In late September, 10 ViacomCBS announced the appointment of Martin White as head of broadcast news and Rashell Habib as head of digital news and strategy. This followed the resignation of Ross Dagan as 10 Network‘s director of news content, after he took a role as the executive vice president for news operations & transformation for CBS News & Stations at CBS.

White and Habib have taken newly created roles while reporting directly to the chief content officer and executive vice president of ViacomCBS Australia and New Zealand, Beverley McGarvey.

Mediaweek spoke with the pair about what their appointments mean for the future of news at 10 ViacomCBS.

These two roles replace Ross Dagan’s 10 Network director of news content role. Why was it important to create a split between digital and broadcast and how will the two sides interact moving forward?

White: “This is the future of news – looking holistically at how we create news content and what platform it works best on. It makes sense to set our organisation up to really exploit every opportunity.”

Habib: “I wouldn’t call it a split as more a focus for each. Broadcast and digital overlap in multiple ways, but a focus on each was needed to map out the current and future news space 10 News is looking at. The two sides work in parallel.”

Will this change affect the content direction of 10 News? Any new additions or changes planned?

White: “Our focus is on explanation and context. The why behind the headlines. It’s an evolution of our approach, rather than a change in content direction.”

10 is the under 50’s network, how does this change how you approach news content compared to other broadcasters and publishers?

Habib: “It’s no secret how news is consumed changes through age categories, and technical advancements, with more and more young news consumers accessing news online and through social media. They need more than just what happened but why? 10 News First is the news of the now and what sets us apart is we look at the why, and we explain the news without talking down to audiences.”

With 10 Daily being shut down last year, where does 10 stand on digital content moving forward?

Habib: “Digital content at 10 News First continues – just beyond the written word iteration. Whether it’s streaming news, Live Q&As on YouTube, explainer carousels on Instagram and bespoke video series that sit on multiple platforms, that intersect broadcast and digital audiences.”

10 runs its nightly news bulletin earlier than Seven and Nine. Is this a practice that you thinks continues to benefit 10?

White: “Right now it is. Our viewers know when and where to find us, and I see no reason for that to change. We’re really comfortable in our space, and know what our viewers want.”

What do you think is important about news coverage in 2021?

White: “News audiences are more engaged than they’ve ever been, over a variety of mediums. There’s now more data, more information and more opinion available on any story. It’s up to us to take that, refine it, and present it in an unbiased, objective way. In an age where misinformation has never been more prevalent – our jobs have become both harder, and more important than ever.” 

Habib: “If COVID has shown us anything, it’s that people want to know what is happening in the now, all the details as they happen, they want to know the peripheral stories around the big news events and most importantly how it impacts them. There has been and will continue to be a much bigger focus on ‘how the news impacts me’ on platforms beyond the traditional news mediums.”

OMD Australia has announced a new co-CEO structure with the internal promotion of Laura Nice and Sian Whitnall.

The appointments follow the announcement earlier this year that OMD CEO Aimee Buchanan had been headhunted for the CEO role at GroupM Australia & New Zealand.

Nice has extensive experience across all major industry categories. She has a passion for client service excellence, people and mentoring future leaders.

Nice first joined OMD Australia in 2012 as a business director across the Telstra account. In 2014, Nice returned home to the UK where she took up the role of group head at Vizeum, followed by head of consultancy and development for Omnicom Media Group’s Annalect. Nice returned to Australia with her family in 2019 as OMD Sydney’s joint managing director.

Whitnall is a future-facing product specialist whose international career has led to strong digital capability and expertise across many categories. She first joined OMD in 2013 as an interactive director, with her most recent role being OMD Australia’s chief digital officer.

Her digital transformation initiative, OMD Navigate, has driven strong business results for OMD and their clients. Its success has led to OMD Navigate being adopted across Australia and New Zealand.

Nice and Whitnall will take overall responsibility for OMD assets nationally, leading a workforce of more than 600 people.

Peter Horgan, CEO, Omnicom Media Group ANZ, said of the co-CEO appointment: “Laura and Sian are both phenomenal leaders, proven performers and passionate OMDers. They have been fundamental to OMD’s ongoing growth and success over recent years and are embedded across all areas of the business. Together, their complementary skillsets and ability to work as a team, is exactly what OMD needs for the future of our business. OMD has a history of success with leadership partnerships and given the size and scale of OMD Australia, there is no better time to revisit this winning formula.”

Laura Nice said: “As an ‘OMD Boomeranger’ I know firsthand the benefits of working for a culture as strong as OMD Australia’s. To be given the opportunity to lead the next chapter with Sian is a proud moment, as we strive to build on OMD’s current success and momentum. Personally, I’m excited to focus on the depth and breadth of our client relationships and identify growth opportunities for our people to further develop their capability and evolve our offering for the future.”

Sian Whitnall added: “I feel so passionately about OMD so it’s an absolute privilege for Laura and myself to be given the opportunity to lead the agency. I am excited to continue working alongside OMD’s incredible talent, to grow the capability within the brand and to drive growth for our clients in areas that will have the most impact for their businesses.”

The appointment is effective immediately.

Commercial radio ad revenue remained in positive territory in the month of October with revenue up 6.1% compared to October 2020, according to data released by industry body Commercial Radio Australia.

Ad revenue for the five major Australian capital city markets totalled $59.064 million in October compared to $55.671 million a year ago.

“Roy Morgan Business Confidence saw the biggest increase in October so far for 2021 and this is reflected in the continued monthly year on year growth in radio ad revenues. The figures demonstrate that advertisers are increasingly confident as Sydney and Melbourne re-open,” said Joan Warner, chief executive officer of CRA.

Sydney stations reported a 4% year on year increase in ad revenue to $17.875 million in the month of October, while Melbourne stations were 9.4% higher at $17.602 million. Brisbane was up 2.4% to $9.715 million, Adelaide rose 1.5% to $5.600 million, and Perth stations increased 11.8 % to $8.272 million.

The figures include agency and direct ad revenue and were compiled by media data analytics company Milton Data.

Earlier this month, Industry body Commercial Radio Australia welcomed the decision by the ACCC to grant authorisation to CRA and its members to collectively bargain with Google and Facebook over payment for content featured on those platforms.

The authorisation is for a period of 10 years until 22 November 2031.

In its determination, the ACCC said the authorisation is likely to result in public benefits from reduced transaction costs, improved input into negotiations and contribution to the sustainability of Australian news businesses.

CRA represents 261 member radio stations across metropolitan and regional Australia, including ARN, Southern Cross Austereo, Nova Entertainment, Grant Broadcasters and Nine Entertainment. The authorisation excludes Nine, which previously announced it has reached agreements with Google and Facebook. 

In September, Commercial Radio Australia announced that its chief executive officer Joan Warner had advised the CRA board that she intends to step down early next year. The search for a replacement CEO commenced immediately with the aim of a new CEO taking up the position during the first quarter of 2022.

Australia has produced some of the world’s best musical talent, from Sia, Kylie, and Jimmy Barnes to The Kid LAROI, Amy Shark, and Tones and I, and to celebrate, ARN’s iHeartRadio Australia has launched a brand new station, devoted to the best home-grown Australian music. iHeartAustralia will feature music from a broad range of artists and genres – established icons and emerging artists on the Australian scene, playing your favourite tunes and the latest releases. It’s all about celebrating Australian music, your one stop destination dedicated to discovering new artists, the latest releases, and those iconic Australian albums.

To kick start Australian Music Month, iHeartAustralia is celebrating the ARIA Awards with exclusive interviews with nominees including Shane Nicholson, Ngaiire, Spacey Jane, Jolyon Petch, Genesis Owusu, Sam Fischer, Lime Cordiale, and Ball Park Music. Each hour will reflect a different award category and showcase songs from all the nominees. 

Brett Nossiter, content director of iHeartRadio Australia said, “The team are all so passionate about Australian music, and I’m really pumped and proud of the station we have created. iHeartRadio is committed to supporting and celebrating great Australian music.” 

iHeartAustralia is available exclusively on iHeartRadio Australia. Listeners can access via: The free iHeartRadio app, desktop, mobile or tablet via www.iheart.com, and smart devices like Apple TV or smart speaker.

Last week, ARN’s parent company HT&E announced its acquisition of Grant Broadcasters, giving advertisers the potential to reach over 90% of Australians nation-wide.

The acquisition includes radio and digital operations across 46 Grant’s stations and will combine with ARN’s existing 13 stations.

The sale is worth $307.5m. Of that, 22.5% of the purchase consideration will be delivered to Grant Broadcasters in HT&E shares, equating to an ~11% holding in HT&E, with Grant’s current CEO Alison Cameron joining the HT&E Board and current COO Rick Lenarcic joining ARN’s Executive Leadership Team.

Australian rugby league great Cameron Smith has signed a three-year deal to continue sports broadcaster SEN.

Under the deal Smith will continue to co-host the weekly show, The Captain’s Run, alongside Denan Kemp who has also re-signed with the network.

The Captain’s Run timeslot will be extended to three hours in 2022 and will air live every Thursday from 9am to 12pm during the NRL season – giving 1170 SEN listeners the opportunity to gain deeper insights into the major players and coaches in the code, catch up on all the big issues, and listen to high profile guests have their say.

The show can be heard on SEN 1170 Sydney, as well as 1053 Brisbane, 1620 Gold Coast, and across regional QLD on the SEN network of stations and the SEN app.

Smith said he is excited to have recommitted to the growing sports network, “I am really pleased to re-sign with SEN long-term. Hutch [Craig Hutchison] has a great vision for continued growth through Australia and New Zealand, and feedback on our content this year has been really positive.”

Smith will also appear on 1170 SEN’s breakfast With Vossy and Breakfast with Pat and Heals on 1053 and 1620 in southern QLD.

In Southern Queensland, SEN will introduce new digital station SENQ as part of a commitment to increased Queensland content.

SENQ will be the home of Queensland local content and will include an on-air team of local sports legends and high-profile journalists including Gary Belcher, Scott Sattler, Pat Welsh, Ian Healy, Mark Braybrook, Katie Brown and Sam Hyland.

New hyper-local content will include a new Saturday morning program Saturdays on the Gold Coast which will be co-hosted by Jase Matthews and Titans forward Jarrod Wallace from 8am to 10am (local time) each week, focusing on all the local sports and social news around the Gold Coast and South East Queensland. The program airs on 1620 SEN Gold Coast.

SEN content manager Jeremy Markham said the move to more targeted local content has been a priority for a while.

“Confirming Cameron Smith on a long-term deal is the next step in our plans to deliver local content in every market across Australia and New Zealand. And the addition of Saturdays on the Gold Coast is another example of how committed we are to achieving this”.

UPDATED Tuesday morning:

Southern Cross Austereo revealed on Monday that Lawrence Mooney is not returning to Triple M. Not in breakfast, not in Sydney and not anywhere else on the network. Mediaweek reported also on Monday that workers would start taking down Moonman signage from across the network immediately.

That happened on Monday. Moonman in the Morning has been all but banished from the home page. The Triple M Sydney breakfast show has now been rebranded Triple M Breakfast with MG, Jess and Pagey.

Moonman still lives on the Triple M podcast page though with episodes of previous shows and video clips still available.

Late on Monday night a lawyer acting for Lawrence Mooney confirmed Mediaweek’s Monday report that lawyers for both the comedian and the broadcaster were locked in negotiation about contract details. Here is the complete statement:

Statement re Lawrence Mooney
15 November 2021

Employment and media lawyer John Laxon, of Laxon Lex today confirmed he is acting for Lawrence Mooney against Southern Cross Austereo Services Pty Ltd

Mr Laxon said: “My client has a contract which runs through to the end of next year, which SCA has brought to an end. The terms of that contract were drafted by SCA and were bargained for and agreed to by my client. He will hold SCA to those terms. All my client asks is that SCA honour the contract and observe the contractual arrangements which they put in place.”

No further comment will be made.

The breakfast host has been absent from his Sydney breakfast show for much of the past two weeks.

SCA released a short statement Monday morning, but offered no further explanation about why Mooney is no longer on air. There was also no explanation about the future of the Triple M Sydney breakfast show.

This is the complete statement released by a spokesperson:

LAWRENCE ‘MOONMAN’ MOONEY DEPARTS TRIPLE M SYDNEY

SCA announced that Lawrence ‘Moonman’ Mooney leaves the Triple M Sydney Breakfast show today.  

Mooney was a regular on Triple M breakfast in Sydney and Melbourne, before officially joining Triple M Brisbane’s breakfast show in 2016. He moved to Sydney breakfast in 2019, joining Jess Eva and Chris Page.  SCA thanks Mooney for his contribution to the Triple M Network over the past five years. 

In recent days Eva and Page have been hosting the breakfast show together with Mark Geyer as a special guest.

It was only recently that SCA announced the intention to add Geyer to the Moonman in the Morning show for 2022. After that announcement, Geyer appeared very briefly on the show with Mooney. Then just days later Mooney disappeared and has not been seen or heard from since.

There has been speculation that lawyers were involved in sorting out the contractual obligations Mooney had to SCA, and in turn what obligations SCA had to Mooney.

The former Melbourne-based radio broadcaster and comedian relocated his family from Melbourne to Sydney and then to the Southern Highlands during his three years on air at Triple M Sydney.

Mediaweek reported just last week:

Lawrence Mooney has a long history with the Triple M network. Prior to joining the Sydney station 104.9 Triple M in 2019, Moonman was part of the Brisbane Triple M breakfast show. He has also guested across the network on other Triple M breakfast shows.

Rumours about reasons for Mooney’s absence have been flying in the past couple of days. There has been some speculation he has been stood down from the show and that he may not return. There is also speculation he was unhappy about the decision to add Mark Geyer to the breakfast team from 2022.

See also: Why is Moonman MIA from his Triple M Sydney breakfast show?

ARIA has revealed the lineup of talent coming to the 2021 ARIA Awards in partnership with YouTube Music. The awards will be broadcast live from Sydney’s Taronga Zoo on Cammeraigal land, starting 7.30pm AEDT Wednesday, 24 November.

Streamed across the world thanks to YouTube, and broadcast on 9Now, the awards will feature an exclusive performance from home-grown global superstar The Kid LAROI, as well as performances from 2021’s two most nominated artists, Amy Shark and Genesis Owusu, alongside Budjerah, RÜFÜS DU SOL, and Gretta Ray.

Ed Sheeran will also appear in a special video tribute to the late Michael Gudinski, where he will present the inaugural Michael Gudinski Breakthrough Artist award.

The renamed award will honour the work and legacy of Michael Gudinski, chairman of the Mushroom Group of Companies, and recognises his immense and irreplaceable contribution to signing, developing and championing Australian artists and music locally and internationally. 

Artists signed to the Mushroom Group of labels who have won the former Best Breakthrough Artist Award include TheBadloves, Frente, George, Deni Hines, Ian Moss, and Youth Group.

Joining the lineup is a stacked bill of award presenters, including ARIA Award winners Troye Sivan, Ruel, and Lime Cordiale, as well as Australian icons The Wiggles.

Annabelle Herd, ARIA chief executive officer, said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to be able to celebrate this incredible year of creativity, dedication and perseverance from our music industry with such an outstanding lineup of stars from home and abroad. 

“It is, of course, another different year for the Awards and Australian music at large, but we’re very proud that it hasn’t stopped us from delivering the world-class event our industry deserves, and at the absolutely stunning Taronga Zoo no less. Thank you to everyone who has helped us to this point, we can’t wait to see you live from YouTube!” 

The 2021 ARIA Awards in partnership with YouTube Music are proudly supported by the NSW Government through Destination NSW. Stay tuned for more announcements in the coming weeks.

Amazon Prime Video and LADbible Australia’s social content agency, LADbible Social, have launched an online companion multiverse for Amazon Prime Video‘s upcoming fantasy epic series, The Wheel of Time. 

The social campaign features a specially designed online multiverse with additional maps released when new episodes air. The online realm lets fans create their own avatars, interact with other users, and join various events celebrating the series release. Fans can explore the world of the show, directly communicate with one another, enjoy live-action events, and buy merchandise. 

The multiverse will feature live events with actor ‘hosts’, who will perform live-action roleplay for fans to interact with via the online multiverse platform. The multiverse is designed and built using the Gather platform.

Leveraging its own channels, LADbible Australia will then generate awareness of the goings on within the world, tapping into the publishers various social platforms to further encourage exploration of the world with new users. 

The Wheel of Time is a fantasy series based on the books by Robert Jordan, premiering on Amazon Prime Video on November 19. The series has already been renewed for a second season ahead of the show’s premiere. 

Hushidar Kharas, head of Amazon Prime Video AUNZ, said: “As a long term fan of the Wheel of Time books, I’m thrilled to bring this epic TV series to our customers. This is our biggest campaign of the year, and our partnership with both LADbible Australia and Gather to create a virtual world is a critical part of it. I hope the fans enjoy the world as much as we enjoyed making it. I’m sure many exciting adventures will be had and many new friends made.”

Aside from being published in English-speaking countries including Australia, the US, and Canada, the map also will roll out in EU countries with translations in French, Spanish, Italian, and German. The LADbible Australia team will be managing the global rollout, including creating assets and training. 

Joseph Summers, general manager, LADbible Group APAC, said: “We’re incredibly proud of creating such an innovative social campaign for Amazon Prime Video’s Wheel of Time fantasy series. 

“Initially conceived as an Australia-only activation, the multiverse will now be available to Wheel of Time fans around the globe. The LADbible Social team here in Australia have been a big part of this process from start to finish, and we can’t wait for fans to start exploring The Wheel of Time world online.”

To interact with The Wheel of Time multiverse, meet fans of the show, and learn more about the world, click here.

This week the Australian box office made $16.02 million, up 58% from last week’s $10.15 million.

Taking over the top spot from Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings last week was fellow Marvel film Eternals. The reign of Eternals only lasted a week though, with No Time to Die – the latest in the James Bond franchise – debuting with the crown.

This time around, James Bond is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica after leaving active service. However, his peace is short-lived as his old CIA friend, Felix Leiter, shows up and asks for help.

Dropping out of the top five this week is Halloween Kills.

#1, No Time to Die, $11.23 million

The twenty-fifth film in the James Bond series, and the fifth and final appearance of Daniel Craig as the iconic spy,  averaged a whopping $13,744 across 817 screens this week.

#2, Eternals, $2.5 million

Directed by Chloé Zhao – the same woman behind Nomadland – Eternals tells the story of a race of immortal beings with superhuman powers who have secretly lived on Earth for thousands of years. This week it averaged $5,423 across 461 screens, bringing in a total of $10.48 million.

#3, Ron’s Gone Wrong, $499,732

There is a significant drop between second and third place this week, but the animated film still pulled in a respectable $1,791 across 279 screens in its third week. Ron’s Gone Wrong has made a total of $1.73 million.

#4, Sooryavanshi, $366,332

Sooryavanshi follows DCP Veer Sooryavanshi, the chief of the Anti-Terrorism Squad in India. Having made a total of $1.16 million, this week it averaged $5,468 across 67 screens.

#5, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, $328,464

Having spent nine of its 11 weeks in the top spot, this week Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings drops to fifth. It averaged $2,566 across 128 screens, and has made a total of $16.78 million.

Total TV Ratings for November 8, 2021

Home and Away was the top program in the total TV ratings with 1.079m viewers, an increase of 21%.

Parental Guidance was the top non-news program on Nine with 1.063m, an increase of 28%. The episode saw the Helicopter, Tiger, Disciplined, Free Range, and Home School parents take on a series of challenges.

Have You Been Paying Attention? was the top program on 10 with 1.014m tuning in for its episode that featured Aaron Chen, Emma Holland, Fifi Box, Ed Kavalee, and Sam Pang.

November 16 Overnight TV Ratings

Primetime News
Seven News 925,000/933,000
Nine News 881,000/895,000
ABC News 604,000
10 News First 295,000 (5:00pm)/ 225,000 (6:00pm)
SBS World News 146,000 (6:30pm) 129,000 (7:00pm)

Daily current affairs
A Current Affair 676,000
7.30 531,000
The Project 259,000 (6:30pm)/435,000 (7:00pm)
The Drum 158,000

Breakfast TV
Sunrise 254,000
Today 229,000
News Breakfast 115,000

Late News
ABC Late News 75,000
The Latest 112,000
Nine News Late 84,000
SBS World News Late 58,000

Seven

Seven narrowly edged out Nine by 16.9% to 16.8% in the primary channel shares but narrowly lost 25.7% to 25.8% for the top network share as the two broadcasters continue to fight it out late into the survey period.

Home and Away started off its week with an audience of 560,000.

Big Brother VIP aired at 7:30pm, bringing in 320,000 viewers. The episode saw Ellie Gonsalves and Dayne Beams evicted but a twist from Big Brother revealed that they would have a chance to get back into the game.

A double episode of 9-1-1 then brought in 197,000 and 182,000 viewers.

Nine

A Current Affair had 676,000 viewers last night as it covered a renewed bushland search for William Tyrrell.

On Parental Guidance, after the Tiger parents and Free Rangers put together a Talent Show and Best Sleepover Ever on Sunday night, the Strict and Routine parents then had to do a Birthday Bash and Great Aussie BBQ. In the end, Free Range parents Penny and Daniel and Tiger parents Kevin and Debbie were sent through to the next round, the Wilderness challenge. The episode had 481,000 viewers, which was down on last weeks 604,000.

Love Island Australia was back in the 8:40pm time slot, bringing in 201,000 viewers. The episode saw two newcomers, Jade Shelford and Eliza Kennedy, enter the villa.

10

The Project had 259,000 (6:30pm) and 435,000 (7:00pm) as the show also covered the new information concerning the case of William Tyrrell.

MasterChef Australia aired its semi-final last night with 557,000 viewers tuning in. The episode saw Rebecca Gibney and Dilruk Jayasinha go home. Rebecca’s lamb shanks, a lamb croquette, potato fondant with a lamb reduction and a lemon thyme butter didn’t have enough butter in her fondants, and her lamb coquette was a little dry.  While Dilruk’s prawn curry was rich, glossy, and flavourful, his beetroot curry was too mild, and Jock found a poop chute in his prawn. The episode was up on last week’s 477,000.

The final Have You Been Paying Attention? of the year then had 731,000 viewers. The episode featured Kitty Flanagan, Marty Sheargold, Celia Pacquola, Ed Kavalee and Sam Pang. The program was the top non-news show of the night and #1 in all key demos.

ABC

Australian Story had 459,000 viewers as it told the story of Lauren Burns and her fight to make it easier for donor-conceived children to find their biological families.

Universe with Brian Cox then had 355,000 viewers, followed by Media Watch with 337,000.

SBS

The top program on SBS was a repeat of Britain’s Most Historic Towns with 160,000 viewers.