Paramount Upfront 2024: All new and returning shows

Paramount has revealed its upcoming content slate for 2024, with new and returning shows coming to Channel 10 and 10 Play as well as new shows coming to Paramount+.

Channel 10 2024: New and Returning Shows

Paramount has promised that the new year will include a fresh and exciting early evening line-up plus the return of fan favourite programs and also some beloved legacy hits ready for discovery by a new generation of fans.

Gladiators is set for a triumphant return to Australian screens early in the new year.

See also: The return of Gladiators: Taking on Summer sport with 90s nostalgia

A team of 21st-century superhumans are relishing the chance to challenge a new breed of brave, everyday Aussie contenders in the ultimate test of speed, strength, stamina, agility and power. The returning series will be hosted by Liz Ellis and Beau Ryan.

Australian Survivor: Titans v Rebels will land back on the beaches of Samoa in 2024.

Hosted by Jonathan LaPaglia, the Titans will need to be at their best to take on the Rebels – a group of individuals who live life by a different set of rules.

Across the ocean from Samoa’s white sands to Africa’s teeming jungles, 2024 will see the 10th season of the Logie-winning I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here!

Paramount has promised that the 10th season is set to be the best yet with plenty of surprises as well as a brand-new co-host.

Alongside Julia Morris in the African treehouse, next year will be Robert Irwin, with the new duo set to debut on Sunday, March 24.

Filling out March is the Australian Formula One Grand Prix, with the only place to watch live and free being on 10 and 10 Play.

Deal or No Deal is set to return to screens, hosted by Gold Logie winner Grand Denyer.

10’s comedy lineup is all returning including Have You Been Paying Attention?, The Cheap Seats, Thank God You’re Here, Gogglebox Australia and Taskmaster.

A new season of Hunted Australia is coming as a group of fugitives will again attempt to vanish into the urban wilderness and survive a game of cat and mouse.

The second half of 2024 will see The Amazing Race Australia: Celebrity Edition return for a second season. Brand new celebrities and their loved ones will be once again tossed out of their comfort zone to scramble from pitstop to pitstop for their chosen charity.

A raft of classic shows are also returning for a new generation of viewers.

Wheel of Fortune Australia, hosted by Graham Norton and produced by Whisper North, part of the Sony Pictures Television-backed Whisper Group, will bring the game show back to primetime.

A brand-new incarnation of the iconic cooking show Ready Steady Cook is set to hook in Friday night audiences. Miguel Maestre will host.

Factual favourites returning include Bondi Rescue, Ambulance Australia, Mirror Mirror, The Dog House Australia and Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly. 

10 headliners The Bachelors Australia, Shark Tank Australia and The Masked Singer Australia are also returning.

Multichannels

The kids will be sorted on Nicholdeon with the likes of PAW Patrol, Blue’s Clues & You!, Baby Shark’s Big Show, SpongeBob SquarePants, The Really Loud House and Middlemost Post. Over at Nick@Nite, the bigger kids have Friends, The Graham Norton Show and various movies.

Bold and Peach will feature NCIS, Bull, The Big Bang Theory and South Park. The channels will also feature the A-League and the NBL. 

Paramount+ 2024: New and Returning Shows

Headlining Paramount+’s 2024 lineup is the announcement that Top Gear Australia is coming to the platform.

The re-vamped series will feature three new co-drivers at the wheel: Blair ‘Moog’ Joscelyne, the co-creator of the popular auto series Mighty Car Mods; Beau Ryan and Jonathan LaPaglia. Together, they will headline the new incarnation of Top Gear Australia.

Dropping November 10, NCIS: SYDNEY is the first-ever series from the global NCIS franchise to be shot outside the United States. NCIS: SYDNEY follows the high-octane adventures of a multinational task comprising NCIS agents and members of the Australian Federal Police as they police the most contested patch of ocean on Earth.

A new series titled Paper Dolls is set to premiere on Paramount+ on December 7, with the eight-part drama exploring the meteoric rise and tumultuous fall of HARLOW, a fictional girl group born of the world of reality television. 

The second season of Last King of the Cross returns as Paramount+’s most-watched local original series as well as the upcoming premium event series Fake. Starring Asher Keddie and David Wenham and inspired by Stephanie Wood’s bestselling book, this eight-part series delivers a meditation on love in a world of lies and deceit. 

The hit 2023 series The Inspired Unemployed (Impractical) Jokers is primed to return in 2024, gifting fans of cringe comedy another season of pranks and punishments.

MTV’s ‘Shores’ franchise is getting its own Aussie twist with Aussie Shore. Starting with Jersey Shore, MTV’s hit franchise has expanded to multiple global destinations including Geordie Shore (England), Warsaw Shore (Poland), Rio Shore (Brazil) and Acapulco Shore (Mexico). 

2024 will mark the 40th anniversary of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, with the all-new series, Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles set to premiere. The 25th anniversary of SpongeBob SquarePants will also take place as the platform will have all-new episodes of the animated series. 

The all-new CG-animated preschool series Dora marks the return of the Latina heroine along with all the original series’ beloved characters.

A second season of Tokyo Vice will also delve deeper into the Tokyo underworld of the 1990s.

Paramount+ is the streaming home of the Star Trek Universe, boasting an expansive library of Star Trek series including full seasons of Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek: The Next Generation; the Paramount+ original series Star Trek: Discovery; Star Trek: Picard; Star Trek: Strange New Worlds; animated series Star Trek: Lower Decks; and the complete line-up of Star Trek films.

2024 will see the long-running Star Trek: Discovery conclude with its fifth and final season.

On the sporting front, Paramount+ will provide front-row seats to the Matildas and Socceroos, streaming live coverage of Australia’s two national teams on the international stage.

As the Socceroos prepare for a date with the AFC Asian Cup in January 2024, fans will be able to enjoy live broadcasts of all the team’s matches as well as the entire tournament’s matches on Paramount+.

The Subway Socceroos World Cup qualifiers will kick off in November 2023 and continue in March and June 2024, when Australia’s men’s team will once again be chasing a place in football’s biggest tournament.

Meanwhile, the CommBank Matildas are ready for their AFC Olympic qualifiers campaign. If they manage to top their group, they’ll progress to the next stage of qualifiers in February 2024. 

Locally, every match of every round in the Isuzu UTE A-League and Liberty A-League seasons will continue live on Paramount+.

The world’s oldest national football competition will once again captivate football lovers in 2024, with the final rounds of the Emirates FA Cup available exclusively on Paramount+.

Robert Irwin named co-host of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!

After months of speculation, Network 10 has announced that wildlife warrior Robert Irwin is packing his bags for South Africa and will join the Jungle Queen, Julia Morris, as co-host for the 10th season of I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here!.

Irwin – a passionate conservationist, zookeeper, photographer, and presenter – will swap Australia Zoo for the wilds of Africa to run the latest crop of celebrities through their paces.

Robert Irwin said: “It’s a huge honour to be the new co-host of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!. I can’t wait to plunge back into the incredible African jungle and introduce our celebrities to the magnificent wildlife that call the jungle home.

“Most of all, I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to work alongside the incredibly kind and talented Julia Morris. Crikey! This is going to be a wild ride!”

Julia Morris said: “I am absolutely overjoyed by the appointment of my spectacular new co-host, Robert Irwin. Audiences will be peaking at how much fun we have in store. You might think Robert and I are an unlikely duo, but it turns out we’re a magical combination! Season 10, here we come!”

In February, it was announced that previous I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here! co-host, Dr Chris Brown would be leaving Network 10 to join rival network Seven.

Brown started his TV career with Seven on Harry’s Practice two decades ago.

See Also: Dr Chris Brown jumps ship from 10 to Seven in TV shakeup

Paramount gets the keys to Top Gear Australia

Paramount+ and BBC Studios Australia and New Zealand have announced a new Australian version of Top Gear coming to Paramount+ Australia in 2024. BBC Studios’ local production arm will produce the series.

The three new hosts joining the series include car enthusiast Blair Joscelyne, Beau Ryan and Jonathan LaPaglia. 

Joscelyne is the co-creator of the popular indie auto YouTube series Mighty Car Mods. With his best mate Marty Mulholland, the independent automotive series began back in 2007, when Marty and Moog started filming videos in Marty’s mum’s driveway.

Top Gear Australia

Blair said: “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity when you get asked to be part of one of the biggest motoring shows in the world. And I will take my job seriously of frying the tyres of any vehicle that the producers are irresponsible enough to hand me the keys to.”

Beau Ryan said: “I’m super excited to be part of such an iconic franchise and can’t wait to bring it back to Australia. So, fasten your seatbelts, because this is going to be one hell of a ride!”

Jonathan LaPaglia said: “When Network 10 and BBC Studios asked me if I’d be interested traveling all over the world to test really cool cars and behave like an idiot I said, “Of course I’m interested. Where do I sign? Top Gear is arguably the biggest (and greatest) car show ever and as a massive fan, I used to fantasise about being on it one day as a guest racing the Reasonably Priced Car around their test track. I waited, that call never came. But 20 years later someone at Top Gear HQ screwed up, confused me with someone else, and asked me to be the host of Top Gear Australia? Buckle up, this could get bumpy!”

SVP of content & programming, Paramount Australia & New Zealand, Daniel Monaghan said: “We are thrilled to be partnering with BBC Studios to bring a localised version of the iconic series to Paramount +. Top Gear Australia promises to deliver everything fans love about the show but with an Aussie twist. We can’t wait for Jonathan, Beau and Blair to get behind the wheel of the world’s biggest car entertainment show.”

The eight-part series will begin filming later this year.

Grant Denyer to host Deal or No Deal on 10 in 2024

Deal or No Deal, the game show where contestants must beat The Banker to win a huge cash prize, is making a return to screens on Channel 10 and 10 Play in 2024.

The contest of nerve, luck and gut instinct will be fronted by Gold Logie winner Grant Denyer.

Grant said: “We’re back baby! I’m incredibly excited to be bringing this global mega-format back to Aussie screens. It’s an absolute gem of a show with an enormous and much-deserved worldwide following.”

Deal or No Deal is one of television’s most successful formats ever, with 325 productions worldwide.

Every episode is a high-pressure, high-stakes game of risk versus reward in which contestants face a series of decisions about which briefcase to open.

With an array of sealed briefcases filled with varying amounts of cash, contestants must decide whether or not to accept an offer from the mysterious Banker in exchange for what might be contained in their chosen briefcase.

Grant added: “Deal or No Deal is steeped in suspense and loaded with risk at every turn, but there’s always the chance of massive riches for contestants who can hold their nerve. Suspense, risk and big money – those are the key ingredients that will ensure everyone is on the edge of their couch.”

Deal or No Deal will form part of a new early evening lineup, kicking off with Neighbours at 4.00pm Monday – Thursdays, followed by The Bold and the Beautiful at 4.30pm.

10 News First will return to a one-hour bulletin, delivering news coverage from 5.00pm. Deal or No Deal will then hit screens at 6.00pm followed by The Project at 6.30pm.

Deal or No Deal is a Banijay Group format produced by Endemol Shine Australia for Network 10.

Network 10 is currently on the search for contestants to make a deal so if you have what it takes, apply here.

Premium and Advertising tiers coming to Paramount+ from November 16

Paramount ANZ has announced that Paramount+ is introducing a Premium Tier to roll out on November 16 in Australia. The Premium Plan will launch for the streaming platform in Australia for $13.99 monthly and $124.99 annually.

The Premium plan is set to bring Paramount’s blockbusters, originals and shows to new heights with premium quality formats, including 4K UHD, HDR10, Dolby Vision, and Dolby Atmos. Premium subscribers can also utilize four concurrent streams (instead of the two streams that come with the standard plan), unlocking entertainment for the whole family to enjoy.

The Advertising tier will roll out in Australia in 2024.

“After expanding our footprint to more than 45 markets last year, we are focused on scaling our business and providing customer choice. Following the launch of the Mobile plan in Mexico and Brazil, the introduction of the Premium and Ad-supported plans will give us the ability to better serve different consumer segments by providing multiple pricing options while also tapping into tremendous opportunities among our advertising and brand partners,” said Marco Nobili, executive vice president, and international general manager for Paramount+.

Australian Survivor to host global shoppable TV pilot for Paramount

Paramount Global has selected Paramount Australia as the pilot market for a Shoppable TV initiative that provides a seamless consumer experience for viewers to purchase products from their favourite show, straight from their connected TV screen.

This advertising innovation was crafted in collaboration with technology partner KERV and will not only be a first for Paramount globally, but also a first for the Australian market.

Lee Sears, executive vice president, head of international advertising sales and integrated marketing, Paramount Global said: “We’re thrilled to be deepening our global partnership with KERV and Paramount Australia has played a key role in extending this collaboration with the Shoppable TV proof of concept.

“The local expertise of the Paramount Australia Sales team, combined with an advanced and bold Australian advertising industry that leans into innovation, provides the ideal market to trial new technologies like Shoppable TV that have the potential to influence our global strategy,” added Lee.

Shoppable TV will integrate KERV’s technology, providing consumers with an engaging and convenient shopping experience via their remote-control, allowing viewers to watch, pause, browse, select and shop brands and products they have just viewed.

Viewers will receive an on-screen message inviting them to pause content and explore Survivor merchandise available in the Paramount Shop. Once paused a feature product carousel will appear showcasing available products and a ‘Shop Now’ call to action. After selecting a product, a shoppable screen will expand providing detailed product information and a QR code directing viewers to ‘Shop Now’.

The Shoppable TV pilot during Australian Survivor will provide insights on the technology before rolling out to other international markets in Paramount’s global business.

Rod Prosser, chief sales officer, Paramount Australia said: “Proactively testing this proof of concept in our own business and ecosystem demonstrates our confidence and commitment to pave the way forward with contextual, immersive and choice-based advertising experiences.

“We’re also incredibly proud to be the pilot market for this intuitive consumer experience that deepens audience connection and engagement with content, simplifies the customer journey and bridges the gap between content discovery and purchase.

“This technology has the potential to take brand integrations to the next level and is testament to our commitment and expertise in pushing boundaries and adopting strategies that elevate brands and connect with contemporary consumer behaviour and expectations,” said Prosser.

Marika Roque, chief operating officer and chief innovation officer, KERV said: “Paramount’s global pilot of Shoppable TV is also a major milestone for the Australian advertising industry. It will seamlessly integrate content and purchase options for an immersive and choice-based viewing experience, for the first time in this market.

“The pilot will also test and refine new advertising technologies that elevate brand reach and meet the expectations of contemporary consumers. We’re excited to embark on this journey and trailblaze the way viewers engage with advertising with an innovation-first partner like Paramount.”

Clients and agencies can connect with Paramount Australia now to register their interest in Shoppable TV with the pilot due to be completed by March 2024.

Paramount ANZ to extend dynamic video capabilities of BrandBOOST ad product suite

Paramount Australia in partnership with Innovid, is extending dynamic video capabilities to the BrandBOOST ad product suite, offering personalisation and relevancy at scale to drive campaign efficiencies and deliver brand outcomes.

This enhanced capability builds on BrandBOOST’s success in market and will integrate data triggers such as time of day, day of week, weather, and location, to automatically generate real-time and relevant creative content.

Combining data-driven solutions and dynamic creative optimisation, BrandBOOST will automate content creation delivering tailored messages in real-time to target audiences, with precise and highly relevant personalisation.

Rod Prosser, chief sales officer, Paramount Australia said: “Research shows us that consumers want personalised experiences.

“And we’ve also seen the results that dynamic video can deliver and are excited to expand dynamic capabilities to our premium BrandBOOST product suite.”

Industry data shows 78% of consumers prefer brands offering personalised experiences demonstrating the need for marketers to provide contextual advertising.

Working with several brands including Perfection Fresh and Somat, Paramount Australia also undertook comprehensive and independent brand lift studies via Lucid, in partnership with KERV.

These brand lift studies tested the impact of dynamic video campaigns in MasterChef Australia with results surpassing local and global benchmarks.

The studies showed significant uplifts in brand metrics with dynamic video campaigns cutting through the clutter resulting in an average uplift of 22% in ad recall and increasing brand awareness by 14%. Challenger brands saw even greater results seeing a 19% uplift in brand awareness.

Consideration grew on average 23.6% with some brands witnessing up to 39% uplift and purchase intent was also positively impacted with an average uplift of 8%, with some product categories seeing growth of up to 50%.

The expanded BrandBOOST product suite is in market now and joins dynamic video powered by KERV as part of Paramount Australia’s premium advertising solutions, offering marketers the tools, insights, and metrics necessary for crafting successful, outcome-driven marketing strategies.

Paramount unveils new measurement tools to provide insights into brand and business KPIs

Paramount Australia has launched a suite of progressive measurement products to empower advertisers and marketers with insights to design and deliver holistic marketing strategies.

Meeting the industry’s need for outcome-based approaches, Paramount Australia has introduced four new measurement tools to ensure marketers can validate and amplify the impact of connected TV (CTV) advertising within their entire marketing mix.

Rod Prosser, chief sales officer Paramount Australia said: “Proof of performance is a key pillar in our strategic approach for 2024.

“The industry is shifting towards an outcome-based approach so there’s an expectation that effective marketing is built on understanding what’s driving results.

“We’re closing the loop for marketers by providing more meaningful metrics that demonstrate the role and power of CTV advertising within their marketing mix and empowering them to respond to trends and insights to achieve business outcomes.”

The four new measurement solutions provide insights into brand and business KPIs.

Digital Brand Impact Study, in partnership with Innovid and Brand Metrics, gives advertisers a consumer pulse check, testing digital campaign activity against brand KPIs.

Viewers are invited to share sentiment towards a campaign they have been exposed to with real-time survey responses and feedback via their remote control.

Paramount Interactive Attribution in partnership with Innovid, identifies the impact of CTV interactive advertising either as a standalone tactic or integrated within a holistic broadcast video on demand (BVOD) campaign.

By tracking viewer engagement and customer journeys in a privacy-first environment, this tool validates interactive and BVOD advertising against business outcomes such as booking appointments, online inquiries, or sign-up forms, and provides audience insights to refine the campaign for maximise results.

The power of this solution was reinforced during the first campaign with Lendi, an online home loan comparison provider. It revealed 10 Play viewers aged 35-44, who watched reality travel shows like Australian Survivor and The Amazing Race, showed heightened interest in the brand and generated a website response rate 260% higher than the campaign average.

Paramount Brand Lift Study in partnership with Lucid, is a responsive traditional brand lift study that tracks digital campaigns on 10 Play across all devices and creatives.

Providing rapid access to essential brand metrics via Lucid’s verified online research, advertisers can track up to five brand KPIs such as awareness, consideration, ad recall and intent to purchase.

Paramount Data Collaboration in partnership with LiveRamp, empowers advertisers to conduct their own attribution and understand the role of Paramount within their broader media mix.

Advertisers can enrich their customer and consumer understanding, activate against their first-party data on 10 Play and maximise the effectiveness of their marketing mix through campaign and sponsorship attribution.

This compelling suite of measurement solutions equips marketers with reliable and meaningful insights to craft successful outcome-driven marketing strategies.

The combination of data-led ad experiences and the tools to measure effectiveness, sets Paramount Australia apart providing a unique opportunity for advertisers to respond to a dynamic marketing environment, drive efficiencies and deliver on brand outcomes.

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Top Image: Jarrod Villani, Daniel Monaghan, Beverley McGarvey and Rod Prosser

Paramount ANZ has held its 2024 upfront at its Pyrmont studios in Sydney, and made a series of major announcements at the event.

To speak about all these announcements, Mediaweek caught up with Paramount ANZ’s SVP content and programming, Daniel Monaghan, and chief sales officer, Rod Prosser.

Advertiser announcements 

The business announcements from the Paramount 2024 Upfront span shoppable TV, the BrandBOOST ad product suite, and a new series of measurement products, creating a network that impacts every aspect of the advertising experience with Paramount.

Combined, Prosser said that the announcements mark “a really big step forward” for Paramount’s offering. 

Prosser: “12 months ago we announced a couple of significant partnerships, one being with Innovid and one being with KERV. Both of those partners brought ad experiences to the connected TV,  which was exciting. We really built that out across the last 12 months, and we’ve had some great success with brands and clients around the uptake. We’ve delivered over 100 campaigns across the suite of BrandBOOST products, so the evolution for us is really about deepening the partnerships that we have.

“We’ve really focused on attribution and measurement. We think it’s really important that clients really understand what benefits Paramount can bring to the table.”

In exciting news for the Australian market, Down Under has been chosen by Paramount Global to be the test market for shoppable TV, launching its pilot alongside the upcoming season of Australian Survivor. 

Prosser: “Shoppable TV is really exciting. What this proof of concept will allow us to do is demonstrate the worth of our dynamic ads. We will do a trial through one of our noisiest formats in Survivor, with a global partner tested here locally with KERV. 

“Essentially, it will come to life in Survivor when a viewer is prompted to pause in an environment. They’ll be then served various products that they can go and shop Survivor buffs and other integrated products. 

“Once that proof of concept has been validated, it will then roll out across the globe within the ecosystem, which is really, really exciting for us because we’re the test market. There’s been a lot of questions as to why we would be the test market, and part of that is we’re a very sophisticated market when it comes to addressable TV.”

2024 Paramount Slate

In a slate full of new and returning shows, one of the highlights is the local production of the Top Gear franchise starring Blair Joscelyne, Beau Ryan, and Jonathan LaPaglia.

Monaghan: “Top Gear is a Paramount+ premiere. It’s obviously a global franchise, it’s been running in the UK for many years. It’s hugely, hugely popular with an audience that is hugely loyal.

“In terms of commissioning it for Australia, we’ve commissioned a version that is shot in-studio here but it’s global in its travel and global in its appeal – where they go, what cars they drive. That was really important because we wanted to make a big buzzy version, not just a localised one set in one city. It’s going to look really premium, and the aim is to drive people to Paramount+ to watch it.”

Monaghan said that the commissioning of Top Gear reflects the wider work that Paramount does when looking for new shows to bring Australians.

“That is the philosophy of Paramount+ and 10 as well – we are populist, we want big broad audiences watching our shows. You’ll see that from our commissions on Paramount+, NCIS Sydney and things like Last King of the Cross. We take brands, we take IP, we take large talent, and our aim is to reach as many people as possible.”

Top Gear Australia

Key messages

When asked what they each hoped the key takeaway the market would get from the 2024 Upfront would be, Prosser and Monaghan both pointed to the unique offering that Paramount can offer brands.

Prosser: “The point we want to make really clear is that we are very different in this market. We are unrivalled in terms of breadth of platform – we’re free to air, we’re BVOD, we’re SVOD, we’re AVOD, we’re FAST. 

“Off the back of that, we’re going to market with what will be effectively a converged trading position and selling position. Because it’s important once you have that breadth of platforms that we tie them all together.”

Monaghan: “From a content perspective, we’re the only Australian media company that has that guaranteed pipeline of global content from Paramount, plus our local content. We plan to continue that momentum all the way through the year – we’re starting with NCIS: Sydney on Paramount+ on November 10, and the local and international content will run nonstop. 

“The same goes for Network 10. January 7 is Gladiators in 2024, and we will roll through the year with that momentum all the way through to Christmas. That is our focus.”

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Top Image: Daniel Monaghan and Rod Prosser

On Thursday night at SXSW Sydney, Emmy-nominated director Sally Aitken joined The Wiggles – including the OGs Anthony Field, Greg Page, Murray Cook, and Jeff Fatt – on the black carpet for the World Premiere screening of Hot Potato: The Story of the Wiggles.

The documentary tells the story of four friends who recorded a one-off album of children’s music in the early ‘90s, setting off a chain of events that would see them become the most successful children’s act of all time. All the wiggly action is available to watch when Hot Potato: The Story of The Wiggles launches October 24 on Prime Video globally.

Ahead of the premiere, Mediaweek sat down with director, Sally Aitken, and Prime Video’s head of content ANZ, Alexandra Gilbert.

Alexandra Gilbert and Sally Aitken

Reflecting on how the Hot Potato documentary came to be, Aitken and Gilbert said that it was an easy decision to pick the project up – so easy, in fact, that they wondered why it hadn’t been done sooner.

Aitken: “It all came about because a friend of mine in New Zealand had a young filmmaker approach her with the possibility of the story. She reached out to me, and I was really surprised that they’ve never really done a long-form before – there’s such an amazing, improbable story that leapt off the page. We went through the process of engaging with The Wiggles to see if that would be something of interest to them, and I think they’re at a stage where they’re really ready for that legacy story. 

“We were very interested in the origin of the group, but also their longevity and how they’ve endured. The film is an homage to this relationship between The Wiggles and their fans. Many of their original fans are now adults and they have their own children, it’s like the passing on of something precious.”

Gilbert: “When Sally and I sat down in Los Angeles about a year ago and we first spoke about this, the first thing that struck was that it was at a time when we felt like audiences were really craving this nostalgic, feel-good story. But also, The Wiggles had reemerged into the cultural zeitgeist – not long before that, they’d won the Triple J Hottest 100 and they were doing these OG concerts.

“The other thing, on the unscripted side in particular, is exclusivity. These guys have been around for three decades and we’ve seen bits and pieces along the way, but this comprehensive story and exploration of what The Wiggles are and how they came to be is really special. The feature delivers tears, and shock, and and triumph – it’s a beautiful piece, and we’re so excited.”

Director Sally Aitken and The OG Wiggles

The overarching story of The Wiggles is well-known enough that most people would feel they’ve got a baseline level of understanding, so you may not expect there to be too many surprises to be unearthed along the way. The pair said that the most surprising thing they discovered while telling the story was just how genuine the group are in their love for what they do. 

Aitken: “The thing that shouldn’t be surprising, but perhaps is, is how committed they are to music and to children. It is the DNA of what they do, and I really, really wanted to respect and honour that.

“If you’ve played Hot Potato millions of times, you would think that maybe you would be tired of playing Hot Potato again, and they weren’t. You can’t script that kind of commitment, you can’t predict that kind of passion. You can be cynical about those things, but actually, what you find is how authentically held that musicality and that passion is.

Gilbert: “What I really loved was the intelligence and intentionality around how they connect with children. Little tidbits like the fact that children love telling you what to do, so there are songs where they give instructions, and they yell at Jeff to wake up –  hearing the group themselves explain highlights the fact that their origin is childhood educators. They’re coming from this place of real passion and respect for their children audience.”

When asked whether there were any significant challenges that arose when it came to putting the documentary together, Aitken laughs “Why don’t you try looking through 30 plus years of archives!”

Aitken: “I did joke with someone that you have to be careful what you wish for, because there’s not just the production archive, there’s everything that anyone has ever filmed or written about The Wiggles.

“Then there are personal archives. Jeff Fatt, the original purple Wiggle, has taken a photograph every day since the early 90s – so we had access to all of Jeff’s amazing photo albums, which have never really been seen before. On top of all of that, we did a call out for fans to dust off the old VHS out of the corner cupboard. We were overwhelmed by these beautiful videos and the stories that accompanied them. 

“With that enormous bed, and then all the interviews, and the concerts, and all the music, we had to bring it down to a feature documentary.”

The OG Wiggles visit NASA

There’s a major buzz around Hot Potato, and it would be impossible to deny the role that the power of nostalgia has in that. Harnessing that power is something that the pair say has worked in their favour. 

Aitken: “I think there’s something to the idea that we live in a really fast world, and our kids grow up really quickly. Childhood is this very precious time, and it goes fast, so there is something about tapping into that moment, when the world is new and exciting. 

“It’s a precious time, and I think people are looking to recapture that in a world which is vast, and a world that is beset with so many challenges.”

Gilbert: “With music, it’s really interesting because it’s such a strong emotional access point – you don’t remember that you know the words to Hot Potato, and then suddenly you do, and there’s this influx of memories of what it felt like to be that child.

“The other part of this is that everything that’s old is new again. There’s something cool about the early 90s and these daggy guys, that’s a little bit fashionable right now.”

Despite being an Australian band, Hot Potato: The Story of the Wiggles is a story that Amazon is taking globally. Gilbert said that the expectations are high for the documentary in overseas markets, driven by the success that The Wiggles have seen all over the globe.

Gilbert: “They do have global cultural resonance, and we’re excited to be launching in 240 countries and territories – including the US and the UK and Canada, where they are well established and have had very successful tours. But there are so many elements to this story that are geographically boundless. It’s not only this nostalgia and familiarity with the group, but it’s a business story. It’s a story of humans who have been enmeshed with each other in this common mission to bring music to children for three decades. 

“In every country where The Wiggles have entered and brought their music, they’ve been hugely successful relatively quickly. So there’s a lot of confidence behind the brand in that sense as well.”

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Top Image: The OG Wiggles

The timing is not brilliant, but SCA is proceeding with plans it has been working on to refresh regional breakfast shows on the Hit Network in New South Wales and Queensland.

The Hit Network breakfast shows impacted are Gosford’s Maz and Matty, Gold Coast’s Bianca, Ben & Lakey, Newcastle’s Nick, Jess & Ducko and Townsville’s Cliffo & Bronte.

There has been little revealed yet as to what will replace these shows. There is speculation that SCA could have a single regional breakfast show for NSW and Queensland, broadcasting out of Newcastle and Gold Coast respectively.

The regional move comes at a bad time for SCA. Corporate raider Anchorage Capital is hoping to gain control of SCA’s Hit Network stations as part of the bid involving ARN, and would presumably be looking for ways to cut costs. Broadcasters and staff impacted by these moves from SCA could be forgiven for thinking the future might be bleak regardless of who is running the business.

A spokesperson for SCA provided Mediaweek with the following statement:

SCA Head of Regional Content, Blair Woodcock, announced today there will be a new breakfast line up for 2024 on 90.9 Sea FM.

After returning to the Gold Coast earlier this year and joining the breakfast team, Danny Lakey will usher in 2024 with a new radio partner with an announcement soon.

Current breakfast hosts Bianca Dye and Ben Hannant will not return in the new year, opting to focus on new pathways.

“Ben and Bianca have always gone the extra mile and have even put themselves on the line to help community groups and individuals up and down the coast with their generous nature and positive energy, and they’ll be missed from the speakers in 2024. We are set for an exciting time as we plan the new show that will be waking up in this amazing part of the world,” said Woodcock.

Bianca Dye was not on air today, with Ben & Lakey hosting.

Sea FM’s Bianca, Dan and Ben. Top photo: Maz and Matty and their team say goodbye.

The moves first became public last week as the last Maz and Matty Show went out on Sea FM in Gosford. The fans of the Hit breakfast show heard Maz Compton and Matt Baseley farewell their audience. Their combined 19,000 Instagram followers also saw farewells from both hosts.

Writing about the decision to axe the show, Baseley said: “The powers that be have decided that our show won’t be coming back in 2024, in what has been a tough couple of weeks processing it all, we went out with a BANG this morning.

“It’s been a privilege sharing the studio with these fine humans and the airwaves with NSW for the last 16 months.

“Who knows what 2024 will bring, but I’m kinda excited to see.

“As Dr Suess said, ‘don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened’. #thatsshowbiz”

Friends reaching out on social media included Merrick Watts (Baseley produced him on breakfast at Nova 969), industry publicist Bec Brown and former Nova network program director Dean Buchanan.

Commenting on her departure, Compton said: “Ah radio…what a ride. Thank you & bye bye airwaves. I’m grateful to our wonderful listeners for tuning in each morning, and I feel incredibly blessed to have been part of the magic of the Maz and Matty breakfast show.

“A dream team and a dream run. I’m hanging up the headphones for now, taking some time out of the biz to decompress and figure out what’s next.”

Friends and colleagues reaching out to Maz included former SCA announcer Ash London and Maz’s former Nova and SCA co-host Dan Debuf who commented, “Know them feels.”

Regional radio: SCA has been here before

The marginalisation of regional radio is nothing new. In mid-2020 Mediaweek covered what was labelled “Black Friday” as we explained to readers:

SCA gave notice to the hosts of 19 regional breakfast shows around Australia they were no longer needed.

Breakfast shows around the Hit Network went out with their heads held high, explaining to their listeners “an internal restructure” meant the shows were coming to an end.

Commentary from SCA at the time was:

SCA has adapted to the challenges presented by the COVID-19 environment and will deliver a different programming model across our Hit regional network. The changes will mean that unfortunately a number of our local breakfast shows will be impacted, and we would like to thank our dedicated and talented people who are affected today by this new approach. We are actively looking for redeployment opportunities for some of these roles, however, sadly some of our people will be leaving SCA.
(SCA chief content officer, Dave Cameron)

See also:
Black Friday: 19 Hit Network breakfast shows say goodbye
SCA to use statewide breakfast shows for Hit Network regional stations

This month, News Corp Australia unveiled the News Health Network, bringing all the health brands and verticals under the Network banner.

The move has been complemented by audience targeting capabilities and custom-produced health, well-being and beauty content so that clients are able to access a 5.7 million monthly audience of health intenders at scale and drive meaningful outcomes. 

Mediaweek caught up with News Corp Australia’s editorial director of premium food and travel Kerrie McCallum.

“Aside from the fact that we’ve done this successfully with food, travel, sport, and other categories, the health and well-being category is booming,” McCallum said when asked why the team are launching the Health Network.

“There is definitely a big consumer need for access to experts, and I think that’s a really critical thing for us – we are trusted experts, and the health category has a lot of confusing clutter to cut through. Audiences are really turning to us for that information.

“We have the leading health brand, Body+Soul, and then when you layer in verticals like Taste Eat Real, Kidspot, and the lifestyle pillars on news.com.au and the metro mastheads, we really reach a lot of health intenders. It made total sense from both a consumer and a client perspective.”

Whilst the announcement of the Health Network marks the official launch of the platform, McCallum said that there has been a lot of work and research that has gone on behind the scenes in the lead-up to launch.

“The launch of the Health Network has actually been 12 months in the making. It was informed by a very big landmark consumer research study called Emotional Connections we did with The Lab, and that helped distil research into consumer behaviours.”

McCallum said that one of the major lessons from the Emotional Connections study was that “health has changed, and so have we.”

“When you think about what the world went through during the pandemic, we’re really only discovering the impacts now. It really has changed our attitude to health and well-being, and the research said that there has been a 41% growth in consumers interested in health and well-being content compared with pre-pandemic figures.

“The other really key thing that came out of it, which fascinated us all, was that people wanted to be happy – that was the number one concern, 67% of people wanted to be happy. Things like weight loss have bumped out of the top five, and people are a lot more focused on compassion and self-care. They’re being a little bit easier on themselves, it’s about progress over perfection. The happiness factor was a massive game changer for us and how we shape our content.”

People can access the Health Network content across print, digital, podcasts and social channels, as well as video content that provides people with “news they can use.”

Traditionally, news environments have focused on text-first page formats, with video often thought of as a secondary experience. News Corp Australia’s digital network offers a content ecosystem that focuses on video as the core page type, bringing audiences snackable content from social media platforms including Snapchat and TikTok – and the Health Network will be no different.

With the platform out there in the world, McCallum said that News Corp’s work in affiliate content and e-commerce means that the Health Network is good news for brands as well as consumers. 

“Affiliate content and e-commerce is a critical category for health and wellness at News Corp, particularly when you look at the fact that consumer health expenditures going to grow from $277 billion now to $376 billion by 2027. There’s a lot of opportunity for publishers and marketers to partner through affiliate content and e-commerce.”

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Top Image: Kerrie McCallum

Paramount ANZ has lifted the lid on what MasterChef Australia will look like in 2024 after the passing of Jock Zonfrillo earlier in the year.

MasterChef Australia season 16 will see Andy Allen carry on Jock Zonfrillo’s legacy alongside three new judges: MasterChef alumnus Poh Ling Yeow, food critic and journalist Sofia Levin, and multi–Michelin Star award-winning chef, Jean-Christophe Novelli.

Andy said: “MasterChef Australia has been part of my life for over a decade. It gave me a pathway into the industry and led me to a career that I’m forever grateful for. After an extremely difficult year in 2023, and upon reflection, the decision to return to the series is not one I took lightly.

“But there is something special in the MasterChef Australia Kitchen, and it feels right to come back to work with the amazing production team, and to play my role in seeing the contestants do as I have done. 2024 will be the start of a new chapter, and it will be surreal – yet brilliant – to share this moment with my fellow judges, Poh, Sofia and Jean-Christophe.”

As the runner-up of MasterChef Australia’s debut season, Poh Ling Yeow has been part of the MasterChef family from the start.

Poh said: “Talk about a thrilling, full circle moment. MasterChef Australia is where my food story began, so this feels like coming home. A big part of me will always be standing on the other side with the contestants and I hope when they look to me, they see proof you don’t have to win to win.”

A stalwart of the food reviewing scene for over a decade, Sofia Levin brings a keen critical eye to the kitchen. A driving force behind the #EatCuriously movement, Sofia encourages everyone to eat outside their comfort zone and embrace diverse cuisines and cultures.

Sofia said: “The first season of MasterChef Australia aired the same year I started writing about food. By the time I graduated from journalism, I was sharing lesser-known food stories, while the show was exposing the nation to cuisines and cultures they had never considered before. Becoming a judge on MasterChef feels like two parallel paths converging, and I am giddy with excitement at the people I get to stand beside.”

Bringing the international star power is lauded French chef, author, and restaurateur, Jean-Christophe Novelli. The 5/5 AA Rosette awarded, multi–Michelin Star winner owns one of the world’s top cookery schools and knows how to get the best out of aspiring chefs.

Jean-Christophe said: “Fostering culinary talent is something I have cared about for many years, and it is a passion I am excited to share in the MasterChef Kitchen. Australian cuisine has a remarkable reputation on the world stage, and it will be a great privilege to meet and mentor the country’s top home cooks on their journeys to greatness.”

Dessert Masters

Paramount has confirmed that Dessert Masters has already been confirmed for a second season ahead of its November debut. The series will again be helmed by former MasterChef judge, Melissa Leong, and pastry prodigy, Amaury Guichon.

Melissa said: “Over the past four years, MasterChef Australia has infused my life with something truly magical. It has provided me with life-changing experiences that have given me the courage to continue to put myself outside of my comfort zone.

“It is with great enthusiasm and warmth that I welcome new faces Sofia, Poh, and Jean-Christophe, to this very special family, I know they will make it theirs in their own special way, as we did.

“The great honour of growing the MasterChef Australia family with the introduction of Dessert Masters is not lost on me. I relish the sweet opportunity to nurture this special series alongside Amaury.”

Amaury said: “I had an incredible time filming Dessert Masters in Australia, and I can’t wait for audiences to fall in love with this season and savour every moment the same way I did. It is a great honour for me to be able to return for season two alongside Melissa Leong to serve up a whole new set of sweet challenges!”

MasterChef Australia is produced by Endemol Shine Australia (a Banijay company). Format created by Franc Roddam and represented internationally by Banijay Rights.

Advertising Week New York 2023 has officially wrapped its takeover of Manhattan’s recently redeveloped PENN DISTRICT building. The 19th edition of its annual event brought together some of the keenest minds in marketing, media, advertising, tech and communications for four days of immersive learning, networking, and world class culture and entertainment.

Mediaweek was on the ground, attending a number of key sessions throughout the week. Here are some of the highlights from AWNewYork’s final day:

See Also:
Day one recap: Super Bowl, OneRepublic, Barbie & Paris Hilton
Day two recap: Netflix Cup, Chris Olsen, Andy Cohen & Shark Tank
Day three recap:  Renaissance Woman, Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Jonathan Van Ness & Issa Rae

The Next Evolution of the Creator-Age: Building Media Companies

Sweathead CEO, “strategy friend” and friend of Mediaweek, Mark Pollard, steered the discussion between Aislinn Murray, brand director of The Botanist Gin, Camie Cox, director of integrated production for Made In Network, and popular chef and Internet personality, Andrew Rea, of Babish Culinary Universe. 

See Also: Mark Pollard: Irreplaceable – the mindset agency people need for future survival

Together, Rea and Cox have grown what started as a passion project for Rea to combine his love of film and cooking, the Binging with Babish YouTube channel, into an expanded media network. The channel’s long-standing relationship with The Botanist Gin sets an enviable standard for brand partnerships with content creators.

The Next Evolution of the Creator-Age: Building Media Companies – Andrew Rea – Chef and Personality, Babish Culinary Universe, Camie Cox – Director of Integrated Production, Made In Network, Aislinn Murray – Brand Director, The Botanist Gin and Mark Pollard – CEO, Sweathead

Cox distinguished typical creator sponsorships compared to evolving integrations as part of a media network: “One-offs are really just taking a product and just giving it a quick plug, as opposed to when creators are really evolving into media companies. 

“They’re really thinking about how they build partnerships…  and how we are incorporating the brand in an authentic way, both to the brand, but also to the creator’s world. It’s a more thought out, robust kind of approach.”

She praised the success of Babish and The Botanist’s partnership for all parties involved, including Rea’s audience, “Because we’ve been doing this for like three years, I think that for his audience, The Botanist is almost like a character on his channel at this point.”

Talking to the creative challenges from a brand perspective, Murray revealed that the brand’s foray into a partnership was “a territory of tone we hadn’t really explored as a brand before and that can be uncomfortable at first.”

Reflecting on this, Murray was glad to recognise how effective the partnership has been in broadening The Botanist’s audience, and communicate their unique selling point (using 22 hand-foraged botanicals), “rather than just kind of reading off messages, Andrew was able to really take that information and put it into a language that was premium but fun.”

Said Rea, “It’s the instinct of the creator to integrate… so to actually integrate the product into the content. If anything, the hardest part is in the beginning. Typically, when you’re getting these ad reads that are to be read exactly as they are, it’s almost made as a separate part of the content; it’s that long section at the beginning of the video that you’d skip through. We don’t want that, we want something that’s going to engage with the audience.

“It’s been really great working with The Botanist because they, in particular, have given us the creative freedom to make the advertisements part of the content.”

Rea even treated the audience to a live creation of an integrated video advertisement, demonstrating the ease and effectiveness of its execution.

Celebrating 125 Years of Pepsi: A Conversation with Pepsi CMO Todd Kaplan

More notable Australian talent on the slate, notorious digital prophet, David Shing aka Shingy hosted this fireside with Pepsi CMO Todd Kaplan to delve into its first rebrand in 14 years.

Kaplan dissected the redesigned Pepsi logo, which incorporates elements of the past while embracing a bolder, more modern look. The new design recognises Pepsi’s 125 year old heritage while also keeping the brand future-proofed.

Kaplan expressed, “You don’t want to feel old and dusty, connected to another era, right? 

“The great thing is, Pepsi as a brand has always been very youthful in terms of how it has driven culture, and connected to what’s going on around it. Over the years you can see our logo has continued to evolve. Every roughly 15 years or so we kick the tires and make sure we feel good about it.

“There’s been kind of a core ethos that’s connected throughout it all: this challenger spirit and this pop culture vibe.”

Beyond the design elements, Kaplan explained of the rebrand, “We’re building it for a more ‘phigital’ world moving forward. This idea of ‘phigital’ is kind of an annoying word, but it’s a fun word that I like. It’s intentionally the blurring of the physical and digital environments.

“In this idea of knowing that the real and digital worlds are going to be continuing to blend more and more, how do you have a consistent brand experience both ‘IRL’ and in that digital environment?… So that’s something that’s important as we built this visual identity to be flexible enough for different environments.”

Shingy also queried Kaplan about his concept of a “culture bomb”, saying, it’s “not just putting a brand somewhere, it’s about putting these experiences in play.” 

Kaplan clarified, “I created this thing with my team of leaders; I call it a culture bomb. It’s basically the premise of the fact that I believe the role of earned media and organic social media is significantly undervalued in the marketing mix today relative to paid media.

“The reality is, the stuff that people care about, the culture of it all, happens in earned media and social media.”

He advised, “So rather than chase the consumer and try to follow them everywhere they go, there’s this idea of building deeper, more immersive brand experiences where they can find you, this idea of an opt-in kind of cultural environment that you can create from your brand, and creating experiences.”

Kaplan emphasised long-form content, as well as physical activations. One such example, their pop-up Pepsi 125 Diner in New York City. With a waitlist of 17,000 strong, it is one of their more exclusive experiences to opt into.

The Power of TIME: Jessica Sibley on Taking the Brand Into its Next 100 Years

Earlier this year, TIME magazine celebrated its centenary year. Arianna Huffington, founder and CEO of Thrive Global and founder of The Huffington Post, sat down with CEO of TIME, Jessica Sibley, to talk about the brand’s evolution over its 100 year history, and how the legacy publication is embracing change and innovation in its next chapter.

The Power of TIME: Jessica Sibley on Taking the Brand Into its Next 100 Years – Arianna Huffington – Founder and CEO, Thrive Global and Jessica Sibley – CEO, TIME

Huffington posed to Sibley, “DNA can degrade over time. So how are you ensuring that the brand stays true to its DNA and to its core mission of storytelling, while continuing to evolve and to innovate?”

Sibley asserted that the TIME’s red banner represents, “a globally recognised significant thing that we’ve had for 100 years, which is trust. Our mission and our purpose for the last 100 years will continue to remain the same today and going forward.”

As part of that commitment, Sibley oversaw the removal of the paywall from Time.com. She shared, “I’m really proud given the moment that we’re in right now, in history, that TIME is free for anyone everywhere in the world.

“And it’s not just what we’re writing about today, but it’s our 100 years of archives that are available to students to parents, to universities, colleges, to libraries, for free.”

Sibley elaborated on their editorial strategy, “we launched TIME100 Voices. We don’t just want to have our own editors and journalists to write for TIME. We want people who are leading experts and thought leaders and part of the TIME100 community to participate and write for us,” listing the examples, “We launched with Jose Andres, Oprah Winfrey, Eric Schmidt, we’ve had the CEO of Accenture and the CEO of Google.”

Further TIME’s future-focused strategy “to stay on everyone’s radar”, in Sibley’s words, “going from legacy to relevancy,” she spotlighted Sam Jacobs, their “amazing editor in chief, the youngest editor and our 100 year history at 37, the first millennial to run TIME. 

“He’s been there 10 years, so having someone who’s so well respected and who’s so steady is so important right now.”

She lauded TIME’s befitting timelessness, “it’s what we write: it’s who we write about, it’s who we write for. I’m so proud that we have the youngest audience in our 100 year history; 45% are 35 and younger.”

Stepping Into the Ring with WWE

When it comes to the unique marketing opportunities of WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) and its departure from regular sports partnerships, Craig Stimmel, senior VP and head of global sales and partnerships at WWE, was eager to  convey to the Advertising Week audience, “something I don’t think a lot of people realise is outside of a company like Disney, I think WWE has the most IP ownership of any company in the world. 

“Anything that you see happen in that ecosystem, anything that you see happen on Peacock, on streaming, on linear TV, on social. digital – that’s all under WWE IP ownership.” Plus that extensive IP ownership just got even bigger with WWE and UFC merging under Endeavour’s ownership. The creation was a $21 billion venture representing over 350 plus live sporting events a year.

Someone on the frontline of the sporting business, moderator Peter Rosenberg, ESPN/Hot 97 host, captured the special energy of WWE that resonates so intensely with its enormous audience, “You can bring your little children, and your grandparents, and it’s just great… You don’t leave WrestleMania going ‘well, that game stinked.’ It’s always a great show.”

Naturally, with its larger-than-life canonical universe, spectacular live events, and cult followings, WWE represents a significant talent pool of personalities for brands to leverage. WWE Superstars LA Knight and Bianca Belair are currently two of the largest names under the billion dollar umbrella.

Stepping Into the Ring with WWE – LA Knight – WWE Superstar, WWE, Bianca Belair – WWE Superstar, WWE, Craig Stimmel – Senior Vice President and Head of Global Sales and Partnerships, WWE and Peter Rosenberg – Host, ESPN/Hot 97 Host

Stimmel remarked, “One thing that we’ve seen at the WWE and it’s by no small feat, of these two over here and the other 250 Superstars, is we really have Superstars that act as content creators.

“If you look behind the scenes at these folks’ Instagrams or social media handles, or even the behind the scenes work that we do on our social platforms, you’ll see that Bianca is actually an incredible seamstress. She does all of her own costumes and her husband Montez Ford’s costumes as well. You would see that LA Knight was a Timberland guy before he was LA Knight.”

Knight and Belair both feature in the latest version of longtime WWE sponsor, Slim Jim’s Snap into a Slim Jim campaign, continuing on from the snack brand’s iconic affiliation with late WWE Star, Macho Man Randy Savage.

Knight weighed in on his involvement in the ad campaign: “I mean, you’re mixing a little bit of the old with the new and you know, giving new life to something that hasn’t been around for a while, and also paying homage to the OG. So it’s pretty cool.

“And it’s the first time I’ve ever busted through a wall.”

Sharing her approach to brand sponsorships, Belair said, “I love doing collaborations when it’s authentic. So I’m really excited for those that are authentic to my character in the ring and my personality outside the ring.”

For the latter, Belair mentioned her existing connection with performance brands like C4, “I was using C4 before I ever even got into WWE.” Moreover, she highlighted how collaborating with brands like Fenty aligns with her values of diversity and inclusion, “they represent the things that I represent.”

–

Top Image: Bianca Belair & LA Knight

By Alex Kondys, head of experience design, Revium

AI has really sunk its claws into the stock image and content market, already disrupting the here and now, let alone in the future. As always with market disruption, there are opportunities for those who get on board the generative AI image train early, with cost savings and new creative processes that can offer a big advantage.

That said, the narrative that AI will destroy the stock image market is not entirely true. It is instead likely to force all the big players to pivot from their current approach and business model; something we can already see starting to happen.

But the accelerating rollout of generative AI does present some issues to contend with. The moral ambiguity of content ownership and the various legal challenges being bandied about have given some folks cause to pause, but for the most part they are being overplayed. Yes, these might be issues now – in the infancy phase of the technology – but they won’t be for long. Look no further than Adobe Firefly’s new market model, which plans to compensate creators for content used to train that AI, regardless of whether the creators opted in or not.

On the transparency front, just last week Adobe created a symbol – called the “icon of transparency” – that can be added as a small watermark to AI generated work for transparency. It’s not Adobe-specific either but pipped to be adopted by other companies including Microsoft. Tagging of AI generated content will go a long way to upping the technical standards and certification of generative AI, and might have helped hapless companies like Disney who are now reportedly facing backlash over AI-generated stock imagery featured in their Loki Season 2 poster.

As of today, some small-scale, high-frequency outputs – think presentations, websites, filler content, smaller marketing plays, product ideas and proof-of-concepts – can already be created using generative AI. Big FMCG producers like Diageo and Mars were proud to unveil their use of the tech in this way at Cannes this year. You just need the right people with the right training. For the near term, big-scale items like big campaigns and marketing will still largely rely on photographers and personal human-generated content. But only for the near term.

This year, our consultancy has utilised AI to create contextual imagery for websites and assets, compile mood boards and inspiration for creative assets, and content for client presentations. It has explicitly changed the way we service and provide for clients. And it’s getting smarter and intrinsically more capable as times goes by.

We can now use AI to generate an image of a person, then use it again to put that person in whatever landscape or backdrop we want (real or imagined) and even add logos or brandmarks to their clothing or surroundings on top of that, while keeping the realism. The tech is there, the people are catching up.

But it’s not a matter of just downloading a program and pressing a button. Generative AI is a skill, and skills must be honed. The smart businesses are investing early in getting their team skilled up in this new ‘art’, recognising that like any other technical capability there is a big difference in outputs between the untrained and the trained.

Here are some of the reasons why generative AI is such a powerful toolset in the creative space and why it is going to become incredibly valuable to those organisations who are skilled at using it:

1. Customisation: AI enables the creation of highly customised and unique images tailored to specific client needs. You no longer need to compromise on getting every little detail you wanted in a composition like you do when selecting from a set of stock photos.

2. Efficiency: It can generate images at a much faster pace than human photographers and designers. This greatly reduces production costs and time, making it more appealing for businesses, such as ours, to use AI-generated images that we can brief in to one of our experts to generate.

3. Cost-effectiveness: We’ve found AI-generated images to be more cost-effective for businesses, especially among SMEs, compared to hiring photographers or purchasing expensive licenses for premium stock images – looking at you Getty and Shutterstock.

4. Diverse results: AI can emulate a wide range of artistic styles and create images that suit various aesthetic preferences which caters to a wide range of clients and industries. And it’s getting better.

5. Reduced copyright concerns: AI-generated images typically don’t have copyright or licensing issues associated with them so long as you are paying for a commercial license with the relevant AI tool. This in contrast to using traditional stock images where the costs add up and the usage options can be limited. You also don’t have to worry about another organisation using the same stock image as you.

6. Continuous improvement: AI technologies for image generation are continually evolving and improving. As AI models become more sophisticated, the quality and versatility of AI-generated images will continue to increase opening doors to new opportunities and benefits.

Generative AI will create a ripple effect reaching myriad industries over the next few years. Just look at the advances from Adobe’s MAX conference that kicked off on 10 October and showcased a range of new AI tools in what they are hailing as “a new era in creativity”. You only need to look to the global market size, which is currently at USD $43.87b in 2023 and expected to grow to USD $667b by 2030 (an increase of over 1420%) to see that generative AI is an unmissable, unstoppable force that should be harnessed, not avoided.

Yes, the future will still involve synergy between generative AI and human-generated content. The latter will always exist and have a reason to exist, it’s just that the former is going to start to eat into it more and more over years to come.

Major news events including high profile resignations, red carpet events for footy medals, and Rupert Murdoch’s retirement saw consumption of online news content rise by 0.6% to 20.2 million for the month of September, according to Ipsos iris, Australia’s digital audience measurement currency endorsed by IAB Australia.

There was a clutch of big news stories during September that all contributed to consumption of news sites and apps last month. Audience interest was fuelled by high profile celebrity, politician and business people in the news including the resignations of Qantas CEO Alan Joyce and Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, the marriage split of Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness, the Russell Brand scandal, Rupert Murdoch’s retirement and golden handshake, all the red carpet action from the Dally M and Brownlow medal presentations and grand finals lead up, plus the Wallabies defeat and the future of coach Eddie Jones speculation.

The News category includes audience and time spent online on both general news and broader news content including weather, sport, lifestyle, entertainment, and business news.

The chart below shows the News brands’ ranking during September 2023 by online audience size.

Overall, Australians aged 14+ spent more than 3.7 hours per day online, or 115 hours, in September which was down 2.8% compared to August. The largest audience declines was for sport (-6.4%) dropping from the audience highs generated from the Women’s World Cup.

The most consumed website and app categories in September were social networking at 21 million, followed by search engines (20.9 million), technology (20.9 million), retail and commerce (20.7 million) and entertainment (20.6 million).

People aged 25-39 were the largest cohort online, while people aged 40 to 54 spent the most time online in September.

In the finance category, audiences rose by 0.5% in September, with 20.1 million Australians aged 14-plus spending around two hours a month consuming finance-related websites and apps.

Online banking dominates the category with almost 20 million Australians using these services.

In addition, more than 11 million Australians aged 14 and over consumed finance news related content on websites and apps in September.

Finance news audiences were more likely to be male and aged 40 plus, more likely to have a degree or higher level of education and work in professional and managerial occupations. Big finance stories including building company collapses and the impact on the housing market, RBA interest rates decisions and accompanying cost of living pressures, and consumers moving back to cash.

The chart below shows the Finance brands’ ranking during September 2023 by online audience size.

Source: IAB Australia Online Advertising Expenditure Report (OAER FY23) prepared by PwC Australia

See Also: Ipsos iris: a record 14.4 million Australians consumed sports websites and apps during August

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Top Image: Rupert Murdoch

News.com.au is Australia’s number one digital news brand for the ninth consecutive month, according to latest rankings from Ipsos iris for September 2023.

Ipsos iris is Australia’s digital audience measurement currency endorsed by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), the trade association for online advertising in Australia, providing accurate data about the 21 million Australians aged 14+ who access a wide variety of digital content and services across Smartphone, PC/Laptop and Tablet devices.

See Also: Ipsos iris: high profile news events boosts online news consumption in September

With the largest audience in the News category in Australia, news.com.au delivered an audience of 11.805 million, up 1.3 per cent month-on-month. With a margin of 1.163 million ahead of the closest competitor, news.com.au’s engaged audience reached one in two online Australians with average time spent of 31 minutes per person.

The news site also had the largest audiences in the Entertainment, Finance, Sport, Technology and Travel news categories: 

• Entertainment News – 4.407 million – news.com.au Entertainment
• Finance News – 3.866 million – news.com.au Finance
• Sports News – 4.629 million – news.com.au Sport
• Technology News – 2.417 million – news.com.au Tech
• Travel News – 2.343 million – news.com.au Travel

News.com.au editor-in-chief Lisa Muxworthy said: “We are thrilled that Australians continue to turn to news.com.au for breaking news and the biggest moments and talking points.

“We led the way with our coverage of the AFL grand final and the lead up to the NRL grand final, once again proving news.com.au is the perfect second screen while watching live sport.”

News.com.au also launched the results of The Great Aussie Debate in September which exposed the voice of the nation, representing sweeping views of Australians from all walks of life. News.com.au asked 50,000 Australians 50 questions about all the topics dividing the nation, from the silly to the serious.

Muxworthy said Australians came to news.com.au to see the survey results which gave a deep and unparalleled insight into the Australian psyche.

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Top Image: Lisa Muxworthy

Nine has announced the launch of ‘Food and Lifestyle Events’, the new experiential arm of Nine Publishing.

Food and Lifestyle Events offer exclusive access to bespoke event partnerships for brands, brought to life alongside The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Brisbane Times, Good Food, Good Weekend, Sunday Life and Traveller.

Nine states that the new (extended) market offering is poised to create unforgettable connections between brands, consumers, and media audiences.

“We are thrilled to be at the forefront of a dynamic shift in the events industry. The market increasingly craves events that transcend traditional experiences and are supercharged by powerful integrated media partnerships. We are proud of our courageous and long-standing partners across the Good Food Events portfolio who have been taking risks and breaking moulds with us for years. And now, we are excited to offer partners an ‘imagination is the only limitation’ approach to event activation across the entire portfolio of Nine Publishing” – Brittany Macfarlane, head of commercial food and lifestyle events, Nine.

Venessa Cowell, head of food and lifestyle events, Nine said “Our approach to curation is no-holds-barred, ensuring that every event is authentic, unexpected, and better than ever, bringing to life the stories expertly crafted across our publishing brands alongside our partners. We are excited to set a new standard for exceptional, immersive experiences that will leave a lasting impact on both brands and consumers.”

The four activation pillars include:

1. Inspiring engagement through hungry brands: Connecting brands with eager and engaged audiences who are passionate about food, lifestyle, and cultural experiences.

2. IRL / Lifting stories off the page: Curating events that breathe life into the stories told in the media, transforming them into real-world, immersive experiences that captivate audiences, in real life.

3. A seat at the table: Opening the doors for brands to sit at the table of impactful conversations and partnerships, ensuring compelling brands can genuinely, and authentically join the conversation.

4. Connection: Crafting narratives from storytelling and storytellers for big brand impact and authentic audience engagement.

Universal Music Australia has officially announced Jono Harrison as general manager – media and audience. 

Harrison joins from Spotify ANZ, where he has been for the past five years, most recently as artist and label partnerships lead, and executive producer of Spotify’s award-winning Who Is Daniel Johns? podcast.

He previously held roles at Mushroom as radio and streaming manager, and Triple j as the executive producer of Breakfast with Matt and Alex, and Triple j Like A Version. 

In his new role, reporting to Universal Music Australia and New Zealand president and CEO, Sean Warner, he is responsible for leading the Universal Media and Audience Team, focusing on how to best reach audiences within the ever-changing media landscape as well as maintaining strong relationships with media partners, managers and artists.  

Speaking of Jono joining Universal Music Australia, Sean Warner said, “Jono’s experience has spanned nearly 20 years across Broadcast, Radio, Music labels, Promotions, Artist and label relations and DSPs, and he brings invaluable skills, experience, and relationships to our business, and a ‘new lens’.

“It’s a very exciting time in the music landscape globally, and our ability to define, engage and capture audiences across a rapidly evolving media landscape will ultimately define our success and the success of our artists.”

Most recently, Universal Music made the headlines for their Amex X Universal Music House and its diverse line-up of voices across three nights of live entertainment during the inaugural SXSW Sydney.

Earlier in the year, Universal Music Australia brought together local industry, international artists, and label executives for IGNITE, Universal Music Group’s (UMG) first international artist showcase in three years.

Warner commented, “Our number one goal at UMG is to discover, develop and amplify artistry, creativity, and innovation, and what we all experienced last night epitomises exactly that.”

See Also: Universal Music’s IGNITE artist showcase lights up Sydney

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Top Image: Jono Harrison

Google News Initiative (GNI) and Bastion Transform are presenting the outcomes of a series of successful live newsroom experiments with three prominent news organisations – Nine Publishing, the National Indigenous Times (NIT), and BusinessDesk New Zealand. 

Detailed in a new report, the initiative spanning nine months sought to foster innovation, growth, and editorial excellence within the rapidly evolving media landscape.

Having developed a unique experimental framework, each newsroom used the methodology to explore new digital territories, challenge existing journalism and production practices and test several bold hypotheses. 

Gaven Morris, MD of Bastion Transform and former director of news at the ABC, says newsroom innovation is crucial to maintaining a leading editorial position and audience growth: “Innovation in newsrooms is not an option – it’s essential for journalism to keep pace with contemporary audiences as people change their news and information consumption habits. Great stories told well are never dying and experimenting with new techniques and technology mean newsrooms can stay relevant.”

The framework facilitated six content pilots addressing challenges in storytelling, resourcing, workflows, platforms, data, and technology, resulting in unexpected editorial, cultural, and business transformations.

BusinessDesk publisher and general manager, Matt Martel, said: “BusinessDesk has found the innovation framework incredibly useful, and it is now being applied in our areas of the NZME group. Our AI content, the subject of the first experiment, has grown from strength to strength and is now a key pillar of our marketing and public persona. The assistance from both Google and Bastion has been invaluable.”

NIT CEO Reece Harley added, “The National Indigenous Times was proud to participate in this Google Newsroom experiments which saw our newsroom’s productivity boosted by 20%, and a significant jump in readership of our international affairs reporting. Relationships with news partners have been deepened, and our journalists are now more keenly focused on readership metrics driving our editorial focus.”

Inspired by the success of these pilots, each newsroom leader expressed their commitment to continued experimentation, embracing a bolder approach to foster a culture of continuous learning and change.

Nine Publishing’s executive editor, Tory Maguire, commented, “For this project, I wanted to try things our newsroom has never ventured to do, across content and the way we operate. It hugely successful and next time we can be more radical now that we’ve got runs on the board.”

Uma Patel, Google News Lab ANZ Lead is encouraging other newsrooms of all sizes, markets, and mediums to take up the framework outlined in the new report and apply it to their operations: “Journalists experiment every day, whether it’s convincing a source to go on the record, digging out uncovered facts, verifying opaque information or developing a gut feeling there’s more behind the spin. This experiment framework aims to support newsrooms that want to take those same instincts and apply them to ‘test and learn’ innovation outside the news cycle, into long term value for the business.”

Outcomes from the Experiments:

Nine Publishing:
• A 425% increase in weekly digital subscribers via the "for subscribers" hard paywall.
• A 245% increase in watch time on their YouTube channel.
• 500% growth in revenue and 600% growth in subscribers on YouTube.
• Establishment of permanent newsroom initiatives due to increased engagement.

BusinessDesk New Zealand:
• Faster information output leading to a new AI focus for NZME.
• More journalist time freed up for investigative reporting.
• Collaboration with Google on a ground-breaking new AI offering.

National Indigenous Times:
• A 20% increase in content output.
• Secured two news content partners.
• A 22% increase in international story readership.
• A 179% readership growth in the Pacific & NZ.

See Also: Fishburners and Google News Initiative Bootcamp launch twelve new media publications

The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2024, featuring the best restaurants, cafes, bars and pubs across NSW and ACT, has launched with Margaret named Vittoria Coffee Restaurant of the Year at an awards ceremony held in Sydney. Sustainable seafood pioneer, Josh Niland, also took out the coveted Oceania Cruises Chef of the Year award. 

The annual Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide has been recognising the best chefs and restaurants since 1984, and this year’s Guide is a compilation of almost 500 independent reviews visited by our team of critics over the past six months. .

This year’s Guide includes a record 157 hats: three restaurants received three hats, 39 restaurants received two hats and 116 restaurants received one hat. The three hat winners were Oncore by Clare Smyth, Sixpenny and Quay. 

Callan Boys, SMH Good Food Guide editor, said “Dining in NSW and the ACT has never been better, with more hats awarded than ever before in the Guide’s history.”

The awards ceremony – supported by long-term co-presenting partner Vittoria Coffee and co-presenting partner Oceania Cruises – was held at the Art Gallery of NSW’s North Wing (known as Sydney Modern). Three hundred chefs, restaurateurs and industry legends from NSW and Canberra dining and drink scenes gathered as 14 awards, along with the hats, were handed out. 

Boys continued: “I think this year’s Guide is one of our best and most user-friendly efforts to date, with more venues catering to different budgets, and more reviews from outside the inner-city than ever before.

“Regional dining, in particular, is booming.”

For the first time, a Canberra venue, Such and Such, took out Aurum Poultry Co. New Restaurant of the Year. Murwillumbah’s Bistro Livi, in the Northern Rivers, was named Regional Restaurant of the Year, while Byron Bay’s Bar Heather took the gong for New Regional Restaurant of the Year.

New this year is the Critics’ Pick, with Malay Chinese Noodle Bar taking out the inaugural  Critics’ Pick award.

Boys added: “This year we’ve introduced a Critics’ Pick tick to the Guide for places that don’t quite reach the score for a hat – perhaps it’s a counter-service pizzeria, or tiny shop with only two tables – but our reviewers are big fans of it regardless.

“The Woon family behind Malay Chinese have nourished Sydneysiders since 1987 with extraordinary har mee noodle soups and laksas. It was great to have co-founder Meng Wong accept the award before heading home for a 4am rise to start preparing his daily broths.”

Kylie Kwong was named the Vittoria Coffee Legend Award for her outstanding long-term contribution to the hospitality industry. For more than three decades, Kwong has nourished Sydneysiders with her vision for what Australian-Chinese cooking could be. Kwong’s influence reaches beyond the professional kitchen to affect local and global communities at all levels. 

Shashank Achuta, who works as sous chef at Brasserie 1930, was awarded Smeg Young Chef of the Year.  

The Oceania Cruises Service Excellence Award was given to Alice Dwyer of Pipit, while Pokolbin’s Yellow Billy restaurant in the Hunter region was named Oceania Cruises Drinks List of the Year.

Cafe of the Year went to Happyfield; PS40 took out Best Bar; Sommelier of the Year was awarded to Max Gurtler from Oncore by Clare Smyth; and the Innovator of the Year winner was Plate it Forward’s Shaun Christie-David – a big thinker with bright ideas that better the community. 

Edited by Boys, The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2024 reviews have been undertaken by a team of esteemed critics including Boys, Terry Durack, Jill Dupleix, David Matthews and Sarah Norris, all of whom review independently and anonymously. More than 500 restaurants, bars, pubs and cafes were visited across NSW and Canberra over the course of six months, but not all venues made the cut.

Said Sarah Norris, head of food for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Brisbane Times and WAToday, “While Good Food is known as the home of the hats, the Guide is much more than high-end restaurants. This year’s edition spans everything from long-adored institutions, pub eateries, suburban gems, no-frills pizza shops, hole-in-the-wall noodle shops to CBD bistros and luxurious regional destinations. Importantly, it covers a broad range of budgets.” 

See Also: Good Food launches rebrand with a new digital offering

This weekend, the Australian box office made $8,563,842, down 1% from last week’s $8,690,509.

Debuting in the top spot was Killers of the Flower Moon, Martin Scorsese‘s newest western crime drama. Set in the 1920s, the story begins as members of the Osage Native American tribe of Osage County, Oklahoma, are murdered after oil is found on their land. After the crimes are committed, the FBI gets involved.

Last week’s top movie, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour drops to second this week, with Hindi release Leo coming in at third. 

Dropping from second to fourth, The Exorcist: Believer gave audiences the chills, while The Creator rounds out the top five. 

Falling out of the top five this week were PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie and Saw X.

To be released in the coming week is Dumb Money, the story of fortunes made and lost overnight in the David-vs.-Goliath GameStop short squeeze that may have changed Wall Street forever.

This week will also see Five Nights at Freddy’s released. The horror game phenomenon becomes a blood-chilling cinematic event, as Blumhouse – the producer of M3GAN, The Black Phone and The Invisible Man – brings the film adaptation to the big screen. 

1. Killers of the Flower Moon – $2,205,891

Coming in first place, new release Killers of the Flower Moon took $2.21 million in its first weekend of release. Critics and audiences alike are providing strong positive reviews with a Rotten Tomatoes critics score of 92% and audience score of 84% currently. The film averaged $5,474 over 403 screens. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cx9nCHsemc

2. Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour – $2,139,263

Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour took $2.14 million in its second weekend of release, bringing its cumulative Australian box office to $5.95 million to date. This week, it averaged $5,499 over 389 screens

3. Leo – $1,162,485

Coming in at #3, Hindi release Leo brought in $1.16 million in its opening weekend, averaging $8,424 over 138 screens.

4. The Exorcist: Believer – $388,084

In its third week of release, The Exorcist: Believer took $388,084, bringing its current cumulative box office to $2.79 million to date in Australia. This week it averaged $1,578 over 246 screens.

5. The Creator – $360,194

The Creator brought in $360,194 over the weekend which brings its cumulative box office takings to $4.92 million to date after four weeks of release. This week it averaged $1,177 over 306 screens.

• A huge international star unveiled on The Masked Singer

Total TV Ratings, October 16

1,288,000 watched Nine’s The Block as the start of Backyard and Pool Week began, up 35%.

956,000 viewed ABC’s Australian Story as host Leigh Sales introduced an updated episode on Sam Neill which coincides with the release of his memoir, 23%.

943,000 saw Have You Been Paying Attention? As Ed Kavalee and Sam Pang were joined by Urzila Carlson, Guy Montgomery and Anne Edmonds, up 27%.

930,000 viewed Seven’s Home and Away as Kirby made a final bid for freedom, up 24%.

819,000 also sat down for Seven’s SAS Australia as Olympic champ Stephanie Rice’s medical withdrawal ended her time on the course, up 32%.

Overnight TV Ratings, October 23

Primetime News
Seven News 841,000 (6:00pm) / 825,000 (6:30pm)
Nine News 711,000 (6:00pm) / 739,000 (6:30pm)
ABC News 554,000
10 News First 194,000 (5:00pm)/ 154,000 (6:00pm)
SBS World News 132,000 (6:30pm)/ 96,000 (7:00pm)

Daily Current Affairs
A Current Affair 602,000
7.30 495,000
The Project 200,000 6:30pm / 302,000 7pm

Breakfast TV
Sunrise 222,000
Today 187,000
News Breakfast 144,000

Nine won Monday night with a primary share of 20.1% and a network share of 27.6%. 7Two has won multi channels with a 4.0% share.

Nine

Nine’s A Current Affair (602,000) as host Ally Langdon sat down for an exclusive interview with Olympian Kyle Chalmers, who was just a teenager when he burst onto the world stage in the 100-metre freestyle event at the Rio Olympics in 2016. Then, 684,000 watched The Block as the final week saw the teams struggle to find the energy to create that all-important street appeal with Front Yard and Facade (Whole House) Week. Eliza and Liberty needed time away from Charming Street and Kyle and Leslie were left with no budget. Million Dollar Murders followed for 231,000 which detailed Retired Detective Superintendent Deborah Wallace who sought out new clues on the 1994 murder of Melissa Hunt. 

SEE ALSO: The Block Recap Episode 46: Eliza and Liberty walk off Charming St

Seven

455,000 began their evening in Summer Bay with Seven’s Home and Away as Irene prepared for the worst and Mackenzie issued an ultimatum, before, 413,000 stayed on for SAS Australia. Olympic runner Peter Bol called time on his SAS race while actress Zima Anderson revealed the pain of her traumatic childhood. 224,000 then saw US cop drama The Rookie.

SEE ALSO: SAS Australia 2023 Recap Episode 6: One recruit VWs and another reveals her traumatic childhood

ABC

495,000 watched ABC’s 7.30 explore an investigation into the podiatry industry and a University of Sydney student is among an estimated one million displaced Palestinians. Plus the program remembered Former Governor-General Bill Hayden. 568,000 then watched Australian Story. The episode focused on Kylie, who was released from an Iranian prison only to find her husband had left her. Four Corners followed for 467,000 as the program looked at the Snowy Hydro 2.0 which was sold as a low-carbon future by the end of 2024. Instead, the pumped hydro project is now five years behind schedule and is forecast to hit $12 billion. Media Watch was up next for 434,000.

10

On 10, The Project (200,000 6:30pm / 302,000 7pm) looked at how NSW Premier Chris Minns plans to turn part of a golf course in Sydney into a public park and how pressure is growing on Israel to negotiate the release of 200 hostages taken on the day Hamas attacked as fears mount the militants will use them as human shields. The Masked Singer Australia then followed as singer and Grammy Award-winning songwriter La Toya Jackson was unmasked as Burger Gal. 349,000 tuned in to the episode while 490,000 saw the Reveal. Have You Been Paying Attention? was up next as 537,000 joined Ed Kavalee, Sam Pang, Mick Molloy, Melanie Bracewell, and Bron Lewis to see if they had, in fact, been paying attention. Then, 200,000 watched The Betoota Advocate Presents. The team explored the 2005 Cronulla Riots, widely regarded as our ‘day of shame’. 

SEE ALSO: The Masked Singer Australia 2023 Recap Episode 7: Grammy winner finally revealed

SBS

The highest rating non-news show on SBS was Finding Your Roots with 79,000 tuning in to see Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explore the roots of actor Laura Linney, and journalists, Lisa Ling, and Soledad O’Brien.