Mark Pesce warms to climate change topics

PodcastOne host Mark Pesce started off 2020 with a series of 11 episodes under the Betabank brand. Since then he has also revisited an old brand he had called The Next One Billion Cars. More recently he has been focusing on his The Next Billion Seconds brand which looks at the rate of change humans are facing today. Specifically in his past few episodes he has looked at the impact of climate change.

“The first three episodes of the current Users Guide to the Future are climate focused,” Pesce told Mediaweek. “However the next are dealing with quite different things – air travel and the future of work. The theory here is to look at all the risks that we knew about because we got bushwhacked by a risk we weren’t thinking about. The climate risks are quite front of mind, but would be more so if there hadn’t been a pandemic this year. We are at a point where climate science is not a political matter but an economic one.”

While Covid gives Pesce the opportunity to revise his earlier work, he told Mediaweek: “It is still too early to update everything. Our episode on the future of air travel will explain how different it will be. We already know that around half of the world’s 300 international airlines are not going to make it out. It’s likely that many of the other airlines will be re-nationalised. Qantas might be the Australian flag carrier again.”

The airline episode will also answer how can people fly safely again in the period that might last as long as 24 months until the world gets a Covid vaccine. “It won’t happen overnight. In the new episodes I am having a much tighter focus on the future instead of the next billion seconds which is 30 years. In every episode people will be able to walk away with something they can do right now to prepare.”

Pesce said the episode that dropped this week about avoiding catastrophic bushfires and making homes safer in bushfires is close to his favourite of everything he has done. “It is both very helpful in showing how to get rid of megafires and also has information about how to inspect your home. This is the biggest challenge Australia faces in terms of catastrophic dangers.”

Pesce has plans to revisit the future of cars, but he said he needs to wait until we get to the other side of Covid. “I would love to do a show on the different kinds of transport emerging, but it is too early. Maybe it will be another year yet. I am also interested in exploring how we need to stay well. One of the things that got exposed in the pandemic was that people who didn’t take care of themselves got a much rougher ride than someone who had. That will bring a focus on wellness, particularly for people in middle age, they didn’t have before.”

Listen to The Next Billion Seconds here.

Sony Music Australia & New Zealand launches podcast series

Sony Music Entertainment Australia and New Zealand has launched its flagship podcast series Time To Talk hosted by music industry journalist Sean Sennett. The series features in-depth interviews with musicians, artists, authors, leaders, thinkers, actors, filmmakers and sports people.

Time to Talk is available now on Spotify, Apple and other podcast platforms, with the first episode featuring Daryl Braithwaite.

Weekly episodes slated for release over the coming weeks include Amy Shark, Josh Pyke, Pete Murray, Ruel, Troy Cassar-Daly, Delta Goodrem, Guy Sebastian, Colin Hay, John Schumann of Redgum, Ross Wilson, legendary cricketers Dennis Lillee and Steve Waugh, rugby league legend Johnathan Thurston and acclaimed author Trent Dalton.

As Sony Music’s first official homegrown foray into podcasting, it takes the listener on the equivalent of a ‘conversational deep dive’.

“Working with Sony Music on Time to Talk is a thrill for me,” said Sean Sennett. “Denis Handlin and the team at Sony Music Australia are committed to bringing the best talent that is possible to the series, creating a special forum for conversation.”

“I have always had tremendous respect for Sean Sennett and I am so pleased that he has decided to join our company for Time to Talk,” said Handlin, chairman and CEO of Sony Music Entertainment Australia and New Zealand. “His unique ability to sit down with talent and make them feel incredibly comfortable to share their story is a gift.”

In New Zealand, Sony Music artist Paige has released her own podcast series featuring interviews with special guests.

Iconic New Zealand artist Brooke Fraser is close to finishing recording a podcast to coincide with the 10-year anniversary of her revered Flags album. A behind the scenes look features interviews with Brooke and the people behind the album.

Listen to Time to Talk here.

New roles for Cavanagh and Goggin at SCA/PodcastOne

Jennifer Goggin

SCA has made two senior digital audio appointments, as part of its growth strategy focusing on audio on demand and podcasting.

Sam Cavanagh becomes SCA head of entertainment and news content – digital audio, and Jennifer Goggin becomes SCA head of features and special interest content – digital audio.

Cavanagh will develop and grow the on-demand content slate for SCA and PodcastOne Australia across culture, comedy, and news. This year he has driven the successful launch of daily news podcast The Briefing and new daily comedy podcast, Matt & Alex – All Day Breakfast.

Sam Cavanagh

Goggin has been content director at PodcastOne Australia for the past 2.5 years and in her new role she will focus on specialist audio on demand features, true and real crime, health and wellbeing, business and tech, branded content and emerging on demand and podcasting categories. Prior to joining SCA in 2018, Goggin was a radio, podcast and audio series producer at BBC. At PodcastOne Australia, Goggin has been responsible for commissioning and developing original podcast content as well as the development of the podcast production team. She has been executive producer on more than 30 original Australian podcast series to date.

Both appointments are effective immediately, and will report to Dave Cameron, SCA chief content officer, and Grant Tothill, head of PodcastOne Australia.

Hamish and Andy: The Power Moves book

The Hamish and Andy podcast continues to flourish ranking #2 on August Podcast Ranker. With no new Nine show (yet) for the duo, the PodcastOne series is the only way to experience them together these days.

The Hamish and Andy loyalty card has finally been released which has been a long-term project that was delayed with many Melbourne retailers being forced into lockdown this year.

Another project the hosts are working on is a Power Moves book. Podcast executive producer Sarah Grynberg told Mediaweek the Power Moves segment is one of the most popular regular parts of the podcast. “Listeners have been writing in for the past couple of years with their favourite power moves they have experienced in life. It is so unbelievably popular and we get so many emails that bring us so much joy we have decided to publish a coffee table book soon.”

Listen to the Hamish and Andy podcast here.

Nazeem Hussain’s Survivor’s Guide with Shane Jacobsen

Earlier this year iHeartPodcast Network Australia announced it had partnered with Australian comedian Nazeem Hussain for his Survivor’s Guide with Nazeem series.

Since then he has built a library of over 40 episodes. Shane Jacobson was a recent guest and the episode covered Shane’s experience being trolled online after his involvement in the government’s Covid-19 ads. It is a fascinating discussion around the impact on him and how he called one of the trolls to talk to him person to person. Trolling is an issue that troubles many people, moving many to quit some or all of their social media accounts.

Other recent episodes of Survivor’s Guide have included Ryan Shelton’s Guide to Passata and Melissa Leong’s Guide to Fridge Organisation.

Listen to Nazeem with Shane Jacobsen here.

Who shares $20,000 funding for new podcasts?

Four new audio projects have been selected as winners of the Australian Writers’ Guild and Audible’s On Air Podcast Writing Competition, presented with support from Screen Australia.

Four Australian writers – Candice Bowers, Emme Hoy, India Dupre and Michele Lee – will have their chance to develop new stories.

The four winners share $20,000 of development funding.

The judges said each of the winning projects could not be more different. In How Do I Let You Die, award-winning playwright Michele Lee reflects with humour on her relationship with family, death and ghosts, while in Stripped: The Margaret Dupre Story, India Dupre tells the extraordinary true tale of a mother’s quest to be reunited with her children.

In the fiction category, Emme Hoy‘s Left Behind takes audiences on a thrilling spiral into a darkly comedic and apocalyptic world, following a secretary tasked with solving her own murder while running hell’s propaganda division. Meanwhile, Candice Bowers‘ hilarious Bottlo2560 is the audio answer to the classic fall from grace narrative, in which a sommelier has to pick up the pieces of her life while working in her home-town bottle shop.

Ben Naparstek, Audible’s head of content for Audible Australia and New Zealand said: “It was a pleasure to collaborate with the Australian Writers’ Guild and Screen Australia for the On Air Podcast Writing Competition. The enthusiastic and considered response from talented Australian writers demonstrates just how many local creatives are now turning to the audio medium.”

Australian Podcast Awards announces 2020 partners

The Australian Podcast Awards (APAs) has announced its list of 2020 partners, showcasing the growing support for premium Australian audio-on-demand content both locally and globally.

Supporting podcasts big and small, eight Gold Partners have joined this year’s event, including Acast, iHeart Podcast Network Australia, Nova Entertainment, Omny Studio from Triton Digital, PodcastOne Australia and Spotify; podcast production house Piccolo Podcasts; podcast marketing platform Podfollow and podcast industry news publication Podnews.

Matt Deegan, director at the Australian Podcast Awards, said: “While it’s been a tough year for the creative industry, podcasting content and listen numbers continue to skyrocket. The overwhelming support shown by our Award partners is testament to the strength of the industry and its faith in Aussie-made content. We cannot wait for this year’s awards – an opportunity to celebrate some of the best and brightest local podcasting content and talent there is.”

The Australian Podcast Awards launched in 2016 as a way to showcase the amazing podcast talent and content Australia has to offer. Now in its fifth year, the awards continues to recognise the local industry’s most listened to, innovative and emerging podcast content with over 20 award categories.

Submissions for the Australian Podcast Awards are now open. Nominees will be selected by a judging panel of industry experts before the category winners are announced at a virtual event in November.

2020 entries close September 25. Enter here.

Nine has been the first broadcaster to hold a 2021 Upfront. The virtual event is of course how anybody holds a gathering these days and perhaps it will become the new norm. Will the party atmosphere be replaced by a more cost-effective and direct way to spread the message to where it really needs to hit home – agencies and marketers who decide where to invest to spread their messages?

Apart from no physical interaction with the audience, the main difference this year was that talent largely got the night off. Save for a late Zoom bombing from Hamish Blake, the Nine programming highlights were delivered by the sales and marketing team.

Hugh and Hamish

Nine pre-recorded its Upfront at a hired Sydney studio, apart from Hugh Mark’s presentation from the new Nine integrated newsroom in North Sydney.

Another change was the time – after dabbling with most of an afternoon several years ago, the Nine Upfront was a very manageable 50 minutes. Good work! The audience of 4,000+ registrations thanks you.

Michael Stephenson

The event started with Nine chief sales officer Michael Stephenson with help from Today’s Allison Langdon who welcomed the online guests to the virtual studio. Stephenson painted a big picture about Nine’s dominance and noted that given the size of the reach, “Nine is now officially a premium alternative to Facebook and Google”.

Nine director of sales – digital and publishing Nick Young then did some of the heavy lifting, taking people through the global first long-term partnership with Adobe for integration into Adobe Audience Management.

Nick Young

Young explained Coles is Nine’s first partner to upload customer data sets. Young also used a number of slides to illustrate how Nine print and digital news brands The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Australian Financial Review reach more Australians than comparable News Corp Australia brands.

A session on Powered from director of Powered Linda Dubois included an introduction to Powered Enterprise. She used examples of successful campaigns run by Kmart, hi pages, Uber Eats, Mitre 10, KFC, ANZ and McDonald’s and used quotes from some of those company’s marketing chiefs.

Linda Dubois

Nine director of sales television and radio Richard Hunwick explained the new radio offering and how it was part of “content that makes an impact”. He also ran a lengthy promo with highlights of all the Nine Radio breakfast shows.

Richard Hunwick

Half an hour into the event it was time to delve into the programming with Nine’s director of commercial partnerships Lizzie Young taking over after a highlights reel. “More depth and diversity,” Young promised as she explained the market should be ready for 15 months of compelling programming. The rest of this year includes the NRL Finals and three State of Origin clashes. Young also pointed to The Block auctions on Sunday November 22 and some of the exclusives coming to 9Now.

Lizzie Young

Nine echoed what CEO Hugh Marks told Mediaweek last month, that casting Married at First Sight on Zoom had helped deliver them a great 2021 cast.

Nine then reinforced the Nine News offering and how, when mixed with Nine Radio and Nine Publishing, “now more than ever, Australian turns to Nine – premium and trusted brands”.

The news network promises it reaches more Australians than anyone else can across all platforms – digital, radio, print and television.

“News is our biggest commitment,” thundered the voice over. “Courageous, honest journalism you can trust – local, statewide and national.”

CEO Hugh Marks appeared 45 minutes into the Upfront, speaking from inside Nine’s new integrated newsroom in North Sydney. “I am so proud of what we have built,” he started. “We see its strength when things like Covid happen due to the depth and diversity of our market-leading assets. I am so proud of our team who without doubt are the best in the business. They have responded to the challenge they have had to overcome every single day. Why do we challenge ourselves every single day? Because we love it. It’s in our blood – a passion for media that drives us to be the best, to lead and innovate and to continually strive for fresh and original. We never rest on our laurels which at the end of the day would be the easy way to go, but it’s not us.

Hugh Marks

“Our ambition to be better, to be a better partner, to provide more value and to extend our relationship has never been stronger.

“We just need you to embrace what Nine can provide and to be open and transparent with what you want to achieve. To engage when it matters beyond the transaction to also want to be our partner. To really be able to activate the full benefit of what we have built.

“We have the largest audiences across all our media platforms – audiences that engage with what we do with a passion.

“We have the most advanced marketing solutions which you should all embrace. We are continuing to innovate in that space to make business with us easier. We have a data asset second to none in domestic media by a longshot and with our new Adobe partnership even more potential to extract real value from that in real time in a way that not even Google and Facebook can offer you.

“More than ever you need a marketing partner to work alongside you to navigate this ever-changing world to get you the best outcomes. One you can trust, one with real scale and influence when it really counts.

“More than ever, that partner is Nine.”

Below is the complete list of everything revealed at the 2021 Upfront.

Nine’s Upfront introduction:

Night after breathtaking night, Nine is the place where love and passion, dreams and drama, magic and wonder come alive.

We are the home of the most vibrant, diverse, original and consistent content.

Our proven line-up of hit programs is the reason that Nine is once again leading the ratings year with all key demographics and Total People.

We boast a content slate that is big, premium, consistent and locally produced.
Each year we strive to be better at what we do by creating an enhanced schedule of content for our audience.
We focus on delivering more depth and diversity than any other network. We know it’s what our audience wants.
We distribute our content on whatever screen they want to watch – be it linear or digital – either live or on demand

Your favourite hit programs will all be returning in 2021 and joining them will be a stellar lineup of big-ticket, all-new, multi-night shows.

Today we can confirm our plans across entertainment, news and big-event sport for the next 15 months.

NRL for the remainder of 2020

The 2020 NRL Finals are almost here, kicking off in two weeks after what has been the most extraordinary rugby league season in memory, and bringing sports fans four weeks of scintillating action from the toughest football competition in the world.

Sunday, October 25 marks the new date for the NRL Grand Final. As the Sydney Roosters aim to become the first “three-peat premiers” in almost 40 years, the seven other teams in the finals race will be all out to derail their dream.

Following the Grand Final, three consecutive Wednesdays on November 4, 11 and 18 herald this year’s revamped State of Origin series, as the most watched program in Australia returns for a fortnight of incomparable fury. For the first time, after massive success in Melbourne and Perth in recent years, the great contest goes to Adelaide, for game one, before continuing in Sydney and Brisbane with games two and three.

Alongside the men, the women of rugby league will return to do battle this season in the third annual NRLW Premiership, as teams search for an answer to stop the Broncos, who have been unstoppable in winning the first two titles.

All the football action on Nine will be presented by the best rugby league experts and commentators in the business, including “The Voice of Rugby League”, Ray Warren, Phil Gould, Andrew Johns, a rugby league Immortal, Billy Slater, Brad Fittler, Johnathan Thurston, Paul Vautin, Ruan Sims, Darren Lockyer, Wally Lewis, also an Immortal, Peter Sterling, Allana Ferguson, Sam Thaiday and Paul Gallen.

Suncorp Super Netball

The fourth season of Australia’s premier netball competition, Suncorp Super Netball, began on Saturday, August 1, with three live games per week on Nine and 9Now. The Sunshine State has set the stage for the reigning champs, the NSW Swifts, to defend their title.

The netball season will culminate in the Grand Final on Sunday, October 18, at 1.00pm AEDT at Nissan Arena in Brisbane, available to watch live and free on Nine and 9Now.

9Now exclusives

In the last quarter of 2020 Nine will continue to stream new and exclusive content on the 9Now platform.

Love Island USA drops new episodes daily, direct from the Vegas strip. Joining it will be two exclusive new titles, The Bone Collector and For Life, all hitting 9Now in the coming month.

Already on the platform are classic titles like Desperate Housewives and 24, which will be joined in 2021 by an enormous range of content including House, Chicago PD, Fire and all-new Chicago Med.

Plus, Love Island UK returns in 2021, bigger and better than ever.

9Now will also continue to expand its unscripted reality TV library with hundreds of hours of new content, including fast-tracked episodes of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, 90 Day Fiancé, Say Yes to the Dress Australia and Keeping Up with the Kardashians.

Summer of Tennis

Nine starts the new year with the ATP Cup live from Brisbane, Perth and Sydney, followed by the Adelaide International.

After that, it’s the big one: the happy (and safe) Australian Open, one of the world’s four Grand Slam tournaments.

The 2021 Australian Open is going to be a blockbuster, with audiences craving just what this exhilarating event delivers every year – big names, thrilling matches and great stories.

Married at First Sight

Australia’s most talked about social experiment, Married at First Sight, returns for its eighth season, bringing a combination of love, passion and emotion to our TV screens next year.

In 2021, Married at First Sight welcomes Alessandra Rampolla, a certified clinical sexologist with over 20 years’ experience, who will bring her expertise in sexology and join experts John Aiken and Mel Schilling to pair 20 brave singles from across Australia with the goal of creating 10 perfect matches.

Alessandra began her career as a clinical sexologist counselling individuals and couples. She was educated in the United States, has a master’s degree in marriage and family therapy, and holds a number of other degrees and certifications.

Over the past 20 years, Alessandra has brought her expertise in sexology to television, starring in various programs around the world, and hosted her own radio show. She is also a bestselling author and lives in San Juan in Puerto Rico.

“I am thrilled to be joining John and Mel in Australia’s biggest social experiment,” says Alessandra. “With my particular expertise, I hope to contribute to the complex mix of components that ensure marriages not only work but thrive in the long haul. One of my strongest core beliefs is that sexual expression and compatibility are vital in building, nourishing and maintaining healthy romantic relationships, and it is my pleasure to help guide our participants in balancing this important factor in their brave quest for love.”

Season eight of Married at First Sight will see couples being put to the ultimate test by our three experts to determine whether science really can predict true love and a long-lasting relationship.

Viewers will be captivated by the weddings, honeymoons, provocative dinner parties and confronting commitment ceremonies, which will again lure you into this addictive reality TV juggernaut.

Married at First Sight is produced by Endemol Shine Australia for Nine.

Love Island Australia

Love Island Australia coming live from the Gold Coast in 2021. What could possibly go wrong?

The past two seasons of Love Island Australia have been a breakout hit with People 16-39 for their unique blend of humour, romance and drama. Season three will see a new group of Australia’s sexiest singles who have given up on finding love the modern way – by being an influencer and sliding into another influencer’s DMs – to embrace the love quest in the traditional way: in a villa on the Gold Coast filled with cameras and really hot people.

Love Island Australia is produced by ITV Studios Australia.

Lego Masters

Lego Masters is back, after bursting onto screens in 2019 and captivating the imagination of the nation. One of the freshest and most creative formats of the past decade, Lego Masters pits Australia’s best Lego builders against each other as they make awe-inspiring models and masterpieces that must be seen to be believed.

Lego Masters returns in 2021 with host Hamish Blake, resident judge Ryan “Brickman” McNaught, and eight pairs of impassioned designers competing in wondrous challenges. Limited only by their imaginations, next year’s contestants will bring a whole new wave of creativity as they strive to construct works of art that will blow your mind.

Lego Masters is produced by Endemol Shine Australia for Nine.

Australian Ninja Warrior

Australian Ninja Warrior is returning to Nine for a fifth season.

In 2020, audiences were captivated as, for the first time ever, they witnessed Ninja versus Ninja on the almighty Power Tower. To top off a very successful season, the daunting Mount Midoriyama was finally conquered by Ben Polson, who was crowned Australia’s first Ninja Warrior and took home an astonishing $400,000 in prizemoney.

With Mount Midoriyama now defeated, the best Ninjas from all over Australia are more motivated than ever to emulate Ben and claim another title, so get ready for Australian Ninja Warrior next year, the most competitive season yet.

Nothing in Ninja land is guaranteed and it will be no different in 2021. Australian Ninja Warrior will be completely transformed as our Ninjas tackle more obstacles that defy gravity in show-stopping television of Olympic proportions.

Australian Ninja Warrior is produced by Endemol Shine Australia for Nine.

Travel Guides

Travel Guides returns for more amazing and adventurous destinations experienced first-hand by TV’s favourite guides and critics.

These every day, ordinary Aussies bring a funny and fresh perspective to holiday reviews as they go to the same location for a week-long holiday. However, they won’t all have the same experience.

Each Travel Guide group will leave the audience in stitches with candid insights as they rate their holidays out of five stars.

Narrated by popular Aussie comedian Denise Scott, Travel Guides is produced by Nine.

The Block 2021

The Block will return in 2021 for an astonishing 17th season.

Come along for the ride as another set of buildings are transformed into someone’s great Australian dream.

While we can’t say too much just yet, we can confirm that next year’s series will take place in the ultimate family-friendly setting of a picturesque suburban cul de sac.

Also returning to Nine in 2021 are all the favourite regulars, including Taronga: Who’s Who in the Zoo, Paramedics, RBT, Emergency, Millionaire Hot Seat, Footy Classified, Sports Sunday, Sunday Footy Show and 100% Footy.

Plus big-event television, including Vision Australia’s Carols by Candlelight (2020 and 2021), the ARIA Awards (2020 and 2021) and the 2021 TV Week Logie Awards.

What’s new on Nine in 2021

Under Investigation

Underpinning Nine’s television schedule is its premium news service. 9News, 60 Minutes, A Current Affair and Today are the programs that millions of Australians turn to daily.

In 2021, Nine welcomes a brand-new program to its stable of news and current affairs programs. From the producers of 60 Minutes comes Under Investigation.

Under Investigation with Liz Hayes will be a one-hour, studio-based program that takes a single story and invites the audience to get right inside it.

Each episode of Under Investigation will feature a renowned team of “story insiders”. They will seek to solve crimes, uncover new evidence and hear from people who have never spoken publicly, while harnessing their knowledge and skill with exciting and innovative storytelling techniques.

Gary Jubelin, who was acclaimed as Australia’s top homicide detective, will join 60 Minutes as a special contributor in 2021.

Celebrity Apprentice Australia

After a six-year wait, Celebrity Apprentice Australia is back on Nine in 2021 with the biggest shake-up the series has ever seen.

The highly respected British billionaire and business magnate, Lord Alan Sugar, synonymous with The Apprentice after appearing in 15 seasons of the smash-hit UK series, will be coming Down Under to serve as CEO for the candidates vying to become the next Celebrity Apprentice. Known for his no-nonsense approach to business, sparks will fly and egos are sure to be bruised as Lord Sugar clashes with the celebrities in the boardroom.

In each episode two teams of celebrities will take on an epic task, using their business savvy, creativity and charm – while reaching into their little black book of contacts – to win cash for their chosen charities.

The first three celebrities to throw their hat in the ring are personal trainer, author and TV personality Michelle Bridges; one half of Nova FM’s Fitzy & Wippa radio show – host Michael “Wippa” Wipfli; plus Olympic gymnast Olivia Vivian, who is also the most successful woman in Australian Ninja Warrior history.

Lord Sugar, along with his two advisers, incredibly successful business people in their own right, will eliminate the celebrities one by one with those dreaded words – “You’re fired!” – until one is ultimately crowned the Celebrity Apprentice, following in the footsteps of past winners Julia Morris, Ian “Dicko” Dickson, Stephanie Rice and Sophie Monk.

This season promises plenty of never-before-seen twists and tasks to keep viewers on the edge of their seats.

Celebrity Apprentice Australia is produced by Warner Bros. International Television Production Australia for the Nine Network, based on the format created by Mark Burnett and distributed by MGM.

Beauty and the Geek

Nine will discover if opposites really do attract as the unconventional reality competition Beauty and the Geek joins the schedule in 2021.

Hosted by the original beautiful geek, Sophie Monk, this big-hearted program will showcase the power of love on the inside as a fresh group of beauties and geeks from all over the country test their brains and their charisma.

The new Beauty and the Geek promises to deliver laughs, tears and everything in between as two groups of people from completely different worlds are set to collide.

From the producers of ratings phenomenon Married at First Sight, Beauty and the Geek finds a new home on Nine with a rejuvenated and reimagined format as it explores the old saying that you can’t always judge a book by its cover.

The Parent Jury

Global parenting expert Jo Frost unleashes an experiment that challenges parenting like never before in The Parent Jury. In this controversial new series, she dares mums and dads who believe their parenting style is the best to put themselves to the test.

Opinionated mothers and fathers with diverse parenting techniques will take turns judging each other’s style. From helicopter parents to tiger parents, free-range parents and social media parents to extreme authoritarians, they will all show how they raise their families while trying to influence everyone else that their way is the best.

The Parent Jury is produced by Eureka for Nine.

Beach House Escape

With 2020 upending the way we live, Beach House Escape will help people to realise their lifelong dream of escaping the city.

Beach House Escape is set in an idyllic seaside town where an old home right on the beachfront is ready for a complete makeover to turn it into Australia’s best beach house.

Ten talented individuals who’ve always romanticised about a better life will compete to fulfil this dream.

Celebrity IOU Australia

Major star power is on display as some of Australia’s biggest names express their gratitude to individuals who have played a pivotal role in their lives with beautiful, surprise home renovations in Celebrity IOU Australia.

This heart-warming series follows the A-listers as they work to a tight deadline, transforming living spaces to unlock each property’s full potential. Celebrity IOU Australia is also a touching reminder that home truly is where the heart is, and no matter how successful you might be in life, you should never forget where you come from.

Doctor Doctor returns with 5 new castmembers

Australia’s favourite bad boy, Dr Hugh Knight (Rodger Corser), and his dysfunctional family will face their biggest challenges ever when Doctor Doctor returns to Nine in 2021.

When the Knight family and the entire township of Whyhope are plunged into crisis all eyes turn to Hugh to save them. Will Whyhope’s philandering medico be their Messiah, or is this a recipe for an even bigger disaster? And will Hugh finally find true love with the woman of his dreams?

Doctor Doctor boasts an outstanding ensemble cast including Tina Bursill (Meryl), Hayley McElhinney (Penny), Nicole da Silva (Charlie), Ryan Johnson (Matt), Matt Castley (Ajax), Chloe Bayliss (Hayley), Charles Wu (Ken) and Belinda Bromilow (Betty).

Joining the cast and causing the hearts of Whyhope to flutter even faster is a standout crop of homegrown talent including Zoë Ventoura (Love Child, Packed to the Rafters, Underbelly Files: Chopper), Lincoln Younes (Grand Hotel, Love Child, Dead Lucky), Darren McMullen (Seachange, House Husbands), John Waters (Halifax: Retribution, Mystery Road, The Commons, Offspring) and Chantelle Jamieson (Crownies, House Husbands, Underbelly Files).

Doctor Doctor is produced by Easy Tiger Productions for Nine with the assistance of Screen NSW and Screen Australia. International sales by Fremantle International.

Amazing Grace

Amazing Grace, Nine’s new drama series about life’s most surprising and precious moments, features a stellar cast including Kate Jenkinson (Doctor Doctor, Wentworth, Offspring), Sigrid Thornton (Seachange, Wentworth), Catherine Van Davies (Hungry Ghosts, The Letdown, True Story with Hamish & Andy), Alexandra Jensen (Frayed, My Life is Murder, The Letdown) and Kat Hoyos (Here Come the Habibs!).

Amazing Grace is centred on midwife Grace (Kate Jenkinson) and her passionate colleagues at an unconventional birth centre attached to a major city hospital. A fierce advocate for her pregnant mothers-to- be, Grace’s dubious work/life balance is about to get even more chaotic when a new arrival at the birth centre changes her life forever.

Produced by Playmaker Media for Nine, the creative team for Amazing Grace includes writers Jonathan Gavin (Offspring), Ainslie Clouston (Playing For Keeps), writer and executive producer Sarah Smith (Love Child), set-up director and co-executive producer Shawn Seet (Love Child, Reckoning, Hungry Ghosts), producer Diane Haddon (The Commons, Reckoning, The Code) and executive producers David Maher and David Taylor (Love Child, Bloom, The Commons), plus Nine’s Head of Drama Andy Ryan.

With major production funding from Screen Australia in association with Screen NSW, Amazing Grace commences filming soon in Sydney with further cast to be announced.

Mega Zoo

This enthralling factual series features exclusive behind-the-scenes access to one of the planet’s largest and oldest network of zoos.

Across three vastly different sites, 800 dedicated staff look after more than 5000 extraordinary animals – from spectacular Melbourne Zoo to the magnificent savannah of Werribee Open Range Zoo and the stunning mountain range home of Australia’s most iconic wildlife, Healesville Sanctuary.

Mega Zoo captures the daily rollercoaster of drama, action, emotion and humour as seen through the eyes of a passionate group of recurring characters.

Mega Zoo is produced by WTFN for Nine.

This will see Nine develop a purpose-built solution directly into Nine through Adobe’s data management platform (DMP), Adobe Audience Manager. Audience Match will allow Nine to assist brands in matching their customer data to Nine’s 13m registered users through one streamlined integration.

Brands will be able to connect with Nine’s audiences by enabling people-based activation of first-party data that customers have agreed to share across Nine’s premium content.

Audience Match will allow Australian marketers to move from targeting devices to communicating with their known customers in an automated and privacy-safe way.

“Audience Match will help facilitate people-based marketing across Nine, leveraging our signed-in audience of 13m Australians and seamlessly bring together the power of premium content and people-based data to create personalised customer experiences,” said Michael Stephenson, Nine’s chief sales officer.

“This partnership gives Australian marketers a unique alternative to both traditional media players and new digital platforms in terms of bringing a quality content environment together with data at scale.”

Nine’s chief sales officer Michael Stephenson and Adobe Australia and New Zealand managing director Suzanne Steele

Audience Match will offer marketers the ability to use rich customer data from online and offline sources to segment and more effectively reach their known customers. Marketers can also build look-a-likes of their customers to provide personalised experiences or suppress their audiences to improve media efficiency.

Stephenson commented: “Audience Match will match hashed email addresses from an advertiser’s data with Nine’s audience data, creating a fully-addressable audience that’s not dependent on cookies with every ad impression linked back to an actual person.

“This partnership is extremely important as we know the businesses that will lead in the years to come are those who can bring together data sets across multiple platforms to form an in-depth view of their customers built off their user identity.”

Audience Match will be immediately made available across 9Now including the ability for advertisers to target their own audiences in the living room on a connected TV. In the first half of next year, Nine will roll out Audience Match across its other digital properties.

“The scale and functionality of Audience Match, combined with the publishing depth of Nine’s digital properties, will allow brands to unlock opportunities, enabling more meaningful engagement for both brands and customers,” said Suzanne Steele, managing director for Adobe Australia and New Zealand.

Coles has signed on as the exclusive launch partner for Audience Match. This partnership will allow Coles to market to real people, rather than a device and provide its customers and viewers with personalised and relevant information and offers.

Coles will be able to upload hashed email addresses and customer datasets into Coles’ instance of Audience Manager and select Nine as a custom destination. This enables Coles to transfer their data into Nine for Nine to match, segment, buy and optimise value across Nine’s properties.

Coles chief marketing officer, Lisa Ronson, said: “Coles is undergoing a digital transformation to ensure we are providing our customers with the most seamless interactions with our brand. This partnership is so important to ensure we are making the most of all the communications we have.

“We need to provide our customers with the most relevant and personalised information so they can make the most informed decisions about what they need and how they shop. We are thrilled to be the launch partner in this initiative because it will help our marketing team make the best decisions on where and how we should communicate.”

The Money brand will be centred, in broadcast channels, on financial journalist Brooke Corte, who hosts Nine’s top rating finance program Money News on 2GB, 3AW and 4BC, and will also involve bespoke solutions on television and within Nine’s publishing assets.

“This year, Brooke has been a brilliant addition to the Nine Radio family,” said Richard Hunwick, Nine’s Director of Sales – Television and Radio. “On weeknights Brooke has been presenting, fast paced, in-depth and up-to-the-minute coverage of the day’s events with everything our listeners need to know about their finances and investments.

“We will now be extending that brand across all platforms. For marketers this will mean the opportunity to extend their involvement with Money right across our full radio footprint, across our digital and print platforms and on to television via bespoke updates in programs likes A Current Affair. Additionally, there will be bespoke sponsored extensions offered through Good Weekend or the Money section of our mastheads.”

“This year saw our whole world change and our attitude to money has too. Our finances have been snapped firmly into focus in 2020,” said Brooke Corte, the host of Money on Nine Radio.

“Personal finance has never been more important. I’m passionate about how we can cut through the noise to talk in depth about the economy, our household finances, and our small businesses.

“Australians are working harder for every single dollar, which means we are more focused than ever on getting a better deal on our mortgage, a lower rate on a business loan, and finding smarter ways to invest and grow our money.”

Nine will also to seek to utilise other on-air and editorial talent in the personal finance space as it seeks to build the Money brand across its unique combination of platforms.

Nine launched its superbrands strategy last year at its 2020 Upfront with the aim of building its reach and audience across key verticals such as property, auto, travel and food.

“Superbrands was one of the key initiatives introduced via Powered in the last 18 months,” said Hunwick. “It was born from our publishing expertise, in verticals such as travel and real estate, and brings together Nine’s assets in a simple and coherent fashion, allowing clients to amplify their message in a relevant and contextual environment.”

Nine’s superbrands now include Money, Domain, Traveller, Good Food, CarAdvice and Good Weekend and Sunday Life.

The State of Originality is an open challenge to brands, marketers and creative agencies to create unmissable big-brand moments during the commercial breaks.

The new division within Powered will be tailored to the needs of key C-suite clientele who are looking for partners who can understand and meet their changing needs for business growth.

Liana Dubois, Nine’s director of powered said: “Powered Enterprise is for those brands who want to elevate from a transactional relationship with Nine, to go beyond media placement and advertising alone.

“You already know Powered because you’ve watched its unique client integration in some of Australia’s biggest TV formats, but we are so much more than that. Powered has specialist capability in strategy, cultural insights and advertising effectiveness. Over half of the group operates in our creative studios function, designing, producing and then amplifying creative collateral for brands. And our content partnerships discipline finds ways in for brands, into the fabric of our content across radio, digital, print and television.”

“The launch of Powered Enterprise sees us building on these senior specialist capabilities, all in-house and all together in one proposition.

“Powered Enterprise is for businesses that believe in marketing-led growth, and more broadly for those that believe in the power of total company collaboration. We will develop a business plan for growth right alongside each other.

“This isn’t about one ad campaign or a summer launch. The conversations Powered Enterprise will be having are aimed at understanding an organisation’s horizon planning and co-creating strategies and ideas that deliver against that plan in a way that no other media partner in Australia can.”

This will allow agencies and marketers to brief and buy Nine across all broadcast platforms, which aims to provide a more efficient process of buying, faster response times and clear post-analysis reporting.

Kerry McCabe, the founder and previous Chairman of UnLtd will continue to serve as an UnLtd Director and take on a more active role in other UnLtd projects, including the launch of the organisation’s first B2C offering.

UnLtd was founded in 2005 by Kerry McCabe, CEO of AthletesVoice and The Roar. The start of UnLtd (then MAYDAY) saw media auction proceeds granted to youth charities in Australia and the bartering of advertising space for FMCG products to support a serious food shortage in Timor Leste which left many young people homeless. Since then, UnLtd has grown to almost $100m in social impact through programs that enable all who work in the industry to participate.

Kerry McCabe commented:

“We’re delighted to welcome Danny as our new Chair as we move to the next stage of UnLtd’s growth and expansion into new products and services. Danny has been an instrumental part of our Board for many years and we are looking forward to having him at the helm as we further increase the positive impact our industry generates for young Australian’s at risk. Danny has very strong strategic and leadership skills which will be invaluable as we chase our ambitious growth aspirations and give hope and belief to more precious young Australians in need.”

Bass has been a member of the UnLtd Board for over five years and will take on the role of Chairman from September 2020.

Danny Bass said:

“I am honoured to be offered the opportunity to continue the incredible work Kerry and UnLtd have achieved over the past 15 years. UnLtd continually demonstrates the impact our industry can have as a positive force for good. None more so than what Chris and the team have delivered in 2020. Our plans for 2021 and beyond are significant and reflect how we will respond to the challenges and maximise the opportunities in front of us to continue our mission of supporting young Australians at risk.”

Chris Freel, CEO of UnLtd said:

“UnLtd wouldn’t exist without Kerry’s vision, passion and determination to change the lives of hundreds of thousands of young people at risk. The way he has rallied the industry together for a common cause over the years and helped grow UnLtd into the organisation it is today is nothing short of incredible. It is his vision that has allowed our industry an opportunity to make a difference and given us all the power to help.”

UnLtd works with over 200 corporate partners across the industry and supports 25 carefully selected charities that are helping to break the cycle of youth disadvantage.

Primetime News

Seven News 1,044,000/977,000
Nine News 977,000/986,000
ABC News 759,000
10 News First 316,000/233,000
SBS World News 178,000

Daily current affairs

A Current Affair 768,000
7.30 616,000
The Project 325,000/505,000
The Drum 188,000

Breakfast TV

Sunrise 255,000
Today 215,000
News Breakfast 208,000

Late night news

ABC Late News 118,000
Nine News Late 181,000

Wednesday TV

Seven: Home and Away started its week with two nights just under 600,000 and then did 565,000 on Wednesday.

An hour of Highway Patrol delivered audiences of 387,000 and 377,000.

The midweek movie was 2017’s Kingsman: The Golden Circle with 297,000.

Nine: After two nights under 750,000, the midweek episode of A Current Affair climbed to 768,000.

The Block has been monitoring the spread of Covid-19 all week, but we are not at site lockdown, yet. But it is not far away. It looks like Scotty will be shutting down the build next Monday as he addresses everybody on site, explaining what will be happening and why. The midweek episode was on 742,000, up from 687,000 a week ago.

Australian Crime Stories series four launched next with a cracking first episode looking into the troubled world of Roger Rogerson. The series debuted on 452,000 to be part of Nine’s Wednesday ratings domination.

Murder Calls then did 260,000.

10: Rachel Corbett was the midweek guest on The Project which included coverage of stranded Aussies and comedian Zoe Coombs Marr with 505,000 watching after two other episodes over 500,000 earlier this week.

The Bachelor was back in the mansion as Locky arrived in a Kombi van, selected his top five and sent three home. The episode was on 617,000 after 549,000 on Wednesday last week.

Two repeat episodes of Bull then did 239,000 and 176,000.

ABC: Another very diverse group of interests were represented on Hard Quiz with specialists on Cleopatra, Allan Border, Bluey and bridge competing for the Hard Quiz mug. The episode was again top 10 with 696,000.

Episode seven of Shaun Micallef’s Mad as Hell then was on 568,000 after 591,000 a week ago.

Utopia was on 354,000 for the repeat episode and then Planet America did 320,000.

SBS: Arabia with Levison Wood was on 211,000 followed by the launch of Hillary with also 211,000 watching.

Live coverage of Stage 17 of Tour de France did 169,000 as the teams tackled a huge mountain climb.