The business of making and distributing television shows is more complex than ever at a time when there have never been more broadcasters wanting premium video content for their various platforms.

A major player servicing both the global TV market, and also the BBC, is BBC Studios. The major selling event each year for that content is the BBC Showcase held in Liverpool every February.

Doctor Who’s Jodie Whittaker

Buyers wanting content for their television stations, subscription channels and on demand platforms converge on the Liverpool conference centre on The Mersey to watch content in a sea of viewing booths in the basement, hear from producers and talent from key properties about to hit the market in special presentations, and to be dazzled at the two evening Showcase events usually themed around some of the company’s major projects.

This year those projects were Unlock Your Imagination (Dr Who and The Watch on Monday night with a special performance from Mark Ronson) and then Our One in a Billion Planet (Tuesday).

Mark Ronson entertains Showcase buyers

BBC Studios CEO Tim Davie explained to his guests at one of the evening extravaganzas: “If you want to know the BBC Studios strategy, we are Bold, British and Creative [BBC], but more than anything we make hits. We make things that people remember and that’s what it is all about. We are a business that is going well, and we are having a great year. But it is all about partnerships. This company has been through incredible change in the past few years and our success is all down to partnerships with people here tonight.”

Top Gear branding at BBC Showcase

Included amongst the 600-700 hundred buyers jostling to secure the hottest shows from BBC Studios and its production partners were representatives from the major Australian broadcasters including two of the market’s astute dealmakers – Stan’s Les Sampson and Foxtel’s Alison Burns – together with other buyers from Nine, 10, ABC and SBS.

Top Gear presenters [L-R]: Chris Harris, Paddy McGuinness and Freddie Flintoff

Cast from A Suitable Boy

The dazzling array of product on offer this year ranges the full gamut from natural history (A Perfect Planet), comedy (Stephen Merchant in The Offenders, Will Arnett in The First Team), drama (The North Water from Australia’s See-Saw Films, A Suitable Boy from director Mira Nair and writer Andrew Davies) and factual entertainment (Top Gear).

Mediaweek visited BBC Showcase in partnership with BBC Studios.

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Top Photo: Stephen Merchant from The Offenders

In 2019, the Financial Review saw double-digit subscriber growth, AFR reached a total of 2.647 million Australians in November across print and digital, according to recent figures from emma (Enhanced Media Metrics Australia).

The campaign, created by Special Group, launched last week underlines the role AFR plays in driving subscribers’ ambition and success.

Using the existing tagline of “the daily habit of successful people”, the new campaign asks the pertinent question, “Do you subscribe?”, linking this action to the mindsets, behaviours and habits that fuel Australia’s most ambitious people.

“The Australian Financial Review is the masthead for Australia’s business people – executive decision-makers, sophisticated investors, political insiders – from those at the start of their career to the top of the corporate ladder. This campaign highlights how the Financial Review is a pivotal part of people’s individual success. It gives readers the confidence that they know what they need to know each day,” said Michael Stutchbury, Editor-in-Chief of The Australian Financial Review.

The campaign is running across outdoor, including a Sydney Wynyard Station takeover, print, including bespoke print executions throughout The Australian Financial Review, audio (podcasts and Spotify), display, social and 9Now.

David Eisman, Director of Subscriptions and Growth, said: “The Australian Financial Review is without a doubt Australia’s premier destination for business news. This campaign reminds our audience that subscribing to the Financial Review is key to daily success.”

Jessica Irvine has been appointed as the new executive editor of Qantas magazine and its website, Travel Insider.

Irvine joined Medium Rare in April 2016 as associate editor of Qantas magazine before being appointed editor of QantasLink’s Spirit magazine in July 2018, where she has overseen a highly successful redesign of the beloved regional print title.

Replacing Irvine in the role of Spirit editor is Helen Martin, who has served as the title’s chief sub-editor for the past year.

Kirsten Galliott, Head of Content, Travel & Luxury at Medium Rare, welcomed both appointments. “We are fortunate to have a wealth of talent within the company and I am delighted to make these internal promotions. Jessica is an incredible asset to the Qantas team and will bring her enthusiasm and experience to the print and digital titles, as well as many of our events. Helen has a vast knowledge of regional Australia and will make a fantastic editor of Spirit.”

Di Webster, the former managing editor of Qantas magazine, is also re-joining the Qantas team as editor-at-large. 

“This is undoubtedly the dream team,” said Galliott.

The media companies that donated advertising time and space were Australian Community Media, Australian Radio Network, ATN (Australian Traffic Network), Crocmedia, Facebook, Google, JCDecaux, Network 10, News Corp Australia, Nine Network, Nine Radio, Nova Entertainment, oOh!media, Prime Television, SBS, Seven Network, Southern Cross Austereo (television and radio), Shopper Media, TRSN, WIN Television and Ziff Davis.

The initiative to gain media companies’ support was co-ordinated by Barry O’Brien, chairman of the independent media agency Atomic 212°, which has worked for the NSW Rural Fire Service for the past two years.

O’Brien said: “Everyone in Australia has been shocked and distressed by the devastating bushfires in NSW, Victoria and South Australia in recent months.

“It’s a national tragedy and Australians have responded accordingly, giving their time, money and skills so generously.

“Thank you to all the media companies who responded so quickly. No one hesitated to get behind the campaign. The support from media has been remarkable and it has ensured the NSW Rural Fire Service’s critically important communication has reached more people than ever before,” he said.

In the Gold Coast, Ivan and Aleks were off to a strong start as they shared playful banter and mild flirtation while on the tanning beds by the pool. Although, it appeared someone else had joined their holiday in paradise, and Ivan was giving them more attention than he was with Aleks – his work phone, which rang off the hook.

At first, Aleks was afraid Ivan’s phone was his first priority and that it would destroy their first proper chance of getting to know each other. Ivan actually lost his phone in the back of their Rolls Royce ride on the coast, and Aleks was in hysterics.

Ivan comically searched for his phone in the back of the car for the day and even broke the backseat. It’s okay, he’ll be receiving the phone in 48 hours, so stay turned for Ivan’s love affair with technology in episode nine.

Over in Broome, Connie and Jonethen were making the most of the pool. Jonethen revealed to producers he wants to takes things slow out of respect, whereas Connie is ready to get straight into their new relationship. After being in a dating drought for half a decade, I can see why she’s eager.

Connie’s honeymoon wish was for her new husband to lay a kiss on her. By the end of the episode, it happened – and for a while. It was a long, uncomfortable TV kiss and camera-man Jake chose to do a close-up. 

In sunny Fiji, Stacey and Michael shared a moonlight dinner where MAFS viewers finally believed there may be a slither of hope for this couple. How wrong we were. The next morning, a very cranky Stacey sat in bed next to a sheepish Michael, and ordered him to tell the camera about his pathetic, drunk behaviour after the dinner. 

After Stacey told Michael she hopes a shark hits him when he suggests they waterski, they finally patched things up and shared a picnic together. Stacey opened up about the tragic events of her father passing when she was just a baby, and then her brother passing on the same day as the due date of her first child. Michael sincerely comforted her, even though we couldn’t understand a word he was saying because he was probably still drunk from the night before.

It was made evident that the new couple slept together, and were the first couple to consummate their marriage in the TV experiment.

Over in New Zealand, Mishel and Steve transformed a romantic getaway into an adrenalin junkie’s dream vacation. Mishel shared with her new hubby that she loves adventure and extreme sports. After Steve ruins his $300 pants on their first activity, they decided to go skiing. Things went south when it was made clear that Mishel wasn’t a huge fan of the experience.

Steve shared his feelings – with a somewhat harsh tone – that he wasn’t a fan of Mishel not being a fan, and was sick of her ‘whinging’. After Mishel tells him to shut up a few times, she apologies and tells him he deserves a nice, big bowl of spaghetti bolognese. 

Married at First Sight continues tonight at 7:30pm on Nine and 9Now.

Effective immediately, Kay’s elevation to Melbourne MD comes off the back of a strong year of growth for the agency, with the Melbourne office securing a number of new business wins and effectively doubling in size.

On the appointment, Scriven said: “At a time when our Melbourne business has doubled in size following a string of new business wins, I’m thrilled to recognise Megan’s great efforts with this well derserved promotion. 

“Megan has done a brilliant job leading our Melbourne office. She has recruited the best and brightest talent to work for Zenith Melbourne, setting our business up for continued growth and momentum.”

Kay added: “It’s such an exciting time to be leading Zenith Melbourne, and I have every confidence that we have the right people, partners and technology to continue delivering amazing work for our clients in 2020 and beyond.”

Although one competitor has shot up the charts this week and come closest to closing the gap and that show was The Good Place which aired its series finale on January 30. This wave of momentum has given the popular comedy starring Kristen Bell and Ted Danson a serious push but it still wasn’t enough to stop the Disney+ original. 

The series revolves around Eleanor Shellstrop (Bell) who dies and ends up in the Good Place which is a version of Heaven, which at first seems lovely but she realises that they have the wrong Eleanor Shellstrop and that in fact she was meant for the Bad Place AKA Hell. However, this is not the only thing out of place as she and her companions notice more and more things askew about this afterlife.

While the show is marketed as a Netflix Original in Australia and NZ it is actually aired on the NBC in the states which explains why it is not listed on the Digital Originals charts. 

The Australian and NZ TV Demand charts also got an injection of colour this week which comes in the form of animation with the first series being BoJack Horseman which has charted in both countries on the back of the release of its final season on Netflix on January 31. The series is one of the longest-running Netflix Originals after releasing its first season on August 22, 2014. The series revolves around the titular BoJack Horseman who clings to his fleeting fame of being a sitcom star in the 90s and wrestles with the moral and emotional implications of life which includes themes such as mental health, addiction, domestic violence, troubled marriages, and traumatic upbringings. 

The other animated series is the adult animation Harley Quinn which charted in NZ after airing its season finale on February 7. The series is aimed towards adults and takes advantage of the much looser censorship rules afforded to it by being released on the DC Universe platform. The series follows Harley Quinn who is voiced by The Big Bang Theory’s Kaley Cuoco, after the character has broken up with The Joker and follows her adventures as she attempts to become a member of The Legion of Doom. This may also have been boosted by the recent release of the feature film Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) which stars Australia’s Margot Robbie.

Nine was again a comfortable winner thanks to the Married at First Sight (1.10m) juggernaut which keeps on rolling through, but this time it was aided by the potent one-two punch of being paired with the returning Paramedics which won its time slot in all metro markets with 678k. This dynamic duo appears to be a strong pairing for Nine on Tuesday nights moving forward as it helped achieve the largest primary share of the night with 25% and also the #1 Network share with 32%.

Seven’s most-watched non-news program of the night was Home and Away which had 641k viewers, nearly 200k more than the 455k who watched MKR: The Rivals which at least is an uptick from Monday’s episode which had 439k.

10’s top show continues to be Australian Survivor: All Stars which had 612k metro viewers which was the show’s biggest audience this season. The episode saw the ‘Zen Hen’ finally get the chop as Mokuta continues to send tribe members home. While the show hasn’t been able to close the gap between itself and MAFS it has a healthy lead over MKR.

ABC’s best non-news performer last night was Griff’s Great Australian Rail Trip which had 477k viewers, and it appears Tuesday night is the night for trains with 376k viewers also making a stop at SBS for Great Australian Railway Journeys which was the top performer for the channel as well.