Radio Ratings

Sydney

• Brekky giants battle – K&J edge out Ben, smoothfm climbs

See Also: Sydney Radio Ratings 2023 Survey 7: Kyle and Jackie pip Ben Fordham by the thinnest margin

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Melbourne

• Nova keeps lead in four-way tussle, 4BC and 4BH AM stars

See Also: Melbourne Radio Ratings 2023 Survey 7: 3AW slips, brighter outlook at SCA with Fox & Triple M up

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Brisbane

• Nova keeps lead in four-way tussle, 4BC and 4BH AM stars

See Also: Brisbane Radio Ratings 2023, Survey 7: Nova tops a tight survey

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Adelaide 

• Triple M hammers the field; Roo, Ditts & Loz only game in town

See Also: Adelaide Radio Ratings 2023, Survey 7: Triple M keeps a safe #1

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Perth

• Gap shrinks on Nova lead, 96FM and Triple M climb in breakfast

See Also: Perth Radio Ratings 2023, Survey 7: Mix 94.5 takes #1 from Nova 93.7

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The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has warned advertisers to stick to the rules this festive season as the industry watchdog prepares to crack down on brands during the end-of-year sales period.

ACMA has issued an industry-wide compliance reminder ahead of the Black Friday and Christmas sales period following a growing number of breaches by brands. 

The warning comes just weeks after Kmart was fined $1.3 million by the industry authority for allegedly sending over 200,000 emails to users who had already unsubscribed from their mailing list.

Commonwealth Bank and DoorDash have also been similarly penalised this year with fines equating to $3.55 million and $2 million respectively for their spam breaches.

However, it was the ACMA’s move to fine Ticketek $500k for repeated spam violations in October, that has left marketers “on high alert”, according to Sarla Fernando, director of regulatory and advocacy at the Association for Data-Driven Marketing and Advertising (ADMA). 

The decision brought unprecedented attention to the fine line between what ACMA considers to be a commercial electronic message, which is held to the Spam Act, versus a transactional or factual message, that won’t necessarily fall into the same scope of regulation.ACMA’s latest crackdown is a sign of the growing frustration from consumers. 

“Let me preface this with the fact that a number of these penalties come after businesses have been warned, or have been notified previously, that there are people complaining about them sending emails out to people who have not consented to it.

“From the ACMA’s point of view, they might wonder why, despite the Spam Act being around since 2003, companies are still getting it wrong.

“Consumers are getting frustrated, and the amount of complaints that [ACMA] would probably get from consumers would be pushing this as well.” 

While a headline-worthy fine may not reflect the accumulation of warnings a business has received in the lead up to the decision, Fernando also proposed that it doesn’t fully convey the range of consequences likely to be faced once the gavel has fallen.

“The fine is only one element of what it costs the business. Once it gets in breach it then has to undergo an enforceable undertaking, which involves training programs, processes, audits, check ins with the ACMA for three years, and usually every year consultants coming in and verifying your processes.

“It’s a very costly affair… I think that’s what needs to be educated a bit more in the market.”

Fernando said the ACMA’s warning is a “timely reminder” to marketers “to ensure that your marketing distribution lists are up to date, that you’ve done regular quality assurance, that you make sure that your unsubscribe mechanisms are working, and that they’re synchronised across all all of your databases.

“And I think it’s really important to understand that if a consumer is asking to be removed off a list, they mean it.”

That being said, she maintained that while most marketers are trying to do the right thing, misinformation is a leading cause of malpractice in Australia, with many being directed to foreign clauses through self-searches, or “Google LLB” as she jokingly termed it. 

In the update, ACMA’s “How To Get It Right” guide puts an emphasis on garnering consent from all individuals who will be sent messaging, having a transparent means to unsubscribe, and regular reviews of processes including holding outsourced providers to standard.

Alongside all of which, Fernando advised, “I used to teach my teams to assume that regulators are on the receiving end of your emails, so you might want to just check it!”

See Also: ACMA reveals SVOD players spent $324 million on Australian programs

–

Top Image: Sarla Fernando

On Wednesday night, a who’s who of Australian music industry legends got glammed up for the 37th annual ARIAs. This year, however, a whole new set of people made their debut at the awards, with the introduction of the Best Use of an Australian Recording in an Advertisement awards.

Taking out the inaugural title in the Over Two Minutes category were Innocean Australia for their campaign with Australian Marine Conservation Society, using Voice of the Sea by John Williamson.

The Under Two Minutes category was won by 72andSunny with Campfire X for their Google campaign featuring Baker Boy.

See Also: ARIA reveals nominees for its inaugural Best Use of an Australian Recording in an Advertisement

Ahead of the ceremony, Mediaweek caught up with ARIA CEO, Annabelle Herd, to speak about the impact of the new awards.

The genesis of what became the Adland ARIAs began in 2021 when musician Holly Rankin (who performs as Jack River) encouraged the media to use more Australian music when highlighting major events like the Olympics. The movement morphed into Our Soundtrack Our Stories – which led to Our Soundtrack Our Ads – and ultimately inspired the introduction of the advertising ARIA Awards.

“Music really drives value for content and storytelling,” said Herd. “I have worked in media for a long time, I worked at Channel 10 for many, many years – I’ve seen the impact that music has on storytelling and on content. It made perfect logical sense to create a subsection of Our Soundtrack Our Stories to focus on advertising. 

“So we spoke with some people in the industry, everybody thought it was an amazing idea – it turns out ad people love winning awards! We combined these industries to celebrate and recognise both beautiful advertising that has local music, but also to incentivise more Australian brands to use Australian music.”

When it came to sitting down and choosing which of the nominees would come out on top, ARIA gave that job to a panel that consisted of people from both music and advertising. Their differences in backgrounds also came through in the judging process, with Herd saying that “they all looked for different things.”

“I think that the campaigns that they’ve chosen stood out, because they were more than just putting a soundtrack against beautiful images. For example, in the case of Baker Boy, it was a whole campaign which not only highlighted his music, but himself as an artist.

“The storytelling created something broader than just a piece of visual content that goes for 30 seconds.”

The addition of the advertising ARIA awards is just as exciting for brands as it is for artists. When it comes to combining the two, Herd said that “What we know is that getting the right music for an ad can create something incredible.” 

“We did a panel at SXSW Sydney with Russell Howcroft, Holly Rankin, and Dr. Solange Glasser who’s a scientist in music and psychology. She spoke about the fact that there is real science behind the fact that music gives us actual chills, and when you combine that kind of music with content that gives you chills, you’ve got something incredible. We want that music to be local music.

“Brands benefit because they’re supporting local artists and using great music, artists benefit because they’re getting exposure and making beautiful content, and we think it’s great to be able to celebrate that.”

Whilst the 2023 awards are the first out of the gate, Herd said that they most certainly won’t be the last, as ARIA looks to introduce even more awards in the future. 

“We’ve had such strong support from Adland, and I’m really excited to see the reaction to the winners. Based on this year, this is something that we’re definitely going to be doing for a while. We really want to expand into other adjacent industries that use music to build their own businesses, because music is so critical. It’s a soundtrack to so many things that we do.”

When asked what, exactly, some of those industries that could be up for an ARIA in the future are, Herd told Mediaweek “Fashion, film, television, gaming, even sport – all of those things that use music. We’ll be looking at that next year.”

LADbible has teased details of a local content initiative and strategic partners as it refutes claims that it will close the Australian business at the end of the year. 

In a statement to Mediaweek, a LADbible spokesperson said, “We are planning a new initiative, indicative of our commitment to the region, working with Australian-based creators and commissioning them to create bespoke content for our brands.”

The statement revealed the youth publisher was restructuring the Australian business with 52 people at risk of redundancy and that they are currently in a period of consultation with those affected, further stating, “The ambition is for around a third of these individuals to be part of the strategic partnership we are exploring in market and so it is hoped therefore that the actual number of redundancies will be far fewer than the ‘at risk’ headcount.”

The statement followed a now amended article on News.com.au originally reported that “LADbible will shut down its Aussie business at the end of the year, making at least 100 employees redundant.” 

LADbible said, “We intend to centralise our editorial and social content to our industry leading teams in the UK and we are in discussions with a number of strategic partners to continue our commercial business in Australia. 

“We are confident that this operating model, in place for the new year, will further grow our audience across our APAC brands and continue to deliver the high-quality content we are known for.”

LADBible has reinforced the profitability as a business in Australia and New Zealand, pointing to their audited results on the LBG website. The spokesperson commented, “We reach over five million people a month across social in Australia and New Zealand and we remain committed to delivering quality content for this audience, and our partners.

“We are not closing, the business will continue but with an optimised operating model.”

LADbible said they will be in touch to share more on their moves “in due course”.

See Also: Mediabrands Content Studio announces partnership with LADbible Group

Stan Original Series Scrublands may be based on the novel of the same name by Chris Hammer but its leading actor Luke Arnold says it’s not a “page-by-page recreation”.

While the premise of the series, including the characters and story arc, are the same, there has been some creative licence to bring it to the screen.

Speaking on Mediaweek and Chattr’s The Entertainment Hotline Podcast — from the set of where the four-part murder mystery was filmed — Arnold revealed that “there is pressure,”  to do the book justice; however, “you have to forget it fairly quickly”.

“It happens every time something is adapted,” he said. “Everyone’s a purist until the adaptation comes out.”

Arnold, who is also an author himself, further added that retelling a story in a visual medium is a “different mode of storytelling than just putting things on the page.

“What works on the page will often not work on screen,” he said. “You don’t get to spend pages and pages in the head of characters understanding their thought process. If you actually depicted that visually, it would be way over the top and traumatising for everyone who watches it.”

Luke Arnold and Eliza Matengu, Scrublands. Stan

Scrublands is set in an isolated country town that is brought to its knees by endless drought, where a charismatic and dedicated young priest (Jay Ryan) calmly opens fire on his congregation, killing five parishioners. One year later investigative journalist Martin Scarsden (Arnold) arrives in Riversend to write what should be a simple feature story on the anniversary of the tragedy. But when Martin’s instincts kick in and he digs beneath the surface, the previously accepted narrative begins to fall apart and he finds himself in a life-and-death race to uncover the truth.

The  39-year-old said that writers Felicity Packard, Kelsey Munro and Jock Serong were “smart in what they’ve taken from the book” but also focused on how they can tell the story without doing a “page-by-page recreation”.

“It’s actually about going, “How do we lift this off the page and put it on the screen in the most impactful, interesting, compelling way? And these are really smart, fun scripts in the way they’ve managed to do that.”

He continued: “The truth is, no film or TV show can ever be the book because some of the fun of it is that the book only meets you halfway. You are coming and bringing the rest of yourself to it. You’re casting it, you’re doing the set dressing, you’re writing the score, you’re doing the colour grade.

“So, as much as everyone can sit there and say it’s not the way you saw the book projected on a wall, someone else who read the book would also look at that and say that’s not the way it should be. There’s no way you’d ever please everyone.”

Jay Ryan, Scrublands. Stan

Luke Arnold on his character Martin Scarsden

Arnold plays Martin, a former jet-setting foreign correspondent, who used to try to reveal stories about corruption and take down mining companies and governments.

“He was that kind of guy,” the actor said. “So he’s very used to probably flying into places, using everyone around him to get to the truth, to get the story and maybe not being scrupulous in his way of getting to the bigger truth of doing what he thought was kind of seeking justice.”

Prior to arriving at the Riverlands, Martin had “some collateral damage that has shaken him up” and he’s not the journalist he once was.

Luke Arnold, Scrublands. Stan

“The higher-ups recognise that and think that, ‘Okay, maybe his best days are behind him, so let’s send them out to this little town to do a simple little job, because maybe that’s all he’s good for. And Martin’s kind of going along with that story.

“But once he gets the sniff of something else happening, he really can’t help himself and it’s a bit of the story of him getting his journalistic instincts back.”

Like many journalists discover in the real world, the character deals with the difference between “telling the story and the experience”.

“I think when we come into it, that’s how he’s got himself into trouble, I think it’s by fighting for the story but not really connecting with people. And so that is his journey there. So going like, ‘Okay, how do I fight for the truth?’

“Because the truth can heal. The truth can help people. The truth can find justice, not just because the truth makes a good story.”

Bella Heathcote, Scrublands. Stan

Luke Arnold on how the cast dealt with such heavy content matter

Given that the story deals with themes of murder, gun control and the human experience, it’s no surprise that the heavy content matter was at the forefront during filming.

The INXS: Never Tear Us Apart star admitted it “can be tough” in certain circumstances.

” I do think when you work on something when you work in a good job with good people, I think everyone’s very aware of understanding the seriousness of things like this and of going like okay, ‘How do we make sure we do these characters justice, we do these topics justice, we honour what these characters are going through,'” he said.

“But it’s not about It’s us. It’s about how can we tell that story. How can we give that to the audience? It’s not about how we indulge in this for ourselves…You want to be in that moment, receiving that and taking that on, but you’ve got to get really good at, you know, shaking that stuff off.”

Luke Arnold, Scrublands. Stan

Further to this, he admitted that allowing himself to feel the emotions can be “addictive”.

“It keeps surprising me that you do stuff on set and you’re like, ‘Wow, this is now in my bones’. And it can be really tempting to be one of those actors who is like, ‘Sorry, I’m just like working with such deep stuff’ and use it as an excuse to be a d–k off-set. But, it’s part of the job to go, ‘No, that happens between action and cut’ and shake it off.”

Arnold also praised director Greg McLean (Wolf Creek, Rogue) for his role in allowing that to happen.

“He has obviously done some of the darkest, most horrific films that have ever been made,” he said. “Yet he’s just an absolute joy on set. He’s fun and respectful.

“It’s a very different feeling, even though someone might be getting their head blown off on set, we’re all having a laugh and making sure everyone’s comfortable and happy and take safety really responsibly.”

Stream Stan Original Series Scrublands from November 16, only on Stan.

Compiled by Jasper Baumann and Tess Connery

Green thumbs and gardens on That’s How We Grow

STIHL’s gardening podcast, That’s How We Grow, hosted by award-winning landscape designer and TV personality, Charlie Albone, has made its debut on LiSTNR with the launch of its third season. 

The previous two seasons of That’s How We Grow have also moved to LiSTNR. 

Podcast Week’s Tess Connery spoke with Albone about the move to LISTNR and what the new season holds. 

“We started it in COVID times, so everything was done at home and done remotely. With the third season with restrictions lifting, the guys at STIHL were wanting to up the ante a little bit, so they got LiSTNR involved. It has been great,” said Albone.

Gardening is a very hands-on activity, and Albone said that the key to podcasting and creating content when you don’t have the visual aspect is that “You just have really passionate guests.”

“This season, we’ve had some great guests who are great entertainers themselves. They make it very easy to listen to. 

“For example, one of our guests is a lady called Compostable Kate, who’s got this huge Instagram following. She’s incredibly passionate about recycling, compost, and worm farms. I love that episode, actually.”

Even beyond Composable Kate, Albone has a star-studded lineup for season three. 

We’ve had Curtis Stone, which was really great – he was talking from a chef’s point of view, talking through his garden at home in LA and the connection between cooking and gardening. We’ve had people who were just great entertainers like Deb Hutton, who confessed she knows nothing about gardening, so it was more me just giving her advice about her new house. I got very nervous inviting my wife on the podcast, which was a bit of fun to talk about the connection between interiors and exteriors. We spoke to Larry Emder about the property market because he’s invested quite a lot in property.”

When asked how the podcast has evolved since its first episode, Albone said that “It’s a bit more relaxed, and everyone’s getting a bit more used to that relaxed nature. It just feels a bit easier to listen to.”

As the podcast goes on, Albone said that he hopes audiences continue to enjoy the podcast, as well as learn something to keep their gardens thriving.

“I really hope with this series, people get a little bit of light entertainment but also take a lot of knowledge from it that they can use in their own garden. I hope it makes their their gardens a little bit easier to manage, and helps them enjoy them a bit more – because that’s what it’s all about.”

[Listen to That’s How We Grow here]

iHeart announces partnership with Australia’s first podcasting network owned and led by First Nations People

The network, called BlakCast, states that its mission is to strengthen the cultural identity of Australia.

2023 Indigenous Businesswoman of the Year Mundanara Bayles is the driving force behind BlakCast, with her own podcast Black Magic Woman being the first Indigenous podcast to be signed to the iHeart Network in Australia.

[BlakCast can be found here]

Brent Draper and wife Shonleigh talk about the passing of Jock Zonfrillo on Nova Podcast’s Separate Bathrooms

After dropping out of Masterchef in 2021 due to mental health struggles, Brent Draper came back in 2023 to take home the coveted gold plate, winning the series. 

Brent and his wife Shonleigh joined Cam and Ali to chat about how they support each other and how their lives have changed since the win.

Draper talking about the loss of Jock Zonfrillo:

Brent: “It just rocked me because I just I couldn’t grasp it. I think my mind couldn’t, you know, I’m still seeing him here. It was a very weird little moment of time when he was, you know, still on our screens every night. But we knew that, he wasn’t here anymore. And I just, you see how the type of person is when you see randoms in the street, and they talk about Jock and they start to visibly sort of have tears and get upset. And I’m like, you know, you don’t even meet the person and you feel like this.”

[Listen to the full interview here] 

LiSTNR announce new series ‘Stories of Us’, highlighting tales from Regional Australia

LiSTNR’s new series Stories of Us is a collection of untold stories from everyday Aussie heroes to celebrate regional Australian communities.

In each episode, host Sarah Grynberg from A Life of Greatness is joined by a guest whose journey was made against the backdrop of regional Australia.

For the first episode, Grynberg interviews Ben Gillies, drummer from the iconic Australian band Silverchair. Heralding from Newcastle, NSW, Ben explains how his love for the area has never waned, despite the global success he achieved with the band. “Wherever you’re born, and you grow up, you tend to just fall in love with it,” Gillies said. 

[Listen to Stories of Us here}

Acast boosts audience targeting with Proximic by Comscore partnership

Acast has announced a global partnership with Proximic by Comscore – a division of Comscore Inc. and a provider of audience and content-targeting solutions for media activation.

The partnership will work to enable cookie-free audience targeting for podcast advertisers around the world.

As the global media landscape faces signal loss and prepares for the deprecation of the third-party cookie, advertisers are challenged to find solutions that will continue to reach the right audiences with scale and precision. Predictive Audiences from Proximic by Comscore enables targeting based on behaviours such as personas, TV viewership, gaming habits, and retail purchases, but delivered contextually. This is made possible through the combination of Comscore’s first-party data sets and deep machine learning-backed predictive models.

The most recent reports on the global podcast advertising market forecast the industry to reach a $12.7 billion valuation by the end of this year and to lift to $40 billion in value by 2032.

“The podcast advertising industry has experienced rapid growth in recent years, but has been challenged to harness its full potential largely because innovations in ad tech still lagged behind more traditional media forms,” said Lee Blickstein, VP targeting solutions at Proximic by Comscore.

[Read more]

Podcast Ranker October 2023: The 50th ranker sees Hamish & Andy stay steady at #1

Commercial Radio Australia has released the 50th edition of the Australian Podcast Ranker tables, charting performance in the month of October 2023.

The ranker now has 30 publishers, including 24 non-radio publishers, and four charts: top 150 podcasts, top 150 all-Australian podcasts, top publishers, and top sales representatives.

The 50th Ranker also includes Ted Talks Daily for the first time – coming in at #53.

HODD Media (How Other Dads Dad with Hamish Blake) also joined the Ranker this month, taking the number of new publishers added in 2023 to nine.

Still enjoying top spot is LiSTNR’s Hamish & Andy, with 990,858 monthly listeners and 2,127,181 monthly downloads this month.

Second place is still held by iHeart’s Casefile: True Crime with 860,922 monthly listeners and 2,377,687 monthly downloads.

After taking third place off of Mamamia Out Loud in the last ranker, Shameless has kept its place rounding out the top three. October sees Shameless record 694,546 monthly listeners and 1,672,458 monthly downloads.

The biggest lifter of the ranker this month was LiSTNR’s Luke And Sassy Scott, up 35 places to #106. Not far behind was Nine’s The Ray Hadley Morning Show, lifting 32 places to #75.

[Read more]

Josh Szeps has a history of giving his listeners content that is a little bit different and often more challenging than they might get on other programs on the broadcaster.

On Wednesday he really made his ABC Radio Sydney audience sit up as he dropped details of his resignation just before the 3pm news.

Josh Szeps: ‘I’m a bit too spicy for this gig’

“It’s time for my contract to be renewed for 2024 and I want to tell you why I won’t be signing it and will be ending the show this year. I could spin you some PR guff about how I don’t have time in my life for all the other things I want to do…which is true. I could talk about how I could make more money for less work if I was working for myself…which is true. And how I want to spend more time with my family…which is true.

“But that’s not the whole story. If you know me you know I don’t do bullshit. The bottom line is I’m a bit too spicy for this gig.”

While acknowledging how lucky he had been to be working at the ABC, he fired a shot across its bows noting the restraint he felt trying to work within its guidelines.

Szeps told his listeners, “The ABC is the greatest institution in Australian public life. I believe it is the jewel in this country’s crown. I have no beef with ABC or its management.

“The acting manager of ABC Sydney Mark Spurway is a legend. The ABC Sydney boss Steve Ahern is a champion. His new boss Ben Latimer is a great guy, whip smart. The new head of content Chris Oliver-Taylor is a legend of Australian broadcasting who actually has the potential to transform the ABC in tremendously positive ways. The managing director of the whole place, David Anderson, is the most warm, wonderful, passionate and tireless champion of everything that is good about public broadcasting.

“But having truly rational, bullshit-free conversations about controversial issues is risky these days. The penalties for speaking bluntly, the penalties for trying to coax people out of their thought silos and their echo chambers are very high.

“The fact that it’s risky only makes it more important to me. The fact I have found a way of doing it independently that is financially viable leads me to the question that I have been mulling over ever since chatter about the 2024 [ABC] line-up began.”

Szeps said he asked himself where he is the most use to the national conversation.

“If you’re a regular listener you know me. You know I am the kid who gets invited to Christmas lunch and then starts talking to people I’m advised not to talk to. Like Uncle Herbie who might have voted for Pauline Hanson. Maybe all I do is make the prim and proper partygoers uncomfortable, but that is not my intention. My hope is that by understanding Uncle Herbie’s point of view I might better understand my own.

“Maybe there’s value in consciously defying bubbles of conversational safety.”

Josh Szeps: He didn’t fit the ABC

“I’m a misfit. I’m a child of refugees, but I’m a white Australian. I’m a gay guy, but I hate Mardi Gras. I have holocaust surviving grandparents but I’m conflicted about Zionism. I’m an ABC presenter but I don’t like kale.

“I am a riddle wrapped in a bloody enigma. If you think that being a team player is the highest virtue, good for you. But don’t pretend to be a journalist. Journalism needs more contrarians, not fewer. More risk takers, not fewer.

“We need more people like Andrew Ollie, John Pilger, and Mike Carlton, and Helen Lewis, and John Stewart, and Germaine Greer, and Christopher Hitchens.

“But I love the ABC. This institution is our best hope if we are going to survive the challenges of this century as a country that we would recognise as Australia.

“The ABC is indispensable. The ABC deserves our support. It certainly deserves more funding. It’s an incredible honour to have a show on the ABC. I am grateful to everyone I have worked with and I wish the ABC and its management and all its employees nothing but the best. Australia needs a strong and independent ABC.”

Uncomfortable Conversations takes off

“Yet at the same time I have this parallel life going on where my podcast is a place where I have been having nonsense-free conversations about the most controversial challenges we face and it has become a big hit. We have had over 3m downloads. At the risk of being immodest – which is what people say when they have no intention of being modest – it’s one of the most successful Australian interview shows in the world.

“It does turn out that people are craving a kind of conversation that they are not hearing in the mainstream media. I got myself a great podcast producer, Stefan, and a great podcast distributor, and we are making money.

“We launched a premium subscription on Substack where you get bonus content for a small monthly fee. We have ended up with one of the highest paid conversion rates of any show on this global Silicon Valley-based platform.”

What’s next for Szeps

Szeps is to expand his brand. He currently broadcasts the podcast Uncomfortable Conversations and he is planning a YouTube program coming early from Diamantina Media in 2024.

The subscription platform at joshszeps.com offers a free tier and then options for more content at prices that range from $110 annually to $390.

“We thought what about expanding into video content. That’s another audience and another revenue stream. In the new year, I am launching a YouTube show on the network founded by the Betoota Advocate team. I have TV development deals on ice and a couple of book offers.”

Szeps is also embarking on a live podcast circuit with promoter TEG Dainty. This sounds like the business that Paul Dainty planned for launch with Foxtel’s Brian Walsh before Walsh’s sudden death earlier this year. “I will be bringing some of the biggest guests from around the world to join me onstage in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.

Radio ratings on the rise

“I don’t have a financial reason to be at the ABC. I am beyond grateful to everyone who made my little patch of this institution a success. Over the past dozen ratings surveys, this show’s ratings have increased largely due to my beloved Jane, Robbie, Hannah, Elizabeth, Rosh and Steve.

“The only shows on this station that are competitive with 2GB are afternoons and drive. This show does do better than its Melbourne counterpart in the ratings. It has one of the largest cumulative audiences of any show on this station.

“To every listener. I would hate for you to hear this and think it’s the end of our relationship. It’s actually the beginning of my main event.”

Szeps then recommended people visit joshszeps.com and sign up for a mailing list to learn “how you can keep me in your earholes”.

Szeps will be staying with the ABC until the end of 2023.

Listen to Szeps‘ podcast here and subscribe to his Substack. His last day presenting ABC Radio Sydney Afternoons will be Friday, December 22, 2023.

See also: Sydney loses second afternoon AM radio host in three days, first Deb Knight, now Josh

OMG has partnered with Foxtel Media to leverage the data captured through more than one million Foxtel set-top boxes installed in Australia.

This comes after mixed reviews from media agencies leaders about Foxtel Media’s new audience measurement system with the Kantar Media measurement service, announced earlier this month at the Foxtel Upfront.

The holding company has embraced the opportunity to benefit from the new return path data service. This will see the viewing data captured by Foxtel set-top boxes installed in Australia provide a granular understanding of Pay-TV consumption and subscriber behaviour.

This understanding will be instrumental in the development of new audience measurement methodologies that enable trading on target segments, critically powered by an independent, world-leading research business.

Kristiaan Kroon, chief investment officer of Omnicom Media Group Australia, said audience insights will provide a new level of granular data for clients from its one million set top boxes and more than three million users of streaming products like BINGE and Kayo Sports. He noted that it complements OMG’s recent launch of the ADgile Catalyst product, as OMG leads the market on advanced CTV analytics.

Kroon said that there is a clear need for products as the Australian CTV market becomes increasingly complex for advertisers to access the likes of Foxtel, YouTube, TV Networks, SBS, Vevo, Netflix, LG, Samsung and soon Amazon Prime

“Alternative audience measurement is inevitable and, in our view, complementary to established audience measurement through a composite approach that unlocks deeper insights and value for OMG clients,” he said.

Kroon added that Australia is heading down the same path as America a few years ago with multiple measurement products and alternative currencies driving innovation and opportunity. He added: “We will be using our US grown capability and experience to enable Australian use cases and frameworks, starting with Foxtel Group products and platforms, to give a clear market advantage to our clients in the rapidly evolving CTV universe.”

The new service is set to roll out in 2024 providing quarter hour format for ingestion into agency systems and two years of comparison data back to January 2022.

See also: “Another data set is not a new challenge”: Media agency leaders react to Foxtel’s new audience measurement system

Lucy Formosa Morgan, managing director of Magna, shared her thoughts with Mediaweek earlier this month, alongside Taz Papoulias, head of media of Murmur Group, Claire Fenner, national CEO of Atomic 212°, and Danny Molyneaux, chief strategy office of Claxon.

Formosa Morgan said that while the new measurement system with Kantar will “absolutely disrupt the market” the industry needs to ensure they are on the front foot when setting the standards and criteria for what will ultimately change the currency and trading video.

“It’s going to be noisy while we work through the different measurement providers, but we need to lean in to change, to test, to learn and continue evolving,” she added.

Papoulias said: “As a media leader who focuses on the best outcome for my client, which often involves a lack of granular data across many mediums (outside online), I can see the upside and I am going to reserve my official opinion once it has been rolled out.

“When the big boys make the big moves it’s very hard to promote change with their media power but we are all entitled to our opinion. Lets watch this space.”

Meanwhile, Fenner said she thinks anything that offers another data point to reference is a good thing when relying on surveyed data. She said: “Another data set is not the end of the world and not a new challenge for media agencies.

“If the data is as robust as I anticipate, or hope for, it should provide an even better support and justification for the inclusion of Foxtel’s platforms on media plans,” she added.

Molyneaux added that the move will ruffle feathers and create confusion in the industry as it looks set to diversify Total TV measurement. He said: “As Foxtel Media introduces this advanced measurement service, it may trigger a competitive race among media agencies to harness similar technologies and datasets.”

Mark Frain, CEO of Foxtel Media said a critical tenet of television advertising is having a robust and independently verified audience measurement system. He noted that it should be brought together with the best available data to maximise value and opportunity for clients.

“We know the industry is open to and excited about change, as demonstrated by the many positive conversations we have had with clients and agencies since our Upfront announcements. The roll out of this Kantar Media measurement service on set top box viewing will help evolve how we trade inventory, powering us go beyond demographics and collaboratively align across total video segments.”

“You’ve got to acknowledge where this is heading, we’re on a journey to trade all of our inventory as impressions, giving customers exactly what they want, a common denominator across the video platforms that they spend on,” he added.

Spotify podcast trends report has revealed listeners aged over 45 had the highest growth in audience demographics.

‘The Sound of Cultural Conversation’ report explored podcast streaming data from the platform’s first-party data collected in H1 2023 across key cultural moments of this year – such as the Eurovision finale, Barbie movie premiere, and NBA Finals – and compared those trends to Google Search and social media activity around the same topics.

Sam Moles, podcast account director of Spotify Australia and New Zealand, said the report saw growth in the 45+ demographic, which has been under-represented in the past when looking at the total podcast listening audience.

According to the report, listeners in Australia aged 55-64 grew 64%, while listeners aged 65+ rose 64%.

“We hope this reflects a fundamental shift in the audience cohort that generally has the highest % of non-podcast listeners, which in turn will increase the opportunity for advertisers looking to reach this highly valuable audience,” he said.

Spotify’s trend report also looks at listener engagement with podcasts, the impact of ad experiences, and how podcasts are a potent channel for advertisers and publishers looking to connect with audiences meaningfully. Spotify claimed that podcast ads on its platform were twice as likely to help consumers become more familiar with – and confident in – a product, brand, or item.

In Spotify’s Sonic Science study, released earlier this year, the platform noted that one major revelation found that 58% of listener’s engagement translated into the ad experience. In the ‘The Sound of Cultural Conversation’ report, Spotify said that this showed podcasts have the power to entertain and be an advertising format important to a brand’s overall media mix.

The report also explored global audience consumption across society and culture, lifestyle and health and educational podcasts.

While the evergreen favourites, Comedy and True Crime, remain at the top in total listening hours globally, the data from the report revealed parenting (88%) and self-improvement (59%) podcasts were on the rise.

Moles noted that it was not surprising to see the report reflect that culture and content are aligned, particularly as the number of podcast creators and listeners has grown exponentially.

“What’s exciting about this alignment for brands is that advertising in podcasts is a way for them to be a part of these conversations in a way that’s authentic to the environment and the listener,” he said.

Moles added: “Being able to show up in these moments in the right way is one thing, but being able to then measure the influence and impact on business outcomes is crucial, and that’s where platforms like Spotify Ad Analytics now can help by measuring events such as website visits, app installs and sales.”

Livewire has announced the launch of Gameview, a new adtech platform providing an access point for marketers wanting to reach gamers.

The platform combines exclusive gaming media, targeting and real-time effectiveness metrics with a creative studio.

The new platform will allow advertisers to build and serve creative campaigns, allowing them to find their target audience among 2 billion-plus gamers worldwide who can be accessed via the platform every month. 

See also: Growing Pains: How advertising in the Aussie video game industry is beating middle child syndrome

Livewire says that their proprietary Gameview Data Management Platform (DMP) is at the core of Gameview, stating that the platform ingests, organises and activates audience data sets for marketing initiatives. The Gameview offering also streamlines the creative process, allowing advertisers to create standard, rich media, and video ads. 

Indy Khabra, co-founder and media, data & technology lead at Livewire states that Gameview is helping clients discover who their targeted gaming audience is.

“We are enabling a meaningful connection via the right device and at the best time while being non-intrusive to gameplay,” he said.

Gameview has been confirmed to work across mobile, PC, console, cloud gaming, and esports platforms, and in most formats such as display, video and audio. 

Khabra says gaming is the new gravity of marketing, and Gameview will help brands, publishers and gamers experience a positive outcome that meets the needs of all.

“Gameview’s innovations in areas such as attention measurement, partner integration, and having a granular view of the gamer will ensure Livewire remains at the forefront of gaming technology innovation delivering incremental value for marketers.”

Global CEO of Livewire, Tom Simpson expressed that gaming media needs to step up for brands to enter confidently into the play economy.

“We passionately believe gaming is the new and improved social media for marketers in terms of connecting with consumers at scale,” he said.

“Advanced data, auditing and programmatic capabilities are table stakes for smart brands in 2023 — advertising in-game needs to deliver this, alongside a gaming native creative experience that is right for the channel and consumer.” 

Independent distributor for Australia and New Zealand, Umbrella Entertainment, is set to launch Brollie, an Advertising on Demand platform, on Thursday 23 November 2023. Positioned as Australia’s first free streaming service dedicated exclusively to Australian film and TV content, Brollie provides access to Umbrella Entertainment’s extensive catalog.

With an initial offering of over 300 titles, Brollie features films from Australian independent cinema like Babadook (dir. Jennifer Kent, 2014) and Two Hands (dir. Gregor Jordan, 1999), alongside cult classics like Sweat (creator John Rapsey, 1996) and Erskineville Kings (dir. Alan White, 1999) starring Hugh Jackman.

The platform also includes a dedicated section for Indigenous Australia, featuring films starring Aboriginal screen actor David Gulpilil, such as Walkabout (dir. Nicolas Roeg, 1971) and Storm Boy (dir. Henri Safran, 1976).

Brollie subscribers can join the Brollie Film Club, where the in-house team curates their best of the catalogue twice a month. Thematic collections include Australian Nightmares exploring the Aussie horror genre and All Out Ozploitation showcasing genre films from the 70s and 80s. Exclusive special features, typically limited to DVD extras, offer rare glimpses behind-the-scenes featuring Australian screen celebrities like Jackman, the late Heath Ledger, Nicole Kidman and Kylie Minogue.

Ari Harrison, general manager and head of sales and acquisitions a at Umbrella Entertainment noted, “The Brollie catalogue is full of Australian cult classics, many of which aren’t available on other streaming platforms.

“We know these iconic films and TV shows can find new and old audiences instead of gathering dust on the shelf. Brollie is about helping Aussies to access this world-class storytelling easily and, most importantly, for free so everyone can enjoy our epic screen legacy.”

Accompanying the launch is a podcast, Sunburnt Screens: The Australian Cinema Odyssey, hosted by Alexei Toliopoulos. The podcast will feature conversations with renowned Australian filmmakers such as Rolf de Heer, Gillian Armstrong, The Spierig Brothers, and Natalie Erika James.

You may think being some of the most famous pastry chefs in the country wouldn’t rattle the Dessert Masters 2023 contestants in the infamous MasterChef kitchen; however, according to Rhiann Mead, there’s a good reason why the likes of even Adriano Zumbo are seemingly struggling at times.

Speaking to Mediaweek after her November 14 elimination, Mead admitted that there’s a lot of “pressure” given you aren’t in your normal surroundings.

“Firstly, it’s huge. I wasn’t expecting it,” she said of the infamous kitchen. “Whenever I’ve watched it in the past, I was like, ‘Why is everyone running around?’ and then when you’re there, just the distance between the pantry to the equipment to the electricals, everything’s so far apart.”

Adding to this, she said that the time crunch was also unpleasant.

“When I think about my day-to-day, I have one dish, and maybe it takes me three days to do different components to that. Whereas we have three hours [in the Dessert Masters kitchen. So it’s a completely different structure to how chefs normally work.”

Rhiann Mead. Ten

Rhiann Mead on competing alongside her heroes

For the 31-year-old, competing alongside the likes of Kirsten Tibballs (who also made a piggy bank during the elimination challenge) was something she would never get over.

“Walking into the MasterChef building and being surrounded by people like Kirsten and Adriano Zumbo, these are people who, when I first started off cooking, were people I looked up to,” she said.

“They are people who have set the way the pastry scene is going. And then, just to be in the same company as them and being in the same competition is still something that I can’t quite get over. I don’t think I’ll still come to terms with how incredible it was to be there.”

Mead, who has worked as Head Pastry Chef at Bennelong under the tutelage of Peter Gilmore, also explained that at times she felt somewhat “out of place”.

“There’s so much that I want to achieve and I sort of feel like I’m just starting out on my journey,” she revealed. “So, it’s easy to have those self-doubts and feel a little bit out of place compared to these legends who just seem so confident and who have so much experience behind them.”

(L-R) Kirsten Tibballs, Adriano Zumbo, Jess Liemantara, Gareth Whitton and Mead. Dessert Masters. Ten

Even though she’s seen smashing success in the Australian pastry scene, Mead admitted that she gained a lot from the experience.

“It’s given me a lot more confidence,” she said. “I think that’s something I’ve always sort of struggled with a little bit. And so, it was about reminding myself that I was there and in incredible company. I didn’t lose my cool even when I was super stressed. I react as dramatically as I thought I would!”

Dessert Masters 2023 continues at 7.30 pm, Sunday – Tuesday on 10 and 10Play.

RyanCap’s data and technology specialist, Foxcatcher, has announced the appointment of Alex Cook to the newly created role of sales director. 

Cook comes to Foxcatcher most recently from Digital Remedy, where he was the sales director and previously at Amobee and Big Mobile. He will be responsible for positioning Foxcatcher’s programmatic and proprietary product suite in the market while driving growth and new business development across clients and partners.

The Foxcatcher business strategy is focused on continued expansion across markets, and Cook will lead Foxcatcher’s scale-up into Brisbane and support the growing Sydney market. He will report to the general manager – head of trading, Varun John.

John said the data and technology specialist’s value is built on customising its proprietary technology FoxID & Worldview to drive its programmatic offering in supporting client outcomes through a macro and micro lens.

“Unlocking value and success for our clients has always been our modus operandi. As the business continues to build momentum, we are growing our team of specialists to meet client demand, focusing on Sydney and Brisbane.

John welcomed Cook’s appointment and acknowledged his strong track record in the market with his programmatic experience at Nexxen (formerly Amobee) and Digital Remedy.

Cook said of his new role: “The growth of Foxcatcher over the last three years has been nothing short of extraordinary, and with such a focus nationally on independent agencies, it felt right to join an Australian-based tech company with huge growth plans and locally built products focused on real-world business outcomes for clients.”

–

Top image: Varun John and Alex Cook

Kargo is reporting that it has bucked the digital advertising trend and has grown in a difficult market.

According to IAB, digital advertising in Australia grew by only 1.8% in the first half of 2023, a decrease from the 22% growth in 2022. In addition, the number of redundancies made by big tech during the same period have been well documented.

Kargo is reporting that its revenue in the APAC region grew 37% YOY in the first half of 2023 and by 60% in Q3.

To help manage and accelerate this growth in 2024, Kargo has announced the hire of three new sales people in the markets of Sydney and Melbourne. In Sydney, Jonty Saini and Natasha Herbst join Kargo from Channel Nine and TikTok respectively, whilst the Melbourne team welcomes Nina Johnston from Apparition Media.

Kargo will be working to invest and expand in APAC in 2024 and plans to introduce a number of new products and offerings in CTV advertising.

“APAC holds a pivotal role in Kargo’s global plans for 2024,” said Neill Pitt, Kargo’s APAC sales director.

“We have launched a range of new omnichannel digital display ad units throughout this year, which have proved extremely popular. At the same time we have also witnessed tremendous interest in our unique enhanced CTV pre-roll products as well as our proprietary social commerce and eCommerce solutions. We eagerly anticipate expanding our offerings to meet the surging demand in 2024 and have some incredible innovation set to launch early in the new year.”

See Also: Beyond Banner Ads: Crafting engaging creatives for a digital landscape

• Hard Quiz once again a ratings winner for ABC

Overnight TV Ratings, November 15

Primetime News
Seven News 818,000 (6:00pm) / 780,000 (6:30pm)
Nine News 644,000 (6:00pm) / 652,000 (6:30pm)
ABC News 483,000
10 News First 176,000 (5:00pm)/ 130,000 (6:00pm)
SBS World News 116,000 (6:30pm)/ 93,000 (7:00pm)

Daily Current Affairs
A Current Affair 554,000
7.30 397,000
The Project 135,000 6:30pm / 220,000 7pm

Breakfast TV
Sunrise 197,000
Today 185,000
News Breakfast 382,000

Share summary

Nine won Wednesday night with a primary share of 16.2% and a network share of 32.2%. GEM has won multi channels with a 10.6% share.

Seven received a primary share of 15.5% and a network share of 26.1%.

10 took a 9.9% primary share and a network share of 16.4%.

Nine

Nine’s A Current Affair (554,000) put the spotlight on two homegrown Aussie creations that have cracked Time Magazine’s best inventions of 2023 list. Dreamfarm’s ‘Fluicer’ and’ Axiom Holographics’ Hologram Zoo were the sole innovations from Down Under, placing them in good company with the likes of Las Vegas’ Sphere Stadium.

Then, 238,000 watched the ARIA Awards 2023. International sensation Troye Sivan took home the most ARIA Awards in 2023 with a total of four: Song of the Year Presented by YouTube, Best Solo Artist, Engineer – Best Engineered Release (Styalz Fuego), Producer – Best Produced Release presented by Neumann (Styalz Fuego). Meanwhile, Genesis Owusu won three ARIA Awards with Album of the Year, Best Hip Hop/Rap Release and Best Independent Release presented by PPCA. Aussie darling Kylie Minogue took home Best Pop Release for Padam Padam while Jet was inducted into the Hall of Fame. The telecast was also streamed live on Stan.

Before 136,000 sat down for Ed Sheeran: Full Circle. 

Seven

431,000 began their evening in Summer Bay with Seven’s Home and Away as Dana went in to bat for John and Alf was in over his head. 

236,000 stayed on for A Year on Planet Earth. As the series journeyed full circle around the sun, we witnessed the incredible strategies animals use to cope with every season in their constantly changing worlds.

112,000 also watched Big Brother Australia. It was day nine, and as the housemates woke up, there was one question on everyone’s lips… where were Dion and Taylah? 86,000 also stayed on for Big Brother – Late.

ABC

397,000 watched ABC’s 7.30 explore how the government has released 83 people from immigration detention following a High Court ruling and Sarah Ferguson interviewed Danielle Wood, Chair of the Productivity Commission. 

390,000 then watched another instalment of Hard Quiz. Contestants were put to the test answering questions on Cleopatra, Allan Border, Bluey, and the game of bridge.

358,000 also saw Question Everything. Joining Wil Anderson and Jan Fran at the desk were Mel Buttle, Dilruk Jayasinha and Kirsty Webeck.

Australian Epic followed for 210,000, telling the story of Mary Donaldson, who met a European prince inside a pub during the Sydney Olympics and lived happily ever after.

10

On 10, The Project (135,000 6:30pm / 220,000 7pm) looked at how Icelandic volcano Fagradalsfjall could erupt at any moment, with hundreds of earthquakes already tearing apart the landscape of the small fishing town beneath it and welcomed comedian Dave Thornton to the desk. 

Dessert Masters then followed as the nine remaining contestants faced off in a Sweet Team relay, as unpredictable as a box of chocolates! Each chef was tasked with a tight 45-minute timeline to craft their portion of the dessert, and when the clock ran out, they had to swiftly pass the culinary torch to their next teammate within a mere 30-second window. Anna Polyviou, Andy Bowdy and Reynold Poernomo were victorious, escaping the next elimination round! 372,000 tuned in.

166,000 then tuned in for the season premiere of My Life is Murder.

SBS

The highest rating non-news show on SBS was Meet the Neighbours with 102,000 tuning in to see Myf Warhurst present the social experiment as the pilot project draws to a close, we found out whether the new residents made Maryborough home or not, and delve into the bigger issues and solutions for regional towns right across Australia.

53,000 also watched Alone UK.

Total TV Ratings, November 8

940,000 viewed Seven’s Home and Away as Felicity made a heartfelt plea to Tane, up 26%.

836,000 tuned into 10’s The Amazing Race: Celebrity Edition as four teams vied for three spots in the Grand Finale, up 41%.

732,000 sat down for ABC’s Hard Quiz, up 5%.

658,000 watched Nine’s My Mum Your Dad as Chloe and Boss decided to leave, up 45%.

487,000 also saw Big Brother Australia as Jake managed to somehow attach himself to three girls, up 51%.