Monday March 4, 2019
Sports Week: Crawley on cricket + AFL & NRL trials, Supercars
Fox Cricket’s first summer: Steve Crawley on getting better
By James Manning
He was visiting the SCG as part of a Fox Sports media day ahead of the 2019 NRL season, but Mediaweek took the chance of speaking with Fox Sports head of TV Steve Crawley about the learnings from their first season as a cricket broadcaster.
Crawley didn’t shy away from initial teething problems: “This was our first year and we had people on cameras that hadn’t done cricket before. I reckon our coverage of the Prime Minister’s XI in Canberra was one of the worst cricket coverages in the history of television. It was just so bad. The people we had on slips cameras had never done that before.
“At the beginning we were shockers and then we got better.
“A big part of the reason we got better was our commentary team was so good and our production team was so good.”
Crawley conceded the resources they had available helped after the initial stumble. “We did have a lot of producers working on it. They had different roles to what traditional TV cricket has. We had a person who just handled innovation at the end of each over. Because we weren’t going to an ad break at the end of every over he filled that 30 seconds with special content.
“Patrick Delany has promised it would be cricket coverage like never before so we had to deliver. We said, ‘Good on you Patrick!’ It ended up being a great motivation, because we had to deliver.
“Patrick gave us the people and the production budget to be able to do it.”
As to how year one impacts on year two, Crawley told us, “We will get even better.”
He said it almost feels like the days when Kerry Packer was involved in the cricket coverage. “This company wants to do sport properly and I don’t think everyone at every other organisation is able to say that.”
Crawley also noted that having Kayo and its 100,000+ customers taking the Fox Sports content had also given the business a boost. “Audiences have reacted very positively and you can stream the channels for $25. That is exciting for Fox Sports because we want as many people as possible watching the television we make.”
He said both Fox Footy and Fox League have a challenge to keep their big audiences coming back this year. With regard to the latter, Crawley said:
“I am excited to have Matty Johns on our channel 100% of his time and he has a lot of ideas and a lot of energy. We are working him harder and News Corp Australia will as well where he will be doing some new content which will make him an even bigger star.”
NRL trials
There were major NRL trial matches on Saturday including the Charity Shield between the Rabbitohs and the Dragons. The Fox Sports audience watching on Saturday was 111,000.
AFL men’s season starts on Fox Footy
First JLT Series pre-season matches began on Fox Footy with the channel screening every game ahead of the start of the 2019 AFL regular season.
The audiences across the weekend were:
• Richmond v Melbourne 94,000
• Adelaide v Port Adelaide 83,000
• Brisbane v Hawthorn 69,000
• North Melb v St Kilda 67,000
• Gold Coast v Bulldogs 57,000
• GWS v Sydney 56,000
• Carlton v Collingwood 24,000
Cricket featured Australian women and men in action
There was plenty of cricket across the weekend with both the Australian men and women in action.
Sunday: Women’s ODI Australia v New Zealand Game 3: 179,000 (Seven), 61,000 (Fox Cricket)
Saturday: Men’s ODI India v Australia Game 1: 155,000 (Fox Cricket)
Supercars start season 2019 in Adelaide
Strong weekend audiences for the start of the Virgin Australia Supercars 2019 season.
The Saturday audience peaks were:
• Channel 10 435,000
• Fox Sports 152,000
The Sunday audiences:
• Channel 10 635,000
• Fox Sports 227,000
BVOD viewing surges as more advertisers embrace online TV
ThinkTV has released these details about the viewing increase:
Total commercial BVOD minutes neared the 3 billion mark during February to become the biggest BVOD month since OzTAM Video Player Measurement (VPM) ratings launched in 2016.
This rise represents a significant boost to traditional “overnight” audience ratings for many high-rating linear TV shows and shows that TV is moving to meet its audiences as their viewing habits change.
And while BVOD viewing represents a small but fast-growing percentage of overall TV viewing, a series of new research findings and data points underline the power and potential of the BVOD phenomenon for advertisers:
Figures from ThinkTV shareholders show that broadcasters are getting viewing uplifts to individual programs of as much as 20% from their BVOD viewing figures.
New data collected by ThinkTV shows that more than 500 new advertisers used BVOD services to reach and target customers in 2018.
OzTAM VPM data shows that on average two-thirds of BVOD is watched on-demand, a third is live-streamed, and that the volume of BVOD viewing leapt 63% year-on-year in 2018.
New ground-breaking research from Dr. Karen Nelson-Field, Professor of Media Innovation at University of Adelaide, reveals that brands which advertise on both broadcast TV and Broadcaster Video On Demand get more than twice the sales impact compared with brands that combine their broadcast TV ads with ads on social video platforms.
Kim Portrate, Chief Executive of ThinkTV, said February’s record viewing figures for BVOD showed that TV has moved to means its audiences, who can now flock to shows they love whenever and wherever they want.
Portrate said: “Commercial TV first embraced BVOD almost a decade ago and today BVOD is truly coming of age with higher-speed internet connections and smartphones that put more computing power in the palm of your hand that was used to put man on the Moon 50 years ago.
“It’s little surprise that more and more brands are embracing BVOD. Marketers want to reach and engage the attention of their target audience. TV is the engine room that drives most campaigns because it delivers both. What we now know from Professor Nelson-Field’s research is that Broadcast TV’s fast reach and scale combined with BVOD’s online audiences is the best route to chase the incremental reach that will truly deliver sales growth.
“Professor Nelson-Field’s findings show BVOD and Broadcast TV are effective for the same reasons. They generate more attention because they take up 100% of the screen and are 100% viewable with no scrolling down the screen. This matters. So combining TV with BVOD, not surprisingly, creates the greatest multi-platform campaign sales impact of all.”
In 2019 broadcasters will make it easy to understand the complete picture of their audience with Total TV ratings, courtesy of OzTAM and Nielsen’s Virtual Australia (VOZ), that will bring together viewing on TV sets and connected devices. In the first half of 2019 the TV industry will unveil the first ever Total TV ratings dashboard, to track the performance of shows across all screens for seven, 14 and 28 days after first screening.
Leading digital executives from TV’s commercial networks united in acknowledging the soaring BVOD viewing figures and the benefits that advertisers are getting from this increasingly central part of the video advertising ecosystem.
Network 10’s Director of 10 Interactive Christian Williams said: “We’re seeing massive growth in BVOD which is fantastic for the industry. BVOD gives us great flexibility to tell stories beyond the stories in a brand safe, 100% viewable environment. The platform has opened up more opportunities for content makers and advertisers to engage audiences in creative and innovative ways propelling the medium, along with its linear TV counterpart, into a must-have in any advertising schedule.”
Pippa Leary, Director – Sales, Strategy and Product Commercialisation at Nine, said: “We are at a point where the digital audience for some shows is adding 20% plus to the overnight audiences and we are setting new growth records in the Australian BVOD space. That audience for some franchises, like Married at First Sight, is 300,000-400,000. That is a sizable and valuable audience for marketers in its own right. The thing marketers need to be focused on is how TV works with BVOD. We know audiences are watching on TV digital devices and we are working rapidly to ensure that OzTAM can provide marketers a full picture of the total TV viewing agnostically across linear and digital devices.”
James Bayes, Seven West Media’s Network Digital Sales Director, said: “VOZ (Virtual Australia) will be a landmark for the Australian TV industry, bringing together TV and online video measurement in a single currency for the first time. VOZ will enable the market to measure and understand cross-screen audience behaviour in a way we’ve never had the chance to do before. This will be a ground-breaking development for advertisers in their ability to target audiences across screens and deliver better outcomes.”
Nev Hassan, National Digital Sales Director at MCN/Foxtel, said: “We’re not at all surprised by the growth of BVOD viewing as we have seen a steady increase of users engage with content across multiple devices. Particularly because from a Foxtel point of view, we are creating and promoting multiple touchpoints to access the wealth of premium content we have available on either our set-top box on-demand section, or our Foxtel Go and Now product. For MCN, the opportunity is to continue to create and evolve the advertising opportunities across these platforms to ensure we provide a better viewing, and advertising, experience.”
After out of home sector consolidation & growth, a new OMA chairman
By James Manning
The Outdoor Media Association (OMA) board has appointed Charles Parry-Okeden (pictured) to step into the role of chairman of the OMA and MOVE (Measurement of Outdoor Visibility and Exposure), for a two-year term.
Parry-Okeden is the co-founder and global chief executive of Executive Channel, which owns Executive Channel Europe, Executive Channel Deutschland and Australian Media Channel (Media i).
Parry-Okeden told Mediaweek he had recently left the OMA board when he sold Executive Channel Australia to Brendon Cook’s oOh!media. “To be a member I had to have an outdoor company so I no longer qualified. That was just over two years ago.”
There is not much Parry-Okeden doesn’t know about the sector though, first working in outdoor for Buspak back in 1993. “I have been in the outdoor sector for a little while,” he grinned.
As to recent ownership upheavals, Parry-Okeden added: “The landscape has been redefined over the past few years through mergers and acquisitions. The real driver of change has been more the digitisation within outdoor.”
He didn’t have any problem with our suggestion he was a neutral candidate for the OMA role in a market overshadowed by two outdoor giants.
“That is very much the case. I wouldn’t discount the other players within the sector though. They have growing businesses and are very influential in shaping the sector. My role is to listen to all of the OMA members and all of the buyers we deal with to help navigate some of the challenges we have.”
Despite concerns digitisation revenue growth will eventually slow as outdoor sites are converted, Parry-Okeden noted how strong 2018 revenues were. [See also separate item published today.]
“The majority of that continues to be driven through digital. Digital now represents over 50% of our main members. That is in line with other major international markets.
“I’m excited to again be working with the OMA and MOVE. In particular, I’m focused on how we can continue to collaboratively embrace technology, as a sector, to further thrive in the evolving media landscape. I look forward to working with the team to achieve some very ambitious goals and setting the bar high for the industry overall.”
In his role as a global CEO, Parry-Okeden has overseen successful capital raisings, the sale of ECN Australia, and the continued expansion of ECH across Europe. In 2008, Charles established a successful B2B business model with the launch of Australian Media Channel (Media i) whose contribution to the media industry was a factor in his induction into the Media Federation Hall of Fame in 2017.
As to juggling his various international commitments this year, Parry-Okeden told Mediaweek: “I discussed that in detail with OMA chief executive Charmaine Moldrich and members of the board before I agreed to take on the role. I wanted to make absolutely sure I could invest the necessary time into the role. I am very confident I will be able to do that.”
Parry-Okeden works overseas several times a year overseeing the British and European Executive Channel businesses.
Looking to the future, Parry-Okeden said: “The priorities for us as I see them are to continue to invest in and innovate with MOVE. As the sector digitises that brings new measurement challenges and we are very focused on finding the best solutions. Regulation is always important and we do a lot working with all the different government bodies.
Parry-Okeden has already attended a couple of board meetings this year which he chaired.
Outdoor 2018 revenue: YOY growth 10% driven by digital
This marks the start of a change in how the Outdoor Media Association (OMA) reports OOH revenue, and is due to recent changes in ownership which may trigger compliance issues for the OMA’s ASX-listed members.
The OOH industry saw a total increase of 10.8% on net media revenue in 2018, with growth noted across the following categories:
Category figures quarter four 2018:
• Roadside Billboards (over and under 25 square metres) $107.3 million
• Roadside Other (street furniture, bus/tram externals, small format) $79.5 million
• Transport (including airports) $50.1 million
• Retail, Lifestyle and Other $40.7 million
Category figures 2018:
• Roadside Billboards (over and under 25 square metres) $376.3 million
• Roadside Other (street furniture, bus/tram externals, small format) $256.9 million
• Transport (including airports) $159.4 million
• Retail, Lifestyle and Other $134.6 million
Category figures for quarter four 2017
• Roadside Billboards (over and under 25 square metres) $97.5 million
• Roadside Other (street furniture, bus/tram externals, small format) $70.5 million
• Transport (including airports) $43.4 million
• Retail, Lifestyle and Other $41.4 million
Category figures for 2017
• Roadside Billboards (over and under 25 square metres) $332.6 million
• Roadside Other (street furniture, bus/tram externals, small format) $237.4 million
• Transport (including airports) $134.9 million
• Retail, Lifestyle and Other $132.2 million
As previously reported, net media revenue for 2018 increased to $927.2 million, up from $837.1 million for 2017. Quarter four 2018 saw an increase of 9.8% on net media revenue year-on-year, posting $277.5 million, up from $252.8 million for quarter four 2017.
Digital OOH (DOOH) revenue accounts for 52.3% of total net media revenue year-to-date, an increase over the recorded 47.3% for the same period last year.
GOAT marks International Women’s Day ahead of first birthday
Now on the eve of GOAT’s first birthday we have been speaking with Melissa Matheson, editor of GOAT, who told us about a special International Women’s day week that starts on March 4.
“From Monday to Friday we will have videos and talk topics celebrating remarkable women and how we can all get involved in furthering equality,” explained Matheson.
Matheson said the GOAT audience is not skewed toward women. “We are split pretty well down the middle. We don’t write specifically for women or men, but we have a very socially active audience. They are highly engaged in equality issues. Topics that have done very well for GOAT include discussions around the Gillette ad, and we have done a lot around explaining toxic masculinity and how it impacts men and women.”
Matheson has been editing GOAT since October 2018. Her background includes years with News Corp Australia beginning with community newspapers and later The Daily Telegraph before being chosen to editor the News Corp commuter daily mX.
After the publisher closed mX, Matheson took redundancy and headed to SBS for two years and then ARN managing the digital team.
Asked about changes at GOAT under head editorship, she said: “We have become a lot more focused. The platform had been searching to find the right tone of voice. We have done that and we now have a stable team after the initial team included a lot of freelancers and casuals.”
While GOAT is a distinct brand, Matheson said in addition to its own marketing budget, the platform also gets support from the Nova Network.
Although the platform launched ad free a year ago, native content is now key to the business model. Recent native campaigns have included HP, Cooper’s beer, Pizza Hut, St George bank and several universities across Australia.
As to creating a sustainable model, Matheson said her broad media experience in different media sectors comes into play. “I have seen the challenges for each of them. It doesn’t matter what platform or what demographic you are in, you have to respect your audience. The second you don’t respect them you are dead in the water. We are always listening to the audience to hear what they are talking about.
“The best way to describe our editorial is that we fired up, but not angry. I ask the team what has them fired up. But we are not about ranting about what angers us. When I worked in community newspapers we were taught about solution journalism. You don’t just say the world is broken, you point to how can we fix things. We have a similar mentality at GOAT. Bad things might happen, and this is how we could do things differently.”
GOAT will be running different banners each day featuring empowering women from iconic TV shows and films – Monday – Kath & Kim, Tuesday – Broad City, Wednesday – Steel Magnolias. GOAT is keeping the final two a secret for people to discover.
Also look out for GOAT Confessionals – quick video interviews that allow a range of people to share their views on topical situations or issues (previous GOAT Confessionals have included The Best-Worst Backhanded Compliments and The Grandest Acts Of Love).
For International Women’s Day, Matheson said the GOAT confessionals will celebrate and harness the supportive vibe women offer each other in particular social settings.
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Top Photo: Melissa Matheson
News Corp’s kidsnews.com.au audience growth attracts new sponsor
As one of the fastest growing educational sites in the country, Kids News – News Corp Australia’s free news site for students, teachers and parents – has doubled its traffic in one year, launched a new-look national site with added functionality and revealed a new category sponsor in Westpac.
Since launching in March 2018 with financial support from the Herald & Weekly Times and News Corp’s News in the Community initiative, kidsnews.com.au has grown its audience to almost 200,000 registered students and attracted more than 5.1 million views in 2018.
The strong growth has continued in 2019 with almost 1 million page views per month and students engaging with kidsnews.com.au content for more than 2500 hours per week.
The new-look site now offers more than 1300 stories on 20 different news topics including science, technology, money, health, humanities, space, animals and sport.
Penny Fowler, chairman of the Herald & Weekly Times and News Corp Australia’s Community Ambassador said: “Expanding Kids News makes me immensely proud, as it means our News in the Community program is delivering on our commitment to investing in educating the next generation and improving children’s literacy, our readers and leaders of the future.”
Toni Hetherington, national education publisher at News Corp Australia and editor of Kids News said: “Kids News has captured the imaginations of students and introduced them to daily news topics and information they never knew they were interested in, while improving their general knowledge, curiosity about the world around them, and literacy skills.
“Educators have found the information and resources provided by Kids News invaluable as a teaching tool. Parents have also been overwhelmingly appreciative of the site, as it lets their kids stay up to date with relevant news that’s written in appropriate language and helps parents engage in conversation with their children at home on news topics.
“Brands from various industry sectors including technology and finance have seen the value in sponsoring and advertising with Kids News and the individual topic verticals as an effective way to reach this highly engaged audience of teachers, parents of young children and students predominantly aged eight to 14 years.”
Westpac has signed a two-year sponsorship of the Money section in Kids News, where the content aims to improve the financial literacy of children, teachers and parents across Australia.
Hetherington added: “Kids News remains free to use in 2019, and as there are so many benefits for each target audience, our goal is to continue growing our numbers and improving literacy levels, general knowledge and teaching resources for students, parents and teachers around the country.”
The consumer-facing campaign promoting Kids News begins in paper on Monday 4 March, with high impact placements including U shape, DPS, large strips and full page executions across all of News Corp Australia’s metro and regional mastheads. The campaign, created by News Corp Australia Creative Services will feature predominantly in kids and educational sections of the newspapers for one week.
News Media Reaches Nine In Ten Australians – Emma Data
News media is read by 17.4 million Australians, or 94% of the population, with 10.3 million of those reading both newspapers and digital news media, according to the latest emmaTM (Enhanced Media Metrics Australia) data1 for December 2018, released today.
In print, newspapers are read by 12.1 million people, or 65% of the population and digital news media is read by 15.6 million or 84% of Australians.
Metro newspapers are read by 9.8 million people, or 53% of consumers. Regional and community newspapers are read by 5.7 million people, or a third of the population (31%).
Following release last month of the emma data for the 12 months to November 2018, the December 2018 emma data now marks the third release of digital news media audiences calibrated to Nielsen’s IAB accredited currency DCR data, providing a complete picture for tagged sites of audiences both on and off-platform.
In addition to the industry currency readership data, emma CMV2 provides valuable insights into Australian consumers’ product purchases, behaviour and attitudes. This data has revealed that news media readers have higher personal and household incomes than non-readers and are prime prospects for automotive brands.
The emma CMV data shows that news media readers’ average personal income is one third more (+35%) than those who do not read news media. In addition, with an average household income of $97,000 per annum, news media readers’ household income is +18% higher than those who don’t read news media. The household income figures are higher for cross platform readers at +23% higher, for those aged 30 to 64 it is +20% higher and for those with children under the age of 18, it is +26% higher.
With new car sales showing negative growth in 2018, according to the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, news media has 822,000 readers who are prime prospects intending to buy a new car in the next 12 months. Of that audience, 41% would consider buying an SUV.
In addition, 2.8 million people read the motoring section of newspapers and with an average household income of $101,300 per annum that represents +24% more than Australians who do not read news media.
NewsMediaWorks CEO, Peter Miller, said: “News media is a valuable channel for advertisers as they attract audiences who have higher incomes and also a large number of prospects who are in the market to buy a new car – these are important targets as car sales faltered last year. The quality of our audience and their unwavering commitment to reading the nation’s most trusted media channel for both content and advertising3 is a compelling proposition for advertisers. Our news media brands continue to hold their commanding position with readers and also advertisers, demonstrated in our recent News Media Index which shows ongoing improvements in advertising revenue.”
The Sydney Morning Herald is Australia’s highest-reaching title across all platforms with 7.68 million readers. The Daily Telegraph followed, reaching 4.1 million readers and the Herald Sun with 3.86 million (see table below).
Zenith appoints Jonny Cordony as Sydney general manager
Cordony, who has been acting in the role for eight months, replaces Angela Swayn who has resigned her position. Prior to stepping in as acting general manager, Cordony was Zenith’s national communications planning director.
Nickie Scriven said: “I would like to thank Angela for her dedication, hard work and loyalty to Zenith over the last three years, and we wish Angela and her family all the best in the future. I would also like to commend Jonny on the fabulous job he has done in caretaking this role over the last eight months and I am thrilled to now appoint him permanently to the role general manager, Zenith Sydney.”
Cordony added: “I am excited to formally take the reins as general manager. I look forward to helping drive the continued momentum of our business – which in no small part has been thanks to our amazing clients and media partners. Our successes would also not be possible without the Zenith team, their passion, motivation and dedication that inspires us to build a business fit for the future.”
Last year, Zenith’s Sydney office secured a number of new business wins, including Luxottica, the Australian College of Applied Psychology and GHD.
ARIA Chart Report: Gaga & Brad Return to #1 After Oscar Win
Singles
After three weeks at the top of the chart in October and November last year when the movie A Star Is Born was in theatres, the now Oscar-winning single Shallow from Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper has surged back to top spot. A fourth week at #1 came after their sizzling performance at the Academy Awards ceremony on Monday last week. After a total of 21 weeks on the chart the song has not dipped below #11. The soundtrack album Shallow comes from is #3 again this week after a marathon 21 weeks in the top 10 so far.
The rest of the top five belongs to two artists again – Ariana Grande and Post Malone with two tunes each.
The highest new entry this week comes from P!nk with Walk Me Home in at #12. The song is from her forthcoming eighth album Hurts 2B Human.
Just one other new release cracked the top 50 this week – Hilltop Hoods with Exit Sign, which is a track from this week’s #1 album. The hip hop trio also see their single Leave Me Lonely jumping from #19 to #11 on the chart.
Albums
Adelaide’s Hilltop Hoods have scored the first Australian #1 album this year with their sixth #1 album with their eighth album release The Great Expanse. ARIA note that this makes them the ARIA record holder of the most albums from a group to reach #1.
ARIA CEO Dan Rosen said: “Congratulations to Hilltop Hoods on achieving their 6th #1 album. This is an ARIA record for the most #1s for any Australian band or group. This feat now places them behind only Jimmy Barnes, John Farnham and The 12th Man for most #1 albums on the ARIA Charts by an Australian artist.”
There was more Aussie success on the chart too with Sydney singer-songwriter Julia Jacklin debuting at #8 with her second album Crushing.
Also reaching the top 10 on debut is US progressive metal act Dream Theater who enter the top 10 for a second time with their 14th album Distance Over Time. The band was first in the top 10 in 2016 with their album The Astonishing.
Four other artists made it into the ARIA Top 50 albums on debut:
#18 Offset with Father Of 4. This is the first album from the member of the hip hop group Migos from Georgia.
#23 Gary Clark Jr with This Land. New material from the Texan guitarist on his third studio album ahead of his appearance at Bluesfest next month.
#29 Kehlani with While We Wait. A new mixtape from Kehlani Ashley Parrish.
#33 Lil Pump with Harverd Dropout is the second album from the Colombian-American rapper.
Top 10 Game Charts: Anthem Shoots to the Top of the Charts
Whether it will stay there, however, remains to be seen, as the critical reception has fallen far short of what one would expect for a game from such a storied developer. Anthem is an online sci-fi action RPG that gives players high manoeuvrability jetpack-powered suits in environments with plenty of verticality. The moment to moment combat feels great, but Anthem’s main story is repetitive and a chore to get through, and at launch the game was rife with bugs and other technical issues. The hope would be that BioWare can hone it into something great, but the studio has a long road ahead to get there.
The rest of the top 10 hasn’t changed much from last week. Far Cry: New Dawn and Metro: Exodus have shuffled down to make room for Anthem, while Jump Force and Kingdom Hearts III are still represented. The usual suspects fill out the remaining spots.
TV Ratings Analysis: March 3
Sunday: Week 10 2019
By James Manning
FTA TV news/current affairs
• Seven News 935,000
• Nine News 929,000
• 60 Minutes 814,000
• ABC News 723,000
• Sunday Night 504,000
• The Project 229,000/331,000
• Insiders 286,000
• 10 News First 271,000
• Offsiders 159,000
• SBS World News 145,000
Breakfast TV
• Sunrise 264,000
• Today 183,000
Seven
The primary channel had its lowest Sunday share since the Australian Open took viewers away. However network share was the same as last week with some help from the Harry Potter movie Goblet Of Fire, which did well enough to secure 7mate as the #1 multichannel last night.
It was the first pop-up restaurant on My Kitchen Rules with an audience just over 700,000, which was a poor start to the week after the series did 751,000 a week ago and 902,000 on Sunday a fortnight ago.
Sunday Night followed on 504,000 with an episode that included a look at the death of model Annalise Braackensiek. The audience was down from 576,000 a week ago.
Nine
No surprise that Married At First Sight continues to dominate as the season reaches the halfway mark. The fourth commitment ceremony delivered again for the large regular audience. The episode was on 1.45m, which is the second-best this season after 1.65m on Sunday a week ago.
60 Minutes delivered another strong episode with new reporter Sarah Abo securing an exclusive interview with Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad and gaining access to examine wreckage from the missing MH370 flight. The audience of 814,000 was then entertained by Ricky Gervais and Charles Wooley who both delivered humorous anecdotes as they strolled around Hampstead.
10
The channel is navigating its way through a horror stretch at present, which may not end until the arrival of a Bachelor franchise or perhaps MasterChef Australia.
The Sunday night share of 7.6% was a new 2019 low and was not helped by the audience for episode two of Sunday Night Takeaway tumbling to 290,000. Just a week ago it launched with 378,000.
10’s best audience yesterday was in the afternoon where 385,000 were watching the end of the Supercars first weekend of the year in Adelaide.
The Sunday Project was on 331,000 after 7pm.
In its new Sunday slot Hughesy We Have A Problem did 255,000 after 269,000 a week ago.
ABC
The first episode of the two-part The Crown And Us: The Story Of The Royals In Australia did 540,000.
A new episode of Vera then did 667,000.
The two programs helped deliver the best ABC Sunday share of the year to the channel.
SBS
Part one of London’s Super Tunnel pulled 229,000, which was the channel’s best.
A little later in the evening the channel’s coverage of the 2019 Mardi Gras parade did 155,000.
Week 9-10 TV: Friday-Sunday
| FRIDAY METRO | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Seven | Nine | 10 | SBS | |||||
| ABC | 10.6% | 7 | 22.2% | 9 | 18.1% | 10 | 9.1% | SBS One | 4.3% |
| ABC KIDS/ ABC COMEDY | 3.0% | 7TWO | 3.6% | GO! | 4.9% | 10 Bold | 3.9% | VICELAND | 1.6% |
| ABC ME | 0.4% | 7mate | 2.9% | GEM | 3.1% | 10 Peach | 2.2% | Food Net | 1.3% |
| ABC NEWS | 2.1% | 7flix | 2.9% | 9Life | 3.1% | NITV | 0.2% | ||
| 7Food | 0.4% | ||||||||
| TOTAL | 16.1% | 32.2% | 29.1% | 15.2% | 7.4% | ||||
| SATURDAY METRO | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Seven | Nine | 10 | SBS | |||||
| ABC | 14.2% | 7 | 18.4% | 9 | 17.1% | 10 | 8.7% | SBS One | 5.4% |
| ABC KIDS/ ABC COMEDY | 3.7% | 7TWO | 4.3% | GO! | 4.9% | 10 Bold | 2.1% | VICELAND | 1.8% |
| ABC ME | 0.6% | 7mate | 3.2% | GEM | 3.4% | 10 Peach | 2.1% | Food Net | 1.1% |
| ABC NEWS | 1.8% | 7flix | 3.5% | 9Life | 3.1% | NITV | 0.3% | ||
| 7Food | 0.5% | ||||||||
| TOTAL | 20.3% | 29.9% | 28.4% | 12.9% | 8.5% | ||||
| SUNDAY METRO | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Seven | Nine | 10 | SBS | |||||
| ABC | 13.9% | 7 | 17.7% | 9 | 28.3% | 10 | 7.6% | SBS One | 5.2% |
| ABC KIDS/ ABC COMEDY | 2.2% | 7TWO | 2.4% | GO! | 3.5% | 10 Bold | 2.5% | VICELAND | 0.8% |
| ABC ME | 0.6% | 7mate | 4.0% | GEM | 2.5% | 10 Peach | 1.5% | Food Net | 1.1% |
| ABC NEWS | 1.4% | 7flix | 2.0% | 9Life | 2.4% | NITV | 0.1% | ||
| 7Food | 0.5% | ||||||||
| TOTAL | 18.1% | 26.6% | 36.6% | 11.6% | 7.1% | ||||
| SUNDAY REGIONAL | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Seven Affiliates | Nine Affiliates | 10 Affiliates | SBS | |||||
| ABC | 14.3% | 7 | 20.3% | 9 | 22.1% | WIN | 8.0% | SBS One | 4.4% |
| ABC KIDS/ ABC COMEDY | 2.9% | 7TWO | 3.1% | GO! | 3.6% | WIN Bold | 2.0% | VICELAND | 1.0% |
| ABC ME | 0.9% | 7mate | 3.1% | GEM | 5.0% | WIN Peach | 1.7% | Food Net | 1.3% |
| ABC NEWS | 1.5% | 7flix | 2.2% | 9Life | 2.1% | Sky News on WIN | 0.5% | NITV | 0.1% |
| TOTAL | 19.6% | 28.7% | 32.8% | 12.2% | 6.7% | ||||
| SUNDAY METRO ALL TV | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FTA | STV | ||||||||
| 87.0% | 13.0% | ||||||||
All People Rankings
Friday Top 10
- Seven News Seven 821,000
- Seven News / Today Tonight Seven 779,000
- Nine News Nine 774,000
- Nine News 6:30 Nine 752,000
- ABC News ABC 611,000
- A Current Affair Nine 598,000
- Better Homes And Gardens Seven 554,000
- The Chase Australia Seven 459,000
- Gardening Australia ABC 448,000
- Hot Seat Nine 435,000
Saturday Top 10
- Seven News – Sat Seven 722,000
- Nine News Saturday Nine 716,000
- Death In Paradise ABC 697,000
- ABC News-Sa ABC 650,000
- Agatha Raisin ABC 444,000
- David Attenborough’s Dynasties Nine 423,000
- M- Iron Man Seven 376,000
- Getaway Nine 329,000
- Nine News: First At Five Nine 266,000
- Weekend Sunrise – Sat Seven 250,000
Sunday FTA
- Married At First Sight Nine 1,451,000
- Seven News – Sun Seven 935,000
- Nine News Sunday Nine 929,000
- 60 Minutes Nine 814,000
- ABC News Sunday ABC 723,000
- My Kitchen Rules – Sun Seven 716,000
- Vera ABC 667,000
- The Crown And Us: The Story Of The Royals In Australia ABC 540,000
- Sunday Night Seven 504,000
- Supercars Championship: Adelaide 500 D3 Podium 10 385,000
- Supercars Championship: Adelaide 500 D3 Race 2 10 347,000
- Slender Man Stabbing: The Untold Story Nine 335,000
- The Sunday Project 7pm 10 331,000
- Nine News: First At Five Nine 312,000
- Chris & Julia’s Sunday Night Takeaway 10 290,000
- Insiders AM ABC 286,000
- 10 News First Sun 10 271,000
- Weekend Sunrise – Sun Seven 264,000
- Landline PM ABC 262,000
- Hughesy, We Have A Problem 10 255,000
Sunday Multichannel
- Hey Duggee AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 155,000
- M- Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire 7Mate 148,000
- Play School AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 139,000
- Peppa Pig AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 137,000
- Bananas In Pyjamas AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 135,000
- Dot. AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 135,000
- Rita And Crocodile AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 133,000
- Luo Bao Bei AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 132,000
- School Of Roars AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 131,000
- Insiders AM ABC NEWS 130,000
- Star Trek Into Darkness 9GO! 125,000
- Fixer Upper 9Life 125,000
- Pocoyo AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 117,000
- Kiddets AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 115,000
- The Big Bang Theory Tx2 9GO! 108,000
- Ready, Steady, Wiggle! AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 106,000
- Andy’s Wild Adventures ABCKIDS/COMEDY 105,000
- Ben And Holly’s Little Kingdom ABCKIDS/COMEDY 103,000
- Midsomer Murders 9Gem 102,000
- Dino Dana ABCKIDS/COMEDY 101,000
Sunday STV
- Live: Supercars Adelaide FOX SPORTS 506 227,000
- Live: Supercars Adelaide FOX SPORTS 506 148,000
- Live: Motorsport: Supercars Live FOX SPORTS 506 147,000
- Live: Motorsport: Supercars Live FOX SPORTS 506 139,000
- Live: Dunlop Super2 Series Adelaide FOX SPORTS 506 129,000
- Live: Supercars Adelaide Supports FOX SPORTS 506 121,000
- Live: Motorsport: Supercars Live FOX SPORTS 506 108,000
- Live: Supercars Trackside FOX SPORTS 506 101,000
- Live: Supercars Adelaide Supports FOX SPORTS 506 98,000
- Live: JLT Series: Richmond V Melbourne FOX FOOTY 94,000
- Live: Motorsport: Supercars Live FOX SPORTS 506 89,000
- Live: Supercars Adelaide FOX SPORTS 506 89,000
- Live: Supercars Adelaide Supports FOX SPORTS 506 82,000
- Live: Supercars Adelaide FOX SPORTS 506 79,000
- Live: Motorsport: Supercars Live FOX SPORTS 506 71,000
- Live: JLT Series: Brisbane V Hawthorn FOX FOOTY 69,000
- Live: Women’s ODI: Aus V Nz Game 3 FOX CRICKET 61,000
- Solo: A Star Wars Story Foxtel Movies Premiere 58,000
- Live: JLT Series: Gold Coast V Bulldogs FOX FOOTY 57,000
- Live: Supercars Adelaide Supports FOX SPORTS 506 44,000
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
Foxtel plots its next streaming service to take on Stan and Netflix
Sources close to the Murdoch-controlled pay TV business said Foxtel was looking for an executive to lead the new venture and a lot of resources were being devoted to get it up and running.
Foxtel had previously targeted HBO’s Game Of Thrones season eight as a potential launching pad for the new service. However, sources said this is highly unlikely to happen, as there is just six weeks to go before the eighth and final season of the epic fantasy series.
Sources said the launch of the new drama and entertainment service would speed up the phase-out of Foxtel Now – its streaming service which mirrors the packages and prices of broadcast Foxtel.
Michelle Guthrie settles with ABC, not getting old job back
Guthrie was ousted from the $900,000-a-year role in September, halfway through her five-year tenure. Her departure followed a bitter falling out with ABC chairman Justin Milne, who resigned in the wake of the saga.
Guthrie then launched legal action, suing the broadcaster for damages on the grounds the ABC had no “reason to trigger the termination clause” in her contract.
She was also seeking orders that she be reinstated to the role of managing director and be paid penalties by the ABC and three board members named in the Federal Court action, along with compensation for losses and damages.
Retail giants Coles, Woolworths pull advertising from YouTube
The move comes as YouTube, which is owned by Google, was hit with a fresh controversy late last month after comments posted on videos with children were linked to predatory behaviour.
GroupM Australia and New Zealand chief executive Mark Lollback said he was aware that some brands in Australia were diverting spending.
“While the affected spend is incredibly small and the impressions incredibly low – because of the highly sensitive subject – even one impression is too many,” Lollback said
“This is a serious issue and we will continue to monitor the situation and are working incredibly closely with Google on this, locally and globally, over next steps and updates.”
Mark Fletcher takes control of newsXpress, buying out partner & founder
Having founded the business in 2001, Randall played a key role in its formation and early development. He saw the need for a group for proactive newsagents as well as the need to move the group from its Queensland base and in 2005 invited Mark Fletcher to acquire an initial share in the business.
Graham Randall’s own newsXpress businesses will continue to be trade under the newsXpress name and be part of group.
Mark Fletcher commented: “Graham Randall had the vision to create newsXpress and through it to provide many newsagents a pathway away from the traditional and into a brighter future. I am grateful to Graham for the 13 years of business partnership and look forward to plenty more years of friendship. While this is a change to the ownership of newsXpress, it will not result in dramatic change in what we do.”
newsXpress today serves in excess of 240 locally owned retail businesses located in all Australian states and territories. It also operates a network of websites that acquire online orders on behalf of newsXpress member businesses as well as running a network of social media accounts with a combined reach of in excess of 100,000 people.
News Brands
Nine colleagues Ray Martin and Mike Munro remember Mike Willesee
He was a star, with a dangerous twinkle in the eye. He was also a brave, pioneering journalist. Now, that’s a pretty formidable cocktail.
But then, Willesee was formidable for more than 50 years. I was in the ABC’s Canberra office when he first auditioned for TV. It was an edgy, nightly show called This Day Tonight, which would set the parameters for decades to come. He was a newspaper boy at the time.
In his studio domain, Willesee oozed confidence – bordering on arrogance. Like Greg Chappell at the batting crease. Or Roger Federer at the baseline. If you are the best, why hide it? Willesee never did.
Willesee’s silent pauses and steely stare skewered many
Michael Willesee was a loving and generous family man who had all six of his children around him when he died yesterday morning at 10.30 from throat cancer, which had cruelly spread through his body.
He was a master in so many ways, not just in broadcasting, but as a businessman as well.
Together with Graham Kennedy and John Laws, Willesee introduced FM radio to Australia in 1980 when the trio founded 2Day FM radio station.
During the past few months Don Willesee Jr, Peter Meakin, John Singleton and myself have had a number of lunches with Michael, who seemed comfortable. He was completely at ease with himself as he regaled us with the most incredible stories of his travels from around the world. We were at his favourite Chinese restaurant, at the same table I surprised him in 1996 for his own tribute on This is Your Life.
Journalist and author Tom Dusevic returns to The Australian
Dusevic has been a newspaper and magazine journalist for three decades and returns to The Australian after a stint as an author, speechwriter and strategic adviser.
He was previously The Australian’s national chief reporter, editorial page editor, opinion editor, economics writer and first social affairs correspondent, and has held senior editing and reporting roles at Time, Good Weekend and The Australian Financial Review.
Dusevic won a Walkley Award for political commentary and the Citi Journalism Award for Excellence for writing about economics. He is the author of the memoir Whole Wild World, published in 2016, and has taught in the journalism program at the University of Technology Sydney.
Remembering Nick Creech: An ‘enigma’ with wry sense of humour
The former production editor of The Australian had a sardonic sense of humour, perhaps best illustrated by his response to a former boss-cum-neighbour who suggested they should meet for a drink: “You can’t threaten me”.
Former editor-in-chief Chris Mitchell said Nick was an excellent journalist, sharp headline writer and brilliant layout designer. “He had a wonderful sense of humour, was widely read and beneath his feigned British military school exterior he had a heart of pure gold. He and his wife Deborah Jones were a formidable pair of journalistic powerhouses for many years on the national daily,” Mitchell said.
Nick married three times. His second wife, broadcaster Sonia Humphrey, was the mother of his two sons, Gideon and Daniel. Humphrey died in 2011.
Radio
1029 Hot Tomato announces replacement for departing content director
Whippy started in radio in his hometown of Newcastle, then went onto Brisbane with the third stop being on the Gold Coast back in the early 2000s. Whippy has held key roles on and off the air in a number of metropolitan markets and worked at all three cap city networks including roles of assistant content director at Nova 106.9 in Brisbane and content director at KIIS 101.1 in Melbourne.
Hot Tomato general manager Graham Miles said, “We are very pleased to welcome Whippy to the role. He has already worked with some of our people and we know his skills and experience are a good fit and will be a great benefit to the station.”
Whippy said, “I’ve been looking for the perfect opportunity to come back and Hot Tomato’s always a station I’ve have my eye on, so I can’t wait.”
Grant Broadcasters’ chief operating officer Rick Lenarcic said, “There was no shortage of strong candidates for the role but for some strange reason the team picked Whippy? Looking forward to welcoming Whippy to not only the Hot Tomato team but also the Grant Broadcasters family.”
Grant Broadcasters acquired Hot Tomato late in 2018.
Sydney’s #1 FM station hires new executive producer for breakfast
Georgie Page, smoothfm’s program director said, “I am thrilled to find someone of Katie Andersons calibre to join the smoothfm family as producer of Bogart and Glenn. Katie comes highly recommended with a CV showcasing years of experience on some of the biggest radio shows in Sydney.”
With over 15 years of media experience across radio, podcasting, digital content and TV, Andersen has been a freelance producer for smoothfm and Nova for the past 12 months. Previously Anderson was podcast producer for PodcastOne, freelance contributor for digital content at Mamamia, freelance producer and researcher for Channel Nine, executive producer for Mix 106.5 and breakfast producer for Triple M in Sydney.
Anderson is a regular social contributor for Channel Nine’s morning show and the Seven Network’s Weekend Sunrise. Anderson also launched a lifestyle and parenting blog “Clickkatie” in 2016, whilst raising her three young children.
She will commence her new role for smoothfm 95.3’s More Music Breakfast Show, hosted by Bogart Torelli and Glenn Daniel, immediately.
Radio exit: Singo says it’s time to sell Macquarie Media stake
Singleton said that when he signed Jones to Macquarie Media’s 2GB in Sydney in 2002 no one else would have offered the powerful media personality such a generous deal.
“I made Alan rich and Alan made 2GB successful…a good deal for both of us,” the advertising veteran said of luring the breakfast star away from 2UE.
“We have been friends since the early 1980s, and (fellow broadcaster) Ray Hadley has had the same influence. They are influential. It’s a mutually good deal and Alan and I get on very well.”
Singleton said it was likely he would sell his 32.4% stake in Macquarie Media to Nine, declaring he is not good at being a minority shareholder.
Television
ITV Studios Australia to produce Love Island New Zealand for Three
Love Island NZ will be produced by ITV Studios Australia, in what will be its first production for a New Zealand network.
The deal, which was brokered by ITV Studios Global Entertainment out of its Sydney office, will see Three become the home of Love Island in New Zealand. In addition to launching the show in 2019, the network has also acquired the rights to the second series in Australia, as well as licensing series five in the UK and the first series in the US on CBS, all of which are also set to air later this year.
ITV Studios Australia produced the successful first series of Love Island Australia last year, which broke viewing records for Network Nine’s catch-up service 9Now. It has entered its biggest production year to date, with new and returning shows for 2019 including Operation Live, Sunday Night Takeaway, The Voice, I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! The Chase and its first scripted project, SeaChange, a co-production with Every Cloud Productions.
David Mott, CEO and managing director ITV Studios Australia, said: “Part of our ongoing strategy is to grow and develop production opportunities beyond Australia, with New Zealand being a key market for us in doing so. For Love Island to be our first commission in the territory is really exciting and we can’t wait to start working with Three to make the series a hit there. Fans of the show are in for a real treat in 2019.”
MediaWorks chief content officer Andrew Szusterman said: “Love Island takes the concept of ‘appointment viewing’ to a whole new level and has been smashing records on air along with creating unprecedented social media hype and audience engagement.
“This show really is redefining the traditional television landscape, the likes of which New Zealand has not seen before and I’m really proud that yet again Three is leading the way in entertainment television by bringing it first to New Zealanders.”
Mick Molloy warned to lose the wild man look for TV
Molloy, who has grown a rather luxurious and lustrous beard over summer, was asked by Seven to lose his facial hair in preparation for the annual publicity shoot for his hit show The Front Bar.
Seven Melbourne managing director Lewis Martin, who is sporting a decent looking beard himself, was charged with gently encouraging Molloy to be less hirsute, reminding him he was hosting the network’s ratings winning footy-tainment show, not auditioning for Outback Truckers.
The Front Bar will return on Wednesday, March 20 — with or without the beard.
MKR judge Manu Feildel has no love for Married At First Sight
With TV experts hailing MAFS as an unstoppable ratings “wrecking ball,” Feildel, a co-judge on MKR, said its success was deeply concerning.
“It worries me that people seem to be really, really enjoying the train crashes and the failures of others more than the celebrating their successes,” Feildel said.
“I think it’s sad that we’ve sunk that far. It brings out the worst in people. We enjoy relationships falling apart. How is that entertainment?”
SBS documentary brings colour to key moments in Australian history
The series will include the 1901 Centennial Park ceremony to declare Australia a Federation. It will also show the nation’s oldest surviving footage showing a skater in Prince Alfred Park, Surry Hills.
Viewers will see precious film of Australia’s involvement in war, with colour added to the original black and white film according to strict and respectful historical research.
Sometimes the team carried out many weeks of research on a scene that will flash across the SBS screen for literally a second, McGowan said.
McGowan selected footage from the National Film and Sound Archive, and the archives of the ABC, Cinesound Movietone, and commercial television stations.
Don Bradman hitting centuries, Douglas Mawson exploring the Antarctic, and Australian tours by The Beatles and Queen Elizabeth are all shown in the series in colour.
Australia in Colour premieres at 8.35pm, Wednesday 6 March on SBS, and will be available after broadcast on SBS On Demand
Sports Media
I’ve been ‘sacked’ from AFL Footy Show, Sam Newman claims
Newman, who has a two-year deal with Channel 9 covering the 2019-20 period, will be part of the Sunday Footy Show, as well as a set of Footy Show-related specials, but will not be involved with the network’s new look, prime time, midweek Footy Show.
“If logically I have been on a show called The Footy Show for quarter of a century and The Footy Show is going on and I am not on it – it is just a tongue in cheek – if somebody wants to say I have been sacked, I am very happy to acknowledge that,” he said.
Adelaide nurse outlasts 24 competitors to win $65k Kayo car
Terrington, 42, is the owner of a $65,000 Holden Arcadia after lasting the longest in the Can’t Take Your Hands off Kayo Challenge, in which the multi-sport steaming service issued an unusual challenge to win the car.
From more than 1000 entrants to the competition, 25 were selected to place their hands on the car on Thursday afternoon.
The rules were simple – whoever keep his or her hand on the car the longest would drive away with it.
The contestants were given a 15-minute break every three hours but knew that was only going to extend the pain; a similar competition in New Zealand lasted for around 70 hours, although that was without the heat being a factor.