Friday November 2, 2018

10 Upfronts: CEO Paul Anderson on streaming, sports, rebrand & CBS

The corporate rebranding of what is now Network 10 was perhaps the biggest takeaway from the 2019 Upfronts this week.

CEO Paul Anderson told Mediaweek on the Your Money TV channel this week it was the first time in 27 years there had been a rebrand, back when Bob Hawke was the Australian prime minister.

“This signals a new era for us and it brings all our brands together with some consistency. Changing the multichannel names to 10 Peach and 10 Boss really frames what those channels are about.”

Anderson said there is no new audience target that comes with the new names. “Peach is 16-39, which is similar to what ELEVEN used to be. Boss has somewhat of a transition from ONE where it now has big shows like Madam Secretary, Judge Judy and Hawaii Five-O and some sport.”

Network 10 has resisted the temptation to launch any new channels. Seven will soon have four multichannels and Nine already has four, with those channels helping lift the network share. (Nine’s new Your Money is yet to be counted toward the combined Nine Network share.)

“The way we look at it and depending on what you launch, you can cannibalise yourself. We figure that if we are going to invest money and time into something it should perhaps live on 10 Play, 10 Daily or 10 All Access.”

It is just on 12 months since CBS took control of the Australian channels, with Anderson noting organising an upfront under their ownership was not much different than previous years.

“CBS are broadcasters and they understand TV and they do the same thing that we do in their Upfronts. They are involved because they understand what we are trying to achieve. We talked a little bit at the Upfronts about our strategy, which is producing different premium content across a whole range of platforms because that is how our audience wants to view the content. We need to be far batter at monetising the delivery on those other platforms.”

By the end of the year Network 10 will have two platforms online streaming long-form content – 10 Play and 10 All Access.

“10 Play will continue to be a long-form catch-up service for content you want to see that has screened primarily within 30 days,” explained Anderson.

“If you want to binge on whole seasons of content then you can do that on All Access in HD. It is a world-class platform that CBS has rolled out in the US and Canada. It completes our ecosystem. We don’t have a subscription model and it is a way of us dragging some younger audiences into our platform and then maybe recycling them back through other parts of the business.”

There will be no free plan to the new service. “We will have our linear channels, 10 Play for long-form catch-up, 10 Daily for short-form video and then All Access for subscriptions.”

Anderson commented that it had been exciting in recent months rebuilding the broadcaster’s sales team after the decision to takes sales back in-house after the years with MCN. “We now have the opportunity to build a sales team that puts the needs of our clients and agencies first. We are virtually ready to go.”

Building the team has meant a significant investment in both personnel and technology. “We are leveraging CBS’s technology stack for our digital and they have an amazing broadcast system they trade off in the US and in Australia under some different brands. For us to be able to leverage off that is really powerful.”

The size of the CBS investment in content for next year has been labelled as “unprecedented” by Anderson. “The loss of the cricket has somewhat chartered our course and we have decided to program for 50 weeks of the year, ignoring the traditional non-survey ratings break. Having broad entertainment content, with still what is not a bad sports offering, is a chance for us to do something different.”

Regarding that sporting content, Anderson revealed he will be at the Melbourne Cup this year, even though the rights don’t start until 2019.

“The Victorian Racing Club has entrusted its carnival with us across the four days with our commitment to promote the carnival across the whole year and it fits with their strategy.”

Anderson denied the acquisition was a loss leader for 10. “It’s not a loss leader. It is one of the most iconic sporting events in Australia and it draws a massive audience, not just on Tuesday but across those other days.”

Rebranding the news service 10 News First seems to indicate CBS is happy to leave the bulletin at 5pm, and not take on Seven or Nine at 6pm. “It is something we often discuss externally and internally. Our News at 5pm has been there for a long, long time and we are investing in our local news in each market. News content is a big part of 10 Daily and we also cover news in The Project. People forget it is a news show, with news that is done differently.”

Finding four shows to keep from the eight Pilot Week programs justified the investment, said Anderson. “We are proud of what we have done, which was a massive undertaking developing those shows to screen across just one week. It is something we will definitely be doing next year.”

Grant Blackley
10 Upfronts: Starcom, Zenith & Amplifi on 10’s rebrand, programming

Media buyers from major agency networks have been reporting for Mediaweek during the 2019 Upfront season.

Toby Barbour, Starcom Australia CEO

Starcom Australia CEO Toby Barbour

10 produced an entertaining evening reinforcing the new brand refresh, new era and clear positioning. There was a strong, clear message to make 10 bigger with the global CBS partnership combined and local differentiation to target the young at heart, and to own young audience engagement across platforms with active brand conversations.

The presentation was colourful, bold, confident and the word of the night was “bigger”.

10 addressed the BBL loss head-on in a humorous and practical way – that is, “we have money to spend”.

It was refreshing to see a year’s worth of content planned out to address a 50-week schedule.

I’m glad to see the back of “Seriously” and a more light-hearted, entertaining tone taken.

10 was confident to reflect on Pilot Week and the fact it owns the “virtual water cooler” with 67% more social activity.

10 is proud to call on CBS expertise scale and technology.

If 10 can translate all this into consistent, cross-platform audience delivery, it is onto a winner.

Anthony Ellis, Zenith Chief Investment Officer

The 10 Network Upfronts were very entertaining, with an amazing start to the show! As always, 10 did a great job.

The message was clear from the outset that 10 was prepared to spend and had significant budget to invest in quality content as a result of its parent company CBS. It was very clear that it was an Australian network powered by the scale of a global company, which instils confidence that 10 will be very competitive.

In a very short period of time Rod Prosser has built a talented sales team with a good framework of products such as 10 Imagine, 10 Effect, 10 Exchange and 10 Interactive along with the announcement that CBS DNA is slated to launch in 2020, which on the surface is impressive.

As with any transition of this size and scale, which involves completely rebuilding a sales team along with products, it will take time. While I am sure the market will be supportive as it is in everyone’s interest to have a healthy 10, its competitors won’t be and it is important that 10 moves quickly.

In regards to content, it was very evident that with the lack of sport, limited proven marquee programming and the reliance on new programs, the content slate across the year carries risk for 10.

The first quarter is of particular concern with no Big Bash, which in the past has provided not only a solid start to the year for advertisers but a good platform for 10 to promote its content. This – coupled with the launch of Dancing with the Stars, a format that was retired by Seven previously, and a new show in the form of Sunday Night Takeaway, which could be a great success though again it is untested – creates significant challenges especially when it is expected that both Seven and Nine will have a strong start to the year.

Louise Romeo, General Manager – NSW & Queensland, Amplifi

Network 10 had a good balance of showcasing returning and new programming, which will feature in its 2019 schedule to attract both audiences and advertisers. Its focus to revamp a number of existing shows may help reinvigorate these franchises for a new audience.

The absence of cricket within its sporting lineup leaves a gap and, given Australians’ passion for sport, this puts 10 in a challenging position to preserve YOY audiences especially across Q1.

In saying that, 10 offered a number of other viewing options to appeal to broader audiences interested in both entertainment and lifestyle. 10 was true to its form in ensuring both 10 Peach and 10 Boss are distinctive in their tone and demographics as part of their rebrand. The success of these channels will be based on their content and, despite making these brands more contemporary, the strategy is largely driven by international properties.

10 also had a number of bold initiatives such as Pilot Week, new local scripted series as well as the acquisition of new properties through its CBS partnership to set it apart within the Australian market.

10 All Access, launching in December, is another streaming service in an already cluttered catalogue. However, the true indication of its success will be how it uses the CBS technology, expertise and original content to draw audiences to the platform.

Complemented with 10’s fresh and invigorated sales team and its platform-agnostic structure, 10 should be expected to deliver client-centric solutions through how they think, behave and insights they share around their audiences and platforms.

Ten definitely shared a lot of news with an air of confidence and optimism about 2019 – promising to be bigger and better. There was a good balance of information around 10’s investment into premium content, technology, a brand refresh as well as its backing from one of the most successful broadcasters in the US – CBS.

It is clear it has a consistent while distinctive strategy for all of its assets while not forgetting its heritage and tone of voice as the network with attitude and an irreverent personality. It was a refreshing change and its content gave us just enough to tease us around its strategy but left us wanting more around its roadmap, specifically around digital and data and how we can best execute this for our clients.

10 acknowledged the shift to digital is a structural challenge, not just a younger demo thing. 10’s demonstration of its move away from a legacy TV network to a platform-agnostic brand focusing on digital and data promises a new era. At Amplifi, we embrace a platform-agnostic approach to planning video campaigns through our TV Stack methodology. This allows us to focus an audience-first, platform-second philosophy and truly deliver fluid video strategies for our clients. This is a positive step to allow us to work with our clients to connect further with their audiences across all platforms.

10’s biggest highlight was it did not take itself too seriously and the celebrity factor still has its sparkle. 10 was energetic, entertaining and promised to reinvent itself in 2019. For Amplifi, we would have liked to have seen more information around automation and more detail around its digital and data partnerships. An exciting showcase definitely set the tone going into 2019.

How the ABC outspends Seven, Nine and 10 on drama

At their respective 2019 upfront events, the commercial networks all talked about the size of their content investment.

Nine said in 2019 it will spend in the vicinity of $1b on content, Seven said it is Australia’s biggest content creator and Network 10 said its 2019 investment on content was unprecedented.

However, there is one measure that sees the publicly funded ABC outshine them all – its drama spend.

The ABC this week detailed how it is the nation’s leading broadcaster in supporting homegrown stories, boosting Australia’s screen industry more than the commercial free-to-air networks combined.

For the first time, the combined budgets for content produced for first release on the ABC ($144 million in 2017-18) was higher than the combined total for broadcasters Seven, Nine and Ten ($142 million), according to Screen Australia’s Drama Report.

Riot

The annual report into the Australian screen industry revealed the ABC financed more drama, comedy and children’s programs across television and online than any other single network, contributing $53 million across 23 titles, including Mystery Road, Riot, Superwog, Pine Gap, Rosehaven and the new ABC KIDS animated series Bluey.

The ABC also has the upcoming serialised drama The Heights, which was filmed in Perth, and the psychological international coproduction The Cry, starring Asher Keddie and Alex Dimitriades.

Michael Carrington, ABC acting director of entertainment & specialist, said: “Telling remarkable and relevant Australian stories is at the heart of our role as the nation’s leading public broadcaster.

“Screen Australia’s Drama Report recognises the ABC’s unrivalled commitment to investing in high-quality, distinctive programs that drive Australia’s screen industry. No broadcaster backs Australian stories more than the ABC.”

Rosehaven

The report revealed the three commercial free-to-air networks contributed $84 million across 17 titles in 2017-18 – the group’s lowest contribution in the past five years.

The release of the report this week came as the ABC received 57 AACTA Award nominations across 23 categories, more than any other broadcaster, with crime drama Mystery Road and telemovie Riot, which shines a spotlight on Australia’s gay and lesbian rights movement, both in line to win 11 of Australia’s top screen prizes.

Top Photo: The Cry, starring Asher Keddie 

Simon Ryan out of Dentsu Aegis after accepting a new media role

Dentsu Aegis Network (DAN) staff yesterday got a short note telling them the boss was departing.

The CEO for Australian and New Zealand Simon Ryan resigned after accepting what staff were told was a senior role outside the Dentsu Aegis network.

Ryan has been CEO of Dentsu Aegis ANZ since 2016 after spending seven years at Carat in various leadership roles.

Staff were told that Ryan will remain with Dentsu Aegis for the time being while a global and internal and external search is undertaken to find his replacement. No departure date has yet been revealed.

Nick Waters, CEO APAC, DAN, who broke the news of Ryan’s departure to colleagues, said: “During his time Simon has driven extensive change for the group, positively impacting culture, collaboration and commercial performance. I thank Simon for the leadership he has shown throughout his time with Dentsu Aegis Network, and wish him all the best for the future.”

Simon Ryan said: “My time at Dentsu Aegis Network has been an exceptionally rewarding and satisfying experience. I have worked and collaborated with great people to perform challenging and inspiring work, to grow the business and triple its size, over the past nine years. It’s now time for me to embrace the next challenge in my life and focus on a different business. Ahead of my departure I will remain focused on our people and clients, and continue to deliver on the ambitious ANZ plan.”

Ryan has worked in media for more than 25 years including at IPG and WPP before joining Carat’s Melbourne business as managing director in October 2009. He was promoted to CEO of Carat Australia & New Zealand in 2013.

Top Photo: Simon Ryan on TV with Mediaweek’s James Manning and Your Money’s Nadine Blayney earlier this year

52-page tribute magazine for superstar Winx

In anticipation of watching Australia’s greatest racehorse make history during the 2018 Spring Racing Carnival, News Corp Australia has produced 60,000 copies of a 52-page glossy magazine in a tribute to the mighty mare Winx.

Created by the Herald & Weekly Times partnerships and magazine division in Melbourne, in collaboration with News Corp teams in Sydney and Adelaide, Winx magazine is now on sale for $4.95 with a copy of any News Corp newspaper at participating retailers in Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia.

Largely pictorially driven, Winx celebrates the achievements of the champion Australian thoroughbred racehorse, featuring stories by The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph racing editor and co-host on Sky Sports Radio’s racing programs, Ray Thomas; author, senior reporter and associate sports editor at the Herald Sun Glenn McFarlane and Herald Sun’s feature writer, investigative journalist and columnist Andrew Rule, the official Winx biographer.

Ondrej Foltin, head of content, partnerships and magazines at News Corp Australia said: “Winx is a tribute to the country’s greatest racehorse that every racing fan will want to keep.

“The 52-page glossy magazine celebrates the action, drama and colour of the super mare’s fourth Cox Plate. It features remarkable stories of how the darling of racing captured the heart of a nation, the making of a champion and how she peeled off 29 successive wins.

“We are proud to produce special edition magazines of this quality to celebrate special moments in time, people, places and brands.”

The Winx souvenir glossy magazine will have a four-week on-sale period in participating newsagents and Woolworths, complemented by an integrated advertising and marketing campaign incorporating radio, digital, social, PR, eDMs and retail POS, in addition to prominent daily print and digital ad placement in the Herald Sun, The Daily Telegraph, and The Advertiser.

Hmm… chocolate: Integrated partnership for Foxtel Movies & Cadbury

MCN and Foxtel in collaboration with Dentsu Aegis’s premium entertainment agency, The Story Lab, have created a new 12-month integration partnership between Cadbury and Foxtel Movies in the two brands’ first ever collaboration

The market-first deal sees Cadbury partner with Foxtel on a new TV package designed specifically for the confectionery company to create connected moments with their brand and all Australian families.

The partnership includes integration into 10 of Foxtel’s multiscreen movie channels including Premiere, Romance, Action, Comedy, Thriller, More Movies and Masterpiece, plus themed pop-up channels during key viewing periods. Cadbury will also have a presence on Foxtel’s On Demand movie offering FoxFlicks.

Commencing this Sunday November 4, the partnership sees a series of six 30-second “epic movie moments” featuring a core family cast. The six seasonal creative pieces were shot exclusively for Cadbury and will be executed across the 12-month partnership period.

In addition to delivering Cadbury’s creative across the Foxtel platform, the campaign will also be supported by themed programming, integrated content, promotions and events.

Foxtel head of sponsorships, advertising sales & brand partnerships, Damian Cleary, said:“This partnership with Cadbury emulates the new direction of Foxtel – Foxtel like never before. True to the values of both organisations, it delivers a mandate of reigniting human connections through the power of film in a fun and relatable way. This is a premium advertising experience for Cadbury that only Foxtel can offer and one that sets a new benchmark for the brand partnership team at Foxtel and MCN.”

MCN group partnership manager Charlie Brown said: “Foxtel’s Movie offering provided Cadbury with the perfect passion point as movies, the nation’s number one pastime, are an experience that can be enjoyed and shared together, just like a block of Cadbury dairy milk chocolate. By customising a package that uses one of Foxtel’s premium assets to deliver Cadbury’s brand objectives, we were able to use the power of integration to better connect the brand with their consumers. The result is an ongoing presence for Cadbury in Australian households over the next 12 months ensuring deep, consistent awareness and, in turn, cut-through for their brand.”

Ross Crowley

Ross Crowley, Foxtel’s director of content, said, “Foxtel is the premium movie destination for Australians and we are proud to partner with the nation’s most loved chocolate, Cadbury. Our aim is to further enhance the enjoyment of our subscribers with our Movie Pack and we look forward to working with the Cadbury team on this exciting new initiative that is a perfect mix for movies and chocolate lovers.”

The Story Lab national managing director Adriana Colaneri said: “The Story Lab has brought to life a truly market-first partnership, which creatively connects the shared values of two brands in a way that is authentic, engaging and at scale.”

Paul Chatfield, Cadbury/Mondelez International ANZ director of marketing (Chocolate), said,“This partnership is a first for Cadbury in how deeply it is integrated with Foxtel and how broadly it covers the Cadbury portfolio. With the increasing fragmentation of media consumption in Australia, it reflects the need to think differently about how we create deeper connections with our consumers – this will be by shining a light on Australian families and friends sharing their favourite Cadbury chocolate over epic movie moments together.

Mercado on TV: ABC’s The Set and 10’s How To Stay Married

It’s been a long time since the ABC did a live music show but this week it launched The Set and it got off to a great start.

It was wacky, had a cool mix of performers, and having them all hang around so they could perform together in a group finale was inspired.

As a gender-diverse performer floated around the “share house” making snacks, it reminded me of Claire De Lune doing the same thing on Room 208, a show that was created in-house by the staff of Channel [V] during a rather wild conference. The Set could have been created in a similar environment because it’s got a fun vibe to it, and co-host Dylan Alcott is one of the TV finds of the year. Hopefully he will start appearing in as many TV shows as Grant Denyer does and, if he’s single, he could do The Bachelor too.

Grant Denyer is the new Eddie “Everywhere” McGuire and although Game of Games is sunk and sinking in the ratings, there’s always Dancing With The Stars next year. He is also in the opening scene of How To Stay Married, which stars Gold Logie winner Lisa McCune and, as quoted on the promos, “Gold Logie hopeful” Peter Helliar. Very funny, as is 10’s insistence that re-naming its channels Boss and Peach doesn’t mean they are skewing them as male and female.

This is a good time to be on 10 with their cute re-branding and decision to stay in the game for 50 weeks a year. That’s why the new shows just keep on coming, even though How To Stay Married comes from the ABC. It started off as an episode of It’s a Date, an anthology sitcom also created by Peter Helliar, and now it’s set 13 years later. It should have broad appeal but may also be why All About Dave, a somewhat similar family sitcom from Dave O’Neil, has missed getting picked up from 10’s Pilot Week.

How To Stay Married was listed in TV Week to air Thursdays at 8:30pm, the same time as Orange Is The New Brown on Seven. That would have been an unfortunate result for two new Aussie comedies but, according to 10’s latest promo, How To Stay Married has been moved to 9pm. Now that is a smart move and allows both shows some space. Let’s also hope that hour on Thursday nights, once the home to The D Generation and Fast Forward, can now get a new generation laughing.

Mediaweek NZ: Herald ban, All Blacks deposed, Sky courtroom win

Mediaweek’s John Drinnan rounds up all the latest media news from New Zealand.

Newstalk ZB’s plans for Simon Barnett

Newstalk ZB has announced plans for its news star broadcaster Simon Barnett, who was poached recently from MediaWorks’ More FM. Starting mid-2019, Barnett will work for his friend and breakfast show colleague Phil Gifford on a new afternoon show. The plan will be well received. There will be some eyebrows raised in the radio world that Barnett was so much of a nice guy on More FM, he might not be versed in the harder-edged Newstalk content. Gifford is a well-known man of opinions and a longtime pal and they have a natural rapport. The two rated well when they worked together in the 1990s. Meanwhile, MediaWorks has poached Paul Flynn from the NZME station The Hits to join Jason Gunn and Jay Jay Feeney on the top-rating More FM Drive.

Sky wins copyright case

The internet streaming brand My Box, used to watch Sky TV movies, television and sports programs, breached copyright and is illegal, the High Court has found. Sky successfully claimed the brand, using so-called “Kodi boxes”, fooled consumers into thinking that the boxes were legal. The boxes merely found and broadcast pirate streams, Sky said. Damages claims are now expected to be lodged early in the new year. On July 14, Sky TV said that it had suffered NZ$1.44 million in damages and ongoing losses of $570,000 from lost monthly subscription revenue.

Screen workers to bargain collectively

Screen industry workers in New Zealand’s screen industry will be allowed to bargain collectively again under a model proposed by the Government-convened Film Industry Working Group. The working group was established by Labour for a long-promised overturning of The Hobbit Law – introduced by Nationals under pressure from Warner Bros and the Peter Jackson organisation – to secure local production of The Hobbit. The law preventing collective bargaining was seen by Labour as a major industrial issue. Embittered industrial action had been conducted by Actor’s Equity and was led by Simon Whipp of the Australian union, the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance. The dispute caused major divisions inside the production sector.

New Zealand Herald holiday ban

The NZ Herald reports: National Party deputy leader Paula Bennett produced a mock private members bill to prevent a repeat of a turbulent fortnight. The joke private member’s bill bans NZ Herald political editor Audrey Young from going on holiday again. It was called “The Audrey Young Prohibition Amendment Bill”. The first day of Young’s recent holiday coincided with an inquiry into a leak that led to an ugly and ongoing stoush between the National leader Simon Bridges and his chief whip Jami Lee Ross, and ultimately led to Ross being admitted for psychiatric care. Young’s holidays have been dubbed “The Curse of Audrey” in the Press Gallery as they have coincided with four major political upheavals for national leaders. Audrey– who is the daughter of a former National Party cabinet minister Venn Young – has been on holiday while four National Party leaders have been rolled.

Peter Pan to New Zealand

Disney indicates it is all systems go for a live action version of Peter Pan to be “at least” partly filmed in New Zealand. Writer-director David Lowery worked on “reimagining” Disney’s Pete’s Dragon, also filmed in New Zealand. Disney has recently made A Wrinkle in Time and Niki Caro’s Mulan in New Zealand.

All Blacks finally lose top spot

Chocolate company Whitakers has replaced the All Blacks in the Colmar-Brunton list of New Zealand’s best loved brands, after level-pegging last year. Tip Top came in third and Air New Zealand was fourth.

News podcasts launch

NZME and TVNZ have both launched new podcast initiatives. NZME launched the Front Page offering a 15-minute summary of the day’s news for broadcast to the commuter audience. It is available on the NZ Herald website, iTunes and Newstalk ZB. TVNZ has also launched a weekly in-depth podcast called The Story, featuring its newly acquired star reporter John Campbell. The first episode on Monday looked at the issues surround the Australian detention centre on Nauru.

Top Photo: Simon Barnett

Mediaweek New Zealand profile: Broadcasting minister Kris Faafoi

Kris Faafoi was appointed New Zealand broadcasting and communications minister two months go, replacing Clare Curran, who was demoted after being implicated in two scandals.

By John Drinnan

Already the minister for civil defence, commerce and consumer affairs, Faafoi had been noticed as a safe pair of hands and he knows the broadcasting and communications portfolios from a stint as spokesman three years ago in opposition.

More to the point, he has firsthand experience. Faafoi was a reporter on the daily primetime current affairs shows Holmes and Close Up. As new minister, Faafoi is moving carefully and taking the industry with him.

He grew up in a family on the left, but was never opinionated on TV like Derryn Hinch.

“As a politician I can relate to journalists covering stories and imagine the adrenaline rush chasing stories. Once a journo always a journo,” Faafoi told Mediaweek.

“The attitude of a journalist is helpful – contacts are everything and I try to gather up as much information as I can,” he said.

“Our predecessors did not care enough about ensuring there is local content. That is the foundation of Labour’s interest,” he noted.

There is traditionally wariness about the role of the state in media under Labour.

Support for full commerciality of TVNZ – a major player in the ad market – rankles with the private sector, and Labour’s broadcasting policy avoids public broadcasting obligations.

This is an excerpt from the full article, which appears on Mediaweek Premium. Read the full article here or subscribe to Mediaweek Premium here.

TV Ratings Analysis: November 1

• Paramedics helps Nine’s first win since The Block auctions
• Seven #1 network as 7mate’s Die Hard 4 lifts share to 6.5%
• Gogglebox #1 demos, #1 entertainment, top three overall

By James Manning

Seven

After holding at 600,000 or above on the previous three nights, Home And Away ended the week on 523,000 with three episodes again back-to-back.

A special Melbourne Cup edition of The Front Bar got the 8.30pm timeslot across the network with 326,000 watching. Melbourne was the hotspot for the one-off with 181,000 and audiences under 40,000 in all other metro markets.

Nine

A Current Affair was again not too far below 700,000 for its Thursday edition.

Nine’s ob doc night then unveiled:

Driving Test 461,000 (432,000 last week)

RBT 493,000 (502,000)

Paramedics 573,000 (588,000)

TEN

Matt Preston was among the guests on The Project with 417,000 watching, the smallest audience this week.

There was a punch-up on The Bachelorette with an audience of 512,000 after 589,000 a week ago.

Gogglebox then lifted that audience to 724,000 after 744,000 last week.

ABC

Grand Designs Australia was on 444,000 followed by Endeavour on 270,000.

SBS

The final episode of Tony Robinson’s Hidden Britain By Drone did 287,000.

24 Hours In Police Custody then did 161,000.

Week 44 TV: Thursday
THURSDAY METRO
ABCSevenNine10SBS
ABC11.5%716.9%918.6%10 15.3%SBS One5.4%
ABC 22.3%7TWO3.2%GO!3.1%10 Peach2.5%VICELAND1.0%
ABC ME0.6%7mate6.5%GEM3.2%10 Boss2.2%Food Net1.1%
ABC NEWS1.8%7flix2.7%9Life1.9%  NITV0.2%
TOTAL16.2% 29.3% 26.7% 20.1% 7.7%
THURSDAY REGIONAL
ABCSeven AffiliatesNine Affiliates10 AffiliatesSBS
ABC11.8%715.8%915.7%WIN13.4%SBS One5.1%
ABC 23.1%7TWO5.0%GO!3.4%ONE2.7%VICELAND1.1%
ABC ME1.1%7mate7.5%GEM5.0%ELEVEN1.9%Food Net1.0%
ABC NEWS1.9%7flix2.0%9Life1.5%Sky News  on WIN0.8%NITV0.4%
TOTAL17.9% 30.3% 25.6% 18.8% 7.2%

 

THURSDAY METRO ALL TV
FTASTV
85.6%14.4%

 

THURSDAY FTA
  1. Seven News Seven 867,000
  2. Seven News / Today Tonight Seven 830,000
  3. Nine News 6:30 Nine 790,000
  4. Nine News Nine 773,000
  5. Gogglebox 10 724,000
  6. A Current Affair Nine 677,000
  7. ABC News ABC 615,000
  8. Paramedics Nine 573,000
  9. Home And Away Seven 523,000
  10. 7.30 ABC 519,000
  11. The Bachelorette Australia 10 512,000
  12. RBT Nine 493,000
  13. The Chase Australia Seven 485,000
  14. Driving Test Nine 461,000
  15. Grand Designs Australia ABC 444,000
  16. The Project 7pm 10 417,000
  17. Hot Seat Nine 409,000
  18. 10 News First 10 328,000
  19. The Front Bar Seven 326,000
  20. The Chase Australia-5pm Seven 301,000
DEMO TOP FIVES

16-39 Top 5

  1. Gogglebox 10 231,000
  2. The Bachelorette Australia 10 184,000
  3. The Project 7pm 10 112,000
  4. Paramedics Nine 101,000
  5. Nine News 6:30 Nine 97,000

 

18-49 Top 5

  1. Gogglebox 10 364,000
  2. The Bachelorette Australia 10 281,000
  3. The Project 7pm 10 195,000
  4. Paramedics Nine 190,000
  5. Nine News 6:30 Nine 178,000

 

25-54 Top 5

  1. Gogglebox 10 406,000
  2. The Bachelorette Australia 10 294,000
  3. Nine News 6:30 Nine 223,000
  4. Paramedics Nine 223,000
  5. The Project 7pm 10 220,000
THURSDAY Multichannel
  1. M- Die Hard 4 PM 7mate 229,000
  2. Bluey AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 152,000
  3. Peter Rabbit ABCKIDS/COMEDY 147,000
  4. Rusty Rivets PM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 138,000
  5. Hey Duggee PM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 137,000
  6. Highway Patrol PM 7mate 137,000
  7. Death In Paradise 9Gem 136,000
  8. Peppa Pig PM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 135,000
  9. Octonauts ABCKIDS/COMEDY 128,000
  10. Dot. ABCKIDS/COMEDY 128,000
  11. Neighbours 10 Peach 127,000
  12. Peppa Pig AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 126,000
  13. Little Roy PM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 125,000
  14. Wanda And The Alien PM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 125,000
  15. Shaun The Sheep ABCKIDS/COMEDY 124,000
  16. Pj Masks PM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 119,000
  17. Seinfeld-Ep.2 Pm 7flix 117,000
  18. Charlie And Lola AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 117,000
  19. Fireman Sam AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 113,000
  20. Dino Dana ABCKIDS/COMEDY 112,000
THURSDAY Subscription TV
  1. Love It Or List It Australia LifeStyle Channel 59,000
  2. Paul Murray Live Sky News Live 47,000
  3. The Bolt Report Sky News Live 43,000
  4. Credlin Sky News Live 42,000
  5. Criminal Minds TVH!TS 39,000
  6. The Simpsons FOX8 38,000
  7. Bones TVH!TS 36,000
  8. NCIS TVH!TS 36,000
  9. Nella The Princess Knight Nick Jr. 34,000
  10. Paw Patrol Nick Jr. 34,000
  11. The Comancheros FOX Classics 32,000
  12. PML Overtime Sky News Live 31,000
  13. George Clarke’s Old House New Home LifeStyle Channel 30,000
  14. Blaze And The Monster Machines Nick Jr. 30,000
  15. Gold Rush Discovery Channel 29,000
  16. Paw Patrol Nick Jr. 29,000
  17. The Simpsons FOX8 29,000
  18. Family Guy FOX8 28,000
  19. Conroy & Kroger Sky News Live 28,000
  20. Bering Sea Gold Discovery Channel 28,000

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

Media News Roundup

Business of Media

Content copyright holders got $44m from Screenrights in 2017/18

Screenrights has distributed more than $42.8 million dollars to more than 4,400 individual members in the 2017/18 financial year.

The non-profit member organisation licenses various uses of screen and radio content and distributes money from the licences to rights holders.

Other Screenrights highlights of the year include the accelerated take-up of Screenrights’ educational streaming service, EnhanceTV, with the service now reaching 20% of Australian primary schools, the launch of a new Cultural Fund, which will make available up to $200,000 in 2018/19 for initiatives designed to explore innovative approaches to the creation of screen content for the education sector, and a 267% growth in Screenright’s Disbursements Administration Service, with $2.1 million collected for distribution to filmmakers and investors in 15 film and television projects.

Screenrights acting CEO James Dickinson said over the past year the organisation has also grown the number of titles registered by members to 1.66 million, up 11.4%.

James Dickinson

“Screenrights collected over $49.5 million from Screenrights’ education licences in Australia and New Zealand, retransmission licences, licences for copying by government, international collections and collections from the new disbursement service,” Dickinson said.

“All of this has been achieved with a collections-to-expenses ratio of 15.9%.”

At its AGM held at the company’s office in Sydney, Screenrights also announced board election results.

Elected to the Screenrights board are Jonathan Carter, the Head of Legal, Corporate & Policy Division at APRA AMCOS, and Georgina Waite, Head of Business Affairs at the ABC.

Re-elected to the Screenrights board are Kim Dalton, Jack Ford and Jill Bryant

Fairfax-Nine $4 billion merger heading for early December completion

Next Thursday, ACCC boss Rod Sims is expected to give his blessing to the merged Nine-Fairfax media outfit, report The Australian’s Will Glasgow and Christine Lacy.

And then on November 19 – assuming Sims gives the nod – Fairfax shareholders will vote on the transaction.

If shareholders approve the circa $4bn union, the new company should begin trading on the ASX on December 10 and be led by Nine CEO Hugh Marks.

[Read the original]

Three management promotions at Southern Cross Austereo Brisbane

Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) Brisbane this week announced three management promotions with the internal appointments.

Bec Cooper, Carla Mathisen and Aleesha Webster-Smith have all been promoted to leadership roles within the sales team, which is led by Will Allen (pictured), head of sales Brisbane.

Will Allen

Carla Mathisen has been appointed group sales manager (Agency). She has been with SCA for three years as an account manager, having previously worked in sales & advertising with Wotif and in Sponsorships with The Ekka.

Bec Cooper has been promoted from digital sales manager to the role of group sales manager (Agency). She has been with SCA for almost five years after previously working as a sales executive with Seven and with Brisbane Media Agencies, Mitchell’s (now Carat) & Media Circus.

Aleesha Webster-Smith has grown SCA’s local clients’ businesses over the last 10 years and has been promoted to group sales manager (Local).

Will Allen said the promotions were reflective of a new generation of leaders within SCA.

“As Australia’s biggest entertainment company with the ability to reach more than 95% of the Australian population through radio, television and digital platforms, we believe strongly in the importance of mentoring and developing team members to ensure they have the skills they need, that they have the ability to build their own pathways within the company, and that they are ready for ever-present change within our industry,” he said.

Seven hits back at former employee who wanted out to join Network 10

Seven West Media has defended an adverse action claim from former director of program partnerships Lisa Squillace, describing it as “misconceived” and “embarrassing”, reports Fairfax Media’s Jennifer Duke.

The dispute relates to a six-month non-compete period before Squillace can start a new role at rival Network 10 as national sales director, and comes amid claims from the executive she was “overlooked” for a promotion because she was six months pregnant at the time.

In its response filed in the Federal Court, Seven said the adverse action claim was “misconceived, embarrassing, fails to disclose a cause of action and is liable to be struck out”. It noted that Squillace requested a release from the non-compete clause so she could start at 10 in January.

Seven had initially offered an unpaid non-compete period of two months, starting at the end of her unpaid maternity leave period. This offer was later withdrawn and the period was extended to the middle of 2019.

[Read the original]

News Brands

Caroline Wilson uses lecture to shine spotlight on sexism in sport

From a female sports journalism “experiment” to chief football writer at one of the nation’s biggest newspapers, Caroline Wilson’s career has been a reflection of society’s attitude to women, reports ABC News’s Paige Cockburn.

The Walkley Award-winner used her keynote address at the Andrew Olle Media Lecture in Sydney to shame sexism in sport.

During her speech at the black-tie dinner, which is hosted by ABC Radio Sydney, Wilson gave a scathing assessment of women’s place in sports media.

The former longtime chief football writer at Melbourne’s The Age newspaper said her experiences in the industry had been difficult.

Her first sports editor – at Melbourne’s now-defunct broadsheet The Herald – told Wilson she was an “experiment”.

After Wilson covered her first AFL practice game in the early 1980s, it was clear the all-male sports sub-editing department was surprised.

[Read the original]

The 2018 Andrew Olle media lecture will be screened on November 3 on ABC TV at 11am AEDT and ABC NEWS Channel at 2pm.

ABC reporter suspended after complaint by Alex Turnbull to chairman

An ABC journalist has been suspended and is the subject of a two-month investigation following a direct complaint by Malcolm Turnbull’s son to former chairman Justin Milne, reports Fairfax Media’s Michael Koziol.

Peter Lloyd, a senior correspondent in the broadcaster’s radio current affairs division, is accused of leaking un-aired portions of an interview between high-profile presenter Emma Alberici and Alex Turnbull in August.

The ABC told Senate estimates last week no formal complaint had been made, and on Wednesday said Milne never raised the issue with ABC management.

But Fairfax Media can reveal Alex Turnbull telephoned Milne shortly after the leaked comments were published by The Australian Financial Review, and demanded answers.

Internally, Lloyd’s suspension has exposed deep tensions among senior program makers at the ABC. Lloyd has written to staff-elected board director Jane Connors accusing news director Gaven Morris and head of radio current affairs Tanya Nolan of improperly telling colleagues he was suspended.

“I want their heads,” he wrote. “They have lost any claims to authority in carrying out solemn duties in a publicly funded organisation.”

[Read the original]

Geoffrey Rush co-star said he saw him cup actress’s breast onstage

One of Geoffrey Rush’s co-stars has told a Sydney court he saw the actor cup the bottom of actress Eryn Jean Norvill’s breast during a performance of King Lear, reports ABC News’s Jamelle Wells.

Actor Mark Winter, who played Edgar during the Sydney Theatre Company (STC) production in 2015-16, gave evidence in Rush’s defamation case against Nationwide News.

Rush is suing the company, which publishes The Daily Telegraph newspaper, and one of its journalists Jonathon Moran over articles printed late last year that claimed he behaved inappropriately towards a younger female colleague during the production.

That colleague was subsequently revealed in legal proceedings as Norvill.

“I can say unequivocally that his hand touched her breast,” Winter told the court while being cross-examined by Rush’s barrister Bruce McClintock SC.

[Read the original]

New York Times: More than 4m subscribers and making money

More than three million paid digital-only subscribers. More than four million total.

The New York Times Company announced on Thursday that it surpassed those milestones during the third quarter of 2018, when the number of its digital subscribers showed a net increase of roughly 203,000.

That figure represents the highest gain in digital subscribers in a quarter since the so-called Trump bump in the fourth quarter of 2016 and the first quarter of 2017 after the presidential election.

Not all of the new subscribers signed on for news. The New York Times reported that, of the 203,000 new digital-only subscribers, 143,000 signed on for digital news products, with the remainder paying for the company’s cooking and crossword features.

Perhaps more important to shareholders, the company reported that it continued to be profitable. Net income reached US$24.9 million, a 23% drop from last year when the publisher realised a one-time gain from the sale of a dam owned by a closed paper mill in which the company has a joint venture investment. Operating profits, the company’s preferred measure, rose 30% to $41.4 million in the period.

[Read more about the news brands financial performance]

Nielsen Content Ratings

Audience: News.com.au and realestate.com.au lead respective categories

The Nielsen Digital Content Ratings data for the week ending October 28 in the Global News & Current Event category ranks news.com.au as the market leader with a daily unique audience of 1.43m.

Nine.com.au is in second place on 1.23m with ABC News websites the only other publisher with a unique audience over 1m.

Fairfax Media has three entries in the top 10, with smh.com.au sitting at #4 on this chart with 870,000 weekly uniques.

In the accompanying data looking at the Real Estate and Apartments category, realestate.com.au is the clear leader with an average weekly unique audience of 1.22m.

Audio

Tommy Little on media success: Be mildly offensive all the time

Tommy Little thinks he’s found the secret to avoiding the controversy that plagues TV and radio hosts when they dare share a controversial opinion, reports News Corp’s Alison Stephenson.

“You know what I’ve done – I’ve just been mildly offensive the whole time,” Little told Sydney Confidential.

Blurring the line between being an unfiltered stand-up comedian and a PC-friendly The Project and Hit Network radio host is a constant battle, but one that Little has so far managed to navigate.

Wildly popular, Little is a busy man. The 33-year-old, who is one half of the Carrie (Bickmore) & Tommy on the Hit Network, was in Sydney yesterday for Southern Cross Austereo’s Sydney Sunset Sessions party.

[Read the original]

Sports Media

Stumped by NSW: Cricket boss David Peever out after review fallout

Controversial Cricket Australia chairman David Peever resigned yesterday after losing the support of Cricket NSW, only days before Australia’s first international match of the summer, reports The Australian’s Peter Lalor.

Peever, who had been re-elected to the $200,000-a-year job only a week before, told fellow directors he “would only serve with the unanimous support of the states”.

An emergency meeting of the board yesterday afternoon accepted the former mining chief’s resignation and appointed Earl Eddings as interim chairman.

[Read the original]

The Australian’s Gideon Haigh:

A school of thought is that Australian cricket teams need to reacquaint themselves with the crafts of batting long and batting ugly. They could look for an example to Cricket Australia’s chairman David Peever.

For days he has provided a masterclass in chairing ugly, dimly inept in public, deaf to calls for his resignation from some of Australian cricket’s most distinguished names and calls for his remaining from absolutely nobody.

But after the administrative equivalent of three from 167 balls, Peever has realised he is out, hit-wicket, having dropped a copy of the cultural review he commissioned in April on his stumps.

[Read the original]

Commentary from The Australian’s Peter Lalor:

Seven months after Steve Smith and David Warner, the captain and vice-captain, were summarily removed from their roles and banned from the game, the man who heads cricket in the country fell on his sword.

Chairman of Cricket Australia, David Peever, went reluctantly. Like Smith in the infamous Cape Town press conference, he failed to grasp the enormity of the situation at hand on Monday when the cultural review revealed a business that was as ugly as some of the scenes witnessed on that tour.

High performance chief Pat Howard appears to be held responsible for many of the games’ ills in the cultural review. He has indicated he will not seek another term when his contract runs out in 12 months. Sutherland went early, there is speculation Howard will.

Another senior executive, Ben Amarfio, seems to have escaped public scrutiny but must feel a little anxious. There is also talk that Greg Dyer, president of the Australian Cricketers’ Association, is under pressure to go as well.

[Read the original]

Fairfax Media’s Greg Baum:

David Peever’s tenure as Cricket Australia chairman can be characterised in terms of the stodgy Brisbane club opening batsman he once was.

He stonewalled for three years. Then, as the required run rate rose, got himself into an ungainly tangle. Finally, he saw that the game was up and retired, hurting.

Of course, his reign was more nuanced than that. He brought to the job solid corporate credentials, though his CV was in some ways a lily gilded. He was a shy man, not really suited to such a public position.

But while the business of CA thrived, this hardly seemed to matter. The balls kept going through to the keeper, the coffers filled. But his last year was a series of missteps, hapless “yes-no-waits”.

[Read the original]

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