Sydney

Ben, Kyle and Jackie O lead, Jonesy & Amanda go boom

UP: WSFM 954 +1.7
DOWN: 2GB -1.0

Read more: Sydney Radio Ratings: Survey 2

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Melbourne

• Ross, Russ and Christian, as Chrissie, Sam & Browny rise

See More: Melbourne Radio Ratings 2021: Survey 2

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Brisbane

• B105 #1, 4KQ takes off! Laurel, Gary & Mark #1 Brissie brekky

Read More: Brisbane Radio Ratings 2021: Survey 2

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Adelaide

• Mix 102.3 and Cruise 1323 share spoils, as Nova 91.9 climbs

See More: Adelaide Radio Ratings 2021: Survey 2

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Perth

• Nova holds #1, Mix steady, improvement at 96FM & Triple M

See More: Perth Radio Ratings 2021: Survey 2

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Tokyo 2020 is just 100 days away. It has been a while since there was such pent-up demand for an Olympic Games. The event has been delayed for 12 months…the last time there was an Olympic disruption was 80 years ago during the Second World War when both the 1940 and 1944 Games were cancelled.

Because of the 2020 delay, there will now only be a seven-month gap until the Winter Games commence in 2022.

“These Games are on and they are going to be huge,” Seven’s chief revenue officer – director of Olympic, Paralympic & Commonwealth Games – Kurt Burnette told the audience of Seven’s Tokyo 100 virtual event this week.

So keen is Seven to showcase the creativity from Olympic advertisers, Burnette revealed they will be running a consumer competition where viewers can vote for their favourite ad shown during the event.

Seven’s head of sport Lewis Martin also took part in the Tokyo 100 event, joining Burnette on a panel to answer questions from advertisers.

After the event, Mediaweek spoke with both Burnette and Martin.

Olympic-sized audience measurement

KB: “We are setting up dashboards which will allow us to report in a de-duped fashion with VOZ launching in June. Currently we can report digital views and social streams and we will continue to do that. Each morning you will be able to see what has happened across broadcast, digital and social.

“The Olympic reporting is not VOZ-dependent though, we will be reporting VPM demographics, but with VOZ it hangs together better and de-duplicates the audience.”

Monetising the Olympics

KB: “Seventy per cent of our sponsorship has been sold which is ahead of where we would normally be in an Olympics. The ad packages – or our dynamic market as we call it – is running hot at the moment and we are very pleased. We are having good conversations. The market is very strong, and there has been a real return to brand marketing coming out of 2020.

“The surest bet in 2021 with regard to an audience of extreme scale and addressability –there is nothing better than the Olympics. For people looking for brand activity the timing could not be better. Thankfully we are in a position post-Covid where a lot of categories are starting to talk about their message. That’s a good thing after so many businesses were damaged by Covid and this is part of the recovery.”

Were brands concerned Games might be cancelled?

KB: “The people who are on board absolutely believe in the Games. It’s a no-risk situation. If something happens it’s not like their money has been spent. All brands that go in will get the Olympic Games, the biggest digital event in history, and the biggest audience you will get in 2021. Or they will be involved, and we are talking about it because people want to know, they will be part of shows like Farmer Wants a Wife and The Voice. That will be a guaranteed TARP campaign, or you’re in the biggest event in the past 20 years.”

Commercial opportunities: This year is different

KB: “There is no signage at any of the venues and the IOC is very strict historically how brands can integrate inside the broadcast coverage. This time around they have opened up a whole raft of opportunities like picture in picture, pull-throughs and lower frame supers. We have some very clever integrations which you will see through the games.

“As you move into digital you have addressability and data overlays, freeze frame and then personalisation where people can follow a sport.

“There are more opportunities in 17 days than we have seen in 52 weeks of a year. I have been to 12 Olympic Games and I have not seen as many opportunities as this.”

Hospitality for Seven’s Olympic partners

KB: “We are working with the AOC on the live sites around the capital cities. In those live sites those people will also be seeing our signal.”

LM: “There will be an opportunity for our key customers to join us in the studios. We have made a provision where we will be able to have some advertisers visit the broadcast hub.”

Broadcast initiatives

LM: “Everything we have done to date is about evolving our broadcast ability. All of the learnings we have taken out of the past 12 months we will be applying to Tokyo and an Olympics always raise the broadcasting bar. The innovations and new tech we are using will be carried over into other sports.

“Viewers will notice the most innovation by watching 7plus where we will have 45 channels. It offers us a huge opportunity for Tokyo and then allows us to take into other sports.”

How to watch 45 channels

LM: “We will have an interactive screen where all channels will be visible. Our host will be able to direct our viewers to whatever they choose to watch. Viewers will be able to have their viewing experience curated by the host and then viewers can choose their own. People will never miss a thing.

“Some people might buy new televisions which seems to happen before an Olympics, but they won’t have to purchase a thing. The great thing about 7plus is that it is already there and it takes just a couple of minutes to sign up.”

KB: “This is the first time an Olympics has sat inside 7plus. For Rio and the Commonwealth Games Seven had a standalone app.”

Seven’s Tokyo 2020 team

LM: “There will be a big team of reporters on the ground in Tokyo. It is obviously a big news event as well as a sporting event and we have some serious heavy hitters. They will also be interacting with our sports hosts.

“It’s a very aspirational thing to be part of an Olympics coverage. If you look at our hosting we have gone for a broad team that is all about knowledge and experience.

“These Games will not be just huge, it will be dynamic and unpredictable and the world will be watching.

“While the commentary of the different events will largely be remote, the key thing out of Covid is to be agile. We will assess each situation and have scenarios ready, but with the knowledge they may have to be changed. If there is an increased workload with Covid, it is about having multiple scenarios so we can be ready if the environment changes, something we learnt during the 2020 AFL season.”

Showcasing Seven’s second-half programming

KB: “The Olympics is a big platform and one of the reasons Seven invests in the Olympic Games is to promote ourselves. We have a whole range of programming that we will showcase including The Voice, SAS Australia, the AFL Finals, Bathurst 1000, Ashes cricket and also our news programs.”

See also:

Seven unveils its coverage team for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics
• There are just 100 days to go until the 2020 Tokyo Olympics begin

Seven reveals its digital product for 2020 Tokyo Olympics
• Over one billion minutes will be streamed across the 17-day period

Hamish & Andy’s Remembering Project has returned on LiSTNR

Late last year Hamish Blake and Andy Lee delved into their 20 years of archives to create a new podcast, Hamish & Andy’s Remembering Project, which took the boys on a journey down memory lane.

Remembering Project shot to number eight on the Australian Podcast Ranker after only nine episodes and season two launched this week on LiSTNR.

The pair are armed with archives and notes from over 2,500 shows across two decades and episode one of season two takes them back to the time Andy revealed Kylie and Dannii Minogue were his neighbours growing up, and the time Dannii came into the studio with audio of Andy performing in his primary school musical.

Season two of Hamish & Andy’s Remembering Project will also recall the classified information around their trip to Afghanistan, the secret to one of the most successful creations of all time, the Gravy Chip, a bizarre rumour about Rod Stewart, a foretelling interview with the US host of Lego Masters, the savage business negotiations behind the scenes to take on VB, Beckham and Bublé in the fragrance world with Andy by Hamish and Andy’s sneaky pash with Lily Allen in a laneway.

Andy Lee and Hamish Blake said: “We definitely remembered some moments as being far better than they were, so this podcast has often ended up quite embarrassing opposed to a triumphant look back.”

 A new episode will drop every Monday through to Monday 23^rd August. The Hamish & Andy Show will continue to publish every Thursday as usual.

Earlier this year when speaking to Mediaweek, Lee said that he was excited to return to podcasting in 2021.

“The interesting thing about doing podcasts is international listeners. We are still growing around Australia but when we started it was 90% Australia but now it’s just under 80% local audience.”

When asked how long he sees himself continuing to do podcasts Lee compared it to a marriage.

“Our marriage is an opt-in, not an opt-out and most marriages would probably work better that way.”

“We tend to get together at the end of every year or two and if one of us says that they don’t want to do this anymore then the other one has got to nod his head and say that it has been a good ride.”

[Listen to Hamish & Andy’s Remembering Project here]

March Podcast Ranker: Casefile True Crime still #1

Triton Digital has released March’s Australian Podcast Ranker revealing the top 100 Podcasts and Top 10 Publishers in Australia from 1 March through 31 March 2021.

A number of new entities appear in this month’s Top 100 including The Sure Thing (Nine) and Cautionary Tales (ARN/iHeartMedia). Additionally, Casefile True Crime (Audioboom) remained in the #1 spot as the most downloaded podcast in the country this reporting period. 
 
As for the All-Australian Top 100, new entries included Outspoken the Podcast (Diamantina), Something To Talk About with Samantha Armytage (News Corp Australia), and Unlock The Greatness Within (SCA – LiSTNR). Casefile True Crime (Audioboom) remained in the #1 spot as the most downloaded Australian podcast in the country.  

Hamish and Andy have moved up to #3 in March after releasing five episodes, these were the first episodes of the year.

The Betoota Advocate has also seen positive movement with Betoota Daily News Bulletin and The Betoota Advocate Podcast both up significantly this month.

[Read the full report here]

Business Bible already has a devout following

The Business Bible, the new podcast from the Victoria Devine empire she told Podcast Week about just last month, has made a spectacular debut. With the first episode launching on April 1, the podcast has already topped the Apple podcast business rankings. To get there it has to muscle Devine’s other podcast, She’s on the Money, from top spot.

Devine has been seeding the new brand with her followers since January 1 this year when she started asking for feedback on topic suggestions. Once the title launched Devine and her co-host Ryan Jon have been pumping out the episodes. So far seven in just two weeks.

About the successful launch, Jon said: “Most of the reviews talk about it being really actionable and easy to understand and (take note people on LinkedIn) no ludicrous hype, no salesy BS and use of the words guru, expert or ninja.”

Jon paid credit to Devine for the success plus some of the support team including content producer Jessica Ricci, their first guest Tim Duggan from Junkee plus ARN head of digital audio Corey Layton and ARN podcast content and partnership director Stephanie Coombes from iHeartRadio.

See also: She’s on the Money team launching two new series

[Listen to The Business Bible here]

Heath Ledger first subject of Death of a Film Star

The follow-up series to Crowd Network’s Death of a Rock Star and Death of a Sports Star is Death of a Film Star. The first episode focuses on Australian actor Heath Ledger who died in 2008. Other episodes will delve into the stories of Chadwick Boseman, the Black Panther icon and recent Golden Globe winner, plus later Carrie Fisher, James Dean, Judy Garland and Robin Williams.

This is the seventh podcast launched in 2021 from Manchester-based Crowd Network, which has recently moved into working with established shows, including Football Book Club and Le French Rugby Podcast, alongside its original offerings, such as the Geraint Thomas Cycling Club.

The narrators of the show are noted UK voice-over artists Elroy ‘Spoonface’ Powell and Emma Clarke, with episodes penned by author and broadcaster Tom Fordyce, and Mike Henson.

Death of a Film Star launched on Tuesday 13th April, with episodes released every Tuesday through Acast, and available to download on all major podcast platforms.

[Listen to Death of a Film Star here]

Queens of the Drone Age sign with iHeartPodcast Network

ARN’s iHeartPodcast Network Australia announced a new partnership with the Australian creators of Queens of the Drone Age.

The weekly tech podcast shares fun, accessible and conversational behind-the-scenes tech insights from four industry experts and prominent Australian tech journalists Angharad Yeo (ABC), Rae Johnston (SBS), Amanda Yeo (Mashable) and Tegan Jones (Gizmodo).

Every episode gives audiences a peek into the conversations happening in the tech space as the show shares the latest news as well as musings about where tech has been, where it’s going, and how it impacts everyday life.

Amanda Yeo said: “We’re absolutely stoked to be joining the iHeartPodcast Network. We were thrilled when iHeart approached us after our second episode dropped in January, and joining forces just seemed like a no-brainer!

“Our vision for Queens of the Drone Age has always been to make tech-friendly, accessible, and fun. Tech is for everyone, and it’s been heart-warming to see so many people tuning in to geek out with us every week. Working with the iHeartPodcast Network will help us reach new audiences, and provide fresh opportunities to grow our podcast even further. All of us are very excited to continue expanding Queens of the Drone Age with iHeart’s support.”

iHeartPodcast Network and Audioboom extend partnership

ARN’s iHeartPodcast Network Australia has announced it has extended its commercial partnership with podcast creator Audioboom for a further two years.

Audioboom’s CEO, Stuart Last said, “ARN’s iHeartPodcast Network has delivered exceptional commercial opportunities for our podcasts and we are pleased to extend our partnership. We are looking forward to continuing to work together to create opportunities for brands in Australia to reach our diverse audiences.”

ARN’s head of audio Corey Layton said, “This is a great day for the iHeartPodcast Network as we continue to strengthen our offering as Australia’s #1 podcast publisher. Our partnership with Audioboom gives brands access to some of the world’s most compelling and popular content, from the true crime thrills of Casefile to the entertaining No Such Thing As A Fish as part of our diverse podcast slate.” 

The partnership the release of the Australian Podcast Ranker for Marched which showed Audioboom’s Casefile, which is part of the iHeartPodcast Network, remains in the #1 position.

Audiocraft to launch workshops for aspiring podcasters

Audiocraft is launching the Idea to Audio Workshop Series on April 28. Three new workshops designed to help turn an idea into a successful podcast. With the support of the City of Sydney, Audiocraft is running the workshops online and in-person at the Darling Square Library Idea Space.

Aspiring podcasters can choose to brush up on one element of the podcast-making process or go deep with six hours of professional podcast training.

Each Idea to Audio Workshop runs for 2 hours:
• Intro to Podcasting: leaves attendees with a solid understanding of their idea, why they’re making it, and who they’re making it for.
• Make Your Podcast: gives attendees an overview of the messy middle of podcast production, going deep on making a plan and writing a killer script.
• Distribution and Promotion: walks attendees through the nitty gritty of setting up a podcast feed and getting their podcast out to audiences.

Online | 6pm – 8pm

Wed April 28 – Intro to Podcasting
Wed May 5 – Make Your Podcast
Wed May 12 – Distribution and Promotion

Darling Square Library Idea Space, Sydney | 11am – 1pm

Fri April 30 – Intro to Podcasting
Fri May 7 – Make Your Podcast
Fri May 14 – Distribution and Promotion

The series will run throughout April and May 2021. Details are below and ticketing information can be found here.

Audiocraft will also offer all three workshops for free at a by-application-only event Idea to Audio: New Voices for people under 25 from CALD backgrounds living, working or studying in the City of Sydney. These workshops will be in-person at Harold Park Community Hall. Spots are limited and applications are open now, apply here.

Andrew Denton’s Better Off Dead returns for season two

Andrew Denton is doing a second season of Better Off Dead over five years since season one wrapped.

The podcast will feature a new investigation into the truth of Victoria’s voluntary assisted dying (VAD) law: Who seeks to use it, and why? Who are the doctors stepping forward to help them? And how do many church groups continue to resist a law it describes as ‘evil’?

Co-produced by the Wheeler Centre and Go Gentle Australia, Better Off Dead season 2 looks at what happened in Victoria after the legislation came into effect in June 2019. The new series drops on Tuesday April 13.  

When Better Off Dead was released in November 2015 by the Wheeler Centre, it shed light on the reasons why more than 70% of Australians support making VAD legal – and on the powerful forces working to see that doesn’t happen. Sparked by Denton watching his own father, Kit, die painfully at the age of 67. The 17-part series delved into the arguments for and against assisted dying; described by opponents as ‘state-sanctioned killing’ yet seen by others as a merciful choice not to suffer.  

Now, more than a year into the law’s operation, Andrew Denton asks ‘how is it working?’ In the first year, 124 people received assistance to die, including nurse Margaret Radmore. The simple words she used to explain her decision said it all: “I choose not to suffer”.   

Still, many church leaders and doctors with a shared world view, continue to oppose the law by speaking of its dark repercussions. Denton looks at their insinuations, and at the fears about assisted dying raised in the parliamentary debate, to see if they’ve turned out to be true. He speaks to those with direct experience of how the law works: the families; the doctors; the keepers of the safeguards; the deliverers of the medication, as well as people who’ve actually made the decision and are going through the process.  

Better Off Dead season 2 podcast will be released via  wheelercentre.com   

Spotify launches Casefiles Presents: Pseudocide

Spotify has launched a new true crime podcast series that explores cases of faked deaths from Australia and around the globe.

Casefiles Presents: Pseudocide is the second of three true crime series launched exclusively on Spotify in partnership with Australian true crime podcast Casefile.

Hosts and true crime authors Poppy Damon and Alice Fiennes who will take listeners around the world to tell the stories of incredible pseudocide cases, with the first exploring Australian 90s advertorial star Roberto de Heredia, who faked his own death after being accused of bombing Simone Cheung and Brett Boyd in 1998. 

Pseudocide comes off the back of the first true crime series under Casefiles Presents, The Vanishing of Vivienne Cameron, which launched in November 2020 and explored the Phillip Island murder of Beth Barnard and disappearance of Vivienne Cameron in 1986.

[Listen to Casefiles Presents: Pseudocide here]

Seven West Media today announced that there will be one destination to watch every moment from the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games on all screens live and free from 23 July. 

Seven will deliver its experience across 43 channels and two simulcasts, including 36 channels curated by Seven, six pre-created channels direct from Tokyo, and one existing Olympic channel. Together this provides the most live streams ever hosted by an Australian broadcaster.

Extending across Seven’s digital ecosystem including 7plus, 7NEWS.com.au and The West Australian, over one billion minutes will be streamed across the 17-day period, with four modes of viewing: live, full replay, Olympic minis (compressed replays) and short form highlights. The broadcast will feature a consistent experience across 20 different platforms allowing Australians to stream across any device of their choosing, and live EPG integration.

Seven’s chief digital officer, Gereurd Roberts, said: “With Seven having the exclusive rights to Tokyo 2020, we’ve been able to deliver not only the world’s biggest sporting event, but the biggest digital event in Australian history. We are predicting more than eight million registered users will flood the platform, delivering an incredible wealth of data across name, age, gender, postcode, and more to offer our advertising partners.

“But it’s not just the scale of our digital offering that’s made Tokyo 2020 so exciting. We’ve entirely evolved the 7plus platform, in a program we call Experience Evolution, using the Games as a springboard to deliver a market-leading digital experience for the rest of our programming across the year and beyond. All the features built for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 will also be used in business-as-usual VOD and Live experiences, setting the bar for BVOD streaming in Australia.”

Experience Evolution uses a data-driven approach including the use of proprietary 7REDiQ to deliver an engaging, personalised experience to users, while driving product affinity and monetisation. Experience Evolution introduces the following features to 7plus:

• Watchlist: Provides users with the ability to add their favourite sport to an easily discoverable watchlist, allowing them to watch the event at their own convenience.

• Continue Watching: This gives signed-in users the ability to watch a sport full replay and pick up where they left off via the continue watching carousel located on their home screen.

• Captions: Live and VOD (including multilingual): To provide an accessible viewing experience for all users, it’s important to provide captioning to ensure as many users as possible can watch their favourite sports, events and highlights.

• Autoplay: The autoplay functionality provides viewers with a simple way to binge multiple event replays, highlights and sports minis without needing to lift a finger. It simply plays the next relevant piece of content.

• Chromecast and Airplay: As most people own multiple devices, including smart TVs and mobile phones, it’s becoming ever more important to provide a streaming service that supports this behaviour. The 7plus app will allow users to either Chromecast or Airplay content to their Chromecast or Airplay compatible device. This allows users to stream Tokyo 2020 on 7plus no matter the age of their television device.

• HD/SD selector: The 7plus player provides users with the ability to toggle between HD/SD to allow for the best and most data efficient streaming.

• Freeze Frame: A select, scaled range of devices have been enabled with Freeze Frame ads that appear as an overlay whenever a user pauses the content.

Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 will air 23 July to 8 August. Paralympic Games will air 24 August to 5 September. Tokyo 2020 live and free on Seven and 7plus

With just 100 days to go until the 2020 Tokyo Olympics begin, the Seven Network has announced its Olympic and Paralympic coverage and commentary team that will lead the country’s broadcast and digital event.

For the first time in Australian free-to-air television history, there will be 45 dedicated Olympic channels across Seven and 7plus all live, free, and in HD.

Bruce McAvaney returns for his 11th Olympic Games coverage, with Seven’s team featuring some of Australia’s Olympians, who between them have racked up numerous Olympic and World Championship gold medals, 22 World Titles, and hundreds of Games both as competitors and broadcasters.

Seven’s coverage will be anchored by Hamish McLachlan, Abbey Gelmi, Johanna Griggs, Luke Darcy, Matt Shirvington, Edwina Bartholomew, Lisa Sthalekar, and Andy Maher.

Leading Seven’s contingent on the ground in Tokyo, Mel McLaughlin, Mark Beretta, Jason Richardson, and Nathan Templeton will make sure audiences are kept up to date with all the latest news, colour and atmosphere of the Games.

Australian cyclist Anna Meares, who won six medals including two gold across four Olympic Games, is one of the new additions to Seven’s commentary team, along with former champion ironwoman Candice Warner.

They will be joined by fellow gold medallists Nick Green, Giaan Rooney, Scott McGrory, Russell Mark, Debbie Watson, and Kerri Pottharst, while Olympians Andrew Gaze, Rachael Sporn, Tamsyn Lewis-Manou, and David Culbert also headline Seven’s coverage.

Basil Zempilas leads a team of callers including rugby commentator Greg Clark, basketball expert John Casey, and accomplished callers Brenton Speed and Matt Hill. Jason Richardson will be trackside at the athletics, while Nathan Templeton will be poolside interviewing all the Olympic Games stars.

There will be more announcements on Seven’s commentary line-up in coming weeks.

Bruce McAvaney said “We’ve been waiting a long time for this. Like our Australian athletes, Seven’s broadcast team have been deep in preparation for an unprecedented Games.

“We’re anticipating milestone performances and a new crop of athletes who’ll become household names.

“The Olympics remains the greatest event in international sport and it’s exhilarating to be able to share the experience with all Australians, in our own time zone.”

Sixteen days after the Flame is extinguished in Tokyo, a new one will be lit, signalling the start of the Paralympic Games. Johanna Griggs and Paralympic gold medallist Annabelle Williams will anchor Seven’s coverage across Seven and 7plus featuring up to 16 live streams.

Seven West Media chief revenue officer and director of Olympics, Kurt Burnette, said “Seven will set a new benchmark as the most comprehensive, innovative and technologically advanced Olympic and Paralympic experience spanning all platforms.

“Seven is the undisputed home of the Olympic Games with an unparalleled understanding of the event, since the very first television broadcast of the Games in Melbourne 1956.

“Rarely do we see a moment as historically significant as Tokyo and Seven is setting a new benchmark for the Olympic and Paralympic experience live and free across all platforms – something never offered in Australia.

“We can’t wait to deliver to Australians what will be the most-watched Olympic Games since Sydney 2000 and the biggest ever digital event.”

Viewers will wake up to all the latest Olympic highlights, news, and athlete interviews each day with Sunrise before Johanna Griggs, returning for her seventh Olympic Games coverage, steers Seven’s morning broadcast alongside Luke Darcy.

Olympic sprinter Matt Shirvington and Edwina Bartholomew, who will be covering her third Olympic Games for Seven, then take the reins each afternoon.

Following 7News live at 6.00 every night of the Games, Hamish McLachlan and Abbey Gelmi will take audiences through the competition.

Hamish McLachlan said “After a year that’s challenged us like few before, Tokyo is poised to bring the world together again in the most powerful sign yet that the human spirit cannot be defeated. This Olympic Games will be bigger than sport. Simply being there and taking part will be a victory in itself.

“Australia has always had wonderful Olympic Games teams and when you look at our team for Tokyo, sport by sport, it will be another brilliant group of worthy individuals and teams that we will all marvel at when it’s their time to perform. We have world champions, world #1s and major winners, everywhere.

“In terms of the broadcast, it’s exciting and very humbling to be part of a Seven commentary team that includes Olympic legends like Anna Meares, the iconic Oarsome Foursome’s Nick Green, Scott McGrory and Russell Mark. They are some of the men and women I grew up idolising and cheering for.”

“Tokyo will see some familiar faces competing as well as some new sports, through which will come a new fascination and new faces. As always, it will be the world’s best against each other, at the world’s biggest festival of sport. I can’t wait for it to begin.”

Abbey Gelmi, who embarks on her first Games broadcast, said “Covering an Olympic Games is the ultimate privilege as a sports broadcaster and to be part of this team is something I’ve dreamed of.

“The pressure, drama and emotion at an Olympic Games is at a level nothing else can match, and Tokyo promises to be a Games unlike any we’ve seen before.

“The evening schedule is unbelievable, so to be side-by-side with Hame every night as we bring the stories of the Games into living rooms across Australia in prime time is beyond exciting. I cannot wait.”

Seven’s head of sport, Lewis Martin, added: “At Seven, we will unashamedly get behind our Australian team with the rest of the country, but we will never lose sight of the other nations competing. Their triumphs and feel-good stories deserve to be celebrated like never before.

“As always, we will bring unrivalled expertise to our Olympic coverage. You can trust Seven and our extraordinary team of commentators to take you inside every single event, to where the best action is happening at all times.

“Tokyo will be the greatest event you’ll ever see. From the opening ceremony to the closing ceremony – and everything in between – the only place you can witness all of the history- making action live and free is Seven, Your Home of the Olympics.”

Every morning on Sunrise, Kochie and Nat will be live to Mark Beretta in Tokyo, while a panel of Olympians and athletes’ families will be cheering on as our Olympians go for Gold.

7News will have unrestricted access to the Games and will have the biggest team on the ground in Tokyo.

7News chief correspondent Chris Reason and sports anchor Mel McLaughlin will lead a team of reporters, including Ashlee Mullany, Alex Hart, Matthew Carmichael, Sharnelle Vella, Rob Scott, Blake Johnson, and Ryan Daniels, operating 24-hours a day from inside venues and alongside athletes.

Website 7News.com.au will feature a hub for results and medal tallies, plus breaking news, exclusive content, features, and stories from the Games.

Mel McLaughlin said: “Having the privilege of working on an Olympic Games is the stuff of dreams in our line of work. I can’t wait to do it all again.

“Nothing beats being there and although things will look more than a little different, there’s no question Japan will deliver perhaps the best – and certainly most anticipated – Olympic Games ever. These Games are exactly what the world needs right now.

“Australia’s team will be its biggest ever and it could be our most successful ever. Our team at Seven can’t wait to bring you all the stories, the goosebumps and all the raw emotion that comes with an Olympic Games.”

Australians will be able to keep up to date with all the latest news on the 7Olympics social channels on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.

Olympic Games air 23 July to 8 August. Paralympic Games air 24 August to 5 September. Tokyo 2020 live and free on Seven and 7plus.

Nova Entertainment has announced the appointment of Elaine Graham-Quirke as head of digital audio, commercial Sydney.

Graham-Quirke will be responsible for pushing creativity, innovation, and education with Sydney based clients on podcasting and streaming, working closely with Nova’s digital and commercial teams to grow Nova’s market presence, and drive commercialisation of the business’ digital audio assets within the Nova Entertainment Podcast Network and new streaming environments.

Kane Reiken, Nova Entertainment’s digital commercial director said, “Elaine brings a wealth of experience and astute understanding of the role that digital audio plays within a holistic media strategy. Her strong client management and strategy experience will complement the team that continues to lead the market in digital audio solutions.”

Graham-Quirke has over 16 years media experience across the Australia and UK markets. Most recently, she was head of connections design at UM Sydney and had similar roles at both Wavemaker and Starcom, working across brands including Samsung, Visa, ING and Optus.

Elaine Graham-Quirke said, “I’m so excited to be joining the team at Nova Entertainment who have such a strong reputation in market as the most trusted and agile audio brand. I’m ready to get stuck in, helping agency and client partners further understand the unique opportunity that digital audio allows brands, alongside driving tangible results through creativity, collaboration and inNovation”

Graham-Quirke will join the Digital Commercial team led nationally by Kane Reiken – digital commercial director, who is responsible for the commercialisation of all Nova Entertainment’s digital environments, anchored in podcasting and streaming. Reiken is supported by Nathan McCahon as head of digital audio strategy, who manages podcast partnerships (including News Corp Australia, Sky News and Fox Sports Australia), and oversees the national digital audio campaign strategy and integration.

Graham-Quirke joins a team of digital audio specialists, strategists, and partner managers who support the network to build integration opportunities for brands, via local market leadership in Ollie Richardson and Liz Maplestone.

For the first time in its 25-year history, marie claire has put a non-celebrity on its cover with child sexual abuse survivor and activist Grace Tame helming the magazine’s May issue.

Named 2021 Australian of the Year in January, Tame’s impassioned message and advocacy for the eradication of child sex abuse and national reform around consent laws, have captured the attention of Australians.

Outlining the reasons why Tame has become the first non-celebrity to feature on a marie claire cover, editor Nicky Briger said: “Anyone who’s heard Grace speak is instantly moved by the power of her compassion and convictions. But beyond just words, she’s a true change-maker who’s shining a light on child sex abuse and the urgent need for action and legislative change. As a brand that’s continually striving to educate, empower and inspire Australian women, Grace represents our core values better than anyone. I’m absolutely thrilled she agreed to ‘grace’ our cover and, in the process, make marie claire history.”

During her interview with marie claire, Tame humbly rejects the revolutionary tag and instead describes herself as a “tiny domino” who’s helped prompt others into action. “People are sometimes deterred from action or doubt the value of their contribution in change,” says Tame, 26. “But there’s a whole set of dominos waiting to be pushed over. Just be that one domino. Your tiny little contribution has enormous catalytic potential.”

Adamant that men are not seen as the enemy or that she’s a poster-girl for rage, Tame speaks affectionately of the males in her life who have helped steer her life towards positivity and hope. There’s her partner and “soulmate” Max, who she met last year and describes as the love of her life. “We’ve both been in long-term relationships; I was even married [to actor Spencer Breslin]. But I’m already closer to Max than I was to my husband,” she tells marie claire. There’s also Dr Simon William, who she trusted with details of the harrowing sexual assault she suffered for years at the hands of fellow school teacher Nicholaas Bester, leading to his arrest. Lastly, her 11-year-old brother, Oscar, who Tame describes as her “little hero”. “He’s a very, very special person. He came into the world right when the abuse started, and pardon the pun, he was a literal saving grace.”

Despite the momentum that has occurred since her Australian of the Year acceptance speech, Tame is clear that a frenzied uprising is not the answer. “We’re all getting very stirred up at the moment. We see these surges and then they die down. What we need to do is sustain a more manageable, reasonable momentum that’s not so overblown, it’s just measured.”

And she’s adamant that she’ll keep fighting the fight long after her reign – until child sexual abuse is eradicated and the laws around consent have a standard national definition. “I won’t stop until I see the end of child sexual assault,” she says. “It’s as simple as that.”

The May issue of marie claire featuring Grace Tame is on sale from today. 

April 17 marks the 10th anniversary of the premiere of global television phenomenon, Game of Thrones.

Dominating the international television landscape throughout its series run, the HBO fantasy juggernaut attracted record audiences, critical acclaim, and a massive fan base around the world, with Foxtel carrying the mantle as the place to watch Game of Thrones in Australia.

In celebration of this ten year milestone – and as GoT fans anticipate the upcoming prequel House Of The Dragon – Foxtel will transport viewers back to the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros from Friday, April 16 with a line up of GoT programming content available to watch on demand.

Viewers can journey back to where it all began with every episode of Game of Thrones available to watch on demand on Foxtel.

Filmed during the creation of GoT Season 8, the Game Of Thrones Reunion hosted by Conan O’Brien will be available to watch for the first time in Australia.

Previously only available as a DVD extra, the 2 x 60-minute special is a celebration of the series and includes a huge line up of GoT cast members (including a return by one of the season one favourites), with an audience made up entirely of cast and crew. Filmed in Belfast in 2018, the special features appearances by key cast members Emilia Clarke, Sophie Turner, Maisie Williams, Isaac Hempstead Wright, Sean Bean, Kit Harington, Lena Heady, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Peter Dinklage, Mark Addy and Jason Mamoa.

A vast collection of GoT behind-the-scenes content will be available to watch from April 16, including on-set interviews with key cast and crew.

Game Of Thrones: The Iron Anniversary celebrations start on Friday, April 16, available to watch on demand on Foxtel. All episodes of Game of Thrones are also currently available to watch on Fox Showcase throughout the month of April.

Stan today released the trailer for Stan Original Series RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under that will be sashaying to our screens 4pm Saturday 1 May AEST, only on Stan. The show will be releasing a new episode every week.

The brand new 8-part series hosted by RuPaul with judges Michelle Visage and Australian comedian Rhys Nicholson, will see 10 Aussie and Kiwi queens competing on the runway to be Australia’s first ever Drag Race Superstar. Celebrity guest appearances will be announced soon.

The queens who will be racing down the runway soon are: Anita Wigl’it (Auckland, NZ), Art Simone (Geelong, VIC), Coco Jumbo (Sydney, NSW), Elektra Shock (Auckland, NZ), Etcetera Etcetera (Sydney, NSW), JoJo Zaho (Newcastle, NSW), Karen from Finance (Melbourne, VIC), Kita Mean (Auckland, NZ), Maxi Shield (Sydney, NSW) and Scarlet Adams (Perth, WA).

When the series was first announced, Nick Forward, Stan chief content officer, said “You asked for it Australia, and now we’re bringing it to you – finally, our very own Aussie Drag Race, the new Stan Original Series RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under! The series is already a huge hit with our audience, so to now be working with RuPaul and the entire team at World of Wonder to create a local version is beyond a thrill. We can’t wait to reveal all the guest judges and see what our local queens bring to the global sensation that is RuPaul’s Drag Race.”

Host RuPaul, said: “I cannot wait for everyone to see that Down Under queens have some of the biggest charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talents in the world. Thank you to Stan and TVNZ for providing a platform for these outrageous drag artists to share their heart, soul and humour.”

All previous seasons of the RuPaul’s Drag Race franchise are available to stream now on Stan.

Digital magazine app Readly is excited to announce the signing of News Corp Australia (News Life Media) to its stable of publishers – giving its subscribers access to some of Australia’s magazine publications including Taste, Delicious Australia, Vogue Australia, and Vogue Living.

The all-you-can-read magazine subscription app that launched in Australia last year with over 5000 national and international titles on the platform has continued to develop its service, remaining committed to offer something for all readers. Chris Couchman, head of content in Australia and New Zealand said that the addition of these household titles is another step in being able to deliver Australian readers a mix of niche titles and well-established magazines that they are searching for. 

Couchman said, “News Corp Australia (News Life Media) are renowned for providing some of the most known and trusted magazine titles in Australia and we are proud to now be able to offer them on the Readly platform. Their content, which cover core areas for our readers including food, home, style and health will allow our subscribers to continue to engage with quality content that speaks to their interests.”

Readly aims to continually improve its digital offering to consumers, and the addition of News Life Media speaks to this mission. 

Couchman adds, “For publishers, our growing datapool of over 34 billion data points gives them a deeper understanding of reader behavior which enables them to become more data driven in their approach to maximising readership and developing their business. We are delighted to have News Life Media experience this unique dataset.” 

Since the Company was founded in 2012, Readly has pioneered the market for digital magazine subscriptions. With the addition of News Corp (News Life Media), Readly is now collaborating with over 900 publishers globally, including 18 publishers in Australia, providing its readers with access to over 5000 local and international titles. Further, Readly also has a suite of UK newspapers on the platform that Australians or UK expats can also enjoy. 

Primetime News
Seven News 988,000 (6 pm)/931,000 (6:30 pm)
Nine News is 917,000 (6 pm)/913,000 (6:30 pm)
ABC News 638,000
10 News First 314,000(5 pm)/206,000 (6pm)
SBS World News 172,000 (6:30 pm)/156,000 (7 pm)

Daily current affairs
A Current Affair 774,000
7:30 547,000
The Project 255,000 (6:30 pm)/398,000 (7 pm)
The Drum 203,000 

Breakfast TV
Sunrise 229,000
Today 211,000
News Breakfast 187,000

Late Night News
The Latest 250,000
ABC Late News 136,000

Nine

Nine easily won Wednesday night by over 10 points in both primary (28.0%) and network (35.6%) share thanks to Married at First Sight delivering its best TV ratings of the year (1.134m). 

The episode featured the final dinner party of the social experiment and the main talking points of the night were the continued drama of Bryce and Melissa as well as the separation of Rebecca and Jake after the latter was filmed kissing fellow participant Booka on New Years Eve,

This was followed by Nine’s original drama Amazing Grace with 403,000 viewers which was down on last weeks 433,745.

Seven

Seven aired a double of Home and Away which had an average of 559,000 viewers tune in. This was followed at 8:30 by a double repeat of Highway Patrol with 377,000 and 341,000.

10

The Cube aired its final episode of the year with 268,000 tuning in to watch as sisters Michelle and Sam continued their quest to win $250,000.

This was followed by a double episode of Bull which had 170,000 and 157,000 viewers each.

The Project was joined by Olly Alexander with 255,000 (6:30 pm) and 398,000 (7:00 pm) watching.

ABC

ABC’s Wednesday night comedy lineup continues to perform well with the public broadcaster having a primary share of 14.3%.

Hard Quiz led the way with 683,000 tuning in, followed by The Weekly with Charlie Pickering which featured Margaret Pomeranz and Nat Tran.

Fisk completed the lineup with 537,000 viewers, down slightly on last weeks 561,000 viewers as the comedy starring Kitty Flanagan continues its strong run.

SBS

The top rating show on SBS was a repeat of Tony Robinson’s History of Britain with 178,000.