffer on the afternoon current discussion show, The Panel. Prime Minister Jacinta Ardern’s partner Clarke Gayford is also a commentator on The Panel. RNZ radio boss Dave Allen said a review process to deal with conflicts of interest was timely.

RNZ’s move is amidst political scientists’ media campaign on a revolving door between politics, lobbying and PR and media political commentary. An academic and former pundit himself, Dr Bryce Edwards criticised media presenting lobbyists and PR as independent commentators, with little scrutiny over potential conflicts of interest. Amidst Edwards’s campaign, the National Business Review ended its contract with the lobbyist and popular political columnist Matthew Hooton, while insisting there was no question about his independence. On leaving NBR, Hooton was quickly signed by the NZ Herald.

Print

Stuff has confirmed five titles are to close among the 28 community, rural papers and magazines named as being under review last month. Chief executive Sinead Boucher said the Christchurch Mail, Napier Mail, Hastings Mail, North Waikato News and Discovery Magazine will close by April 28. Stuff was committed to finding buyers for the remaining 23 titles if possible.

#MeToo

Fairfax-owned Stuff is getting mixed reviews for linking a sexual harassment campaign to the international #MeToo movement. The campaign fronted by high profile broadcaster and feminist Alison Mau. Stuff chief executive Sinead Boucher has been a cheerleader for the campaign and it was welcomed by feminist activist groups and many women journalists. However, some journalists with rival media group NZME have questioned the links with the activist campaign, the commercial imperatives and its ability to make allegations against individuals in complex abuse claims.

Digital

RNZ has raised eyebrows signing a copy-sharing agreement with a left-of-centre liberal opinion website, The Spinoff. RNZ has long been criticised by the Opposition National Party as “Red Radio”. Tensions are comparable with those between the Liberal-National Party coalition and the ABC. RNZ sees copy sharing providing a way to reduce opposition from commercial media. Most deals are one way to use RNZ content, but this will also be run by Spinoff as opinion content on its taxpayer-funded websites.

Digital news

The independent news website The Newsroom expected to meet its target for 100,000 monthly uniques on its one-year birthday on March 12. Details of Nielsen figures will be released later today. The website – owned by former NZ Herald editor-in-chief Tim Murphy and former MediaWorks news director Mark Jennings – has marked its birthday with praise for unveiling high profile scandals about sex harassment in the legal establishment, and abuse of four 16-year-olds at a Labour Party political camp. Newsroom now has 16 staff.

By John Drinnan

Sheehan took over the New Zealand role at the start of this year, having spent three years at the South Australian Film Corporation.

It is the latest step in a screen industry career that has encompassed post-production, talent management and a key role in the education sector.

At the NZFC, Sheehan replaces the businessman Dave Gibson who overhauled the film body with incentives and who developed New Zealand co-production ties with China.

From 2009 to 2013 the NZFC was run by Australian film executive Graeme Mason after replacing Dr Ruth Harley.

There has been plenty cross-pollination of acting talent between the two countries – John Clark, Sam Neill, John Bach among them – people who were drawn to the scale of Australian TV.

Sheehan is wary of comparing the two countries and there are close links. But those ties have not translated into increased official co-productions between the neighbours.

Like her predecessors at the NZFC, Sheehan sees potential for closer ties. There are differences as well as similarities.

During three years at the SAFC, Sheehan committed to aboriginal film. Maori stories like Boy, Whale Rider and Once Were Warriors have worked for the NZFC both critically and in box office returns.

“New Zealand has incredibly strong Maori culture and Maori filmmakers,” Sheehan told Mediaweek. “It has been shown in research that audiences want to see a much richer diversity of stories and people on-screen and the importance of first nation stories. There is an opportunity for more official co-productions,” she said.

“New Zealand is an open country – really proud and funny and it has a great sense of irony.”

National incentives to attract overseas productions are broadly similar to those in Australia.

“Screen is such a global industry – the policies in New Zealand can be similar to what they are in other countries, with similar issues over the role of streaming and content played on so many platforms.”

Australia and New Zealand compete with one another to draw overseas productions to their countries, with the NZFC leading the charge at this end.

“New Zealand has a fantastic record of attracting major productions that have played a big role developing the capacity of the industry. We also have fantastic work coming out of Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh,” Sheehan said.

Overall, Sheehan eschews comparisons between the Tasman neighbours. The New Zealand film industry is lightly regulated an largely un-unionised.

By James Manning

Seven

Home and Away was solid as a rock in mid-600,000s for the first three nights of the week and Thursday wrapped up its week on 586,000.

Group 1 embarked on a picnic challenge on My Kitchen Rules. The Thursday episode did 945,000 after 954,000 a week ago. Group 1 was tasked with putting together picnic baskets for around 200 people to enjoy in Centennial Park. Each basket was to include dishes with appeal to families and friends of all ages. Josh and Nic were voted the best while Alex and Emily will have to return to the elimination house.

Three hours of Gordon Ramsay followed again with part two of Gordon Ramsay On Cocaine kicking off the festival of F-bombs on 415,000.

Ramsay’s Hotel Hell visited a haunted hotel in the US with 225,000 watching.

Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares USA then closed proceedings on 135,000.

Nine

Four markets got A Current Affair last night (no Brisbane) with the show doing 579,000 featuring stories on social media fitness gurus and ice-addicted grannies.

Round 2 of Nine’s NRL coverage featured St George winning over Cronulla. The two-market audience was 377,000 with 239,000 in Sydney and 138,000 in Brisbane.

Melbourne and other southern markets got RBT on 270,000.

The Footy Show followed with a national audience of 401,000 after 445,000 last week. The Footy Show did just 82,000 in Sydney and 174,000 in Melbourne where hosts Eddie, Bec and Sam were celebrating 700 episodes.

TEN

The Honey Badger was the star attraction on The Project with 449,000 watching the next Bachelor Nick Cummins interviewed about his new TV challenge.

A 2017 Montreal comedy special followed (how many of these are there?) hosted by Tommy Little with 317,000 watching.

Gogglebox episode six investigated Manu’s Road Trip, Selling Houses Australia and Safe Harbour. Like many of the 4m watching TV daily, they couldn’t keep away from Married At First Sight. After a cracking audience of close to 200,000 on Wednesday on Foxtel, this episode did 554,000 on TEN with a top 10 finish.

Two episodes of Blue Bloods followed with audiences of 215,000 and 149,000.

ABC

There were three back-to-back British dramas after 8pm:

Call The Midwife on 491,000.

Unforgotten on 349,000.

The Good Karma Hospital with final episode of the repeat season on 192,000.

SBS

Great British Railway Journeys did 224,000 at 7.30pm.

SBS World News was the second most-watched program with 130,000.

The launch episode of Luke Nguyen’s Food Trail followed with 119,000.

How To Lose Weight Well was then on 101,000, followed by Knightfall on 73,000.