Ludo Studio has had a number of significant milestones in its eight-year history. The production house is best known for the all-ages animated hit Bluey, but on its short journey the company has produced seven series, is in development on another, and is soon to announce one more.

It has also started to fill the trophy cabinet with International Emmys, a Logie, SPA Awards and a couple of AACTA Awards.

Some of the Ludo Studio trophies

Co-founders of the Brisbane based business are Daley Pearson and Charlie Aspinwall. Pearson is a triple threat – writer, director and producer. Aspinwall is producing Bluey as well as working on expanding the Ludo slate.

Ludo Studio has had a busy week with another AACTA win and the screening of the second Bluey Christmas special, an episode on ABC Kids that managed to outrate most of the shows the day it screened on all FTA TV channels.

“It’s just an honour to be nominated,” Pearson told Mediaweek about their award wins. “We have been lucky.” Most of the Ludo productions seem to have won some sort of award.

“This is the second Bluey Christmas special after we did one in 2019,” added Pearson. “It did really well first time and we have decided to go again. They are also seven-minute episodes. There will be a Christmas Eve screening too this year on the main ABC channel.”

Bluey Christmas special

The best reward though is perhaps big audiences and that is what the second and now third seasons of Bluey have been attracting.

Pearson and his colleagues always thought Bluey was a pretty good concept, at the same time realising the audience would be the ultimate judge.

“Joe Brumm, the creator of Bluey, had the initial idea and it was all about his family. The shows we have found that have done well are the ones the people making it are living it,” said Pearson.

“We made a five-minute episode initially and then things moved quickly with the ABC picking it up, and then BBC Studios coming on for distribution.”

Ludo went ahead with a pilot episode after people didn’t quite understand what they were being pitched. “People weren’t sure if it was Peppa Pig or The Simpsons. We were answering that it was kind of both of those!

“The idea from Joe, Charlie and I was that it was made for co-viewing – parents with their kids to watch together.

Pearson said part of the success was due to where the program screened. “Around the world there doesn’t seem to be anything else quite like ABC Kids, a channel that is trusted by much of the country and people are not worried about putting their kids in front of it. It was the perfect show for that channel.

“We really worked hard trying to get the word out with some marketing. The show started to look after itself pretty quickly, but we had to light a few fires before it really caught on.”

Season 1 of Bluey was 52×7 episodes as was Season 2 which has just finished, with Season 3 now onscreen here.

It takes Ludo Studio four months to complete an episode with four teams working on different episodes at once.

The pilot episode had just a handful of people working on it, with Pearson noting that those originals are still part of a much bigger Ludo Studio team.

Pearson estimates that when they had a number of different series in production last year there were about 70 people coming to work. “It has changed a bit over the past five years.”

Ludo Studio staff dress up day

Ludo Studio is keeping a lid on the demand for Bluey content and associated products. When asked how much more Bluey and associated merch people have asked them to make, he replied, “A ridiculous amount! People would be using Bluey key chains, Bluey cars, Bluey everything…

“We like to think we have integrity about everything we make. We try to make the books and the toys as good as the show and it has almost driven us a bit mad. The scale of it lately is almost getting too hard to deal with. Luckily we have great partners in BBC Studios, Moose who do the toys and Penguin who do the books.”

Ludo Studio has considered diversifying from offering only seven-minute episodes. Pearson: “We are just now trying to figure out what that could be. We have thought about both a feature and slightly longer eps, but we haven’t landed on anything yet.”

While they are mindful of keeping the core of what is special about Bluey, Pearson said they just haven’t had the time to fully consider the possibilities. “Just making 52 episodes takes up all our time, it is a ridiculous amount of episodes to have to make. Every episode is different with a new script, new score, new characters often and mostly new locations.”

Keeping all episodes special comes with continuous new challenges.

Artist at work on Bluey

Although Ludo Studio’s main focus is Bluey, that hasn’t stopped them from working on other projects. The year Bluey launched there were three other series released. The production house has also sold a new live action drama for an SVOD platform that should be announced soon. Pearson joked: “This will look like a ‘proper’ show, but will still qualify as quirky.

“The thing I love, and most of us at Ludo love, is making the shows. But to be able to get to that privileged position you need to do a lot of boring work. In the six years since Charlie and I started Ludo we have worked long days.”

Pearson likes being a proud independent, but he revealed the business has had overtures regarding investment and partnerships. “We love to collaborate with people on our shows project by project, but the interest to be bought up by someone is not there at the moment. We really love what we are doing. We have had a lot of interest, but we are happy at the moment.”

“The other thing is don’t feel we really know what we are good at yet. For us it still feels like a new business and we are still finding out things about what we are good at and the best ways to operate.

“So far we have found it hard to collaborate and work with someone if they are not in Brisbane. Despite all the technology available, it works best to be next to the person, at least in the start of the relationship.

Pearson said he and the Ludo team have been very lucky being in Brisbane during Covid. “Everything we have done we have made in Brisbane. Partly because we are perhaps too lazy to want to shoot in New York or elsewhere. The problem for us has been trying to find studio space for our new drama. All the facilities have been booked out by international productions.:

Bluey who’s who

The now globally loved animated Australian series was created by creator/showrunner Joe Brumm, Emmy awarding-winning executive producers Charlie Aspinwall and Daley Pearson, producer Sam Moor and supervising director Richard Jeffery. The series is executive produced by Libbie Doherty, ABC Head of Children’s Television, and Henrietta Hurford-Jones, Director of Children’s Content for BBC Studios.

Principal production investment from BBC Studios, in association with Screen Australia. Post Production, Digital and Visual Effects work undertaken in Queensland, Australia with funding from The Queensland Government through Screen Queensland and the Australian Government.

Ratings records

The ABC has calculated Bluey attracts over 1 million metro viewers and has VPM average audience of 2.2 million.

Bluey is the #1 timeshifted program in Australia. New episodes of Bluey continue to draw massive timeshifted ratings, cementing Bluey’s position as the #1 timeshifted program ever!

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Top Photo: Ludo Studio co-founders Charlie Aspinwall (left) and Haley Pearson

Tony Kendall, the current chief revenue officer has been promoted to managing director of ACM with Sharon Fitter, the current enterprise sales director being promoted to chief revenue officer.

In addition, ACM’s chief financial officer Renee Duffy’s role has been expanded to include the chief operating officer’s functions including HR, HSE, Operations, printing & logistics.

Both Kendall and Duffy will report directly to ACM Executive Chairman Antony Catalano (pictured).

Catalano said: “I am delighted to announce the promotion of both Tony and Renee to these critical roles as we continue the evolution of the ACM business.

“Tony has had a successful career in senior leadership roles in a diverse range of media organisations and in his time at ACM has transformed our commercial offering with a focus on growing our customer’s business.

“Renee’s promotion recognises the integral role she has played in transitioning ACM from Nine/Fairfax ownership into the leading independent media company we are today.

“Under Tony & Renee’s leadership I believe we have the experience and talent to fast track the growth and evolution of our existing business as we seek to connect our large and valuable audiences with our compelling and trusted content.

“I’d also like to recognise the great work that Sharon Fitter has done in building a market leading Enterprise sales team that has helped the business transition out of COVID with momentum. It’s fantastic that we have this high calibre talent inside the business and I wish Sharon all the best as our new CRO.” 

Kendall said: “I’ve loved my time at ACM and the growth mindset that Antony brings to the business, which is rare in today’s media landscape. I couldn’t be happier to be taking on the role of managing director and I look forward to working with the ACM Executive and the broader team as we look to drive this business forward.”

Duffy said: “Having worked at ACM or the various iterations of itself for 17 years, I’ve seen many things change, but I’ve never been more excited to be with this company and I embrace the opportunity these new responsibilities present. Tony and I have worked closely over the last 18 months and achieved many things, but we know what’s on the horizon and we can’t wait to get into 2021 leading this company together.”

Fitter said: “To be given the opportunity to be chief revenue officer at ACM is a real honour. Having worked for many years in the Enterprise sales area, I can’t wait to get stuck into the other commercial parts of the business including national sales and partnerships. We have a team that is in my view the best in market and I’m looking forward to bringing my many years of sales experience to ACM more broadly.”

After launching during the dot com crash in 2000, the business has navigated the digital transformation of retail and commerce worldwide and the disruption of traditional media businesses.

Andrew Burge, founder and chief executive, isubscribe said, “It’s only when you look back you realise how far we’ve come. From that very first subscription in December 2000, we’ve now sold over 5 million across three markets and have 1 million active subscribers who value subscription products.

“As we hit our 20th birthday, I am thrilled with isubscribe’s performance with 2020 being our strongest year in sales volumes, revenue and profitability. It is a testament to the amazing team under the leadership of managing director, Hunter Drinan.”

Andrew Burge

Brett Willis, general manager retails sales and circulation, NewsLifeMedia, was one of the first to sign up his portfolio in 2000 as circulation manager of the newly launched company, News Magazines. Commenting on the isubscribe anniversary, Willis said, “isubscribe ensures our mastheads are consistently front and centre across the entire magazine marketplace and reaching new subscribers every day.

“isubscribe has been a great business partner, working together using their unique audience to grow our business. Our sales and brands across the portfolio have benefited greatly from this partnership. I commend the isubscribe team for performing consistently for so long in a challenging market.”

Magazines like many industries have experienced a tumultuous period in 2020, particularly in Australia and New Zealand. The resilience of many leading magazine titles at home and around the world in 2020, with uplifts in subscriptions and sales, demonstrates a particular trust readers have in the established brands and their years of experience. The results together with shifting attitudes suggest a bright future for magazine publishing.

Subscription sales surge

Better Homes and Gardens magazine subscription sales are up 35% year-on-year (YOY) on isubscribe.com.au, and overall it’s still the #1 selling magazine subscription on the site since 2000. Gardening Australia magazine is up over 100% YOY. Delicious. magazine is up 62% YOY and National Geographic subscription sales are up 50% YOY. These titles have topped the past 20 years magazine subscription sales on isubscribe together with Men’s Health (set to return to print in 2021) and other household brands such as Australian Home Beautiful, Vogue Australia, Country Style, marie claire and Time.

In New Zealand, the trend is consistent with Australia. Topselling brands, NZ House and Garden, NZ Gardener, Dish, NZ Fishing News, Cuisine and NZ Listener, to name a few, are still the leading magazines after 17 years on isubscribe.co.nz.

“We don’t see the demand for magazines and subscriptions dissipating dramatically anytime soon, if anything we’re seeing great faith in the medium with sales this year expected to be the highest in all of our 20 years,” said Hunter Drinan, managing director, isubscribe.

New launches boost the sector

“There are still great opportunities, particularly for niche magazines with a highly engaged community around a particular interest. We’re seeing new titles launch and also strong growth in other subscription products. For example, beauty subscriptions, craft and kids box subscriptions and many others.”

Newly formed School Road Publishing in New Zealand has launched four brand new magazine titles into the market in 2020: WOMAN, Haven, Thrive and Scout led by award-winning editor Sido Kitchin. In Australia, Australian Geographic has just launched a new kids magazine, Australian Geographic Explorers, and The New York Times Magazine announced it will produce an Australian edition.

isubscribe lists over 100 subscription ‘box’ products. Around half of these were newly listed in 2020 and sales for the category are up 95% YOY.

Drinan added, “The future is bright for isubscribe. The business is well positioned to capitalise on the opportunities presented by the growing subscription economy and a return to magazine reading and trusted media brands.”

isubscribe #1 sellers over 20 years

2000: Vogue Entertaining and Travel
2001: donna hay magazine
2002: donna hay magazine
2003: donna hay magazine
2004: donna hay magazine
2005: delicious
2006: donna hay magazine
2007: donna hay magazine
2008: Better Homes & Gardens
2009: Better Homes & Gardens
2010: Better Homes & Gardens
2011: Better Homes & Gardens
2012: Better Homes & Gardens
2013: Better Homes & Gardens
2014: Better Homes & Gardens
2015: Better Homes & Gardens
2016: Better Homes & Gardens
2017: Better Homes & Gardens
2018: National Geographic Kids
2019: National Geographic Kids

Known for its authoritative and independent journalism, the Post has been reporting on China and Asia for more than a century and its international relevance continues to grow with expansive coverage on local issues with global relevance. The Post has been part of the Alibaba Group since 2015.

SCMP’s coverage on Asia’s most important stories has driven its global reach to 51 million monthly active users, where Australia has been one of its fastest growing markets.

While SCMP’s digital transformation has driven its readership growth, it has also established innovative ways to provide advertisers with the necessary tools offering brand-safe marketing solutions and targeting audiences with greater precision, such as its proprietary first-party data platform for insights and activation, ‘SCMP LIGHTHOUSE’.

Peter Wiltshire, executive director, WeThinkMedia, said: “South China Morning Post leads the global conversation on China and Asia with trustworthy and comprehensive reporting that reflects deep understanding and connection with their significant, premium audience. We are working closely with SCMP’s branded content arm, Morning Studio, to tap that engagement, creating highly targeted, brand safe campaigns so Australian businesses can reach a substantial local and global readership. SCMP enhances WeThinkMedia’s international partner portfolio and we look forward to a prosperous partnership.”

Romanus Ng, senior vice president of advertising & marketing solutions, SCMP, said: “We are pleased to work with WeThinkMedia and their experience with leading international publishers makes them an ideal partner in Australia. SCMP offers a plurality of Asian perspectives that is globally relevant and locally accessible, and we look forward to establishing ourselves as one of the leading news brands in this growing market with our partnership with WeThinkMedia.”

This year has been noteworthy for SCMP as the first news publishers in Asia to win the Online Journalism Awards ‘General Excellence in Online Journalism (Large Newsrooms)’ and being recognised as “a digitally focused news organisation that successfully fulfils its editorial mission, effectively serves its audience, maximises the use of digital tools and platforms and represents the highest journalistic standards.” It also became part of The Trust Project, a worldwide initiative that provides standards of news production to help readers identify credible journalism.

WeThinkMedia continues to broaden its service offering across all media formats: TV, video-on-demand, digital out-of-home, digital publishing, print, magazines and events. Its partners include CNBC, The New York Times, INK Publishing, NZ’s newest digital OOH company LUMO, and foundation long term partner MediaWorks New Zealand (TV, VOD, radio).

The Undoing is now the most-watched show on Binge, drawing the largest daily audience for any series since the streaming service launched in May, with audience figures snowballing week on week.

On Foxtel, The Undoing has already surpassed audience figures for Big Little Lies in 2017, achieving +34% above the record-breaking season one. The series has also surpassed audience numbers for other hugely popular HBO titles on Foxtel including The Outsider, True Detective, Watchmen and Westworld.

The Undoing currently ranks as the number one drama to date on Foxtel for 2020, with a weekly cumulative audience to date of 497,000 viewers across Linear and On-Demand platforms.

The psychological drama, written and produced by David E. Kelley and directed by Susanne Bier, follows Grace Fraser (Kidman), a successful New York City therapist, and her husband Jonathan (Grant). Overnight, a chasm opens in their lives: a violent death, a missing spouse and a suspicious affair.

The series has also attracted outstanding audience numbers worldwide, with the finale drawing three million viewers in the US across all HBO platforms. The Undoing is also the first HBO series in the network’s history to grow week-to-week over the course of six episodes.

On Sky Atlantic in the UK, The Undoing launched with an audience of almost three million, surpassing the launch of Game of Thrones in 2011. The series is on track to becoming the biggest US series to ever launch on Sky Atlantic.

All six episodes of The Undoing are available to stream on Binge and watch on-demand on Foxtel.

“After a year without Championship Tour competition the WSL is excited to finally be on the eve of the 2021 season and we welcome our continued support of the Foxtel Group,” said WSL Asia Pacific general manager Andrew Stark. “It’s been a long and successful partnership between WSL and Fox Sports, and we can’t wait to continue it in 2021. This year is set to be one of the most exciting in the sports history and it will be seen by more Australian’s than ever through our broadcast partners.”

All stops of the elite Championship Tour (including recap shows) along with the Challenger Series, WSL owned Qualifying Series events and the World Junior Championship will be broadcast on Fox Sports in 2021.

“We have been showcasing Live surfing on Fox Sports since 2009 and highlights packages for even longer, so we’re excited to be continuing what has been a long and successful relationship as we follow the journeys of Australia’s best surfers on the world stage,” said Fox Sports director of acquisitions and sports partnerships, Rebecca McCloy.

“Showcasing the WSL only strengthens our sports offering for Foxtel and Kayo subscribers where Surfing sits alongside the best sporting codes in both Australia and from around the globe.” 

The 2021 WSL Championship Tour will commence this Saturday, December 5 with the opening day of the Maui Pro presented by Roxy and continue next week with the opening event of the men’s Championship Tour, The Billabong Pipe Masters presented by Hydro Flask with both events being broadcast live on Foxtel and Kayo.

Seven claimed top spot off the back of Highway Patrol on 428,000 and Border Security on 368,000. The second of two cricket special editions of The Front Bar were on 299,000 after 274,000 for the first.

Race Across the World started on Nine with 222,000 while a travel themed evening also offered Great Getaways on 327,000.