Monday November 9, 2020

News Corp
News Corp new look: Julian Delany on revamps of digital metro mastheads

By James Manning

News Corp Australia is using The Advertiser in Adelaide as the prototype for a major redesign of the digital properties attached to its state-based metro newspapers.

Adelaide is the smallest metro market in the News Corp network, yet it boasts a multi-award winning digital team led by Rod Savage. The changes are the first step in a major digital overhaul that will continue into 2021 when the other states launch new websites too and other products are released.

In this overhaul we are providing a premium offering to people who pay for our news,” News Corp Australia chief technology officer Julian Delany (pictured) told Mediaweek. “This is the first stage with a design and user experience we are rolling out. There will be more to come in March and April next year.

“All the metro mastheads will eventually have this look and feel.”

The new-look Advertiser website

With a big group of stakeholders around the metro newspaper network, Delany said consulting with everybody took time and was done properly.

“We have completely relooked at how we could deliver a program like this. We looked across the globe for best practice on how you bring people together.

“We formed a squad across all the different areas of our business – editorial, sales, marketing, product, UX, design. All of the squad had input on what they wanted, and everybody worked toward the one goal – not only to acquire subscribers, but to retain them.

Stay close to the customer and research

Delany continued: “We used what is called a ‘human centred design’ approach. Lots of big corporations do this and you must start with a problem you are going to solve. You find those problems by being very close to the consumers you are going to serve. The whole program starts with the consumer.

We have done about 150 hours of one-on-one research via discussions and interviews with consumers across all our markets. We asked what did they think of where we are at now, what would they like it to be and what did they think of other digital product experiences outside of News. How do they consume content on Kayo, on Spotify…anywhere there is digital consumption we wanted to know how the consumer interacts.

“Over the next six months as we continue the roll out this it will continue to evolve as more features are added. We want this to be world class and we are determined to get there.”

There are no changes to what Delany called the “hard paywall” at the various News Corp metro news brands. “There is no change around our strategy to acquiring customers through a hard paywall.

Some content on the various websites is available outside the paywall, but that is determined by each editorial newsroom.

Delany explained it is not about what is free: “The question we ask is what content can we create that provides value to a paying subscriber or tells somebody this is content worth paying for.”

A design feature of the new look is a much less-cluttered web experience, in the process making it much easier to navigate and read through the content with some order and less chaos.

Design input not only came from the various mastheads, but also elsewhere in the News Corp group including Kayo. “It was really the consumer who was dictating what we did. Consumers tell us what they wanted and then we interpret that.”

The new design will take advantage of editorial changes at News Corp Australia with national editorial networks sharing copy instead of having the same stories covered by different publications.

Delany: “For example the sports network content is shared across all the sites. It allows us to showcase all of the content from all of our brands where appropriate for that local consumer in that local market.”

Newspaper traditionalists can use a link still at the top of the site to read that day’s paper. Delany noted: “Most of the traffic to read digital print editions comes from the apps as opposed to the web experience.”

A less cluttered menu bar shows the paper’s priorities. The first option now is MyLocal. What that does on The Advertiser site is bring up a choice of 10 South Australia regions.

“Local content is a real hero for us because it does so well and it is helping acquisition.”

A News Corp Australia metro masthead subscriber gets local metro access, access for all of that state’s publications plus access across the rest of the country too.

While Delany said the new design wants to attract subscribers there is also a focus on attracting advertisers too. “By giving the content more space, it enables the ads to stand out more than they were in the past. The digital ad market remains critical for our brands.”

Notable changes after an initial hands-on include the shorter home. Also, the speed and navigation have both been improved immeasurably. “We have done a complete rebuild of the code base and over the next six month all of our sites will go onto the same code base.”

Kennedy Awards
Kennedy Awards: 33 winners from Nine, News Corp, Seven, ABC & more

Nine’s 60 Minutes and The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald senior journalist Nick McKenzie was crowned the winner of the 2020 TPG Telecom $25,000 Kennedy Prize for Journalist of the Year at a gala ceremony at the 9th annual NRMA Kennedy Awards for Excellence in Journalism.

McKenzie’s portfolio of three major unrelated stories – The Faceless Man, Crown Unmasked and One Last Mission – set him apart from a crack field in one of the biggest news years in history.

Against fierce competition from outstanding reporting and coverage of the frightening bushfires which ravaged Australia and the outbreak of the global Covid-19 pandemic, McKenzie produced epic stories unrelated to these crises.

In his story The Faceless Man, one year in the making and produced for 60 Minutes and The Age newspaper, McKenzie presented explosive evidence of shocking misconduct in the Victorian branch of the Labor Party as the dark underbelly of Australian political power was exposed.

Crown Unmasked, which McKenzie produced for 60 Minutes, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age with Grace Tobin and Nick Toscano, took out two major awards – Outstanding TV Current Affairs and Outstanding Finance Reporting.

One Last Mission, which was a finalist in the Jim Oram Outstanding Feature Writing Award, was the product of two epic journeys involving former SAS medic, Dusty Miller, who struggled for almost a decade to try and right a war crime in Afghanistan in 2012 and then, finally, the medic’s mission of redemption back in Afghanistan while battling the sad deterioration of his mental health.

Nine was a major player amongst the winners, its news and current affairs programs and its metropolitan newspaper mastheads, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, collecting a total 16 individual award categories.

News Corp also featured strongly, its newspapers, Sky News, photographers and online news taking out nine awards as well as the coveted Lifetime Achievement Award presented to former News Ltd chairman and chief executive officer, John Hartigan.

News’ The Daily Telegraph took out the Rod Allen Award for Racing Writer of the Year, Outstanding Sports Photo and the Peter Ruehl Award for Outstanding Columnist; news.com.au won Outstanding Online Video; The Weekend Australian won the Outstanding Travel Writing Award, The Australian the Outstanding Consumer Affairs Reporting Award and the Jim Oram Award for Outstanding Feature Writing through four time-winner Trent Dalton while News’ Hobart Mercury newspaper won the Vince O’Farrell Award for Outstanding Illustration.

Sky News came out in front in the hard-fought Harry Potter Award for Outstanding TV News Reporting through the work of Kieran Gilbert and Andrew Clennell.

For Nine, Simon Bouda took out the Les Kennedy Award for Outstanding Crime Reporting with his A Current Affair entry, Operation Pinnacle; The Sydney Morning Herald’s Nick Moir won the coveted Outstanding News Photo Award while The Australian Financial Review’s James Brickwood collected the Outstanding Portrait Award. Dallas Kilponen’s freelance photo which appeared in The Sydney Morning Herald was voted the Power of the Lens Peoples’ Choice winner.

Nine’s swag also included 9 News’ Neil Breen taking out Outstanding Sport Reporting; A Current Affair’s Lauren Golman collecting the $5,000 Young Journalist of the Year Award; A Current Affair winning the Mike Willesee Award for Nightly TV Current Affairs; The Sydney Morning Herald taking the gong for Outstanding Court Reporting, Outstanding Reporting on the Environment and Outstanding Investigative Reporting, 9 news.com.au winning Outstanding Online News Breaking while 9 News’ Chris O’Keefe won the prestigious Outstanding Political Reporting Award.

9 News’ senior journalist Damian Ryan was voted recipient of the prestigious Cliff Neville Award for Outstanding Team Player.

Seven News’ Paul Walker won the hotly-contested Gary Ticehurst Award for Outstanding TV News Camera Coverage while the inaugural Tom Krause Award for Outstanding Foreign Correspondent went to 7News’ Ashlee Mullany, voted on top from a crack field this year.

The ABC took out three major awards, the Paul Lockyer Award for Outstanding Regional Broadcast Reporting (Background Briefing and Landline), the Sean Flannery Award for Outstanding Radio Journalism (ABC Audio Current Affairs) while the Rebecca Wilson Award for Scoop of the Year went to Four CornersMark Willacy.

And in breakthrough wins, 10 News First Person’s Kimberley Pratt and Stephanie Coombes took out the popular Outstanding Podcast Award from a super field while the southern NSW media organisation, Wilkie Watson Publications, won the coveted Chris Watson Award for Outstanding Regional Newspaper Reporting for The Tumut and Adelong Times and Tumbarumba Times’ excellent coverage of the recent bushfires which ravaged the area.

NITV’s Living Black was voted on top in the John Newfong Award for Outstanding Indigenous Affairs Reporting.

Kennedy Foundation chairman Rocco Fazzari said more than 100 nominees from a near-record field of entries were judged in all 35 competitive categories to finally decide winners in the 2020 NRMA Kennedy Awards for Excellence in Journalism.

Fazzari said the deserving winners had come out ahead in an absolutely fiercely competitive news year, which included finalists from interstate and all major metropolitan newspapers and television and radio networks, international journalists and photographers as well as artists and photographers from regional newspapers and radio networks throughout NSW.

“In a bumper news year the standard of submissions was exceptional in every category. As has been the case in the past, it took judges long hours to finally sort out the winners from absolutely talented fields,” Fazzari said.

“From investigative journalism to news breaking, superb feature writing, wonderful  pictorial entries and great artwork, a class field emerged to take out the coveted Spirax Trophies.”

Kennedy Awards sponsors

The trustees of the Kennedy Foundation appreciate the continued support of the generous sponsors – NRMA, ACCO Brands, Artline, Stabilo, The ABC, A Current Affair, Nine News, Judith Neilson Institute for Journalism and Ideas, The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Telegraph, Twitter, The Sydney Morning Herald, TPG Telecom,10 News, Sky News, AGL, Google, Seven News, Castle Rock Global Capital, Hillbrick Bicycles, Australian Turf Club, Salty Dingo, RM Global Asia Pacific, Virgin Airlines, Sally Prosser Voice Coach, CDTL Corporate Accountants.

 

2020 NRMA Kennedy Awards’ Winners

1 Les Kennedy Award for Outstanding Crime Reporting
Simon Bouda (A Current Affair)

2 The Paul Lockyer Award – Outstanding Regional Broadcast Reporting (sponsor AGL)
Background Briefing and Landline (ABC)

3 The Chris Watson Award – Outstanding Regional Newspaper Reporting (sponsor AGL)
The Tumut and Adelong Times, Tumbarumba Times (Wilkie Watson Publications)

4 The Rod Allen Award – Racing Writer of the Year (sponsor the Australian Turf Club)
Ray Thomas (The Daily Telegraph)

5 Sean Flannery Award – Outstanding Radio Journalism (sponsor Hillbrick Bicycles)
Gavin Coote (ABC Audio Current Affairs)

6 Outstanding Podcast – (sponsor broadcast voice coach Sally Prosser)
Kimberley Pratt, Stephanie Coombes (10 News First Person)

7 Outstanding News Photo (sponsor Salty Dingo)
Nick Moir (The Sydney Morning Herald)

8 Outstanding Portrait (sponsor Salty Dingo)
James Brickwood (The Australian Financial Review)

9 Outstanding Sports Photo (sponsor Salty Dingo)
Phil Hillyard (The Daily Telegraph)

9a Power of the Lens Peoples’ Choice (sponsor Salty Dingo)
Dallas Kilponen (freelance photographer The Sydney Morning Herald)

10 Outstanding Online Video (sponsor Salty Dingo)
Nina Funnell, Lori Youmshajekian (news.com.au)

11 The Cliff Neville Award for Outstanding Team Player
Damian Ryan (9 News)

12 The Peter Frilingos Award for Outstanding Sports Reporting (sponsor Stonemasons and Landscapers)
Neil Breen (9 News)

13 Young Journalist of the Year (sponsor The Judith Neilson Institute for Journalism and Ideas)
Lauren Golman (A Current Affair)

14 Outstanding Travel Writing (sponsor RM Asia Pacific)
John Borthwick (The Weekend Australian)

15 Lifetime Achievement Award (sponsor The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph)
John Hartigan

Daily Telegraph editor Ben English with John Hartigan

16 The John Newfong Award for Outstanding Indigenous Affairs Reporting
Living Black (NITV)

17 The Gary Ticehurst Award for Outstanding TV News Camera Coverage (sponsor Nine News)
Paul Walker (7 News)

18 The Harry Potter Award for Outstanding TV News Reporting (sponsor 10 News First)
Kieran Gilbert and Andrew Clennell (Sky News)

19 Outstanding TV Current Affairs (sponsor A Current Affair)
Nick McKenzie, Grace Tobin, Nick Toscano (60 Minutes)

20 The Mike Willesee Award for Outstanding Nightly TV Current Affairs (sponsor Nine News)
Dimity Clancey, Laura Mangham (A Current Affair)

21 The Peter Ruehl Award for Outstanding Columnist
Louise Roberts (The Daily Telegraph)

22 Outstanding Finance Reporting (sponsor Castle Rock Global Capital)
Nick McKenzie, Grace Tobin, Nick Toscano (60 Minutes, The Age)

GraceTobin

23 Outstanding Consumer Affairs Reporting
Natasha Robinson (The Australian)

24 Outstanding Online News Breaking (sponsor Google)
9news.com.au

25 Outstanding Court Reporting (sponsor Stabilo)
Michael Ruffles, Michael Evans (The Sydney Morning Herald)

26 Outstanding Reporting on the Environment
Peter Hannam (The Sydney Morning Herald)

27 The Rebecca Wilson Award for Scoop of the Year
Mark Willacy (Four Corners, ABC)

28 Vince O’Farrell Award for Outstanding Illustration (sponsor Artline)
Christopher Downes (The Hobart Mercury)

29 Outstanding Investigative Reporting (sponsor 7News)
Kate McClymont, Jacqueline Maley (The Sydney Morning Herald)

30 The Jim Oram Award for Outstanding Feature Writing (sponsor The Sydney Morning Herald)
Trent Dalton (The Australian)

31 Tom Krause Award for Outstanding Foreign Correspondent (sponsor ABC)
Ashlee Mullany (7News)

32 Outstanding Political Journalism (sponsor Sky News)
Chris O’Keefe (9 News)

33 The Kennedy Prize for Journalist of the Year (sponsor TPG Telecom)
Nick McKenzie (60 Minutes, The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald)

All photos: Salty Dingo for Kennedy Awards

Hugh Marks
Kayo competitor: Stan launching sports streaming in 2021 with rugby

Nine has announced the launch of Stan Sport, a live and on-demand premium sport package to be offered as a bundle to Stan’s streaming customers, with the initial content through 2021 stemming from Nine’s new partnership with Rugby Australia.

The parties have reached an in principle commercial agreement between Nine and Rugby Australia, pending SANZAAR sign off. The three-year deal will include live free-to-air and ad-free subscription coverage and is worth approximately $100m in cash and contra. There is also a two-year option for Nine to extend.

Further to rugby union, Nine will look at opportunities to invest in a range of additional exclusive sports rights, on either a pay or cross-platform basis, focusing on content aimed at driving its long-term subscriber growth and profitability objectives.

The launch of Stan Sport will enable Nine to deliver a “whole of television” approach to sports as it offers extensive live and on-demand coverage to Stan subscribers, as well as making select premium events available on Nine’s FTA television channels. The move will allow Nine to choose the appropriate platform for its various sports offering while also enabling our partners to fulfil their growth ambitions. 

“The launch of Stan Sport is a bold expansion for Mike Sneesby and the team at Stan, to sit alongside our hugely successful Stan entertainment offering,” said Hugh Marks, Nine CEO. “We will bring all our collective expertise from decades of experience in live sport broadcasting to deliver the best possible outcomes for viewers, rights holders, and the growth ambitions of the sports we partner with.

“At Stan, we are focused on bringing Australians the best local, international and original programming, which has seen our audience reach significant scale. Today’s announcement will see us extend that offering through the launch of our live streaming capability, bringing live sport to Stan in 2021 and opening up a range of new programming opportunities. Our partnership with Rugby Australia is the perfect place to start this new business.”

Stan CEO Mike Sneesby said: “The team at Stan are excited by the possibilities for our business as we embark on this expansion into live sport. We are looking forward to expanding our partnership with our colleagues at Nine and building on their knowledge and experience over decades in this space.”

Venessa Hunt
Venessa Hunt appointed general manager of ThinkPremiumDigital

ThinkPremiumDigital has announced the appointment of Venessa Hunt to the role of general manager.

Launched in August, ThinkPremiumDigital is an industry organisation designed to help marketers and their agency partners drive optimal business outcomes in the increasingly complex world of digital media.

The role will see Hunt champion the benefits of advertising in the premium digital media channels of Foxtel, Foxtel Media, Nine, News Corp, 10 and Seven West Media. Spanning a diverse range of genres including entertainment, lifestyle and sport, every month, premium digital content entertains, informs and engages more than 17.4 million Australians – that’s 92% of people (14+).

Hunt joins the business following five years with GroupM. Most recently, she was the chief digital strategy officer for the media buying group and previously held roles at the organisation including head of digital investment & partnerships and head of mobile. Hunt brings more than 15 years of media industry experience to the role as well as unmatched expertise in digital media in all of its forms. She is also a board director and ambassador for industry charity UnLtd.

Of the appointment, Hunt said: “This is a pivotal moment for the advertising industry, in Australia and all around the world. There has never been such a fascinating and diverse ecosystem with opportunities for improvement and change.

“Australia’s digital publishers are powerhouses in their own right and as the digital landscape continues to evolve, advertisers are increasingly discovering the strength and effectiveness presented by aligning with professionally produced digital content. I’ve long been a supporter of Australia’s digital publishers and I’m delighted to jump in the ring and fight the good fight on their behalf.

“I’m extremely proud of everything we have achieved during my time at GroupM – I’m leaving the business in a great place to continue its market-leading approach to digital investment. Over the past five years, I have been fortunate to work with some of the industry’s top leaders as well as Australia’s largest clients. The experience has taught me much about successful agency and client relationships.”

GroupM CEO Mark Lollback said: “We’re great supporters of ThinkPremiumDigital. Industry collaboration is critical to a strong media landscape, one that offers clients the best opportunities to use advertising to grow their businesses.

“I’d like to thank Venessa for everything she has done at GroupM. We look forward to continuing to work with her, and ThinkPremiumDigital, to ensure our clients get the best access to effective, brand-safe, digital environments.”

ThinkPremiumDigital chairman Gereurd Roberts said: “Venessa’s appointment is a major coup for ThinkPremiumDigital. There are few people in the Australian industry that can match her knowledge of the digital media landscape and the opportunities it affords advertisers. We’re thrilled to welcome Venessa to the role – I couldn’t think of anyone better to lead our team.”

The appointment will commence in early 2021.

tory archbold
Tory Archbold’s Powerful Stories lands sponsor, joins Nova Podcast Network

Powerful Stories is the latest podcast title to join Nova Entertainment’s Podcast Network. Created by host Tory Archbold, the series launches with commercial partner Intuit QuickBooks, joining the network from 9 November.

Powerful Stories is a podcast series that steps into the shoes of powerful women and discovers how they earned their success.

Tory Archbold (pictured) said, “I believe in the power of partnership and connection. By sharing authentic, raw conversations with people I have met along the highway of life will give the Nova audience insights into unspoken game-changing moments they have endured which sparked transformation. From rock bottom to sky high achievements these insights will allow others to switch their thinking and view life challenges as possibilities. The end game will always be a better version of you.”

Kane Reiken, Nova Entertainment’s digital commercial director, said, “Nova Entertainment continues to lead the market in building compelling digital audio solutions, which drive proven impact and effectiveness for our clients. By partnering with Tory Archbold’s Powerful Stories, we further build on our credentials in providing a platform for brands to engage hard to reach audiences interested in business, entrepreneur and self-improvement inspired content.

“Tory is an incredible woman who has an amazing story to tell, and this experience allows her interview change makers and influential business identities to unpack their personal path to success. Partnering with her new podcast Powerful Steps was a great fit as we continue to invest in high quality content which appeals to our audiences while providing compelling commercial opportunities for our clients.”

Guests appearing on Powerful Stories include Kate Vale, Melissa Hoyer, Sally Obermeder, Chelsea Pottenger, Jacinta Tynan, Felicity Harley, Bahar Etminan, Katrina Blowers, Melissa Ambrosini , Emma Isaacs with episodes released every week. The episodes are available at novafm.com.au/podcasts and major podcast platforms.

Don’t miss Mediaweek’s Podcast Week every Thursday. Read past columns here.

SCA live streaming numbers climb again as advertisers return to audio

SCA’s live radio streaming digital audio listening hours have increased by 30% year on year to 10.5 million* as advertisers embrace digital audio as an ad platform.

In addition, SCA’s unique listeners have jumped 58% year on year to 1.5 million* in October, as connected devices continue to be a popular choice for audiences.

Active live radio streams on the Hit and Triple M networks have grown by 15% year on year to 9.1 million*.

SCA’s total digital audio network reach includes audiences across Hit, Triple M and SoundCloud Radio. When combined with SoundCloud’s music streaming platform of 2.5 million* monthly listeners and Sonos Radio, SCA claims a market leading advertiser offering with more addressable ad opportunities than ever before.

Smart speakers once again had the highest year-on-year growth of all connected devices, up 65% to 2.4 million* listening hours. Smart speaker listening has an average session duration of 2 hours and 26 minutes and accounts for almost a quarter of all listening.

“It is exciting to see this continued growth of digital listening occur as Australia recovers from the disruption of COVID. We expected to see a return to normalised broadcast listening patterns, and we are seeing that in the recently released Survey 7. We are also seeing the impressive growth of digital audiences,” said SCA chief sales officer Brian Gallagher.

“We have introduced audiences to flexibility in the way they engage with our services and it is apparent that they will continue to embrace this flexible approach well beyond the impact of COVID. We have reached a watershed moment in Australian broadcasting under the cover of COVID.

“Pleasingly, these audiences are being embraced by advertisers, demonstrated by the number of active monthly campaigns more than tripling in volume year on year.”

Source: *Adswizz Audiometrix October 2019 v October 2020

Haydon Bray
Haydon Bray’s Audience Precision signs on with Amplified Intelligence

Media strategy consultancy and technology business Audience Precision has announced that it is the first to sign with Amplified Intelligence Technologies to incorporate its new attention media planning tool, attentionTRACE Media Planner, as another intelligent layer in its strategy suite.

attentionTRACE Media Planner is a world first AI-based media planning tool using active ‘eyes-on-ad’ human attention data across digital, social and television for media planning. It has been designed and built on the premise that attention is the missing ‘relative quality’ layer in media planning.

Are Media announced last week it had become the first global publishing partner for attentionTRACE Media Planner.

It was developed by Amplified Intelligence Technologies, the media research and technology company founded by Dr Karen Nelson-Field who is also Professor of Media Innovation at The University of Adelaide.

Audience Precision becomes Amplified Intelligence’s first customer partner and the consultancy continues to lead the industry with media planning solutions.

Karen Nelson-Field

Dr. Karen Nelson-Field

Audience Precision global CEO, Haydon Bray (pictured top), said: “attentionTRACE is a very powerful quality measure of ‘attention’ for comparing video media platforms. We are looking at incorporating this as an additional layer on top of our DNA audience segments offering. Audience Precision is known for rewriting the rule book, and as thought leaders, we are working together to continually improve the impact, connection and attention of media budgets and to stay ahead of the curve. We’re excited to see what the combination of attentionTRACE and our proprietary tools can bring to our clients.”

Professor Nelson-Field said: “I am delighted that Audience Precision has signed up as our very first customer, globally, for the attentionTRACE Media Planner. They understand the current technical and structural flaws in the media ecosystem, which is why they were so quick to choose an attention-based media planner to inform truly effective media strategies for their clients.

“Traditional OTS tells us nothing of whether an ad has been viewed and attention has quickly risen to the surface as a hopeful metric to shine a light on effectiveness in our industry. It’s pretty straightforward, no attention means no ad impact. Collected human attention is a measure that transcends all other mediating variables like viewability and sound. This means that measuring human attention negates the need to separately measure the things that drive it.”

Audience Precision’s model is based on three key pillars: DNA, that has 60+ unique audience segments based on consumer lifestyle, psychographics and behavioural patterns, to find potential customers and what drives their purchasing behaviour and media consumption choices; Precise360 that builds media strategies four times faster than a standard agency approach to deliver precise targeting to potential customers; and Activation & Analytics that buys media and reports campaign performance against the DNA segments.

Audience Precision has the ability to measure digital, social and traditional media against any individual audience segment for the first time.

ooh google lens nga
oOh!media & Google partner with gallery to showcase future of out-of-home

oOh!media and the National Gallery of Australia have partnered with Google to harness its Lens technology and showcase the art of Australian women artists in locations across the nation.

The three organisations are featuring the works of art of six* artists across high-profile out-of-home sites as part of the National Gallery’s Know My Name initiative – aimed at increasing the representation of Australian women artists and celebrating the contributions they make to Australia’s cultural life.

The national outdoor art event will offer Australians the opportunity to interact and connect with the works of art and artists. Powered by Google Lens, passers-by simply need to open the app and direct their smartphone’s camera towards the panel to discover more.

In partnership with oOh! and the National Gallery, Google custom-built an immersive audio-visual capability, allowing audiences to engage with the out-of-home panel and uncover the story behind the six women artists featured; a short video appears from the work of art when viewed through the Lens app.

Neil Ackland, chief content, marketing and creative officer at oOh!, said the campaign signalled the future potential of out of home in combining creativity and technology in new and engaging ways.

“The objective of Know My Name is to elevate Australian women artists, and so by using technology and outdoor to bring theses amazing artworks to life we can really deliver something original, immersive and unexpected that enhances public spaces for people as they go about their day.”

Aisling Finch, director of marketing at Google Australia and New Zealand, said Lens enabled people to explore the world around them.

“Google Lens enables you to ‘search what you see’ – whether it’s learning about landmarks, flowers, or translating text in real time,” she said.

“With this collaboration, we were able to help oOh!media and the National Gallery of Australia to deliver an interactive experience that entertains, educates, and importantly shines a light on these incredible artists.”

The Google Lens capability will work on six works of art wherever they are viewed, whether on oOh!’s out of home assets across Australia or in the gallery itself. The oOh! campaign is now live and will run until March 2021, while the exhibition, Know My Name: Australian Women Artists 1900 to Now runs from 14 November 2020 until July next year at the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra.

* The six featured artists are Melinda Harper, Nora Heysen, Olive Cotton, Robyn Stacey, Grace Cossington Smith and Sally Gabori.

Kylie Minogue
Kyle and Kylie standoff: She was 5 minutes late, but music legend axed

It should have been the big FM radio interview to help propel her new album to become the fifth Kylie Minogue release to land at #1 in a fifth consecutive decade. But this morning at 6.10am, Kyle Sandilands pulled the plug on the chat with The Kyle and Jackie O Show.

That meant Kylie’s interview later in the morning with Ross and Russ at Australia’s highest-rating breakfast show took on extra significance.

Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O have Australia’s most successful breakfast radio show judging by ratings and revenue. They don’t normally have big stars near the start of their show, unless running a Best Of, but today they broke that rule to cross to Kylie Minogue to promote the release of her new album Disco.

However, there was a minor mix-up in the times with KIIS FM told 6.10am, but Kylie told 6.15am, according to KIIS talent booker Mayo as she explained to listeners.

Kyle Sandilands is not accustomed to waiting for guests to arrive and he decided to pull the plug on the interview and get on with the show.

Kylie and her team acknowledged the mix up and Australia’s biggest-ever popstar was forgiving and even left the show a voice message apologising and hoping they could get together later in the week. No Kylie on KIIS today didn’t stop her going to air on 3AW for nine minutes with Ross Stevenson and Russel Howcroft later in the morning.

Later in the morning Kyle was critical of a Daily Mail Australia news item that claimed he exploded at Kylie after she failed to turn up for the interview at the allotted time.

One celebrity the Sydney FM breakfast show did manage to secure today was former and longtime B105 breakfast legend Jamie Dunn who spoke about rumours he or close friend Agro might be on the new I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! 70-year-old Dunn said “no,” explaining, “I couldn’t do it because I’m nearly dead.” Kyle revealed that Dunn was his childhood hero and he was sorry the two didn’t have the chance to work together. “You could have had 25% of all this,” Kyle laughed.

And for Kylie Minogue and KIIS, she will be on air at 6.30am Tuesday.

Week 45 TV: State of Origin and The Block build Nine winning ratings

By James Manning

Five different programs in the top 60 secured Nine another clear win in week 45 as the leading primary channel and the #1 network. Nine also had the #1 commercial multichannel with 9Gem. ABC News was the #1 overall multi.

Seven slipped a little week-on-week, but it was a clear second.

10 managed to lift its numbers week-on-week. The final of The Bachelorette may not have broken any records, but it managed to rank #1 in the younger key demos. 10 also reported a successful Cup Week despite a slower opening day and then a smaller Melbourne Cup audience.

Nine Week 45

Primary share: 21.6% (23.2%)
Network share: 30.6% (31.2)%
Multichannels: GO! 2.4% (2.7%) Gem 3.5% (2.2%) 9Life 2.1% (1.9%) 9Rush 1.0% (1.1%)

The five Nine primetime programs guiding it to victory in the top 60 were State of Origin Game 1, The Block, Nine News, A Current Affair and 60 Minutes.
The State of Origin audience was well down and close to a record low, but it will still remain one of the year’s most-watched programs. It also delivered a large live BVOD audience on 9Now with 179,000 tuning in.
Gem was well up week-on-week and the #1 commercial multichannel.

Top photo: Jimmy and Tam in their Palm Springs-inspired front yard on The Block

Seven Week 45

Primary share: 16.4% (16.8%)
Network share: 24.3% (25.1%)
Multichannels: 7TWO 3.2% (3.4%) 7mate 2.8% (3.0%) 7flix 1.8% (1.9%)

Share drifted lower on every channel and on the network numbers. This is one of Seven’s smallest all people shares of the year and a much smaller share of 25-54 than the network would be hoping for.
Seven News was the only program to crack the top 20 for the week.
The next best performers were two episodes of SAS Australia and Beat The Chasers with all over 650,000.
Home and Away was just over 500,000 and Better Homes and Gardens was on 436,000.

ABC Week 45

Primary share 12.9% (13.6%)
Network share 19.9% (18.9%)
Multichannels: Kids/Comedy 2.6% (2.4%) ME 0.5% (0.4%) News 3.9% (2.5%)

The champion performer this week was the ABC News channel which had a share of 3.9 for the week to rank as the #1 multichannel. Its best result was 7.8% on the night of the US election vote count and then it had winning multichannel shares of 4.2% and 5.1% on Thursday and Friday. It was a narrow second on Saturday with 3.9%.
On the primary channel, weeknight ABC News just made the top 20 on 722,000.
7.30 was just over 600,000 with Gruen and Hard Quiz both just under.

10 Week 45

Primary share 11.6% (10.7%)
Network share: 17.5% (16.9%)
Multichannels: Bold 3.2% (3.3%) Peach 2.4% (2.4%) Shake 0.4% (0.4%)

In a week that also boasted the State of Origin, the Melbourne Cup race had to settle for second place with an audience of 1,410,000 which was well down on the numbers from recent years. The Melbourne Cup race broke records on 10 Play, becoming the platform’s #1 live streamed event ever.
10’s only other program cracking the top 30 for the week was Have You Been Paying Attention? with 641,000.

SBS Week 45

Primary share: 4.7% (4.5%)
Network share: 7.7% (7.9%)
Multichannels: Viceland 1.3% (1.2%) Food 0.9% (0.9%) NITV 0.1% (0.2%) World Movies 0.8% (1.0%)

Great British Railway Journeys returned to Tuesday nights and was the most-watched program of the week with 225,000.
Nothing else made it over 200,000, but a double of shows about London on Thursday were not far below – a repeat of The Great Fire of London and The Secrets of the Tower of London.

ARIA Charts: Ariana Grande and Midnight Oil make some noise

By James Manning

• Singles: Welcome to Ariana Grande week with 8 chart entries
• Albums: Midnight Oil conquer the chart, Kate Miller-Heidke debuts

Singles

A massive week for Ariana Grande with a #1 single for a second week with Positions and the #2 album of the same name. Grande dominates the singles chart with all of the new entries with the exception of a new arrival from Onefour.
Tracks from Grande’s new album flooded the chart this week:
#9 34+35
#19 Motive featuring Doja Cat
#32 Off the Table featuring The Weeknd
#39 POV
#40 Just Like Magic
#42 Safety Net featuring Ty Dolla $ign
#45 Shut Up

The sole other top 50 chart debut was from Onefour at #28 with My City featuring The Kid Laroi.

Albums

Another Aussie artist topping the chart this week is Midnight Oil with The Makarrata Project entering the chart at #1. It is the fifth #1 album for the members of the ARIA Hall of Fame and their 14th top 10 album. The album features collaborations with Jessica Mauboy, Kev Carmody, Troy Cassar-Daley, Dan Sultan and Frank Yamma.
Since reuniting, Midnight Oil has previously charted with Armistice Day: Live At The Domain, Sydney in 2018.
The Makarrata Project is the 15th Australian #1 album on the ARIA Charts in 2020.

Dan Rosen, CEO of ARIA, said:
“Congratulations to the mighty Midnight Oil on returning to the top of the ARIA Chart with The Makarrata Project. As always, this album combines brilliant musicianship with powerful messages. They are one of the greatest bands this country has ever produced, and their success shows they are as vital as ever.”

Talk about chart renewal – the Midnight Oil album was one of seven new entries in the top 10 this week:

#2: Ariana Grande with Positions. The sixth studio album from Grande joins her other chart-toppers Thank U, Next (2019), Sweetener (2018), Dangerous Woman (2016) and My Everything (2014).

#2 Sam Smith with Love Goes. Smith’s third album, and his first in three years, lands just below the chart peaks of his previous albums – In The Lonely Hours #1 in 2015 and The Thrill of it All #2 in 2017.

#6: Mr. Bungle with The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny Demo. It’s been a while between tunes with the first album since 1999 for the US rockers. The band has scored their first top 10 after last charting with Disco Volante at #40 in 1995.

#7: Bring Me The Horizon with Post Human: Survival Horror. The British metalcore outfit chart with an EP and have plenty of chart success in the past with chart-toppers There Is A Heaven, Let’s Keep It A Secret (2010), Sempiternal (2013), That’s The Spirit (2015) and Amo (2019).

#8: Triple One with Panic Force. Chart debut for the first album from the Sydney hip hop group.

#9: Kate Miller-Heidke with Child In Reverse. The fifth album comes six years after the fourth from the multiple ARIA nominee and Australian representative at Eurovision. Perhaps it should have charted higher given the support from the high-rating Wendy and Robbie at ABC Sydney breakfast (they played it a lot last week). Her previous O Vertigo peaked at #4 in 2014 and she has had four top 10 entries from her five albums.

#10: Troye Sivan with In A Dream. The EP re-charts after its release on vinyl after first appearing here at #3 in August this year.

After all the action on the top 10, there was just one new entry lower down the chart:

#32 Like a Version 16 from Triple J. A low chart appearance from this annual release after peaking at #6 in October 2019. The highlight could be Lime Cordial with The Divinyl’s I Touch Myself.

See the full ARIA Singles and Albums charts for this week here. 

the block
TV ratings: Sunday Week 46 2020

By James Manning

• The Block’s final indoor areas: Gyprockalypse ends 13th week
• Best of the rest: Beat The Chasers, Jr MasterChef, Restoration Aust

Primetime News
Seven News 954,000
Nine News 931,000
ABC News 660,000
10 News First 312,000/237,000
SBS World News 207,000

Daily current affairs
Insiders 605,000
The Project 334,000/471,000

Breakfast TV
Sunrise 275,000
Today 246,000
News Breakfast 243,000

Late night news
Nine News Late 295,000

Sunday TV 

Seven: The second week of Beat The Chasers was on 630,000 after launching with 660,000.

Seven then had an edition of The Latest on the US election result with live crosses to its reporters in the US. The program did 251,000 as a late edition to the schedule.

Nine: Nine has won 14 of the last 15 Sunday nights and it’s two final survey Sundays should perform well too thanks to what’s left of The Block.

Last night Jimmy and Tam seemed on top of the turmoil as week 13 of the series came to a climax with the finish of the final indoor areas on The Block. “Real estate gold” said judge Neale Whitaker as he surveyed the studio and garage space of one of the Brighton properties. Harry and Tash got some smart advice from host Scott Cam as they again struggled to finish, but they were in trouble with 24 hours to go. Jimmy and Tam scored a 10 from Darren Palmer for their gym, Sarah and George got a 10 too from Shaynna with Neale’s votes to announce the winner. He gave Sarah and George another 10 anointing them the victors. In last place again…Harry and Tash. The final week of work on The Block will be backyards and swimming pools with a Suncorp budget of $40,000.

The episode had an audience of just over 1m watching both parts of the reveal episode.

60 Minutes then followed with coverage of the US election result and an audience of 649,000 after 631,000 last week.

10: The Project covered the US election count too with 471,000 after 7pm.

The penultimate episode of Junior MasterChef was just over 500,000 with the same audience it had a week ago. The episode cut the finalists down to three leaving Carter, Filo and Georgia to fight it out tonight.

ABC: Michael Rowland co-hosted the ABC 7pm news from Washington with help from ABC colleagues in the US – Zoey Daniel; David Lipson, Phillip Williams and Greg Jennett – plus Casey Briggs with the election map back in Sydney. In Sydney newsreader Juanita Phillips got to finish the bulletin for the viewers. The bulletin was in the top five for Sunday with 660,000

It was followed by an amazing $3m renovation of a huge hall in Ballarat on Restoration Australia with 522,000.

The second episode of Roadkill then did 380,000 after launching with 403,000.

SBS: SBS World News was the channel’s #1 with 207,000.

Next best was Railways of the Western Front at 8.30pm with DJ-turned-train buff Chris Tarrant on 178,000.

Week 45-46: Friday-Sunday
FRIDAY METRO
ABCSevenNine10SBS
ABC16.5%718.5%914.0%10 11.1%SBS One3.9%
ABC KIDS/ ABC COMEDY2.9%7TWO2.6%GO!2.7%10 Bold3.6%VICELAND1.5%
ABC ME0.5%7mate3.7%GEM3.8%10 Peach2.3%Food Net0.9%
ABC NEWS5.1%7flix1.7%9Life1.8%10 Shake0.3%NITV0.1%
    9Rush0.9%  SBS World Movies1.5%
TOTAL25.0% 26.5% 23.1% 17.4% 8.0%

 

SATURDAY METRO
ABCSevenNine10SBS
ABC12.6%714.9%916.6%10 11.0%SBS One4.7%
ABC KIDS/ ABC COMEDY3.2%7TWO4.0%GO!3.4%10 Bold3.5%VICELAND1.0%
ABC ME0.6%7mate3.0%GEM5.6%10 Peach2.4%Food Net0.9%
ABC NEWS3.9%7flix3.0%9Life2.6%10 Shake0.4%NITV0.3%
    9Rush1.5%  SBS World Movies1.2%
TOTAL20.3% 24.9% 29.6% 17.2% 8.1%

 

SUNDAY METRO
ABCSevenNine10SBS
ABC11.6%717.4%924.6%10 13.0%SBS One4.9%
ABC KIDS/ ABC COMEDY2.8%7TWO1.6%GO!2.7%10 Bold2.8%VICELAND0.7%
ABC ME0.4%7mate3.5%GEM2.3%10 Peach2.2%Food Net0.9%
ABC NEWS3.2%7flix1.1%9Life1.9%10 Shake0.6%NITV0.4%
    9Rush0.8%  SBS World Movies0.5%
TOTAL18.0% 23.7% 32.3% 18.6% 7.4%

 

SUNDAY REGIONAL
ABCSeven AffiliatesNine Affiliates10 AffiliatesSBS
ABC10.9%717.9%916.1%WIN8.9%SBS One4.8%
ABC KIDS/ ABC COMEDY2.7%7TWO6.0%GO!4.8%WIN Bold4.1%VICELAND1.6%
ABC ME0.6%7mate3.9%GEM3.4%WIN Peach2.3%Food Net0.6%
ABC NEWS3.9%7flix (Excl. Tas/WA)2.2%9Life1.7%Sky News  on WIN3.1%NITV0.2%
        SBS Movies1.2%
TOTAL18.2% 30.1% 26.0% 18.5% 8.4%

 

SUNDAY METRO ALL TV
FTASTV
88.7%11.3%
All People Rankings

Friday Top 10

  1. Seven News Seven 886,000
  2. Seven News At 6.30 Seven 866,000
  3. Nine News Nine 808,000
  4. Nine News 6:30 Nine 771,000
  5. ABC News ABC 693,000
  6. A Current Affair Nine 584,000
  7. Vera (R) ABC 517,000
  8. Gardening Australia ABC 487,000
  9. Better Homes And Gardens Seven 436,000
  10. The Chase Australia Seven 433,000

 

Saturday Top 10

  1. Seven News Seven 796,000
  2. Nine News Saturday Nine 761,000
  3. ABC News ABC 659,000
  4. A Current Affair Nine 493,000
  5. Rugby: 2020 Wallabies v New Zealand Post-Match Live Channel 10 420,000
  6. Rugby: 2020 Wallabies v New Zealand Test Live Channel 10 419,000
  7. Border Patrol Seven 370,000
  8. Bluey-AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 368,000
  9. Getaway Nine 354,000
  10. Victoria ABC 331,000
Sunday FTA
  1. The Block -Room Winner Nine 1,061,000
  2. The Block Nine 1,012,000
  3. Seven News Seven 954,000
  4. Nine News Nine 931,000
  5. ABC News ABC 660,000
  6. 60 Minutes Nine 649,000
  7. Beat The Chasers Seven 630,000
  8. Junior Masterchef Australia 10 526,000
  9. Restoration Australia ABC 522,000
  10. The Sunday Project 7pm 10 471,000
  11. Bluey-AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 392,000
  12. Roadkill ABC 380,000
  13. Offsiders-AM ABC 354,000
  14. Insiders-AM ABC 343,000
  15. Close Of Business-PM ABC NEWS 338,000
  16. The Sunday Project 6.30pm 10 334,000
  17. 10 News First 10 312,000
  18. Nine News: Late Edition Nine 295,000
  19. The Morning Show – Weekend Seven 278,000
  20. Weekend Sunrise Seven 275,000
Sunday Multichannel
  1. Bluey-AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 392,000
  2. Close Of Business-PM ABC NEWS 338,000
  3. Weekend Breakfast: 10am-AM ABC NEWS 275,000
  4. The Mix-PM ABC NEWS 272,000
  5. Insiders-AM ABC NEWS 262,000
  6. Offsiders-AM ABC NEWS 250,000
  7. ABC News-AM ABC NEWS 234,000
  8. ABC News-PM ABC NEWS 222,000
  9. Weekend Breakfast-AM ABC NEWS 186,000
  10. Australia Remembers: 75th Anniversary Of The End Of WWII-PM ABC NEWS 184,000
  11. Peppa Pig-AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 170,000
  12. Love Monster-AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 169,000
  13. Bluey ABCKIDS/COMEDY 164,000
  14. Book Hungry Bears-AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 146,000
  15. Rusty Rivets-AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 139,000
  16. Bananas In Pyjamas-AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 131,000
  17. Play School-AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 123,000
  18. M- Lethal Weapon 4-PM 7mate 118,000
  19. Weekend Breakfast: Early-AM ABC NEWS 117,000
  20. NCIS (R) 10 Bold 116,000
Sunday STV
  1. Outsiders Sky News Live 80,000
  2. Outsiders Sky News Live 73,000
  3. Paul Murray Live Sky News Live 53,000
  4. Live: WBBL: Heat v Stars FOX CRICKET 41,000
  5. In My View Sky News Live 39,000
  6. Ricky Zoom Nick Jr. 37,000
  7. 24 Hours In Emergency Lifestyle Channel 37,000
  8. Weekend Live Sky News Live 34,000
  9. Live: Moto2 Europe FOX SPORTS 50 6 33,000
  10. Sunday Agenda Sky News Live 33,000
  11. Business Weekend Sky News Live 32,000
  12. Paw Patrol Nick Jr. 32,000
  13. Paw Patrol Nick Jr. 31,000
  14. Chris Smith & Friends Sky News Live 31,000
  15. Selling Houses Australia Lifestyle Channel 31,000
  16. Inside The Ambulance Lifestyle Channel 30,000
  17. Blaze And The Monster Machines Nick Jr. 30,000
  18. Paw Patrol Nick Jr. 30,000
  19. Live: MotoGP Europe FOX SPORTS 506 30,000
  20. Weekend Live Sky News Live 29,000

Shares all people, 6pm-midnight, Overnight (Live and AsLive), Audience numbers FTA metro, Sub TV national
Source: OzTAM and Regional TAM 2018. The Data may not be reproduced, published or communicated (electronically or in hard copy) without the prior written consent of OzTAM

Media News Roundup

Business of Media

Village Roadshow takeover bid knocked by major investor

Prominent private equity firm BGH Capital’s bid to takeover embattled theme parks and cinema operator Village Roadshow has hit another snag after a key independent shareholder criticised its bid by describing parts of it as unacceptable, reports The Sydney Morning Herald’s Zoe Samios.

Spheria Asset Management holds a 7.8 per cent stake in Village, making it the second largest independent shareholder and a crucial voter at a scheme meeting later this month when the proposed $758 million takeover by Melbourne-based BGH, led by Ben Gray and Robin Bishop, is taken to a vote. Village’s other major independent shareholder, Mittleman Brothers, has publicly disclosed plans to block the sale.

Spheria portfolio manager Matthew Booker told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age he did not like the bid on the table and said his firm had offered to recapitalise the owner of Sea World, Warner Bros Movie World and Wet N Wild if takeover talks fell through.

“We are unhappy with the price being offered by BGH,” Booker said. “We value Village north of $3 on a through the cycle basis and that’s without any takeover premium. We believe the majority of issues facing the company are temporary in nature and the bid is highly opportunistic.”

[Read more]

SBS’s bonuses dwarf ABC and Australia Post’s Cartier watches

There’s been plenty of discussion about bonuses at government-owned corporations like the ABC and Australia Post, reports The Australian’s Nick Tabakoff.

Over at SBS, rich rewards seem to be a way of life, with seemingly dozens of executives making five or six-digit bonuses.

One lucky unnamed SBS executive on a base salary of $296,510 managed to make a whopping $113,000 bonus – or nearly 23 Cartier watches – on top of their base, according to the SBS annual report. That sent their total package for the year to June soaring above $445,000.

But that was just the biggest of a veritable bonanza of bonuses at SBS. Two more SBS staff on an average base salary of $265,000 sweetened their package with an average bonus of nearly $83,000 each – or nearly 17 Cartiers. That boosted their packages to an average of just under $400,000.

[Read more]

News Brands

America's never-ending election calls time in just 16 minutes

After an election day telecast that looked like it was going to stretch into a whole week, in the end it was all over in 16 minutes, reports The Sydney Morning Herald’s Michael Idato.

CNN was the first rolling news channel to take the step nobody seemed to want to take with host Wolf Blitzer calling the US election for now president-elect Joe Biden at 11.24am Saturday, EST (3.40am AEDT). Within minutes the broadcast networks NBC, CBS and ABC and the traditional line caller, the wire agency Associated Press, followed suit.

Over on Fox News, which has spent the last four years blurring the line between journalism and state-controlled media, the concession of President Donald Trump‘s defeat at the polls came more cautiously at 11.40am EST.

[Read more]

How Sky News became Australia’s biggest news channel on social media

Sky News Australia had successfully built a Fox News-like online operation in Australia, making it one of Australian media’s digital leaders with a reach that dwarfs its terrestrial audience numbers, reports Business Insider’s Cam Wilson.

Remarkably, it has taken just over a year to cement its place as one of the nation’s loudest online voices, despite having a significantly smaller operation than its competitors. On YouTube, its videos have been viewed 500 million times, more than any other Australian media organisation.

Facebook posts from its page had more total interactions last month than the ABC News, SBS News, 7News Australia, 9 News and 10 News First pages – and they’ve had more shares than all of them combined.

[Read more]

'Col Pot' retires from New York Post as Donald Trump moves on

Col Allan, the Australian tabloid wizard who was once seen in the New York Post newsroom wearing a Make America Great Again cap, will call an end to his career of more than 40 years at Murdoch papers in New York and Sydney, reports The New York Times and AP, in an item reprinted in Nine newspapers.

Allan, who was the Post’s editor-in-chief from 2001-16, rejoined the paper as an adviser in January 2019, just as the presidential campaign was underway. Since his return, he has had a strong hand in shaping coverage, several staff members said. He confirmed his planned retirement in an email interview.

“The Post is not perfect,” Allan said. “But it articulates a view that is not obedient to liberal orthodoxy. Therefore it is dangerous. I know where I would rather be.”

Several staff members said Allan had more or less run the newsroom since his return. “I have contributed little other than some minor advice,” Allan said of his work on the paper’s election coverage.

Over the past year, Allan has also worked closely with columnist Miranda Devine, a fellow Australian who joined the Post in time for the 2020 campaign. She has been an ardent supporter of the President and one of Biden’s fiercest detractors. She is the one who likened Trump to “an invincible hero” as he battled COVID-19 last month. And Devine described Biden’s candidacy as “an indictment of the entire Democratic establishment that has conspired to trick America into voting for someone incapable of being president”.

Allan said he would split his time between Sydney and New York. Asked if he had mounted his last stand, he replied “Like Custer!”

[Read more]

News Corp gives readers a discount on the new Kylie album Disco

Kylie Minogue is on track to score her seventh No. 1 album in Australia, reports News Corp’s Cameron Adams.

Minogue’s 15th album Disco was released yesterday, with fans able to buy the album in formats including coloured vinyl and cassette.

If Disco becomes Minogue’s eighth UK No. 1 she will become the first female solo act to top the British chart in five consecutive decades, with her debut album hitting No. 1 in 1988.

“To be on the precipice of potentially being the first solo woman to do it would be phenomenal,” Minogue told News Corp.

News Corp then offered readers a coupon to get Kylie Minogue’s new album on CD for $14.99.

The coupon is redeemable at a JB Hi-Fi Australia stores or jbhifi.com.au.

[Read more]

Radio

3AW’s Neil Mitchell puts contract talks on hold with Nine Radio

The Melbourne lockdown has prompted 3AW’s morning radio king Neil Mitchell to temporarily put on hold negotiations for a long-term contract until he can have face-to-face discussions with Nine radio boss Tom Malone, reports The Australian’s Nick Tabakoff.

The Australian has learnt that days before recording his highest ratings ever with a 22.7 per cent share in last week’s survey, Mitchell signed a short-term six-month contract to roll over on the same terms as his previous three-year deal.

Mitchell’s temporary rollover will take him through to the middle of next year, with the parties likely to nut out a long-term deal sometime early in the new year.

When The Australian reached Mitchell on Sunday, he confirmed the move. “Now I regret it. I could have been negotiating on a 22.7 ratings figure,” he said.

“But in all seriousness, it was my idea. I’m too weary.

“(Nine radio boss) Tom Malone and I have been trying since April in the middle of the first lockdown. When the first lockdown ended, we went bang into another one.”

[Read more]

2GB’s Ray Hadley celebrates radio ratings win and 13kg weight loss

Six months after he was snubbed by 2GB radio bosses who handed the station’s prized breakfast slot – a show once promised to him – to a younger Ben Fordham, Ray Hadley is enjoying a popularity surge that has helped Nine Radio to its largest win to date on Australia’s east coast, reports News Corp’s Annette Sharp.

In the latest radio survey results, released last week, Hadley dominated talk radio in Sydney, his 17.2 per cent share greater than 2GB’s new breakfast host Fordham’s 16.1 share, while simultaneously recording an impressive 14 point share of the FM-loving Brisbane market, up 2.7 points on his previous result.

Hadley’s strong margin handed 4BC its first win in the breakfast timeslot in four decades.

While acknowledging the result was “gratifying”, Hadley yesterday took little credit for the win attributing it instead to heightened public interest in the COVID-19 pandemic and the Queensland election.

[Read more]

Television

The Block’s huge Melbourne property gamble revealed

Hit TV show The Block has gambled more than $100 million on Melbourne’s lucrative and competitive property scene, reports News Corp’s Fiona Byrne.

The show with arguably the deepest pockets on Australian TV has had 12 seasons set in the Victorian capital and is already shaping up for its 13th Melbourne renovation having bought homes in Hampton as the location for next year’s series.

The Melbourne seasons have seen the show invest over $100 million on locations.

That eye watering figure includes the estimated spend on the five homes in Bronte Court, Hampton which will be transformed into luxury family abodes in 2021.

[Read more]

Vale: Gold Logie winner Jeanne Little dies aged 82 after long illness

Inimitable showbiz performer Jeanne Little, best known for her catchphrase “Hello Dahhhling!” has died, aged 82, reports TV Tonight in a tribute feature.

Her daughter Katie confirmed in a Facebook post her mother had died, following a long battle with Alzheimer’s Disease.

She became a household name through her outrageous appearances on The Mike Walsh Show, initially on 10. She first appeared on the show when she was eight-and-a-half months pregnant in 1974 to plug her ailing dressmaking business. Her larger-than-life character made her an instant hit with audiences and she went on to become an Australian television fixture for the next 30 years, taking out two Silver Logies and the Gold Logie in 1976.

On The Mike Walsh Show on Nine she wore gaudy costumes and wigs, years before Lady Gaga and The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. She made home-made frocks of alfoil, garbage bags, bubble wrap and toast- and hats she has made out of food including pizza, french fries, crumpets, bangers and mash, ice cream cones and frankfurters in honour of Melbourne Cup day.

She held audiences captivated with her loud voice, fashionista style and sense of daring, all with an innate Australian sense of self-irreverence.

[Read more]

The ABC reported:

Little’s TV career started to wind down in the 1990s, but she remained a regular panellist on discussion show Beauty And The Beast until the mid-2000s.

In 2009, she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

In 2011, Little’s daughter Katie (pictured with her mother) created the Jeanne Little Alzheimer’s Research Fund after her mother was diagnosed with the neurodegenerative disease.

“This devastating disease has engulfed mum so fast, it’s been frightening. We still can’t believe it’s happened,” she said at the time.

[Read more]

Sports Media

Nine’s capture of rugby rights is set to spearhead Stan Sport

Streaming service Stan will create a bespoke sports channel after beating Foxtel to the rugby union broadcast rights, with an expansion into other sporting events expected in the near future, reports The Sydney Morning Herald’s Zoe Samios.

The launch will come as Nine and Stan confirm a multi-year contract with Rugby Australia worth an estimated $30 million annually.

Nine’s announcement will mark a pivotal moment for Stan as it attempts to compete with global streaming platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime by offering a wider range of content. It will also officially end a two-decade long relationship between News Corporation’s Foxtel and the rugby. Nine and Foxtel declined to comment.

Nine is expected to air Wallabies Tests, the Rugby Championship and one game a week of Super Rugby on its television network under the new deal. All other Super Rugby games, the Shute Shield and Hospital Cup will sit behind a paywall on Stan.

[Read more]

Fox Sports starts Masters Golf week with pop up channel today

Ahead of the start of the delayed US 2020 Masters Golf next weekend, Fox Sports 503 will become a dedicated 24-hour channel from Monday, November 9 from 10.30am, providing an immersive destination for fans ahead of the tournament.

Live daily coverage of The 2020 Masters will begin on Fox Sports and Kayo from 5.00am on Friday, November 13. Coverage will continue across the weekend with live final round coverage on Monday, November 16 from 2.00am.

Viewers will also be treated to special coverage of the legendary Amen Corner, comprising the 11th, 12th and 13th holes, to be broadcast in 4K on Fox Sports Ultra HD. Beginning with the first round on Friday, November 13, the Amen Corner camera will follow every group as they play these three holes across the tournament.

The tournament will host a stellar field of competitors, including five-time Masters champion and defending champion Tiger Woods, world number 1 Dustin Johnson, 2020 US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau, as well as rising star and 2020 PGA Championship winner Collin Morikawa.

Leading the Australian charge will be Adam Scott who won The Masters tournament in 2013, alongside Jason Day, Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith.

The 2020 Masters – Fox Sports 503 Coverage

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9: Dedicated channel switches on 10.30am

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13: Round One LIVE from 5.00am – 9.30am

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14: Round Two LIVE from 5.00am – 9.30am

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 15: Round Three LIVE from 5.00am – 9.00am

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16: Final Round LIVE from 2.00am – 7.00am

What’s the buzz? Phil Rothfield on NRL radio ratings, Cooper Cronk TV deal

Triple M has almost caught 2GB’s Continuous Call team in the latest Sunday ratings — unheard of when Ray Hadley was calling NRL for 2GB. Not surprisingly, the ABC’s Andrew Moore finished last of the three NRL stations.

Fox Sports has secured popular rugby league commentator Cooper Cronk on a new three-year contract, ending any chance of a poaching raid from Channel 9.

The four-time premiership-winning halfback for Melbourne Storm and Sydney Roosters signed for only 12 months when he joined the pay TV network at the beginning of the year.

“He’s done so well,” Fox Sports head of television Steve Crawley said. “Cooper’s knowledge of the game is just incredible, and it has been an absolute delight to have him.

“He’s got the potential to be really, really good.”

[Read more]

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