The end of February and the start March are critical times for Foxtel. The business polishes off its two highest-rating winter channels and strategises to make sure as many people as possible subscribe, re-subscribe or add the sports tier back to their Foxtel subscriptions to follow the NRL and the AFL on Fox League and Fox Footy.

Long-time Foxtel executive Peter Campbell took over as head of Fox Sports after Patrick Delany moved into the Foxtel CEO role three years ago. Campbell doesn’t talk publicly much and never about sports rights. With Foxtel apparently walking away from Rugby Australia, Campbell wouldn’t be too far away from the action.

Campbell was Foxtel’s director of sports and Olympic Games for 13 years from 2000 and left the News Corp family in 2013 for four years to establish AFL Media. Campbell returned to steer and negotiate rights for Fox Sports in 2017.

Campbell put in a public appearance last week at the 2020 launch of Fox League, and today he will be present at the 2020 launch of Fox Footy.

Fox Sports’ two dedicated football channels have similar rights packages – they each have broadcast rights to every game of the year plus all the finals except for the Grand Finals. Fox League also misses out on the three State of Origin clashes.

Fox League and Fox Footy are both subscription drivers for the Foxtel platform, although not all those customers stay long term, instead dipping in and out for the respective football seasons. The Foxtel sports offering is even more potent now with the addition of Kayo which is rounding up sports fans who couldn’t justify or afford a Foxtel sports package.

Speaking to Mediaweek, Campbell explained: “Some people build seasonality into their subscription. They may not unsubscribe, but we would like to keep them in the sports package. What we have seen with Kayo coming on board is we can see easily where there are spikes. The football seasons really started in February with the NRL9s on in Perth, the AFLW and the AFL men’s pre-season and also of course the start of the Supercars season. It’s an exciting time of year.”

Between the four days of live games Thursday to Sunday, Fox League runs news and review programs with a bit of entertainment. “NRL 360 is the Fox League weekday flagship. Other programs include The Fan and then we wrap the week with entertainment.

“One of the things our team have been able to do is to make sure we have fun and put smiles on people’s faces– we don’t want to always be talking about hit-ups and yards. Matty Johns is key to our entertainment programming while The Professor has a new show this year – Narrow World of Sports.”

With the diversity of sports the Fox Sports channels offer, Campbell said: “Customer satisfaction, looking after our customer, and ratings are important metrics. We might like to have everything, but we can’t. The offering we do have is a comprehensive line-up of sport featuring both men and women.”

The growing women’s sport coverage has been drawing some big audiences. Campbell reminded us that the recent Australia v India Women’s T20 World Cup match was the second-highest rating female sports program of all time. The only event to pull a bigger Fox Sports crowd was Sam Stosur’s French Open loss in 2010.

Fox League presenters for 2020 include [L-R]: Mitchell Moses, Yvonne Sampson, Matty Johns, James Tedesco and Wade Graham

See also:
Women’s sports to feature on Foxtel pop-up channel FOXW

Fox Sports is currently in year three of a four-year cycle where it has been funded by the Federal Government to cover niche, under-represented and female sport.“We have to go through a process every year pre-submitting plans to the department for them to see what we are looking at doing that year. Then at the end of the year we put in another report dealing what we did. Over the first couple of years we over-delivered on everything we said we would do when we provide the year in review,” said Campbell.

With Fox Sports and Kayo now both an option for sports fans, Campbell is happy with wherever viewers choose to go: “My obligation and my remit to the Foxtel group is to make sure that the events that Fox Sports acquires, produces and packages is of the highest possible quality in a linear form for Foxtel and then for on demand viewing for iQ3 and iQ4 plus providing all that same content to Kayo, but packaged the Kayo way.”

The packaging of the popular Minis highlight packages are shared between Foxtel and Kayo to make sure the same packages are available to Foxtel and Kayo customers.

Fox Sports can usually manage the load of carrying all the live sport available, but Campbell noted: “When we are full, then Kayo can carry those additional feeds live.”

Viewers addicted to the “no ad breaks during play” strategy from Fox Sports have no cause for concern the strategy might change. “We are blessed by amazing commercial partners who want to invest in Fox Sports. Those partners understand our ad-free during play proposition to viewers. That gives us an opportunity to integrate those partners into live play with some branding, using different things. In the cricket for example Toyota gets naming rights of the Flying Fox, or maybe McDonald’s and the scorecards.”

Follow @mediaweekAUS on Twitter for detailed TV sports ratings every weekend

The first-to-market, guaranteed CPCV performance based solution for programmatic video using the OpenRTB (real-time bidding) protocol, allows video inventory to be traded via a client’s demand-side platform.

News Corp Australia’s digital network reaches 12.8 million Australians. It is the leading premium publisher for online short-form video – producing more than 70m content streams a month.

As marketers increasingly invest in programmatic video, measurement criteria for this format will mature from viewability and completion rate benchmarks to performance-based models.

Jason Denny, general manager, commercial operations at News Corp Australia, said: “This capability demonstrates to clients the effectiveness of our video solutions through performance-based buying metrics.

“Our solution with Telaria provides our advertising partners with something the walled gardens of the digital platforms cannot – an efficient trading solution with independently verifiable performance measurement in a premium, trusted and brand-safe environment.”

James Young, GM Australia at Telaria, said, “For the programmatic video industry to mature, the availability of performance-based metrics from which advertisers can plan and measure their campaigns is a necessity. The ability to offer CPCV measurement will allow publishers to be more flexible with their offerings and further optimise yield for their premium inventory.”

The retail-centric program is designed to encourage consumers to support venues and businesses with special offers, experiences and free activations to highlight local precincts throughout the City of Sydney.

The event was held at Barangaroo House with each level offering a unique experience that started with House Bar, on the ground floor hosting a Party Starter.

On level 1 Barangaroo House’s flagship restaurant Bea hosted a VIP dinner which started with guests being welcomed with a seafood station paired with Veuve Clicquot. The entree on the evening was bread with house made butter, glazed beetroot with pepita and sorrel, stracciatella with broad beans and mint tuna tartare with jalapeno and lime paired with a 2014 Petaluma Hanlin Hill Riesling. For mains guests dined on grilled striploin with dijon and salsa verde, crushed kipfler with green shallot dressing, and butterleaf salad with chardonnay dressing paired with a 2017 Petaluma B&V Vineyard Shiraz.

The night ended on the top floor of Barangaroo House at Smoke on level 2 which hosted a one-night-only Veuve Clicquot pop-up bar which also offered the nights desert a Milo mini magnum which was paired with a 2010 Petaluma Essence Botrytis Sauvignon Blanc Semillon.

Some of the people in attendance included:
Kerrie McCallum, Editor-in-chief, delicious
Fiona Nilsson, Director of Food Corp, News Corp Australia
Julian Delany, Managing Director, News DNA
Damian Eales, Chief Operating Officer, Publishing, News Corp Australia
Lou Barrett, Managing Director, National Sales, News Corp Australia
Mick Carroll, Editor, The Sunday Telegraph
Edwina McCann, Editorial Director, Vogue Australia, Vogue Living and GQ Australia
Bettina Brown, General Manager, Consumer Marketing, News Corp Australia
Naysla Edwards, Vice President Brand, Charge Cards and Experiences, American Express
Corrina Davison, Managing Director, American Express Australia & New Zealand
Jee Moon, Vice President Marketing American Express
Councillor Jess Miller, City of Sydney
Councillor Angela Vithoulkas, City of Sydney
Matt Moran
Silvia Colloca
Darren Robertson and Magdalena Roze
Brent Savage
Anna Polyviou
Guillaume Brahimi
Clayton Donovon
Mark Labrooy
Merrick Watts
John Fink
Mark Olive
Hayden Quinn and Jax Raynor

Julian Delany, Managing Director, News DNA and Magdalena Roze

As well as offers running all month, each Thursday night in March delicious. and American Express, with the support of the City of Sydney, will activate across three precincts within the City of Sydney – the CBD (Thursday, March 5), Surry Hills (Thursday, March 12) and Potts Point (Thursday, March 19). A special event will also be held in Parramatta on Thursday, March 26.  

Merrick Watts

Restaurants already registered to participate during the month include: Cho Cho San, Bennelong, Mary’s Underground, The Apollo, Nomad Up the Road, Nour and Firedoor.

Matt Moran said: “I’m really excited to be part of this great new campaign that spotlights local precincts to get people out and about and enjoying some of our city’s amazing dining experiences. ”

delicious. Editor-in-Chief Kerrie McCallum said: “American Express delicious. Month Out is a really exciting initiative for delicious. The hospitality industry has been under pressure over the last couple of years, so with the help of our partners at American Express, the City of Sydney and our network of industry contributors, who are all still very much at the forefront of the dining scene in Australia, we look forward to injecting energy into a diverse range of venues across Sydney. There will be something for everyone, with great dining experiences and unique offers that encourage consumers to get out and eat out as much as possible throughout March.”
 
For entry to the American Express Lounges, card members simply present their cards at the door. Diners without an American Express card are also welcome to attend by registering up to two weeks in advance at www.amexinvites.com.au.

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Top Photo: Kerrie McCallum, Matt Moran, Fiona Nilsson

The program still securing Nine’s leadership status is Married At First Sight which held the top four spots of the week 9 rankings with all episodes over 1m and a high of 1.205m for the Sunday episode.

Nine News bulletins also made the top 10 while both 60 Minutes and A Current Affair were top 20.

Nine had the No. 1 primetime network commercial share across the following key demographics: People 25-54s (40.6%), People 16-39s (38.9%) and Grocery Shopper with Child (41.6%). Nine won Total People with a share of 40.0%.

Seven’s share was also down this week, mainly because it didn’t have another dominant Sunday event like the Fire Fight Australia Concert. The channel’s best was Seven News with the weekday bulletins and the Sunday bulletin in the top 10.

Rebel Wilson’s Pooch Perfect was next best and just missed the top 20, ranking #21 for the week with 624,000.

The Friday night AFL State of Origin charity match for bushfire relief did well too with 607,000.

Sunrise continues to be the clear breakfast favourite with 266,000 last week to Today’s 196,000.

10’s share lifted marginally from 10.6% to 11.2%. The channel’s best was the return of Gogglebox with 685,000 watching on Thursday night to rank the episode #15 for the week.

Next best were the week’s three episodes of Australian Survivor: All Stars with the highest ranking #17 with 647,000 while the other two made the top 30.

Across the week, 10 had four of the top 10 shows in under 50s and all key age groups (25 to 54s, 16 to 39s and 18 to 49s), thanks to Australian Survivor: All Stars, which had its biggest audience of the season on Monday, and the return of Gogglebox.

Network 10 and 10 grew their audiences 17% and 12% respectively, compared with the same week last year, with 10 Bold growing 20% and 10 Peach lifting 34%. 10 Bold has now achieved 56 consecutive weeks of year-on-year growth.

ABC share lifted 0.8 for the week thanks to a big Monday share of 18.3%. Not surprisingly the channel’s top three shows last week were all part of that Monday line-up: Four Corners on 794,000, Media Watch on 764,000 and Australian Story on 732,000.

 Share was also bigger this week thanks to the audiences watching live coverage of the Mardi Gras with an audience close to 270,000. Although Saturday share of 10.0% was SBS’s best for a long time, it didn’t deliver the channel’s biggest audiences of the week. That honour again goes to Great Railway Journeys of Australia with 334,000 watching on Tuesday.

Across measured digital platforms news media reaches 15.64 million Australians, representing 83% of the population aged 14+, the latest emma (Enhanced Media Metrics Australia) data for December 2019 shows.

Australian news media across print and digital platforms reaches nine in ten Australians (94%), or 17.6 million people aged 14+. Print audiences remain strong with 12.86 million, or seven in ten Australians (69%), choosing print news formats. 

NewsMediaWorks CEO, Peter Miller, said: “Australia’s devastating bushfires during the end of last year see readers turn to news media brands as trusted sources of news and information. The continued growth in digital audiences and the strength of print audiences demonstrates that there is no more trusted media channel in the country than news media, in both print and digital channels.

“News media is able to attract and retain large, valuable audiences due to the premium environment that news media delivers. Plus, our AdTrust research has proven that trust in content and ads increases consumer intent to purchase, which provides a powerful return on investment to advertisers.”

The top 10 most read mastheads in Australia continue to deliver large and influential audiences. As these mastheads add new ways to talk to audiences, they continue to grow their ability to reach Australians at scale.

Singles

Another week with little new music managing to find its way even close to the top and four new arrivals into the top 50.

The Weeknd has spent another week on top giving Blinding Lights its sixth week at #1. Ironically the highest new entry into the chart, and just missing a top 10 debut, was also from The Weeknd, with After Hours entering the chart at #11.

On from BTS was the next best in terms of new arrivals with a chart debut at #29. It is a track from the fourth album from the Korean superstars and the album features a version of the single featuring Sia. The band performed the new single inside New York’s Grand Central Station last week during a performance on Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show.

Two more artists managed to debut just outside the top 40:

#42 Lil Mosey with Blueberry Faygo. An American rapper, singer and songwriter from Seattle, Washington known to his family as Lathan Moses Echols.
#43 Endor with Pump It Up. A remix release from the British DJ which has already raced to 40m streams globally.

Albums

No shortage of newcomers at the top of the album chart with four new arrivals holding down the top four spots this week – three of them metal acts. The differences between the top of the two charts regarding longevity are substantial.

The top four singles this week have been hovering around the chart for a combined 71 weeks. The top albums have been charting for a combined…four weeks!

Those newcomers are:

#1 BTS with Map of the Soul 7. The seventh album from the Korean superstars (fourth sung in Korean). The band has just postponed a string of April dates in the South Korean capital’s Olympic Stadium because of coronavirus concerns. This is their second #1ARIA album.
#2 The Amity Affliction with Everyone Loves You…Once You Leave Them. The seventh album from Gympie’s finest and it could be the first of the last five releases not to go #1 if it doesn’t creep higher which would be unlikely given the way albums shoot up and then down the chart.
#3 Polaris with The Death of Me. More metal new this week, this time from the Sydney band Polaris with their second album.
#4 Ozzy Osbourne with Ordinary Man. The 12th solo album (and first in a decade) from the British music legend and the first apparently made while completely sober! Also the first solo album from Ozzy in the top 10.

Of the four other newcomers this week, one of them made it into the top 10:

#10 Grimes with Miss Anthropocene
#35 King Krule with Man Alive!
#39 A Boogie wit da Hoodie with Artist 2.0
#48 John Farnham with Greatest Hits

Nine viewers saw Haley and David depart Married At First Sight last night as the experts intervened to rid the program of the stink surrounding the poo scandal. The episode had an audience of 1.184m, slightly below last week’s season best of 1.205m.

Later in the night 60 Minutes saw Sarah Abo reporting on the controversial Tamborine Mountain High School principal while Karl Stefanovic investigated a case of sexual misconduct and violence against Chanel Miller by a champion athlete. The episode did 902,000 which is its best this year.

The Sunday Project did 362,000 for 10, with guests including NSW politician Andrew Constance and 10 dancer Claudia Karvan.

Dancing with the Stars featured Latin Week with Beau Ryan and dance partner Megan Wragg saying adios to their dancing dreams, leaving seven couples remaining in the competition. The start of the episode averaged 417,000, then 410,000 saw the elimination. 

On My Kitchen Rules: The Rivals it was the third elimination cook off in the series with 482,000 watching, the first Sunday audience in three weeks. The best the series did last week was 489,000 on Monday.

The Good Doctor followed with 331,000 after 390,000 on Sunday a week ago.

ABC’s FTA screening of the UK home building series Grand Designs continues to do solid numbers on Sunday nights after the ABC News. The News was on 708,000 last night which then became 518,000 for Grand Designs. The London home build last night ranked second in the slot behind MAFS.

After 8.30pm the premiere of Stateless did 441,000 which secured it a spot in the top 10 and it ranked second in the timeslot behind 60 Minutes. Producer Tony Ayres and Matchbox Pictures assembled an incredible cast – expect it to do well also on ABC iview and then later in the year globally on Netflix.

Michael Palin in North Korea managed to rank top 20 for SBS with 257,000 watching.