Starcom Australia CEO, Nick Keenan, explained: “To further enhance our positioning and point of differentiation in the market, we’ve combined People Powered Growth with the best of our existing strategic framework. Globally, Starcom is known as the Human Experience Company. This is who we are, and People Powered Growth is what we deliver. We believe the growth opportunity lies in people – understanding and anticipating human desires to create experiences of value.”

More than a positioning, Keenan said People Powered Growth is a framework the agency is using to develop its talent and deliver the best business and human outcomes for its clients.

“Our approach builds on our Return on Experience research which we previously conducted with Forrester. Through our findings, we know that growth lies in people, and by focusing on both the human outcome and business outcome when activating a campaign, it produces better work and consequently more positive personal experiences that have 10 times more impact on brand choice. So People Powered Growth is grounded in fact. And that fact is human experiences and people’s interpretations are now more important than ever.”

Meanwhile, Keenan said what People Powered Growth means for its talent is “a focus on cross-functional training to develop diversified skillsets”.

Starcom staff – clockwise from top left: Mark Duffy, Sally Christian, Roger Lintzeris, Louise Romeo

Key staff changes include:

Mark Duffy, who joined the agency earlier this year as National Head of Digital, has been promoted to the new role of National Head of Investment and Digital. The integrated role has been created to deliver more digitally-led investment solutions. Duffy will also lead the development of bespoke ecommerce, hyperlocal, digital and technology solutions for Starcom’s clients.

Louise Romeo has been appointed Chief Client Officer. As part of the new role, she has been charged with leading collaborative opportunities with other Publicis Groupe agencies, new business development, and working as the client lead for P&G. Romeo has held key roles across a number of agencies, and joins from Vizeum where she was General Manager.

Sally Christian, Starcom’s National Head of Strategy, will now add experience design and data science to her remit in a bid to bring the disciplines closer together and strengthen the agency’s strategic hub.

Joining Christian’s team is Roger Lintzeris, who has been appointed to the new role of Head of Strategy in Melbourne. Lintzeris has worked for a number of agencies, as well as Head of Strategy & Insights at News Corp.

“I’m excited to announce these new appointments, with Mark and Sally leading multi-disciplined teams; while Louise is charged with identifying opportunities to tap into Publicis Groupe’s connected platform of capabilities.

“At Starcom, we’ve created teams that are broad in knowledge and multi-skilled, but each having a specialism at their core. This is all driven by People Powered Growth – bringing human thinking, human experience and human interpretation to create multi-moment customer journeys, linked to delivering on our clients’ growth ambitions,” Keenan added.

The latest entrant in the streaming wars battle launched on Monday this week asking consumers to pay $9 monthly for the new service. BritBox tested the price point and thinks it will attract buyers to what it is selling.

The new service first confirmed its Australian launch in March this year. Despite the challenges of Covid, Hogan said BritBox had always targeted November 23, aka Doctor Who Day, as a launch date and they managed to keep to that schedule.

“With our collection of Doctor Who content this seemed an ideal target date,” Hogan told Mediaweek. Although other streaming services have some Doctor Who series, BritBox is the only place to see everything from the start in 1963 through to Jodie Whittaker’s 2019 season.

BritBox surveyed Australian consumers to better understand the local market, said Hogan. “Consumers really resonated with the offer to watch complete seasons of shows right from the start of the series. We also found that Australians continue to have a real appetite for British content. There is a real love of British crime dramas, general dramas and comedy.”

Hogan wouldn’t share targets that BritBox has for initial signups. “What I can say is that we want to be part of the choice Australians make when considering the multiple streaming subscription services they sign up to.”

While agreeing that Netflix would probably be first choice for most streaming subscribers, Hogan said the BritBox offer was a little bit different and could stand out for subscribers thinking about their second choice.

“We can complement other services that Australians have taken up. The great British creativity we have on offer all in one place with more complete seasons helps us standout.”

Although BBC Studios and ITV are shareholders in the new company, Hogan said the deals for supply of content from both are done at arm’s length. “We negotiate fair markets rates and there are standard distribution contracts between us.”

When asked about a guaranteed content pipeline from the owners, Hogan replied: “We have a long-term agreement with them and they have invested in the business for the long term. We are working with their local sales teams to determine what content we are buying and what is most appropriate.”

Both BBC and ITV have established relationships with other broadcasters and platforms and Hogan said she expects they will continue.

BritBox is expecting its initial customers to be attracted to both exclusive content but also the classics and complete series it offers. “Viewers particularly this year have been revisiting some series. We have dug deep into the BBC and ITV catalogues to uncover some hidden gems and former favourites.

“Our key territory premier at launch is the reboot of All Creatures Great and Small which we think Aussie audience will gravitate to because they loved the original series.”

All Creatures Great and Small

BritBox thinks the market is price sensitive, which might mean it has some work to do to convince people of the value with a limited amount of exclusive content. “There is room in the market [for BritBox] and we feel $8.99 is a good price point when you consider the volume of content and it should tip audiences into doing a test with BritBox.”

While it might seem a potential purchase for the older TV fan, Hogan noted there is a wide demographic who really love British content. “The comedies in particular can appeal to all ages.”

With Foxtel cutting back on a lot of its exclusive content contracts, it has freed up plenty of non-exclusive content which is helping fill the back catalogues for many streaming services. BritBox emphasises its complete seasons strategy as perhaps its most appealing aspect.

BritBox currently operates in the US, Canada and the UK. The Australian team has taken learnings from all three markets. “The major learning we got from [other markets] was the importance of doing something unique to this market. Doing the research and making sure the offer here is different to what else is available.”

Spitting Image is the first BritBox original screening here and there have been a number of other commissions in the various markets.

Hogan said there are ongoing discussions about the possibility of a global commission for all territories, but that has yet to happen. That could mean an Australian production that would work internationally.

There are eight people working on the BritBox Australian operation, but it is very much a global operation and they are all part of that team. The biggest challenge they faced here was making sure BritBox launched here on eight separate platforms. “We wanted to make it easy for audiences to fund us,” said Hogan.

See also: BBC and ITV streaming service BritBox finally launches in Australia

The 48th awards event was host by actor Richard Kind who is best known for long-running roles in the sitcoms Mad About You and Curb Your Enthusiasm.

The International Academy presented one Special Award and 12 Emmys across 11 categories, due to a tie in the Non-English Language US Primetime category.

One of only 12 winners was EndemolShine Australia, picking up the International Emmy for Non-Scripted Entertainment for Old People’s Home For 4 Year Olds commissioned by the ABC.

EndemolShine Australia is currently filming the final scenes for the second series which will screen in 2021. Executive producer is Debbie Cuell. The ABC commissioning editor was Julie Hanna.

This time last year, Old People’s Home For 4 Year Olds also won an AACTA for Best Documentary or Factual Program.

Also at the International Emmys, 13-year-old Billy Barratt accepted the Emmy for Best Performance by an Actor for his role as Ray in Responsible Child. He is the youngest actor ever nominated and winning in this category.

Glenda Jackson won the Emmy for Best Performance by an Actress for her role as Maud in Elizabeth is Missing.

Drama Series Delhi Crime garnered the first ever Emmy for a program from India.

The 12 winning International Emmy programs and performances spanned seven countries: Australia, Brazil, Czech Republic, France, India, the UK and the US. They are:

Vertige de la Chute (Ressaca) – Arts Programming
Billy Barratt – Best Performance by an Actor
Glenda Jackson – Best Performance by an Actress
Ninguém Tá Olhando (Nobody’s Looking) – Comedy
For Sama – Documentary
Delhi Crime – Drama Series
La Reina del Sur – Season 2 – Non-English Language U.S. Primetime Program
20th Annual Latin Grammy Awards – Non-English Language U.S. Primetime Program
Old People’s Home For 4 Year Olds – Non-Scripted Entertainment
#martyisdead – Short-Form Series
Órfãos Da Terra (Orphans of a Nation) – Telenovela
Responsible Child – TV Movie/Mini-Series

Premiering Thursday 10 December at 7:00pm AEDT, Changing Our Nation follows the lives of Australia’s brightest young Indigenous trailblazers, celebrating the power of education and the ripple effect it has on our lives, our communities and our nation.

Hosted by Fox Sports presenter Yvonne Sampson, the special documentary follows a group of students enrolled in the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation (AIEF) scholarship program, a ground-breaking initiative dedicated to giving Indigenous students the opportunity to pursue their education at leading Australian boarding schools and universities.

During the program, Sampson joins the students on their educational voyage, showcasing how, through schooling and empowerment, Indigenous youth from the most remote parts of our country can take full advantage of the opportunities before them, becoming leaders of tomorrow and inspiring generations to come.

Sampson said: “It was such a privilege to meet these amazing young people. Their determination and commitment is so inspiring. I can’t wait for our viewers to hear their stories and see for themselves why the work being done by the Foundation is so important.”

Andrew Penfold, AIEF Executive Director said: “AIEF works to support Indigenous families and communities across the country who, recognising the transformative power of education, want the opportunity and choice to provide a better future for their children. Together, we are nurturing the next generation of young Indigenous leaders.”

Paul Whittaker, Sky News Australia chief executive and AIEF Ambassador, said: “The AIEF scholarship program is one of the most successful of its kind in Australia, the results of which can be seen through the remarkable achievements of the students and the profound and positive impact the program is having on them, their families and communities.”

Changing Our Nation premieres Thursday 10 December at 7:00pm AEDT, in partnership with AIEF and the Commonwealth Bank.

—

Top Photo: Host Yvonne Sampson with student Aspen Moore

It’s a bit tired to continually harp on about SCA’s unsuccessful attempts at replacing Kyle and Jackie O at 2Day FM, but it’s hard to avoid as the station reveals its ninth breakfast team in nine years.

Hughesy and Ed already have a drive show nationally on the Hit Network and will move to Sydney breakfast next year.

Joining the line-up is Erin Molan, a polished media performer and ACRA winning broadcaster from 2GB who will bolster the duo with her news nous and good-humoured approach to life.

Dave Hughes is one of the biggest names in Australian comedy and his easy, laconic style disguises one of the nation’s sharpest comedic minds. His unflinching honesty connects him to audiences from all walks of life, evident through his prolific career across radio, TV and live stand-up comedy. He will be hoping some of that magic attracts an audience in Sydney. Hughesy’s successful TV shows, The Masked Singer and Hughesy, We Have a Problem make him one of Australia’s most loved national personalities.

Ed Kavalee has also forged a radio career of his own with roles on both Hit and Triple M, including the seminal Get This with Tony Martin. A regular on Network 10’s Have You Been Paying Attention?, Russell Crowe recently remarked that Ed is ‘funny as sh*t’. Gladiatorial high praise indeed. SCA shares that opinion as he has now been part of the three recent 2Day breakfast shows.

Molan has hosted multiple sports shows for the Nine Network and is the weekend sports presenter on Sydney’s number one news bulletin. She earned admiration for her informative and empathic broadcasting on 2GB and 4BC this summer during some of the worst bushfires the nation has experienced and will bring an extra layer of lively to Hughesy and Ed.

Dave Hughes said: “My inbox is already full of DM’s from Sydney real estate agents. Look, I can’t buy all of them but I’ll have a crack! Until then I will be staying in Kyle Sandilands’ pool house. In all seriousness, I have a ball working with Ed and I’m super pumped to be working with Erin. This is going to be a blast. From 10am every day you will find me at the Bondi outdoor gym busting shirtless workouts until my manboobs get rock hard!”

Ed Kavalee added: “I’m fired up to continue working with Hughesy and excited about teaming up with Erin. We have a show ready to roll that I know will deliver the fun Sydney needs in 2021.”

Erin Molan said: “To be trusted with this role is a huge honour and I can’t wait to embark on this new adventure with two of Australia’s comedy greats. Anyone who has listened to me on radio or watched me on TV over the past few years would be surprised that I’ve been brought into the fold as the ‘sensible one’.  I was equally as amused and made sure to sign very quickly before anyone discovers I’m anything but…”

SCA chief content officer Dave Cameron said: “We’re lucky to have a brilliantly hilarious and established show sitting in our fold that Sydney already knows and loves and is ready to hit the ground running in 2021. Hughesy had the number one drive show in Sydney for many years and collectively the crew are all trusted, strong performers in our target market.

“In bringing back a headline breakfast show again to 2Day, it was critical for us to deliver the combination of established chemistry, familiarity, existing high passion for our talent, deep breakfast radio experience and, most importantly, a show focussed completely on Sydney every morning. The 2DayFM Morning Crew with Hughesy, Ed and Erin will bring a clever wit with a show that’s already at the top of its game. We can’t wait to make strong inroads and get 2Day pumping again.”

Head of the Hit Network Gemma Fordham added: “Hughesy and Ed have a chemistry and shorthand that can’t be faked, and our listeners connect to their candour about their lives, kids, relationships and pop culture. Erin is an impressive broadcaster who possesses the rare mix of fun and clout. We will continue to build on a roster of regular guests to bring the 2DayFM Morning Crew to life and we know Sydney will be excited by this show in 2021 – a genuinely funny show to start the day, alongside our emotive ‘feel great’ music format.”

The 2DayFM Morning Crew with Hughesy, Ed and Erin can be heard from 6am to 9am on Monday 18 January 2021.

In addition, an hour of Hughesy, Ed and Erin’s show will be broadcast nationally across the Hit Network at 6pm.

KIIS 101.1 Summer Breakfast will launch on Monday, December 7 and can be heard every weekday from 6am to 9am until Friday, December 18.

The show will offer listeners the chance to win a $10,000 Christmas present.

Jon is a multi-award-winning radio host who has been part of breakfast shows in Perth, Canberra and regional Australia. He is a podcaster, digital creator and produces the She’s On The Money podcast with Victoria Devine on ARN’s iHeartRadio Australia. Phillips is a TV host and Weekend Today weather presenter.

Of KIIS 101.1’s Summer Breakfast, Ryan Jon said, “What an awesome way to end an average year! Doing the summer breakfast show while Jase & PJ take a break is the best Christmas present I could have hoped for – here we go!”

Lauren Phillips added, “I couldn’t be more excited to come back to Melbourne and join the KIIS 101.1 team for the summer breakfast show. Summer in Melbourne is my favourite time of the year and I can’t wait to have lots of laughs with our listeners.”

She joins the program following Jenny Brockie’s decision to step down as host after nearly two decades in the role.

Taguchi joins Insight with more than 20 years’ experience in the media industry in Australia and Hong Kong. She has worked across radio, television, current affairs, long-form documentary and most recently, as the host of ABC Compass and as a presenter and reporter for the ABC News Channel.

Taguchi said: “I am beyond excited to be joining SBS for my next adventure. To be entrusted with a high-profile program such as Insight, with such a strong legacy of authentic storytelling, is an absolute honour. Opportunities like this come around once in a career, if you’re lucky.

“No matter how much our lives change, how much technology advances, how much we shift direction, one thing always stays the same: the power of our stories. True compassion and understanding comes from hearing about the experiences of others and seeing how they navigate through life.

“One of the strongest memories of my late father is sitting with him at his small kitchen table in Melbourne, watching the Japanese news on SBS. He would switch it on at the same time every day and I’m sure it made him feel connected to his homeland. We would sip tea and eat rice crackers and I would be reminded, too, of my heritage.”

SBS director of news and current affairs, Mandi Wicks, said: “We are thrilled to announce Kumi as the new host of Insight. She comes to us with a wealth of experience and a true understanding of the value of storytelling. SBS news and current affairs is committed to seeking out the communities and voices often overlooked by others and Kumi has a deep appreciation and personal connection to this ambition.

“Insight embraces the individual experiences of Australians and through their stories, we gain a greater understanding of each other and the complex issues that affect us all. We look forward to working with Kumi to delve into many more extraordinary stories and issues next year.”

Insight will return with new episodes on Tuesday nights in 2021, along with international current affairs program, Dateline, showcasing stories and characters from around the world, and the unique mix of news, investigations, interviews and satire on The Feed.

Clive Dickens, Optus’ VP of TV, content and product development credits the growth to a number of key contributing factors.

“Since the return of live European Football, we’ve seen record growth in subscriptions, engagement and viewership over the past few months, which can be attributed to an increase in our breadth and depth of live football and significant improvements to our platform and user experience,” said Dickens.

“Optus Sport has broken its own viewership records for a Premier League Match week six times since the start of September 2020, with the more than 280,000 account holders streaming Everton draw with Liverpool, on the 18^th October by far our largest ever Premier League match.” 

“What’s even more impressive, is our subscriber engagement has increased by +37% this season, which is a testament to the entire team at Optus Sport, who are not only committed to delivering on average over 240 live-streamed exclusive matches, but also must see news and analysis that keeps our passionate football fans engaged.”

“With over half a million Optus Sport subscribers each week streaming on average over 2 hours of live and on-demand premium content each, we are continuing to cement our credentials as the home of must-see premium football.”

“We’ve also seen tremendous response to our new health and wellbeing platform, OS Fitness has seen more than 60,000 unique users visit the platform since it was launched in July this year.”

Optus customers can get free access to Optus Sport on selected Mobile, NBN, Home Internet and Data SIM plans (data charges may apply). Non-Optus customers can subscribe and start streaming for $14.99 per month or get our new Annual Pass* $139 for 12 months.

While the movie may not have generated the same revenue as it would have pre-Covid the film has enjoyed a much longer run in Australian theatres as well as more time in the top five of the Australian box office, including being #1 after its thirteenth week of release.

The film has benefited from the lack of competition but has also managed to outlast the other noteworthy releases that have also been released in this time span (including Trolls World Tour which has dropped to #7 after 12 weeks).

Tenet has knocked Freaky off top spot with the Vince Vaughn horror-comedy lasting one week at #1, with All My Life being the only new entry to the top five this week.

Overall, the Australian box office has declined 12% after making a total of $2.92m this past weekend.

#1 Tenet $512,954

After 13 weeks the sci-fi film has a total of $13.45m and is currently enjoying a two-week resurgence which has seen it shoot back to the top of the chart. This past weekend the film averaged $3,690 on 139 screens.

#2 Freaky $347,071

In its second week of release, the fresh take on Freaky Friday has slipped down to #2 after averaging $1,383 on 251 screens.

#3 Rams $309,136

The Australian dramatic comedy has spent four weeks in the top five and has brought its overall total revenue to $1.07m. Over the weekend the film averaged $1,041 on 297 screens.

#4 All My Life $295,101

The only new entry to the top five from the past weekend is based on the true story of Solomon Chau and Jennifer Carter and averaged 1,294 on 228 screens in its first week of release.

#5 Honest Thief $257,848

The Liam Neeson action flick has spent the last five weeks in the top five as it continues its slow slide down, settling at #5 after the weekend. The film averaged $1,167 on 221 screens and has a total of $2.83m.

Primetime News
Seven News 975,000/995,000
Nine News 935,000/869,000
ABC News 700,000
10 News First 325,000/206,000
SBS World News 162,000

Daily current affairs
7.30 700,000
A Current Affair 682,000
The Project 278,000/474,000
The Drum 164,000

Breakfast TV
Sunrise 284,000
Today 216,000
News Breakfast 202,000

Late Night News
The Latest 144,000
Nine News Late 136,000
ABC Late News 124,000
SBS World News Late 54,000

Monday TV 

Seven: Home and Away again averaged close to 550,000 last week while the new week started with 611,000 last night.

SAS Australia was at times difficult to watch, not because of the gruelling tasks set, but because how Erin was singled out and forced to quit the series as they needed to get the numbers down ahead of the final tonight. She clearly didn’t want to go, but the nature of the series meant the end for the weakest link. The viewers need to toughen up as well as the recruits! The penultimate episode of the series was on 728,000, its first time over 700,000 since the third episode.

Two episodes of The Rookie then did 346,000 and 270,000.

Nine: A Current Affair was hosted from Melbourne last night with Tracey Grimshaw catching her first flight in 12 months. After averaging 623,000 last week, Monday was on 682,000.

An hour of Gold Coast Cops returned an audience of 420,000 and 355,000.

Nine’s James Bond season was up to 2015’s Spectre with 281,000 watching.

10: The Project looked at border re-openings with 474,000 at 7pm. The weeknight average last week was 423,000.

An hour of Bondi Rescue repeat episodes were on 155,000 and 145,000.

The final episode of Have You Been Paying Attention? didn’t have an ideal lead-in, but the format managed to lift the 10 audience to 661,000. And of course Ed Kavalee was again the winner. The program has done the heavy lifting for 10 across 30 episodes this year, usually ranking as the channel’s most-watched Monday show and sometimes #1 for the week too. Last night’s end-of-year special secured 10 its place as #2 Monday for viewers under 50, ahead of Nine and trailing Seven.

ABC: An amazing episode of Australian Story to end the year with 646,000 watching the life-affirming story of Mick and Katharine O’Dowd and the silent killer most people have never heard of.

The second episode of In the Face of Terror then did 334,000.

Media Watch had an audience of 379,000 followed by Q+A live from Penrith with 238,000.

SBS: Th final episode of Ireland’s Great House Revival had the biggest SBS audience with 175,000 after 7.30pm.