A new media Fintech purpose-built for Australia’s business community will launch in early 2020. Guiding the new channel will be one of the founders of Sky News Business and then its more recent iteration Your Money, Kylie Merritt.
ausbiz is being labelled the first continuous live streaming service dedicated to business and finance information.
Live for eight hours each weekday, ausbiz will cover breaking companies and markets news throughout the ASX trading session, alongside in-depth interviews and commentary.
And for the first time, the private capital market will be the subject of dedicated live and on demand programming, including Startup Daily each weekday afternoon.
An extensive product roadmap will also see the ausbiz app deliver personalised video content and give users direct access to investment opportunities.
“Australian financial markets and the broader business community want and deserve a dedicated service and streaming technology now enables this to be delivered on a cost effective and sustainable platform,” explained Merritt.
A seed round capital raising, led by media and business commentator David Koch, is in the final stages of completion with a Series A funding round due to close in late November.
“When Kylie approached me I was attracted by the fact that ausbiz uses compelling live content to build an audience, who will then be given access to suitable investment opportunities and products,” said Koch.
“It will sit at the intersection of media and Fintech, using content as the cornerstone for transactions.”
Merritt says the response from investors and commercial partners has been encouraging. “ausbiz is not mass reach proposition, however the audience is highly valuable, influential and engaged. With smart ways of delivering content that’s measurable, we believe the commercial model has huge potential.”
ausbiz will stream live from its studios at International Towers in Sydney’s Barangaroo precinct.
The service will be available free via the ausbiz app, with market open coverage and Startup Daily streamed live on partner platform, Twitter @ausbiztv.
Investment product news and information will also be shared with Australia’s largest database of financial advisers through a partnership with Adviser Ratings. “Our purpose of making financial information accessible to all Australians aligns perfectly with the strategy of ausbiz,” said Adviser Ratings founder and managing director, Angus Woods.
Real time data will be provided via a partnership with Iress.
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Top Photo: Ausbiz team: Nadine Blayney – Head of Content, Ingrid Willinge – Markets Editor, David Koch – Chairman, Ross Kidd – Head of Partnerships and Kylie Merritt – Founder
By James Manning
Prolific crime reporter Adam Shand always has multiple projects on the go. One day he’s filming new episodes of Nine’s Australian Crime Stories, the next he’s releasing another PodcastOne crime story.
This week sees the release of Packer’s Gold a two-part podcast that extends the great work he and The Full Box executive producer Bryan Cockerill did on the episode of the same name in a recent Australian Crime Stories which looked at the case of the gold bullion stolen from Kerry Packer’s Sydney office.
“After that went to air I had the sense it was still very much an unfolding story,” Shand told Mediaweek. “Kerry Packer had never really told the cops everything he knew. We had a lot of feedback after the show, in particular some relating to a picture of the safe taken at the crime scene.”
Shand says key to the mystery is the relationship the safe cracker had with Patricia Wheatley, Packers spurned former PA. “They were living in the same building and the police uncovered the relationship.”
Although police thought it was a one-man job, Shand said it would have been difficult to take out nearly 300 kilos of gold.”
Shand has worked in Packer’s Park Street offices during his time at The Bulletin and he also spent time at Nine under Packer’s reign.
Interviews on the podcast include a former safe cutter! “This is for true crime fans who really love the detail. The podcast is very much about here’s the evidence, what’s your conclusion? I know mine.”
Meanwhile Shand continues to work on the Jonathan Dick story. “It’s fascinating how this man managed to live for two-and-a-half years in North Fitzroy.” Shand had a four-episode series on PodcastOne before Dick’s capture, which were subsequently withdrawn after he was returned to custody. There is one new episode they are allowed to publish telling the story surrounding the day he was recaptured.
Shand is also one of many working on a Lawyer-X project. “There are so many angles to the story,” he said, without wanting to divulge any more detail.
The 2019 Rugby World Cup is underway in Japan, with two specialist reporters Georgina Robinson and Tom Decent from Nine newspapers on the ground and right in the thick of the action.
Together they are filing a daily podcast, bringing rugby fans right up to speed with all the news, insights and happenings as the Wallabies bid for a third Webb Ellis Cup and the first since 1999. Episodes this week include The washout from the Wales game and A twist in Kerevi-gate.
Listen to Rugby World Cup Daily here.
Like rugby, like podcasts? You’re in luck. Here’s just a small sampling of what’s out there:
• Fox Rugby Podcast: Dan Carter, Jonny Wilkinson in Japan
• The Indy Rugby Podcast: Wales win, Michael Cheika rages and one special night in Shizuoka
• RTÉ Rugby World Cup Podcast: Fallout from Japan loss
Communications consultancy The Jones Collective has a podcast series called Collective Conversations. In a new episode this week journalist Anthony Caruana and co-founder of media training agency Media-Wize Kathryn Van Kuyk chat with Jones Collective director Suzanne Jones on how the number of journalists in Australia has dropped by 3,000 in the past five years, yet over the same period the number of PR practitioners has grown exponentially.
Listen to Talking Business with Media-Wize here.
International Podcast Day was held on September 30th and is an international celebration of the power of podcasts. The celebration is an opportunity to connect with podcasters, podcast listeners, podcast enthusiasts, and leaders in the podcasting industry. International Podcast Day started back in 2015 after a National Podcast Day in the US in 2014.
Part of the annual celebrations include The People’s Choice Podcast Awards, which is the longest running premier podcast awards event in the podcasting space open to shows worldwide – designed from the beginning to allow fans to show their appreciation by nominating their favourite podcasts and culminating with a live streamed awards show that went out last weekend.
The 2019 People Choice Podcast winners are:
PEOPLES CHOICE: The Fantasy Footballers
ARTS: Dads Drinking Bourbon
BUSINESS: Big Girl Money
COMEDY: Spitballers Podcast
EDUCATION: Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls
ENTERTAINMENT: We’re Drunk & We Know Things
GAMES & HOBBIES: The Reasons I’m Broke
LGBTQ: If These Ovaries Could Talk
GOVERNMENT & ORGANISATIONS: The Impact
HEALTH: Mental – The Podcast to Destigmatise Mental Health
KIDS & FAMILY: Mommies Tell All
STORYTELLER – DRAMA: Real Life Real Crime
MUSIC: Switched on Pop
NEWS & POLITICS: Today, Explained
RELIGION & SPIRITUALITY: Better Work Bitch
SCIENCE & MEDICINE: STEM-Talk
SOCIETY – CULTURE: The Brain Candy Podcast
SPORTS & RECREATION: 30 for 30 Podcasts
TECHNOLOGY: Why’d You Push That Button?
TV & FILM: Ellen on the Go
In its heyday, the Big Day Out was the world’s biggest touring music festival. For music fans, it was an Australian rite of passage. Every band on the planet wanted to be on the line-up, and the backstage parties were legendary. But what made it so successful and why did it collapse?
Throughout October, Double J is looking back at an iconic era in Australian music history, with live music galore and a five-part podcast series diving deep Inside The Big Day Out.
The podcast tells the story of the pioneering music festival – told by the people behind it, the musicians who played it and the punters who went year after year.
There are contributions from members of Beasts of Bourbon, Cosmic Psychos, Eskimo Joe, Frenzal Rhomb, Grinspoon, Jebediah, Magic Dirt, Powderfinger, Shihad, The Clouds, The Living End, Tiddas, You Am I and Violent Femmes.
Also featured are Big Day Out founders Ken West and Vivien Lees plus Sahara Herald, Adam Zammit and AJ Maddah. The podcast also speaks to triple j alumni Jen Oldershaw who attended the very first Big Day Out, and Jessica Michalik’s best friend, who was with Jessica at the festival when she tragically passed away.
Hosted by Gemma Pike, Inside The Big Day Out will be available as a five-part podcast – Episode 1 is now up, with new episodes going live every Tuesday from 8 October.
Listen via the triple j app (for iPhone and Android) and Apple Podcasts.
Filmed in Western Australia and Victoria, Aussie Gold Hunters follows teams of gold prospectors as they risk it all to find their fortune on some of the richest gold bearing grounds in the world.
In addition to Discovery, the series is financed with the backing of distributor DCD Rights, the Australian Government’s Producer Offset, Screenwest’s Documentary Production Fund, and the regional production funds in both Western Australia and Victoria.
Aussie Gold Hunters is broadcast on the Discovery Channel in Australia. To date, the series is the #1 Factual program on Foxtel in 2019, and during the premiere run of Season 4 it was the #1 Non-Sport program in its timeslot.
In the UK, it is broadcast on Quest – Discovery’s free-to-air channel – where it is consistently the channel’s highest-rated program of the week, and often ranks amongst the top 10 highest-rated non-public service broadcaster programs in the UK.
Distributed globally by DCD Rights, an estimated 40 million people have viewed the series in more than 120 countries worldwide. A clip from the series, in which a massive $200,000 nugget is unearthed, the largest ever nugget find caught on camera, has gone viral with more than 19 million views since it was posted in July.
“The secret to the success of the series is really quite simple,” said Electric Pictures’ CEO Andrew Ogilvie. “Gold is one of the few minerals that looks amazing the moment it comes out of the ground, and its shine immediately triggers our deep fascination for this metal. Another key ingredient is that Aussie Gold Hunters is aspirational. We focus on small operations, great characters, and situations which the average viewer can relate to, and this encourages them to think they could go out there and do it too.”
According to Ogilvie, series like these play an important role in the independent production industry in Australia, “Long running returnable series like Aussie Gold Hunters provide long-term employment for a sizable number of professionals, as well as training opportunities for less experienced filmmakers. The beauty of a large order like this is that we can take a few risks with new production talent, both in the field and in the edit room, that are not possible with single hour programs or limited series. We are proud of the role we are playing in helping to grow the talent pool in Western Australia, in particular.”
Aussie Gold Hunters also provides substantial benefits to the local economy in the goldfields. Ogilvie says, “The feedback from businesses is that Aussie Gold Hunters is good for tourism. With every new series, there is a noticeable increase in visitor numbers, which makes sense given the size of the Aussie Gold Hunters fan base, domestically and globally. They want to come to Australia, hire a metal detector, and try their luck too.”
Victoria Noble, VP Original Content, Factual, Discovery UK said: “We’re excited to bring our audience 40 more hours of Aussie Gold Hunters. The series has been one of Quest’s most successful with fans coming back week after week to follow the teams’ progress. Our audience are huge fans of character-led shows that give an insight into extreme jobs. In the fifth season, we’ll follow new and established teams as they battle the harsh climate and hunt for gold in the Aussie Outback in hope of striking it rich.”
Rebecca Kent, General Manager Discovery Australia, New Zealand & Pacific Islands said: “Aussie Gold Hunters is Discovery Australia’s most successful franchise to date. A co-production with Electric Pictures and Discovery UK, we are thrilled with the record-breaking results the series has returned and we’re proud to significantly increase our investment in Australian productions with another two seasons. A core component of Discovery’s programming is showcasing tough jobs and Australia is renowned for having some of the most unique professions in the world. There’s a huge appetite for these stories and characters, both here and internationally, and we can’t wait to see our local prospectors continue to strike ratings gold!”
Aussie Gold Hunters was ordered by Victoria Noble, VP Original Content, Factual at Discovery Inc. Oliver Wilson and Rob Holloway are the Executive Producers for Quest, Darren Chau is Director of Content & Channels, Factual and Executive Producer for Discovery Australia, and Robin Shingleton is the Series Producer for Electric Pictures.
By Claudia Siron
Editor of Women’s Health at Pacific Magazines Jacqueline Mooney shares recent highlights for the brand, their rapid growth, and the importance of their upcoming events that aim to consistently empower women in sport and shine a light on fitness and health as a whole.
Mooney told Mediaweek she is coming into her 10th anniversary at Pacific Magazines. “I came to Pacific in 2009 after 10 years at ACP. I’ve had quite a few different roles at Pacific – I’ve been lucky to edit a range of titles since I arrived. The first role I had was acting editor on Bride to Be which was a 12-month maternity leave contract,” said Mooney.
Now leading the Women’s Health brand for almost three years, Mooney is excited to say Women’s Health has never been stronger. “Our total audience footprint at the moment is over 1 million women over print, social and digital,” said Mooney.
With magazine circulation and ad revenues dropping in recent years in the Australian publishing industry, Mooney said she’s thrilled to see Women’s Health is still really strong in print, because that’s their heritage and their heart. “In terms of circulation at the moment, Women’s Health does lead the women’s lifestyle category. In 2018/19, Women’s Health actually achieved the highest market share in the women’s lifestyle category, dominating the category that actually also includes marie claire, Instyle, Vogue, Harper’s BAZAAR, Elle and Frankie. We’re really proud of that. We also achieved a 20% share of market in that category according to IRI data,” revealed Mooney.
Mooney said she has put a lot of focus on the brand as a whole and explained how this has lead to strong growth in social, digital and audio. “We’re in our second series of Women’s Health Uninterrupted podcast. It’s great to be able to talk to an array of women (from fitness gurus, to entrepreneurs, to endurance athletes) about life and success and what true mental and physical wellness means to them. At the moment, we’re in the top four in the Pacific podcast network, and number two in the specialist category. We’ve had a 22% monthly growth rate, and up 534% with monthly downloads since series one.
“We’ve seen a 25% increase in our online traffic year-on-year and 26% growth in our digital audience. We have a social footprint of over half a million now – our users have grown 10% year-on-year. We are particularly strong on Instagram with over a quarter of a million followers. Engagement for Instagram has grown by 58% year on year.”
Women’s Health has been celebrating women in sport for almost a decade now, with a respected awards night dedicated to female athletes to give them the recognition they deserve. In the lead up to the Women in Sport Awards (WinS), Women’s Health held a photo shoot with three of Australia’s biggest sporting names (Cate Campbell, Madison de Rozario and Ellyse Perry) for the November covers that hit stands on Monday September 30. “We loved the shoot so much that we created three different covers, which is something we’ve never done before. The intention of these covers is to really drive excitement in the lead up to the WinS Awards on the 16th of October. It’s also really to celebrate our athletes; they’re amazing leaders and role models,” said Mooney.
With the WinS Awards in its 9th year now, Mooney explained how it’s become a huge part of the brand’s DNA and what they stand for. “We are incredibly proud of the fact that over that time we’ve generated I think up to $40 million worth of publicity for our female athletes, and they deserve that recognition,” said Mooney.
The intention of launching the annual awards night was due to the lack of recognition for women in sport. Mooney explained how back in 2011 when the awards night first launched, it was a lot more unfair in the sport industry for women. “They weren’t getting the air time or the same recognition as their male counterparts or the same coverage or pay,” said Mooney.
“We’re also responding to what those athletes told us they wanted, which is recognition, equality, airtime, jobs, and getting the spotlight they deserve. In the nine years, we’ve seen that growth and we’ve built that momentum. Now with the Matildas on the world stage and our Aussie cricketers being number one in the world, I’m so gratified to see that the public is now hungry for women’s sport and that they are getting that recognition.”
Mooney told Mediaweek that the brand made history last year with the first ever broadcast on Seven. Mooney revealed “it was the first time a female sporting award night has ever aired on Australian commercial television, so that was a fantastic moment for our brand, and it was an even more exciting moment for our female athletes.
“We are very much looking forward to working again with Seven on the 90-minute broadcast this year. What we’re really thrilled about this year is we’ll actually lead out of the launch of Women’s Big Bash League season on Seven. So, a fantastic synergy to have Australia tuning into the cricket and then going straight into the WinS Awards hosted by Mark Beretta and Giaan Rooney again.”
The broadcast follows two days after the WinS Awards event. “The event will be held in Alexandria on Wednesday October 16 from 6pm. We’re going to have a red carpet arrival, then the formal dinner with 200 guests, followed by the ceremony with a total of 10 awards to be presented. We’re thrilled to have great sponsors on board again this year like the Australian Federal Government, the Australian Institute of Sport, Toyota, Rebel, and Channel 7 for our broadcast.”
Mooney told Mediaweek that it’s going to be a very full room. “In the mix of 200 guests is athletes, our nominees, past winners, all the biggest names in sport, sponsors and key clients, industry leaders, representatives from the government, media, and of course talent and friends of the brand.”
Nominations closed September 29 and voting will open October 2 and will close October 15, which is the day before the awards. “Last year, we had our biggest public response ever. We had over 36,000 people voting for last year’s nominees, which is phenomenal,” revealed Mooney.
Mooney said the rapid growth of Women’s Health events has been huge. “We had Fit Night Out in July which sold out with 500 fitness-loving consumers turning up to work out with us at the International Convention Centre.
“Our next event will be another Women In Sport mentoring event in February 2020. We’re in the third year now for Fit Night Out and we’re planning on expanding to the Melbourne market over the next six months after the huge success of Sydney this year with 500 consumers turning out. We also have a number of bespoke events to announce soon, so watch this space.”
Sanzo embodies the essence of STRONG Fitness Magazine Australia’s mission to showcase a range of strong Aussie women.
Originating in Canada and the US, the magazine has built a reputation as a trusted source of cutting-edge fitness and health information for the strong, resilient, and modern woman.
Editor-in-Chief, Katelyn Swallow said, “We’re thrilled to have Steph join us as we launch the magazine in Australia. Her passion for advocating weight training and exercise benefits for both physical health and mental well-being is exactly what we are about.”
Sanzo had a challenging birth that left her with an extra 24kgs of body weight, and is on a mission to help teach, train and change the perspectives that women have of their bodies.
Completely transforming her outlook, Sanzo discovered both a new-found confidence in herself and a drive to challenge her body and mind through lifting weights. A transformation she and STRONG Fitness Magazine Australia hope to help all Australian women achieve.
“I want to help drive greater understanding on the benefits weight based training provides to women’s mental and physical health. My journey with weight training has helped me grow emotionally, far beyond how I have grown physically,” said Sanzo.
The first issue of STRONG Fitness Magazine Australia hits shelves today.
By James Manning
That executive is Paul Merrill who, until Friday October 4, will be Bauer Media Australia editor-in-chief of 14 separate magazines. Many people might not recognise some of those brands, but two titles that will sit near the top of his bursting-at-the-seems CV will be Take 5 and Empire.
Merrill is leaving the publishing arena to take on new challenges after spending six years at Australia’s biggest magazine publisher.
“I have been thinking about it for a while. I have been speaking to Bauer about it for some time and can now reveal I am departing this week,” Merrill told Mediaweek.
Merrill’s remit has included the stand-alone real life weekly Take 5 and movie magazine Empire. Spin-offs of the Take 5 brand include the Take 5 Bumper Monthly and a New Zealand cousin called Lucky Break.
Merrill also looked after the busy Bauer puzzles division, which produces titles like Woman’s Day Super Puzzler, Australian Women’s Weekly Puzzle Book and Crime & Puzzles.
According to Roy Morgan Readership data, the Take 5 Bumper Monthly is now the sixth most-read title in Australia. “There is a real appetite for real life and puzzles, and we are just tapping into that,” said Merrill.
Merrill first arrived in Australia to launch Zoo, a mens’ weekly magazine for Emap Australia after launching it in the UK, intending to stay for a few months. He’s been ever since. During his time working for Emap Australia and later Bauer Media he won Editor of the Year, while Take 5 has been named Magazine of the Year three times at various awards.
One of his biggest claims to fame is perhaps launching the Take 5 Radio Hunks promotion. Merrill swears that Ray Hadley did really win this year after mobilising his audience and constantly mentioning the poll on his program.
“We got about $3m worth of publicity from the Radio Hunks this year,” he said. “All we had to do was spend $39 on a microphone trophy and then put a bow tie around it.”
Bauer is yet to announce succession plans, but Take 5 deputy editor Kate Kirsten will be guiding the weekly in the interim. “She understands the readers like no one else and will take the title to greater success,” said her departing boss.
In between the rise and subsequent fall of Zoo (and the men’s magazine sector) and his current role, Merrill wrote several books and consulted for publishers.
The rise and fall of the men’s sector has been something that Merrill has tracked in his years in publishing. “It was a shame. Many men’s magazines had a bad rap as just being pictures of girls. But they were so well written with real humour and were very entertaining at their best. It’s just a sector that doesn’t work as mass consumer category any more.
“Bauer have rightly concentrated on women readers, which will be their strength going forward.”
Paul Merrill’s cheekiest work
There’s many samples from the days when Zoo was published in Australia. One of the more controversial was the title’s quest to find Australia’s sexiest feminist.
Slightly less controversial are some of the finest headlines from Take 5 over the years that include:
• Chickened out! I dumped my groom at the altar and went to KFC
• I fell in love with a cow…and cancelled my wedding!
• My first Christmas with a nose
• God paid my gas bills
The closure has been announced on a day that Seven has detailed a major restructure as it looks to streamline the business and find cost savings.
See also:
Seven getting new chief content officer in James Warburton restructure
Craig McPherson, Seven Network Director of News and Public Affairs said in a statement: “After 11 years at the forefront of our Public Affairs offering it is with much sadness I announce the closing down of the day to day operations of Sunday Night: True Stories.
“It has been a very tough decision in a very challenging TV landscape.
“I want to thank the exceptional team of reporters; producers; camera operators; editors and many others who have helped produce more than 500 hours of quality public affairs programming over its lifetime.
“The program itself will remain on-air until the end of the year. A small production team will stay on to produce existing product over this time.
“I wish all those leaving us nothing but the best for the future.”
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Top Photo: Sunday Night host Melissa Doyle with reporters Denham Hitchcock, Steve Pennells, Alex Cullen, Angela Cox and Matt Doran
One KIIS listener will win the keys to a brand-new HOOT home and land package worth a whopping $750,000 – including large walk-in robes, multiple living areas, a stylish kitchen, a butler’s pantry, and a brand new car.
Kyle Sandilands said “I’ve been trying to do this for a long time and I’m excited we’re finally doing it! Someone’s guaranteed to win a brand-new home just by listening to our show and KIIS 1065 across the day. Who doesn’t want to win this? The only thing you’ll have to provide is your own Butler, everything is there!”
Jackie O stated that“There’s no better feeling, relieving someone of their mortgage or rent for the rest of their life. Just imagine the leftover money you’ll have.”
From this week through to December 5th, listeners need to tune into KIIS 1065, listen for the key song, and call in for their chance to WIN. Key songs are played in the Kyle & Jackie O Breakfast Show, as well as every hour, all day, across KIIS 1065.
On December 5th, hundreds of KIIS 1065 listeners in the draw will line up with a key to try and unlock the Hoot Homes door, with one lucky listener walking away with the incredible prize of a brand-new HOOT home and land package, and a car.
Entries to the competition are open now, go to kiis1065.com.au to learn more.
By James Manning
• Seven News 940,000/934,000
• Nine News 788,000/826,000
• A Current Affair 716,000
• ABC News 619,000
• 7.30 536,000
• The Project 250,000/418,000
• 10 News First 308,000
• The Drum 167,000
• SBS World News 136,000
• Sunrise 258,000
• Today 195,000
After two nights close to 650,000, Home and Away slipped to 581,000.
The launch of Bride & Prejudice – Forbidden Weddings then did 438,000.
More of Britain’s Got Talent: The Champions followed with 273,000 seeing a stunning performance from Australia’s Got Talent winner Bonnie Anderson that wowed the audience and all the UK judges – even Simon Cowell. All the judges predicted Anderson would be a huge star.
Featured on A Current Affair were stories on Prince Harry’s battle with The Daily Mail and an Australian child care scam. The audience was 716,000 after previous audiences this week of 794,000 and 761,000.
Scott Cam was issuing more warnings about the cash crisis on The Block with three of the teams looking like they won’t have enough cash to properly finish their renovations. The audience for the final episode this week was on 853,000 which along with the rest of Nine’s Wednesday schedule was easily enough to win the night and the demos.
Nine then reached into its bag of Queen documentaries and pulled out the wonderful The Show Must Go On: The Queen + Adam Lambert Story. The doco screened on ABC America earlier this year. It featured wonderfully candid interview with the members of Queen and Adam Lambert plus some great clips of Freddie Mercury. The show also had access to the vault of American Idol highlights including Lambert’s show stopping rendition of Whole Lotta Love from his series final (how did he ever managed to finish second?) and the episode of Idol where Queen performed. Simon Cowell was doing double duty last night – appearing on BGT plus in this Queen doco. The two hours of Queen did a respectable 407,000.
The Project dipped close to 400,000 with Wendell Sailor talking Masked Singer. Chelsea Handler could draw a crowd tonight and hopefully she’ll get a long segment.
Bondi Rescue then featured a visitor who buried her valuables in the sand, and, you guessed it, couldn’t find them when she returned from the water. The lifesavers had a solution, call in a specialist who regularly trawls Bondi Beach with a metal detector. The program did 324,000 followed by a repeat on 298,000.
A Wednesday movie followed – Red 2 – with 168,000.
The best contestant was eliminated first on Hard Quiz – a teenager whose specialist subject was World War 2 army tanks! However host Tom Gleeson had plenty of fun with the final battle between a contestant obsessed with Woody Allen’s Manhattan and a Bananarama tragic. The audience was on 670,000 after 628,000 last week.
Gruen then did 758,000 after launching with 757,000. Last night host Wil Anderson talked about Australian banks before the panel pulled apart a Westpac ad. Later in the show there was a clear winner in The Pitch about older consumers, but somehow the trophy was shared.
Tony Robinson: Britain’s Ancient Tracks had the biggest audience with 213,000.
WEDNESDAY METRO | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ABC | Seven | Nine | 10 | SBS | |||||
ABC | 14.3% | 7 | 18.6% | 9 | 22.2% | 10 | 8.6% | SBS One | 4.7% |
ABC KIDS/ ABC COMEDY | 2.4% | 7TWO | 3.6% | GO! | 2.7% | 10 Bold | 5.0% | VICELAND | 1.1% |
ABC ME | 0.7% | 7mate | 2.4% | GEM | 3.0% | 10 Peach | 2.4% | Food Net | 1.1% |
ABC NEWS | 1.4% | 7flix | 2.5% | 9Life | 1.5% | NITV | 0.2% | ||
7Food | 0.9% | SBS World Movies | 0.6% | ||||||
TOTAL | 18.8% | 27.9% | 29.5% | 16.0% | 7.7% |
WEDNESDAY REGIONAL | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ABC | Seven Affiliates | Nine Affiliates | 10 Affiliates | SBS | |||||
ABC | 11.9% | 7 | 17.6% | 9 | 16.6% | WIN | 10.1% | SBS One | 4.2% |
ABC KIDS/ ABC COMEDY | 2.8% | 7TWO | 4.2% | GO! | 3.6% | WIN Bold | 5.1% | VICELAND | 1.7% |
ABC ME | 1.1% | 7mate | 3.8% | GEM | 5.4% | WIN Peach | 1.9% | Food Net | 1.3% |
ABC NEWS | 1.3% | 7flix (Excl. Tas/WA) | 2.7% | 9Life | 2.2% | Sky News on WIN | 1.7% | NITV | 0.2% |
7food (QLD only) | 0.5% | ||||||||
TOTAL | 17.1% | 28.8% | 27.8% | 18.8% | 7.4% |
WEDNESDAY METRO ALL TV | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
FTA | STV | ||||||||
84.5% | 15.5% |
16-39 Top five
18-49 Top Five
25-54 Top Five
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
Well-placed sources within the network said as many as 160 jobs will be shed, including the entire publicity teams in Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane.
The restructure and cuts will mainly affect those in the television division, including current affairs show Sunday Night – which has been axed after more than a decade on air.
Publicity departments across the country will be cut and concentrated into Sydney, with several sources calculating the redundancies to be around 100. Seven had not confirmed nor denied this figure.
Host Mel Doyle is safe – and very much part of Seven’s plans for next year – as the network shields its on-air stars from untold redundancies elsewhere.
“We are very hopeful of being able to continue in the genre in some shape or form next year,” Seven head of news Craig McPherson said.
The one-on-one meetings he held with staff to break the news made Wednesday “one of the hardest days I have had in the job”, he told The Australian.
About 20 staff from the program gathered on the rooftop of the Hyde Park House pub in Sydney’s Darlinghurst on Wednesday night.
Publicity staff in Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide were given bad news today with Seven sources confirming these will be centralised from Sydney. This includes five in Melbourne plus one each in Adelaide and Brisbane.
While shoots can draw upon a unit publicist there are still relationships and bookings to be liaised on a daily basis with journalists, radio and events in both community and corporate.
Having dealt with the Seven Melbourne team across many years I am personally indebted for their great work.
Wilson wrote to Nine chief executive Hugh Marks on Wednesday in a letter obtained by The Australian Financial Review.
He outlined comments made by Marks during Nine’s full-year results call in August regarding Nine’s belief there are significant cost synergies and opportunities to lift Macquarie’s share of major agency radio revenue. He also pointed to comments made by Macquarie chairman Russell Tate regarding synergies.
Nine declined to comment.
When the deal was made public in August, more than $10 million in synergies were announced.
“Disappointingly, your Bidders Statement omits all disclosures in relation to material synergies on offer to Nine, including the material revenue synergies available as part of the Offer, to the detriment of MRN minority shareholders,” Wilson wrote.
Right off the bat the 44-year-old US comedian, actor, writer, producer and activist gives us the scoop on her next small screen, big-deal project as she recounts the last 12 hours of her life.
“What’s today, God, is it Monday? I got up and worked out for an hour then I had new rugs delivered to my house then I had a production meeting with a writer about a development deal I have with Universal for my memoir, Life Will Be the Death Of Me, then I recorded a podcast.
“Universal optioned the rights on it so we were meeting to develop a TV show.”
Life Will Be The Death Of Me is the name of her stand-up tour of Australia and was Handler’s sixth New York Times Bestselling Book.
“This is the first stand-up tour where I get up and tell stories.
“In previous shows I got up and told jokes. This show talks about my state of mind before I went into therapy and all the ways I screwed up while I was in therapy and all those improvements while you’re trying to be a better person.
“I once ran into the Fox News lounge at the airport and confronted anybody that voted for Donald Trump.”
Fetch TV will be a launch partner for BBC Earth on October 10th and will be the exclusive Australian launch partner for a BBC Brit Virtual Channel on November 1st. The deal also includes renewal of BBC First, BBC UKTV, CBeebies, and BBC World News on Fetch, as well as expanded video-on-demand rights including all available prior seasons (S2-26) and episodes of Top Gear, totalling over 300 hours.
BBC Brit will be presented by Fetch in the innovative Virtual Playlist Channel (VPC) format. Subscribers can use the BBC Brit scheduled listing in the TV Guide to discover and access shows that automatically play from the start of the episode, or they can go to a branded BBC Brit on-demand area and choose from a multitude of shows and episodes. The Virtual Playlist format has proven enormously popular on Fetch, with eight now available including four Free-to-Air VPC’s.
BBC Earth will replace BBC Knowledge, and BBC Brit will replace BBC Living, in the Fetch Knowledge and Ultimate channel packs.
BBC Brit is a global, broad-appeal, factual entertainment brand. Mixing intelligent with irreverent, and fact with fun, the line-up features an entertaining mix of motoring, adventure, life-changing moments, extreme characters and ultimate challenges. Key programming highlights include Top Gear, Extra Gear, Louis Theroux’s Weird Weekends, Special Forces Ultimate Hell Week, A1: Highway Patrol, Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares and many more
Scott Lorson, CEO of Fetch TV, said: “We are delighted to expand our partnership with the BBC, and to introduce two great new channels to the Fetch line up – BBC Earth and BBC Brit. The BBC produces some of the highest quality programming in the world and attracts an extremely loyal and passionate fan base. We are excited to give Fetch subscribers access to even more of the programs that they love, and with great flexibility in how they can be watched. With a market leading six BBC channels plus European football on Optus Sport, Fetch is the obvious choice for fans of great British entertainment.”
Jon Penn, managing director of BBC Studios ANZ, said: “We are very excited to expand our partnership with Fetch. Since the inception of the partnership in 2015, Fetch has been a key part of the growth story for our world-leading BBC channels in Australia. We look forward to offering Fetch subscribers six premium BBC channels, including the exclusive launch of BBC Brit for the first time in Australia.”
More particularly, it followed a decline in the show’s ratings performance in a year in which its arch-rival 60 Minutes on Nine had won all but two weeks.
The show that was created with a specific brief to put a dent in Nine’s flagship hasn’t always played second fiddle though; in its first four years it averaged more viewers each week than 60 Minutes in the official ratings periods (Nine’s show has been ahead on that measure each year since 2013).
Despite the intense rivalry, there have been moments during Sunday Night‘s life when it was difficult to tell it apart from its nemesis.
Both relied on a mix of true-crime, health and celebrity stories to drive ratings. Seven’s show was launched with former 60 Minutes stalwart Mike Munro in the host’s chair; a bunch of former 60 Minutes staffers moved across to Seven in the wake of the Beirut kidnapping affair that caused such humiliation to Nine; and each show occasionally stooped to running stories “inspired by” the work of the other.
But here it is, writes News Corp columnist and Macquarie Radio broadcaster Justin Smith.
This week, the boorish radio host was forced into an apology, after being hunted by religious-types for his comments about the mother of Jesus.
They abused him, threatened his life, and protested outside his studio, until he yielded with an uncharacteristic backdown.
Frankly, I don’t think he had much to be sorry about – apart from being lame and being predictably offensive with his language.
Frankly, to me, Sandilands is as entertaining as a six-hour Japanese opera, and you only have to listen to him for two minutes to know that it’s his job to stir people with naughty words, and it’s his co-host’s job to say things like “Oh, you can’t say that, Kyle!”
But he has plenty of listeners who think otherwise and hang off his every word despite his faults. A bit like religion. So good luck to him on his success.
But the protesters who seemed determined to be offended are making two mistakes. First, they’re following something on faith alone, and second, they are taking Sandilands seriously.
And this is why.
When an internet troll gleefully told Molan that he hoped the TV host would die giving birth, it became a new metric for bravery.
Molan helped police locate and prosecute the monstrously sick individual who tapped out hatred to the young mum.
“I wish u a f***** still born I wish u a f***** still born I wish u a f***** still born AND U DIE IN THE PROCESS … hip hip hooray hip hip HOORAY,” he wrote.
In an interview later, the Channel 9 star didn’t take a backward step and went for the keyboard coward’s jugular: “You deserve to be called out publicly, you deserve to be humiliated, you deserve to potentially lose your job.”
But never ‘poor me’.
Molan dealt with this creep, one of the many impotent sickos crawling through the fringes of her life.
The death threats, the personal insults – endless.
The 36-year-old reporter also told News Corp journalist Jessica Halloran: “I am used to copping nasty comments, I am not a snowflake.”