Wednesday July 1, 2020

Fox Arena rebrand as home of Housewives adds WarnerMedia series

By James Manning

Foxtel’s Arena channel has been one of the subscription TV platform’s heritage channel brands. Over the past 20+ years it has had a number of brand refreshes.

The latest is unveiled today as the channel adopts a tweak to its name, now Fox Arena, takes on a new logo and the tagline Live Out Loud. The channel continues to be part of Foxtel’s Lifestyle suite of channels.

Fox Arena is promoting itself as the TV destination for reality franchises and is reinforcing the age of the audience it is attracting to commercial partners.

Wendy Moore is the general manager of Lifestyle for Foxtel and is managing the channels remotely from home in a Covid-19 world.

“We are all on Microsoft Teams and it’s amazing how quickly we have all got used to it,” Moore told Mediaweek on the eve of the Arena refresh.

“I speak to most of the team once a day to have a catchup. All these years we thought it might be hard to work from home. Turns out not so hard!”

Much of the chat on the online calls for the past few months has been regarding the July 1 channel relaunch.

The overhaul is certainly not going to scare any of the channel’s existing viewers. There are only a couple of content changes and a new logo.

“We did make quite a big change to the channel content earlier this year,” Moore explained. “We moved out some of the soaps and added in quite a bit of reality.

“Fox Arena is now the home of reality TV. The soaps didn’t quite fit with that and they sit better on other channels.”

Moore said the Arena refresh was going to coincide with the new Real Housewives of Melbourne season, but with a Covid-19 production delay, they decided not to wait.

The Real Housewives of Melbourne

“After the new Foxtel deal with WarnerMedia, we are bringing in the US Bachelor and then later Ellen. We have a few other new shows including Bridezillas.

“We are now targeting a much younger audience for Arena than we get on Lifestyle. Maybe 10 years younger.”

Moore is promising more Australian content over the next 12 months across the Lifestyle channels. The delay for Real Housewives of Melbourne means it won’t start production until 2021, going to air later that year.

Housewives just doesn’t work with social distancing and lock downs. You need parties and travelling and lots of interaction with lots of people.”

For people who love the Real Housewives, Fox Arena has 10 US versions of the format plus UK’s The Real Housewives of Cheshire.

“We wanted to put them all together and be a destination for Housewives.”

The Real Housewives of Beverley Hills

The Ellen Show is returning to Arena after a few years away. “We know how much the audience loves her. Part of the excitement of doing the Warner deal is getting her show back.” Nine also screens Ellen with Nine getting the first screening of each episode.

Another show from the WarnerMedia deal is second rights to the US Bachelor with Nine again having first rights via a multichannel.

Other programs include an Arena staple Judge Judy. It’s mainly a daytime proposition for Arena, although her new season will get a primetime spot.

Many of the new Foxtel studio deals include more shared content, but the audience doesn’t seem too fussed if they are mixed in with some channel exclusives and premieres.

Those exclusives include Below Deck Mediterranean and Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles.

Below Deck Mediterranean

Fox Arena continues as a US award shows destination as the home of the Emmy Awards, Golden Globes, SAG Awards and The Critic’s Choice Awards.

While Housewives of Melbourne is the only local content in production, Moore said: “There are a couple of other shows we have had the green light for, but we are holding production until we get past Covid. Next year will be a big year of Australian productions for us.

Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles

“The WarnerMedia deal has a local production element to it and we will be working with Warner Bros. International Television Production in Australia on program exclusive across the Lifestyle channels.”

MTV Australia launches new four channel music collection

MTV Australia has today launched the new collection of music channels with a line-up that covers every music style.

The move comes after Foxtel announced it would be closing its locally produced music brands Channel [V] and Max.

The expanded portfolio of MTV music channels will feature MTV HITS, Club MTV, MTV Classic and CMT (Country Music Television).

The new channels are set to celebrate even more of the music audiences love, with curated music blocks for rock and pop, contemporary and country, charts and dance, R&B, easy listening and the all-time classics.

Programmed locally, the MTV and CMT branded channels will continue to be curated specifically for Australian audiences to enjoy premium entertainment experiences.  

The recent investment in new music initiatives has showcased Australian artists in original local productions of: MTV Unplugged Melbourne, TRL Australia, Call & Response, Yo!MTV Raps, MTV Stripped, MTV Upload and It’s a Mood.

MTV HITS, Club MTV, MTV Classic and CMT will be available on Foxtel from July 1. And the MTV music collection will be available on Fetch from July 1.

MTV HITS

The chart-toppers, award-winners and stadium-fillers from Australia and across the globe. A non-stop music festival of the hottest hits right now.

Club MTV

The club scene curated into a channel that never sleeps. The ultimate dance party where the beats are endless R&B,Hip Hop and Dance hits. 

MTV Classic

Since 1981 MTV has been the home of Music TV. MTV Classic immerses itself in that proud heritage. From Aussie Icons to the global supergroups and superstars of the 80s, 90s and naughties.

CMT

Country Music Television featuring the best in country music from Nashville to Tamworth and everywhere in between.

Former WPP CEO Mike Connaghan joins News Corp to monetise content

Former WPP Australian and New Zealand chief executive Mike Connaghan (pictured) is joining News Corp Australia to enhance and maximise the value of content for commercial clients and audiences.

Starting today in a new position as managing director, commercial content, Connaghan said it represented an exceptional opportunity to extend his extensive experience by working with some of Australia’s leading content creators.

“News Corp Australia has always been the quintessential media partner for brands looking to connect with consumers,” Connaghan said.

“I’m looking forward to working with a distribution platform that’s second to none, that can deploy personalised content at scale or build distinct, highly targeted audiences.

“This ability to help clients connect with their consumer and deploy personalised, relevant, premium creative content and to help them build their own audience using our assets and first party data is an amazing opportunity.”

News Corp Australasia executive chairman Michael Miller said Connaghan’s role was a missing piece of the strategic puzzle.

“We’re expanding and diversifying the way we connect with our commercial partners and our audiences with an increasing focus on digital,” Miller said.

“There is no doubt that News is Australia’s most diverse creative content company but we all agree we need to do more to maximise the value of that content for both our audiences and our commercial partners.”

Commercial content is a growing part of News Corp Australia’s business with investments in Medium Rare, Storyation, Suddenly and audio content.

Leading the expansion of News Corp Australia’s content agency portfolio Connaghan will oversee Suddenly, audio and native content production, and he’ll join Medium Rare’s board, which also includes content agency Storyation.

Nationally, commercial content has been enjoying revenue growth of at least 15 per cent annually in a market estimated to be worth about $2 billion.

“Mike will be involved in driving the success of this part of our operations even harder,” Miller said.

“He really shares our vision for what we can achieve, that we can be far greater than the sum of our parts. It’s a real coup to have someone of Mike’s talent and experience join us.”

Connaghan has a long career in Australia’s advertising industry, having started with the legendary Singleton Ogilvy and Mather agency and going on to lead that business as it expanded.

As that agency joined with others to create STW, the largest marketing content and communications company in Australasia, Connaghan was CEO for a decade until 2016 when STW acquired the Australian and New Zealand operations of international advertising business WPP.

He then led that combined company until 2018 when he set up his own consultancy.

Connaghan is also chairman of the ground breaking RUOK? suicide prevention campaign.

As managing director, Commercial Content Connaghan will draw on his extensive experience to implement within the company News Corp Australia’s vision of a consortium of independent but collaborative content agencies.

Photo: The Australian

Foxtel Media now exclusive sales representative for Tubi in new deal

The ad-supported Tubi TV platform, now a division of Fox Entertainment, has entered an exclusive ad sales partnership with Foxtel. As part of this collaboration, Foxtel Media will serve as the sole ad sales representative in Australia for Tubi through 2022.

Tubi adds a key free-to-the-viewer ad-supported component to Foxtel Media’s offering, which is currently comprised of live sports, premium lifestyle and entertainment content, and news.

“Our collaboration with Foxtel Media delivers an optimally localised relationship and trusted team for advertisers in Australia,” said Farhad Massoudi, CEO, Tubi. “We’re excited to be partnering with a premium brand as an organic complement to their current offering.”

“Tubi is a video streaming powerhouse, and the global leader in ad-supported video-on-demand, exceeding 200 million hours of view time in April alone representing at 150% increase year-over-year,” said Mark Frain, CEO, Foxtel Media. “The tech behind Tubi’s offering has enabled the business to rapidly build audiences across Australia and Mexico. We are thrilled to be a part of Tubi’s journey in Australia, and to have the opportunity connect brands and advertisers to Tubi’s outstanding proposition in this market.”

Tubi is available in Australia on Telstra, Android and iOS mobile devices, Amazon Echo Show, Google Nest Hub Max, and on OTT devices such as Amazon Fire TV, Vizio TVs, Sony TVs, Samsung TVs, Roku, Apple TV, Chromecast, Android TV, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4, and soon on Hisense TVs globally. Consumers can also watch Tubi content on the web at http://www.tubi.tv/.

Foxtel Media will start officially representing Tubi in Australia from 1 July 2020.

Holland finds its Tom Gleeson as Hard Quiz format launches this week

Australia’s highest-rating quiz show Hard Quiz is heading to Holland. And the country has found its version of Tom Gleeson to host, but is he as mean as the Gold Logie-winning host of the original format?

The quest for the coveted Big Brass Mug has gone global with the first format version of Hard Quiz to air in The Netherlands this weekend, when public broadcaster BNNVARA premiere its first episode of Hard Spel on Saturday, July 4, on NPO 1.

Produced by Dutch production company, SkyHighTV, the new name translates as Hard Play.

Hosted by Richard Groenendijk, this Dutch language version will follow the same format as Australia’s Hard Quiz. Groenendijk is a multi-talented TV presenter who has also worked as an actor, comedian and lyricist.

Australian host and the original custodian of the Big Brass Mug, Tom Gleeson, said: “We’ve sold Hard Quiz to the country that gave us Big Brother and The Voice.”

Hard Quiz is produced by Thinkative Television for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Format sales were handled by Hat Trick International for Guesswork Distribution.

Thinkative Television is a partnership between artist manager and TV producer Kevin Whyte, TV producer Chris Walker and comedian and presenter Charlie Pickering.

Outdoor upset: QMS wins City of Sydney street furniture contract

QMS Media has successfully secured an exclusive 10-year agreement, with a further option, with the City of Sydney to reinvigorate one of the world’s most sought after and prestigious outdoor advertising assets.

QMS Media will introduce new inventory to be installed in the second half of 2021. In addition to the incumbent JCDecaux, The City of Sydney also received a tender from oOh!media.

Following a thorough and robust selection process, the City of Sydney has determined QMS to be a genuine partner in the execution of their 2030 vision for the City. The long-term agreement incorporates the design, manufacture, installation and maintenance of what will be a predominantly digital advertising landscape, creating a dynamic Sydney CBD media channel.  

QMS group CEO, Barclay Nettlefold said QMS was honoured to win the coveted City of Sydney contract.

“The City of Sydney Street Furniture contract is universally recognised as the jewel in the crown of Australia’s OOH industry. QMS is proud to be recognised for our credentials, capabilities and people in securing this contract. We thank our new owners, Quadrant Private Equity, who have been very supportive in enabling QMS to submit a compelling proposition that will facilitate the development of an exciting new premium advertising landscape.”

Lord Mayor Clover Moore said the new suite of furniture equipped with predominantly digital panels would support the City’s post-Covid recovery and refresh the city centre streets.

“The new suite of furniture will help modernise our streets while also providing significant revenue to the City, which will help us maintain high quality services and public spaces for our residents, businesses and visitors,” the Lord Mayor said.

“This deal means we will have the capability to display real-time event, transport and emergency information on modern, sustainably designed and energy-efficient street furniture.”

Commenting on the significance of this win, Nettlefold added: “This is a game changer, not only for QMS but for the broader OOH industry. The scale of such an opportunity does not come along often.”

QMS will develop a new Sydney based operations hub to support installation, maintenance, cleaning and repair with a dedicated operations and maintenance crew to service the new Street Furniture contract.

The new contract will see QMS begin the inventory rollout in the second half of 2021. Prior to this, there will be expansion of the business with more than 40 new appointments reflected across all key business functions as part of the commitment to outstanding service delivery for the City Of Sydney.

Commenting on the loss of the tender, JCDecaux ANZ CEO, Steve O’Connor said:

“We are, of course, disappointed not to retain this contract.

“The City of Sydney was JCDecaux’s foundational contract in Australia, and we have since built a tremendous business here and in New Zealand. In 1997 we partnered with the City to pioneer advertiser-funded street furniture in Australia, replacing run-down bus shelters, kiosks and benches with architecturally-designed quality infrastructure that is still relevant today – it is now part of the fabric of the City. For over 20 years, JCDecaux has cleaned, repaired and maintained this infrastructure to an extremely high standard. We are proud of this shared history between our two organisations.

“While a meaningful contract, it is not of the same calibre as the one we entered into in 1997. Irrespective of the result of the tender, JCDecaux will maintain a significant presence in the City of Sydney into the future due to its payphone contract with Telstra. The payphones populate Sydney’s most premium locations, while large swathes of bus shelters on highly trafficked city streets have been removed through the installation and operation of the light rail.

“Commuters and advertisers can rest assured that for JCDecaux it will be business as usual until at least 31 January 2021, and possibly longer. We will continue to provide these services with total professionalism and dedication until required. Further, we will continue our long-standing relationships with the many cultural institutions we support here.

“JCDecaux has big plans for the future. We’re more committed than ever to our vision: to be the unrivalled Out-of-Home leader in Australia and New Zealand, delivering exceptional experiences to brands, partners and our people.”

Nine publishing releasing restaurant guide: Good Food Guide 200

The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age’s Good Food will celebrate all the best places to eat and drink with The Good Food Guide 200, a guide to the best dining around the country.

This special edition, to be published in November 2020, will replace the annual Good Food Guide book and awards which, due to COVID-19 restrictions and temporary restaurant closures, will not proceed this year.

“In recognition of the challenges the industry has faced, and continues to face, with enforced shutdowns and social distancing measures, we will not be publishing our traditional guide book with scores and hats in 2020,” said Nine travel and food publishing director Trudi Jenkins.

“Instead we are focusing on supporting restaurants on the road to recovery and uncovering the best dining experiences for our readers, with both a glossy magazine and digital content on goodfood.com.au. We are also hoping to hold celebratory industry events in Sydney and Melbourne, pending social distancing regulations being relaxed later this year.”

The Good Food Guide 200 will list the best places to eat and drink in Sydney, Melbourne and the other capitals, as well as regional NSW and Victoria. The Good Food Guide will return in 2021.

The Good Food Guide 200 is dedicated to the best restaurants, bars, cafés and pubs in Australia, from the high-end trailblazers to the hidden hole-in-the-wall gems and everything in between,” said Good Food national editor, Ardyn Bernoth.

“From across the Sydney and Melbourne metropolitan areas to our most travelled regions, the list, edited by Good Food Guide editor Myffy Rigby, will focus on New South Wales and Victoria, with highlights from all the major cities. The Good Food Guide 200 will shine a light on every style of cuisine at every price point – the only criterion for inclusion is deliciousness.”

This announcement coincides with Good Food magazine joining Sunday Life once a month with content to inspire Australian foodies at the weekend, complementing the Good Food Tuesday section in The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

Launching in August, Good Food will be a premium monthly “flip-back” special in Sunday Life magazine published in The Sun-Herald (Sydney) and The Sunday Age (Melbourne).

“The new monthly flip-back gives readers more pages of food news and views, recipes, reviews and foodie travel stories from the country’s most respected food editorial team,” Bernoth said. “It will also include Taste Test, with a panel of judges tasting readily available supermarket products.”

TV Demand: Dark, The Sinner, and Billions all join in a busy week

By Trent Thomas

• Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D also joins the TV Demand charts in NZ

The Mandalorian has reclaimed the top spot of the Digital Original charts which it has held on and off since November of last year. However, there was no change on the Overall TV charts with The 100 maintaining the #1 spot that it has held since the release of its fourth and final season. 

There has been a bit of movement on the TV Demand charts this week with several new titles appearing one of which was the Netflix Original Dark. The series is the first German-language series by Netflix after being released on the platform on December 1, 2017. The series explores the implications of time in the aftermath of a child’s disappearance which exposes the secrets and hidden connections of four estranged families. The third season was released on June 27. 

The anthology series The Sinner has also joined the TV Demand charts this week. The show is based on Petra Hammesfahr‘s 1999 novel, which serves as the basis for the first season. Only Bill Pullman appears in each season as he plays a police detective who investigates crimes committed by unlikely culprits. The shows third season began airing on the USA Network on February 6 and can be seen in Australia on Netflix.

Showtime’s Billions has also joined the Overall TV chart amidst the release of its fifth season which began airing on May 3. The show centres on the world of finance and the characters Chuck Rhodes (Paul Giamatti) and Bobby Axelrod (Damian Lewis) as they come in and out of conflict with each other as they find themselves on different sides of the law. All five seasons can be seen on Stan.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has entered the NZ Overall TV chart with the show beginning to air its seventh season on ABC (USA) on May 27. The show follows the spy agency S.H.I.E.L.D. and is set inside the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The Voice continues to be the highest-ranking piece of locally produced content on the TV Demand charts. Featuring Delta Goodrem, Boy George, Kelly Rowland and Guy Sebastian returning as coaches for the show’s ninth season, which is the first time all four judges have returned for a subsequent season. 

TV Ratings Tuesday June 30 Week 27 2020

By James Manning

• Close to 1m watch MasterChef’s Reynold secure top 5 spot
• Big Brother on 700k helps Seven to win first night of week

Nine News 1,191,000/1,078,000
Seven News 1,190,000/1,142,000
ABC News 820,000
A Current Affair 767,000
7.30 588,000
The Project 353,000/560,000
10 News 476,000/284,000
Sunrise 277,000
The Drum 237,000
Today 228,000
SBS World News 179,000

Seven: After 657,000 on Monday Home and Away grew to 669,000 on Tuesday.
Big Brother was on 695,000, down marginally on the numbers last week. Big Brother turned housemate Dan’s frown upside down with a surprise “visit” from girlfriend Ana who reassured him the love was still there. When it came time to vote, Hannah got five of the six votes. On departure she said: “I’m completely heartbroken. I honestly thought I had the numbers, but you can’t trust anyone I guess. It’s obvious that Dan, Xavier and Mat have the most influence in the house and I don’t see anyone breaking them up.” The impact of Covid-19 will be felt in the house next week for its final few episodes.
Gordon Ramsay’s 24 Hours to Hell and Back saw the British chef visit the family running the Cajun restaurant Bayou on the Vine in Kansas City. The audience was on 249,000.

Nine: A Current Affair made it just over 800,000 on Monday which turned into 767,000 last night.
Paramedics saw a flight paramedic join a rescue mission near the Twelve Apostles on the Victorian coastline. Episode 19 of the second season of Paramedics was on 546,000, up from 485,000 last week.
Series five, episode 90 (!) of RBT then did 398,000 followed by a 2018 episode of Botched titled Viva Las Vegas Boobs with 229,000 watching.

10: The challenge of recovering from a bushfire and tackling a virus where special reports on The Project with a Tuesday audience of 560,000 at 7pm after 584,000 on Monday.
MasterChef saw Poh, Reynold and Laura battle for immunity and a place if the Back to Win top five. The three contestants had to cook from ingredients hidden under a MasterChef kitchen full of cloches. Reynold’s dessert was the difference between taking part in the next elimination cook and getting immunity. The audience was 975,000, up from 957,000 on Tuesday last week.
The latish slot went to the 2019 Montreal Comedy Festival with comedians from around the word including 10’s Peter Helliar and Nath Valvo. The special did 317,000. 

ABC: How Sweden tackled Covid-19 was the subject of Foreign Correspondent with 532,000 watching.
The first episode of Joanna Lumley’s Hidden Caribbean is as good a substitute for travel as we can get at present. She started the adventure in Havana and had 450,000 watching.

SBS: Julie Bishop was the guest on Who Do You Think You Are Australia? After 297,000 last week, the show was on 403,000 last night.
Insight was on 247,000 and featured guest host Alice Matthews with an investigation of how a person can feel a sense of belonging when they have turned their back on everything.

Week 27 TV: Tuesday
TUESDAY METRO
ABCSevenNine10SBS
ABC12.2%718.4%917.6%10 15.1%SBS One6.0%
ABC KIDS/ ABC COMEDY2.5%7TWO3.1%GO!2.1%10 Bold4.0%VICELAND2.1%
ABC ME0.6%7mate2.8%GEM2.3%10 Peach2.8%Food Net1.0%
ABC NEWS1.5%7flix1.7%9Life2.1%  NITV0.1%
    9Rush1.3%  SBS World Movies0.9%
TOTAL16.8% 26.0% 25.4% 21.8% 10.0%

 

TUESDAY REGIONAL
ABCSeven AffiliatesNine Affiliates10 AffiliatesSBS
ABC10.9%718.3%915.6%WIN12.4%SBS One4.8%
ABC KIDS/ ABC COMEDY2.7%7TWO4.4%GO!3.4%WIN Bold4.8%VICELAND1.5%
ABC ME0.7%7mate6.8%GEM3.8%WIN Peach1.7%Food Net0.7%
ABC NEWS1.7%7flix (Excl. Tas/WA)1.0%9Life2.4%Sky News  on WIN1.9%NITV0.2%
        SBS Movies1.0%
TOTAL16.1% 30.5% 25.3% 20.9% 8.3%

 

TUESDAY METRO ALL TV
FTASTV
88.3%11.7%
TUESDAY FTA
  1. Nine News Nine 1,191,000
  2. Seven News Seven 1,190,000
  3. Seven News At 6.30 Seven 1,142,000
  4. Nine News 6:30 Nine 1,078,000
  5. MasterChef Australia 10 975,000
  6. ABC News ABC 820,000
  7. A Current Affair Nine 767,000
  8. The Chase Australia Seven 695,000
  9. Big Brother Seven 695,000
  10. Home And Away Seven 669,000
  11. Hot Seat Nine 620,000
  12. 7.30 ABC 588,000
  13. The Project 7pm 10 560,000
  14. Paramedics Nine 546,000
  15. Foreign Correspondent ABC 532,000
  16. 10 News First 10 476,000
  17. The Chase Australia-5pm Seven 452,000
  18. Joanna Lumley’s Hidden Caribbean ABC 450,000
  19. Who Do You Think You Are? SBS 403,000
  20. RBT Nine 398,000
Demo Top 5

16-39 Top Five

  1. MasterChef Australia 10 280,000
  2. Big Brother Seven 200,000
  3. Nine News Nine 183,000
  4. Nine News 6:30 Nine 157,000
  5. The Project 7pm 10 141,000

 

18-49 Top Five

  1. MasterChef Australia 10 450,000
  2. Big Brother Seven 343,000
  3. Nine News Nine 325,000
  4. Nine News 6:30 Nine 290,000
  5. Seven News Seven 269,000

 

25-54 Top Five

  1. MasterChef Australia 10 492,000
  2. Nine News Nine 390,000
  3. Big Brother Seven 372,000
  4. Nine News 6:30 Nine 347,000
  5. Seven News Seven 332,000
TUESDAY Multichannel
  1. NCIS (R) 10 Bold 175,000
  2. Neighbours 10 Peach 146,000
  3. CSI: Miami (R) 10 Bold 141,000
  4. Bluey ABCKIDS/COMEDY 138,000
  5. Peter Rabbit PM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 137,000
  6. Peppa Pig PM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 137,000
  7. Ben And Holly’s Little Kingdom PM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 130,000
  8. Afternoon Briefing PM ABC NEWS 129,000
  9. CSI: Miami Ep 2 (R) 10 Bold 129,000
  10. Outback Truckers PM 7mate 128,000
  11. Play School AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 128,000
  12. Thomas And Friends PM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 126,000
  13. Floogals PM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 126,000
  14. Bluey AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 126,000
  15. Little J And Big Cuz AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 125,000
  16. Dog Loves Books ABCKIDS/COMEDY 124,000
  17. Fireman Sam PM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 122,000
  18. Play School Story Time PM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 119,000
  19. ABC News Afternoons PM ABC NEWS 118,000
  20. Go Jetters AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 117,000
TUESDAY STV
  1. Paul Murray Live Sky News Live 88,000
  2. The Bolt Report Sky News Live 76,000
  3. Credlin Sky News Live 68,000
  4. PML Later Sky News Live 54,000
  5. Live: AFL 360 FOX FOOTY 47,000
  6. Bubble Guppies Nick Jr. 46,000
  7. The Big Bang Theory FOX Funny 46,000
  8. The Big Bang Theory FOX Funny 44,000
  9. The Kenny Report Sky News Live 41,000
  10. Blue’s Clues & You Nick Jr. 41,000
  11. Jeopardy! FOX Classics 41,000
  12. Peppa Pig Nick Jr. 40,000
  13. Afternoon Agenda Sky News Live 40,000
  14. Calvin & Kaison’s Play Power Nick Jr. 40,000
  15. Abby Hatcher Nick Jr. 38,000
  16. The Adventures Of Paddington Nick Jr. 38,000
  17. Top Wing Nick Jr. 38,000
  18. Ready Set Dance Nick Jr. 38,000
  19. Afternoon Agenda Sky News Live 37,000
  20. Top Wing Nick Jr. 36,000

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

Anthony Albanese vows to reverse ABC’s budget freeze

Anthony Albanese has pledged to end the freeze on the ABC’s budget and give it $83.7m if he wins the next federal election as Labor releases a social-media attack advertisement against the government’s handling of the public broadcaster, reports The Australian’s Richard Ferguson.

Albanese said on Tuesday that government cuts to the ABC came after public broadcasting played a key role in helping bushfire victims in the seat of Eden-Monaro. “ABC emergency cover­age saved lives during the sum­mer bushfires and staff came off leave to ensure Australians were kept informed.

“Now 250 dedicated ABC staff face the sack as a result of Scott Morrison’s cuts,” he said.

[Read more]

Help TV and movie producers to punch above their weight: Baird

Former Liberal MP Bruce Baird says greater tax incentives for producing TV programs and requiring streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon, Disney and Stan to produce local content are essential for the long-term viability of the Australian production sector, reports The AFR’s Max Mason.

Baird, who with former Labor leader Simon Crean is co-chairman of the Screen Export Advisory Council (SEAC), said the Australian production industry was “punching below its weight” given the volume of talent in creative fields and the government needed to do more to take advantage of it.

“As a country, we have got a lot of strong television schools, we’ve got a lot of skills in this country. I think we’re punching below our weight … we have a great storytelling ability and rich literature that exists in this country,” Baird told The Australian Financial Review.

The SEAC submission calls for the producer tax offset for television, which sits at 20 per cent, to be brought in line with feature films, which is at 40 per cent.

[Read more]

News Brands

Free News Corp newspapers for IGA customers during July 2020

News Corp Australia and IGA Supermarkets have announced a deal for shoppers to receive a bonus newspaper when they spend $20 or more at selected IGA stores from 1st to 28th July 2020.

IGA Supermarkets is a network 1,455 independently owned stores across Australia with many in smaller regional towns.

The offer is available 1/07/2020 – 28/7/2020 (inclusive) while stocks last. One copy of selected News Corp Australia publications dependent on region per transaction of $20 or over, excluding cigarette & tobacco products, ePay, and Golden Casket purchases.

There is a limit one free paper per person per day. The offer only available at participating IGA and Drakes stores.

The newspaper offer includes The Australian, The Weekly Times and News Corp metro dailies and Sunday newspapers in the state capitals. Also included are Queensland regional dailies The Gold Coast Bulletin, Toowoomba Chronicle, Cairns Post and Townsville Bulletin.

In May and June Chemist Warehouse was trialling the sale of News Corp metro dailies in four states.

Read more: Chemist Warehouse trial to sell News Corp metro dailies in four states

SBS staff urge leadership change as former journalists air claims of racism

SBS staff have pleaded with the board to appoint someone other than a white Anglo man as news director to reflect the station’s multicultural charter, report Guardian Australia’s Amanda Meade and Naaman Zhou

Since 1978 the director of news has always been a white man, with the exception of Irene Buschtedt between 1993 and 1995.

With the retirement of veteran news director Jim Carroll due in December, having been in the post since 2013, staff say the board should seize the opportunity to make a cultural change.

The letter, seen by Guardian Australia, says: “As a multicultural and Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander broadcaster, the appointment of the next director of news should be an opportunity and not a blind spot.

“We ask that the board of directors take this opportunity to reflect on SBS’s charter and aspirations as a world leading broadcaster and advocate for a candidate drawn from Australia’s multicultural and diverse communities.”

On Tuesday the station’s managing director, James Taylor, responded to claims from former Indigenous staff that they experienced racism when working at the broadcaster.

Taylor told staff he was “sickened and saddened” to read Bedford’s post and it was abhorrent that an institution “that so visibly lives the standards of inclusion” was a place where racism in the workplace had been evident.

“As I have said to all SBS team members today, I am committed to a culture that stands opposed to any form of racism or exclusion,” Taylor told Guardian Australia.

“It can take many overt and less overt forms, none of which are acceptable. Racism is abhorrent and we are committed to ensuring it has no place at SBS.”

[Read more]

Great Southern Weekender: War of words the biggest news in Albany, WA

On the blustery south coast of Western Australia, a media storm is building in intensity. One of Australia’s last independent newspapers is in a potentially catastrophic dispute with a founding shareholder, entrepreneur Paul Lionetti, over a seemingly benign court report, reports The Australian’s Paige Taylor.

Lionetti has banned the editor of the Great Southern Weekender from his pub, Due South. This is inconvenient for editor Ian Beeck, a country footy legend with a country footy thirst. It was one of his favourite drinking holes. Bar staff around town call him JobKeeper.

“It’s a bummer,” Beeck said on Tuesday.

The trouble is, Lionetti’s son Steven is a confessed burglar. The Great Southern Weekender printed news of his first court appearance on a charge of aggravated burglary in a 120-word dispassionate story. Lionetti was unhappy his name was mentioned in a story about his son.

[Read more]

The West Australian apologises for offensive Modesty Blaise cartoon

The West Australian newspaper has apologised for publishing a Modesty Blaise cartoon containing offensive racial stereotypes about Aboriginal people, reports The Australian’s Lilly Vitorovich.

The masthead, which is part of Kerry Stokes-controlled Seven West Media, issued the apology on its website on Monday night, saying the offensive cartoon had “no place in our newspaper”.

The cartoon, which appeared in Monday’s newspaper, used a racial slur to describe an Aboriginal character.

“In fact, it’s the very kind of marginalisation and bigotry The West Australian and its reporters have been trying to stamp out.

“The cartoon was written in 1981 and today’s comics strip page was supplied by an outside agency,” The West Australian said in a brief statement.

The West Australian has been publishing Modesty Blaise as a cartoon strip for decades. This was now under review and it would not be published in the meantime.

[Read more]

The New York Times quits as contributor to Apple News service

The New York Times said on Monday that it was exiting its partnership with Apple News, as news organisations struggle to compete with large tech companies for readers’ attention and dollars, reports the newspaper.

Starting on Monday, Times articles were no longer appearing alongside those from other publications in the curated Apple News feed available on Apple devices.

The Times is one of the first media organizations to pull out of Apple News. The Times, which has made adding new subscribers a key business goal, said Apple had given it little in the way of direct relationships with readers and little control over the business. It said it hoped to instead drive readers directly to its own website and mobile app so that it could “fund quality journalism.”

“Core to a healthy model between The Times and the platforms is a direct path for sending those readers back into our environments, where we control the presentation of our report, the relationships with our readers and the nature of our business rules,” Meredith Kopit Levien, chief operating officer, wrote in a memo to employees. “Our relationship with Apple News does not fit within these parameters.”

An Apple spokesman said that The Times “only offered Apple News a few stories a day,” and that the company would continue to provide readers with trusted information from thousands of publishers.

[Read more]

Television

Amanda Keller on return of The Living Room without WTFN

The Living Room is back from the brink and in a major format twist will feature one family, one story per episode, reports TV Tonight.

Gone are the unrelated lifestyle stories linked by hosts before a studio audience.

Instead the show is filmed in a warehouse ‘home-base’ with the hosts helping out a hero family each week. No longer produced by WTFN, the show is now in-house at 10 under new executive producer Caroline Swift.

As Amanda Keller tells TV Tonight, “She did a lot of thinking and spoke to a lot of people about what Friday night viewing should be, what our strengths were, and what our point of difference could be. And that’s why the show, I think, is slightly different this time around.

“We take one family or one couple, one story, for the hour, and we film and do offshoots from that. But rather than all of us doing disparate stories and just linking them in the studio, we go on a journey from beginning to end.

10 announced the show’s return after a deal with former producers WTFN, who retained rights in the format and all international rights. This enabled 10 to stick with the title despite previously confirming The Living Room would not return.

Keller doesn’t weigh into why the revamp led to the exit of the original production company WTFN, which has also not commented directly.

“I assume there were tensions in there, or else why would we be where we are? But I would just turn up and do my job,” Keller said.

[Read more]

Sports Media

A-League 2019-20 returns: NSW to host most games in revamped season

The A-League is set to return with an incredible extravaganza of 32 games in 39 days for football-starved fans when the season resumes in a fortnight, report News Corp’s Marco Monteverde and Joe Barton.

It will have been 115 days between drinks when the competition is reignited with a Melbourne derby between Victory and Western United on July 16, kicking off an unprecedented bonanza of action.

After extensive negotiations, times and dates for all fixtures have been locked in – with the grand final set to take place on August 23.

However the glaring omissions from the fixture list released on Wednesday is that of venues throughout.

A NSW hub will host the vast majority of games, with the season reopening Melbourne derby – set to be played at AAMI Park – a rare exception.

The remaining 27 games of the regular season will be squeezed into a 28-day period, with just one football-free day.

“FFA is continuing to monitor developments in all states and we will remain agile in our response to the development of the schedule as required,” a Football Federation Australia spokesman said.

[Read more]

Mike Sheahan quits Sam Newman’s You Cannot Be Serious podcast

Mike Sheahan has withdrawn from hosting a podcast with Sam Newman and Don Scott, reports News Corp’s Jackie Epstein.

After another week of controversy the respected journalist has departed the You Cannot Be Serious podcast.

Newman announced the “sad, sad news” and “death of star” on his social media channels.

“I’ve had fun, it’s been good,’’ Sheahan said in a video.

“But time to just sail off into the sunset.”

Newman, appearing alongside Sheahan and Scott, said: “This is the swan song for magic Mike. He’s bailed. His bases got to him and they’ve said why are you associating with this clown, and me, and he’s out. So it’s just Don and I chatting about the affairs of everything.”

Newman added tongue in cheek: “Weak as piss he is.”

It comes after former St Kilda great Nicky Winmar and photographer Wayne Ludbey have pursued legal action against Newman, ex-Hawthorn player Scott and Sheahan after the trio questioned the true meaning behind Winmar’s iconic gesture of pointing to his skin colour after a 1993 game.

During his final appearance, Sheahan said he was shaken by the fallout and apologised for the hurt he caused to the Aboriginal community and his friends.

[Read more]

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