By James Manning

This week in Sydney Nuñez recalled how CBS became the owner of Network 10, explaining that 10 and CBS have had a long relationship going back many years. With the local broadcaster in financial deep water, CBS had an investment it was not going to walk away from.

“When the ownership issue came up our thinking was quite evolutionary as we tried to understand the issue and what our options were,” Nuñez told Mediaweek.

“There was a realisation within CBS there was an opportunity in Australia for CBS to acquire a significant Australian media asset. We then put the full force of CBS into action to acquire the network.”

Nuñez said there were more similarities than differences between the US and Australian media markets, although they needed to understand the idiosyncrasies with the local market.

“It was an incredible opportunity and I am very proud of the management team at 10, which was going through a very challenging time. Being in administration is not a fun thing. I am also proud of my CBS colleagues who supported the move and of ongoing support that has taken us to where we are now.

“There seemed to be some thought that when CBS arrived we would just flip a switch and 10 would change the next day.

“We are going through a process, an evolution and the 2020 Upfront is part of that.

“10’s 2020 presentation shows off the depth and breadth of the content, most of which is returning, showing the success with consistency and building a schedule that fits the brand.

“We did take a few swings and misses this year and we knew the first half of 2019 was going to be difficult without the Big Bash League. We also new we had existing strong franchises plus new ones like The Masked Singer we were going to introduce.”

CBS hasn’t changed any of the 10 management team since taking control. “At the time of the acquisition we thought the management team deserved the opportunity to do what we knew they could do. We were incredibly fortunate to have Paul Anderson leading 10 as he came out of an incredibly challenging situation in administration.

“Leading the network through that was a big test of leadership capabilities. We supported the management team and they have done an extraordinary job. Two years later CBS is very proud of the way 10 has evolved.”

Calendar year 2019 saw a big investment in content from CBS.

“We are in the business to make a profit, but we are definitely not sitting around thinking of ways to spend more,” said Nuñez. “We knew we had to invest though. As a company CBS spends US$7b [annually] on content. Not all of the content we invest in is successful, but hopefully there is more success than failure.

“There is a limit to what we will invest in Network 10 as we are a fiscally disciplined company. We work closely with 10 and Paul and I speak at least every other day. We review the budgets and are financially in sync with each other.”

Nuñez was recently in Canada opening a new CBS production facility. When asked if something like that could ultimately be undertaken in Australia, Nuñez said: “That is possible. The model is changing and the model is not just about creating the content in the US. If the right opportunity came up [in Australia] of doing something similar we would look at it.”

Nuñez wouldn’t speak as to how that might happen, but he said: “There is no cookie cutter approach to this. There are a lot of different ways to do that.”

Also part of the CBS operation in Australia is a Sydney office under Nicole Sinclair, VP & MD, Asia Pacific and Stephen White, MD & SVP client relations Asia Pacific. “They look after Australia as we also manage our offices in Beijing and Singapore from here.

“In terms of distribution we also have a very important relationship with Stan for Showtime content. Our CBS colleagues here also look after CBS All Access with 10.”

Commenting on the explosion of on demand services and the models to supply them, Nuñez said: “There are a number of different roads media companies are going down. Some companies are deciding not to licence any of their content and keep it for their own platforms.

“Some companies are using a hybrid model and picking and choosing what content they want to put on what platform – whether it is their own platform or licensing it to third parties. That is where we are, sort of.

“As the direct-to-consumer model evolves the question for many media companies is, what works best? Disney is going global with a direct-to-consumer model, which is a very bold and ambitious move, but they have great IP.

“Some companies are deciding territory by territory, but there is no cookie cutter model, which is the beauty of the environment where there is the great demand for content.”

As to the outlook for Network 10 into 2020, Nuñez said he was “as confident as one could be” he said with a grin.

“In this business having healthy angst is a good thing. We don’t take anything for granted. The team works very hard on every single show we put to air. We feel very good about the line-up and we feel very confident.”

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Armando Nuñez with 10’s Rod Prosser (left), Beverley McGarvey and Paul Anderson

The winners will be revealed at The Star Event Centre, Sydney on Wednesday, 27th November 2019. The Awards Ceremony will be broadcast around Australia on the Nine Network, hosted by Guy Sebastian.

Breakthrough artist Tones and I led the nominations with eight. As well as having her songs nominated in the Producer of the Year and Engineer of the Year categories, the singer-songwriter of Dance Monkey has been nominated for Best Female Artist, Breakthrough Artist, Best Pop Release, Best Independent Release, Best Video presented by YouTube Music and Song of the Year presented by YouTube Music.

Tones and I

Equal second on the leader board, with seven nominations, is The Teskey Brothers, whose sophomore album Run Home Slow impressed critics this year and entered the ARIA Chart at #2, as well as making an appearance at the pointy end of the US iTunes Chart.

As well as Sam Teskey winning the ARIA Engineer Of The Year, The Teskey Brothers are up for Album Of The Year, Best Group, Breakthrough Artist, Best Independent Release, Best Blues & Roots Album, and Best Australian Live Act at this year’s ARIA Awards.

Also coming in with seven nominations are Hilltop Hoods, whose record-setting career has seen six of their eight albums peak at number one on the ARIA Chart, five singles reach the top 10, and winning a huge nine ARIA Awards since 2006. This year the hip hop group are nominated for Album Of The Year, Best Group, Best Hip Hop Release, Best Video presented by YouTube Music, Best Australian Live Act, Engineer of the Year, and Song Of The Year presented by YouTube Music.

With an impressive six nominations, including Best Cover Art for Emilie Pfitzner’s artwork on “Better In Blak”, Thelma Plum is proving herself as a force to be reckoned with this year. The release of her debut album Better In Blak saw her nominated for a National Indigenous Music Award for Best Video, perform at Splendour In The Grass and Groovin’ The Moo and showcased as triple j’s Feature Album.

Indie-rocker Julia Jacklin also received six nominations for her second studio album Crushing, which she has spent the year performing on stages around the world. In the past few years Jacklin has been awarded Best Independent Blues and Roots Album at the Australian Independent Record Labels Association Awards and has also been nominated for Best Female Artist and Song of The Year at the APRA Music Awards; she now has the chance to add an ARIA Award to this collection in November.

With five nominations, Australian icon Paul Kelly may also be adding to his collection of 14 ARIA Awards, thanks to the success of his 24th studio album Nature. This year, he is the first artist in Australian history to be nominated across three genres in the same year, scoring a win with collaborator James Ledger in the Best Classical Album category, as well as nominations for Best Blues and Roots Album and Best Adult Contemporary Album.

Denis Handlin, ARIA chairman and chairman and CEO of Sony Music Entertainment Australia and New Zealand and president, Asia said: “On behalf of the ARIA board, congratulations to all of today’s winners in the Fine Arts and Artisan Awards. It is a very talented group of artists and creative contributors, and we are very pleased to celebrate their outstanding achievement of winning an ARIA Award.

“I would also like to congratulate all of the nominees announced today for the 2019 ARIA Awards in partnership with YouTube Music. We are excited to host another celebration of Australian music at the 33rd ARIA Awards where Australian music fans can look forward to a magical night of music and special moments.”

Dan Rosen, ARIA chief executive, added: “2019 has been a brilliant year for Australian music, and that was on display today at the ARIA season launch. I congratulate the winners of the Fine Arts and Artisan ARIA Awards who were deservedly rewarded for their talent and artistry.

“I also congratulate all the 2019 ARIA Award nominees announced today. Our nominees come from different backgrounds and work across a range of genres, but are united in their incredible ability to entertain and inspire us with their music. 

“I’m also thrilled to present this year’s four incredible nominees for Telstra ARIA Music Teacher Of The Year. Without their work, and the work of music teachers all around the country, we would not be able to inspire the next generation of Australian music talent and ARIA Award winners. I encourage everyone to discover the amazing stories behind this year’s nominees and to show their support by voting.

“I look forward to celebrating all of these nominees and Australian music across the ARIA Season as we head towards November 27th and the 33rd ARIA Awards in partnership with YouTube Music.”

Mel Silva, VP & Managing Director of Google Australia and New Zealand, said: “The countdown towards Aussie music’s night of nights is officially on and we’re so thrilled to be working with ARIA and to celebrate the music industry. A huge congratulations to all the 2019 ARIA Awards nominees – and don’t forget to vote for Song of the Year and Best Video in Google Search!”

Hosting the ARIA launch event was Richard Wilkins with presenters Gemma Pike from Double J, Veronica and Lewis from triple j, Sally and Erica from triple j, Mike E and Emma from The Edge, Tim Blackwell from Nova and Ash London from the Hit Network.

Read the full list of nominees here.

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Top Photo: Mike E and Emma from The Edge

More songwriting and composing royalties were paid to music creators, music publishers and overseas collection societies than ever before by APRA AMCOS, according to the Australasian music rights management organisation. APRA AMCOS has reported a record-breaking $471.8m in total revenue for the 2018-19 financial year.

In the last decade APRA AMCOS group revenue has climbed 113.4% from the $221.1m reported in 2009-10.

Net distributable revenue of $410.9m in 2018-19 – the amount payable to members and affiliated societies – eclipsed last year’s $362.8m, and rose 13.2%, improving on the previous year-on-year growth of 8.2%.

For the second year in a row, digital is the standout revenue category with $175.4m, delivering 30.4% growth on last year’s results. The revenue generated from digital’s three sub-categories all increased year-on-year:

Audio streaming – $105m (up 28.2%)
Subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) – $26.1m (up 41.8%)
Websites and User Generated Content (UGC) – $35.3m (up 61.2%)

Since 2012-13, when audio streaming had its first full financial year impact with $2.4m collected, the category has grown an astonishing 4,275%.

SVOD and websites/UGC combined accounted for the biggest increase of all revenue types in the financial year, with a 52.1% uplift from the previous reporting period. The result is not only a reflection of how music is being consumed and used across digital platforms, but captures the first full financial year since APRA AMCOS’ licensing agreement with Facebook and its affiliated platforms Instagram, Oculus, and Messenger.

Income from radio and television broadcast totalled $126.8m, while public performance sources accounted for $92.4m.

The launch of OneMusic Australia on 1 July 2019 marked a new era of how music is licensed for use in businesses, and coincided with APRA AMCOS Chief Executive Dean Ormston’s first year in the top role.

“This year, APRA AMCOS firmly laid the groundwork for how we will better serve our 103,000 members and over 145,000 licensees into the future – by listening to our members, by making life simpler for our licensees and by ensuring a world’s best service culture that is focused on efficiency and transparency,” said Ormston.

Income from live music and concerts passed the $30m benchmark for the first time, an increase of 19% on last year. The growth of live in the past decade is significant: in 2019-10, live music income totalled $16.6m.

Notable tours in 18-19 included Pink’s 42-date Australasian tour with The Rubens supporting on all shows, Taylor Swift’s stadium jaunt with local support from Broods, and Bon Jovi with opening act Birds of Tokyo. Other top performers included Kendrick Lamar, Celine Dion, Post Malone, Phil Collins and the R’N’B Fridays brand.

A record number of APRA AMCOS members earned live performance royalties for the songs they played at gigs of all sizes across Australia and New Zealand. $7.1m was paid to 17,222 members, 15,663 of those unpublished.

44,892 APRA members earned royalties in Australia, with close to one-third earning royalties from their music being played or performed overseas. Revenue from international sources continue to increase annually, with $45.8m APRA revenue reported – up 4.8% on the previous year.

Cometti received his Hall of Fame membership medal from AFL great and a former Seven colleague Leigh Matthews.

Wheelchair racer Louise Sauvage became the first Paralympian to be elevated to legend status of the Sport Australia Hall of Fame at the 35th Sport Australia Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Gala Dinner in Melbourne on Thursday.

French Open champion Ashleigh Barty took home The Don Award, the first female tennis player to win the award, voted as the athlete who most inspired the nation.

Winx and her connections were presented with the Spirit of Sport Award and five young athletes were named as participants in our 2020 Scholarship and Mentoring Program

Sport Australia Hall of Fame chair John Bertrand AO said: “Tonight, we take the opportunity to reflect on one of the most valuable of sport’s many benefits, which is to provide a legacy, not only for future generations, but for our country as a whole.

“We are unique in the world in our recognition of the full 360 degree of national sporting achievers and tonight we honour the past, celebrate the present and embrace the future.”

Dennis Cometti induction for services to Sports Media

Born: 26.03.1949

Dennis Cometti was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame on October 10 2019 as a General Member for Sports Media. In a long career spanning half a century he became one of Australia’s best-known and most respected TV and radio sports broadcasters.

Cometti started as a radio announcer in Perth in 1968 while he was also trying to forge a moderately successful playing and coaching career with West Perth in the Western Australian Football League.

He went on to work for the ABC between 1972 and 1985, the Seven Network from 1986 to 2001, the Nine Network between 2002 and 2006 and returned to Seven from 2007 until his retirement in 2016. He was also the lead football caller for Melbourne radio station 3AW and then for Triple M, and wrote sports columns and blogs for The West Australian newspaper.

Commuting regularly between his hometown and the eastern states, Cometti was best-known Australia-wide for his football work, calling the AFL from its inception in 1990, but he also covered cricket and the Olympic Games as well as reading the sports news bulletins for both Seven and Nine in Perth.

He broadcast his first Test cricket match for the ABC in 1973 at age 23, the youngest to do so for the national broadcaster, and continued in this role for the next 13 years alongside iconic commentator Alan McGilvray.

Dennis Cometti with the athletes inducted in the Sport Australia Hall of Fame

Cometti covered three Summer Olympics for Seven – Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000 – specialising in swimming, and calling more Australian gold medals than any previous Australian television commentator.

He bowed out of full-time TV after the 2016 AFL Grand Final, the 16th that he had called.

Voted the Television Caller of the Year by the Australian Football Media Association a record 11 times, in 2006 he also won the Alf Potter Award for that season’s most outstanding media personality and the sports category at the West Australian of the Year awards in 2017. In 2018 he was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award for excellence in sports journalism at the 17th annual Sport Australia Media Awards.

Dennis Cometti is a member of the Melbourne Cricket Ground and Australian Football Media Association Halls of Fame. In 2019 he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for significant service to the broadcast media as a sports presenter, and to the community.

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Top Photo: Seven’s Basil Zempilas with Dennis Cometti

The multi-platinum hit makers performed 10 songs including their biggest hits as well as their two latest singles Wanted and Rescue Me, and engaged with the crowed between songs to provide insight into the stories behind some of their biggest hits.

Alan Fletcher, Jennifer Hansen, Sharon Johal and Ankur Dogra

Hosted by Nova 100 morning announcers Matt Tilley and Troy Ellis, OneRepublic kicked off the night with their hit Stop and Stare, followed by Something I Need, Love Runs Out and Rescue Me. After discussing the hit single he wrote for Beyoncé, Halo, lead vocalist Ryan Tedder impressed the crowd with his vocals on the hit before being joined on stage by talented singer Thandi Phoenix.

The crowd sang along as OneRepublic continued their high energy performance with Sucker, Lose Myself, the multi-platinum smash hit Apologise and concluded the set with Counting Stars.

Nova 100’s Matt Tilley and Troy Ellis

The Red Room guest list included Neighbours’ stars Sharon Johal, Jemma Donovan, Ben Hall and Zima Anderson. Smoothfm’s More Music Breakfast Show news journalist Jennifer Hansen, who was celebrating her birthday, was joined by husband Alan Fletcher (aka Dr Karl), with guests also including Nova 100 afternoon announcer Mel Tracina, tennis great and Postcards reporter Sam Groth and his wife Britt, The Voice’s 2019 contestant Jazmin Varlet and actress and Big Brother alumna Tahan Lew.

Nova has just announced a new Nova Red Room coming to Melbourne on January 4 – Lewis Capaldi who will play a special Red Room show during his Australian sold out tour.

By Andrew Mercado

And are we really only going to do this in Australia, while the rest of the world will know it as Black B*itch?

And why such a terrible new title? Total Control sounds like a Schwarzenegger movie, not something so now, so topical and so authentic.

Anyway, Deborah Mailman, Rachel Griffiths and Blackfella Films never disappoint, and this one, whatever it’s called, is right up there with the best of them. Must-see.

The other brilliant new Aussie series is Frayed (Wednesday on ABC). Sammy (played by comedian and creator Sarah Kendall) and her two pasty teenagers lob arrive in Newcastle after things go horribly wrong in London. And this is a hugely impressive debut for Kendall. Must-see.

Frayed is gloriously unhinged. It also pulls off the 1980s somewhat better than Les Norton did, especially thanks to Ben Mingay’s hilarious obsession with Dynasty. Actual Dynasty guest star Kerry Armstrong plays his mother, and she is sensational, yet again. It is a reminder that she is one of our greatest. Why she was wasted in SeaChange, playing the still ditzy, one-dimensional Heather Jelly (seriously Nine, she hadn’t evolved in 20 years?) is one of the great TV mysteries of 2019.

Another mystery is the return of Playing For Keeps (Wednesday on 10). It was pretty average in its first outing, but 10 gave it another shot, only to bring it back more boring and bland than before. Here’s a show, with so much potential, not even trying to make a better impression second time around. Yawn.

With the failure of the dreadful Bad Mothers (Nine) and the struggling Secret Bridesmaids’ Business (Seven), maybe it’s time for Aussie free-to-air networks to stop trying to make the next Offspring or Big Little Lies. They are all chasing the same female-skewing audience and it’s not working so how about trying something fresh? Just think carefully about what you are going to call your show.

Thursday Week 41 2019

By James Manning

• Seven News 914,000/893,000
• Nine News 759,000/773,000A
• Current Affair 637,000
• ABC News 598,000
• 7.30 515,000
• The Project 232,000/427,000
• 10 News First 302,000
• The Drum 140,000
• SBS World News 141,000

Breakfast TV

• Sunrise 274,000
• Today 169,000

Seven

Home and Away ended its week on 583,000 up marginally from 573,000 on Wednesday.

Bride & Prejudice: The Forbidden Weddings was on 384,000 after 397,000 on Wednesday.

The movie Kingsman: The Golden Circle then did 187,000.

Nine

Brady Halls was hosting A Current Affair last night with 637,000 watching.

The Block had a rare Thursday outing because of the NRL Grand Final taking over Sunday this week. The episode featured Scott Cam ordering trades off of site for one of the teams as their cash burn meant their ability to finish the property is in question. The episode was on 747,000.

Love Island followed with 240,000, just under half the launch audience of 490,000 on Monday.

10

Rachel Corbett was co-hosting The Project with Waleed Aly and Maude Garrett interviewed Will Smith in Los Angeles. The episode did 427,000 with the hosts interviewing the new MasterChef judges near the end of the episode.

The second night of The Bachelorette saw the opening night audience of 717,000 dip to 631,000.

Gogglebox managed to attract the channel’s biggest audience of the night with 704,000 after 561,000 a week ago.

ABC

Much of the evening was filled with the men’s World Cup Qualifier between Australia and Nepal. The audience was 191,000 as Australian won its second successive qualifier.

SBS

The new look Thursday schedule started with Ainsley’s Australian Market Menu with 179,000 watching him in South Australia.

Monty Don’s Paradise Garden then did 187,000.