Friday September 13, 2019

Another global streaming company picks up the pace in Australia

• Lebara Australia subscribers can access 100,000 hours of Zee5 Originals, movies, TV programs and news content plus 60+ Live TV Channels

Zee5, the Indian digital entertainment platform from Zee Entertainment Enterprises, has signed a partnership with mobile virtual network operator Lebara Australia to bring the largest library of entertainment content for South Asians to Lebara customers.

Zee5 ranks as #2 streaming service in India, but #1 in the entertainment space. In terms of global streaming, the biggest Indian platforms rank just behind global leaders Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.

“We have 76m+ active users globally and we are prolific creators of originals. We have a very comprehensive platform with the large number of languages we support,” Archana Anand (pictured), chief business officer, Zee5 Global told Mediaweek. The said the business was ambitious for global growth.

The #1 streaming service in India is Hotstar, which features exclusive sport including Premier League and some cricket. Zee5 doesn’t host any sport.

Available in 17 different languages, Zee5 offers subscribers 100,000 hours of on demand movies, originals, TV programs, videos and news content.

From September, Lebara Australia customers will be able to get a six-month Zee5 subscription bundled with select prepaid plans.

ZEE5’s entertainment content includes leading Hindi TV shows (eg Kum Kum Bhagya and Jodhaa Akbar), the latest ZEE5 Originals (eg The Final Call with Arjun Rampal, Kaafir with Dia Mirza) and 2000+ movies (e.g. Simba with Ranveer Singh, Kedarnath with Sara Ali Khan and Sushant Singh Rajput, and Veere Di Wedding with Kareena Kapoor Khan).

Popular Tamil TV shows, blockbuster Tamil films and Zee5 Originals are also available to subscribers, along with 60+ live streaming TV channels including India’s largest news stations.

Archana added: “With this partnership, we’re looking to increase our presence in Australia using Lebara Australia’s subscriber base which will now have access to the best of Indian entertainment on any device of their choice.”

Anand told Mediaweek Zee5 able to trade in many international markets easily because they own so much of the content. “An overwhelming majority of the content, with the exception of some of the live TV channels, is largely owned by us and the rights are not an issue.”

Ash Saini, general manager, Lebara Australia, said: “We are thrilled to have partnered with Zee5 in Australia and we cannot wait for all our users to sample the huge library of content that Zee5 has to offer.

“With a huge appetite for Indian entertainment amongst our ethnic market, we are very excited to launch our bundles with Zee5 subscriptions and we aim to ensure that every individual on the go uses Zee5 as a one stop destination to consume the best of Indian entertainment.”

It is part of Anand’s job to look after all its distribution partners. She explained that in Australia the audience is more likely to subscribe to Zee5, rather than stay on the free ad-funded tier. “It is a subscription driven market and that has been very heartening for us.

Anand said may people join the free service initially and it is then up to Zee5 to woo them to become a premium subscriber.

After launching in October 2018, Zee5 soon became the #1 streaming service in many of countries around India. “We then went after customers in Malaysia, Singapore and Australia. Right now we are focusing on the Middle East market.”

Zee5 is available using Samsung Smart TVs, Apple TV, Android TVs and Amazon Fire TV, and via Google Play Store, iOS App Store and www.zee5.com.

Zee5 is available in 190+ countries in October 2018 with content across 12 languages; Hindi, English, Bengali, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Marathi, Oriya, Bhojpuri, Gujarati & Punjabi, and now houses content across five international languages as well – Malay, Thai, Bahasa, German and Russian, taking its language count to 17.

news connect
News Corp announces partnership with ProductReview.com.au

• News Corp Australia has entered into a strategic data partnership with Australia’s number one consumer opinion platform ProductReview.com.au to enhance its market audience targeting and campaign activation platform, News Connect.

ProductReview.com.au calls itself Australia’s most comprehensive consumer opinion site, providing a platform where consumers rate and review services and products. Over two million Australians visit the site each month to discover, explore and decide on their next purchase.

News Corp Australia general manager data solutions Suzie Cardwell said: “Our exciting new partnership with ProductReview.com.au provides us with powerful data sets to further enhance the quality of News Connect’s targeting.

“This data enables us to create audience segments for people who are actively in-market for particular products across a whole range of categories, from appliances, home products and services, to health and beauty, automotive and travel and accommodation.

“These are highly valuable intenders. They are consumers who are researching particular products, indicating they’re in-market for their next purchase. The partnership allows marketers to target these consumers through the News Connect platform across the News Corp network.

“Data partnerships like this one enrich the view we have of our audiences, allowing us to enhance our understanding of where they are in a product purchase journey. They help us provide our marketing partners with qualified targeted audiences to dramatically improve marketing effectiveness and deliver outcomes.”

ProductReview.com.au business development manager Renee Xie said: “We’re very excited to be working with News Corp Australia to help brands deliver more relevant messages to consumers through News Connect.”

The data from ProductReview.com.au joins News Connect’s existing data from News Corp Australia’s digital network and partners Skyscanner, Near, realestate.com.au, Fox Sports, Ticketek Entertainment Group (TEG) and Quantium.

Through these data partnerships News Connect accesses over two billion consumption signals across 12 million unique users of the company’s digital networks to deliver 1,900 customer segments for the company’s clients.

News Connect is available for marketers and agencies to login, find audiences to target with their message and book their campaign.

Nicky Briger
Magazine launch: Pacific expands portfolio with lifestyle oneshot

• Pacific’s maire claire continues to diversify its brand with the launch of a lifestyle one shot, in partnership with Fisher & Paykel.

marie claire lifestyle draws on marie claire’s equity in food and lifestyle, driven by the success of the brand’s cook book series and the global brand extension marie claire Maison, a homes-focused title published in countries including France, Italy and the UK.

Fisher & Paykel will integrate into the 148-page publication showcasing the brand’s range of kitchen and laundry appliances.

Richard Babekuhl, Fisher & Paykel’s head of marketing, Australia said: “Fisher & Paykel is thrilled to be the exclusive partner for this new cutting-edge lifestyle title. Human-centred design is at the heart of Fisher & Paykel, with curiosity for how people live expressed in every detail, from the use of quality materials to the design considerations that give the freedom to create living spaces to suit every lifestyle.

marie claire lifestyle, provides an exciting opportunity to showcase Fisher & Paykel’s complete premium home package of kitchen and laundry appliances.”

Pacific’s head of fashion and beauty Susie Hogan said: “Homes is a thriving category and magazines play a key role for inspiration and research along the consumer journey. marie claire lifestyle provides a unique and exclusive opportunity for Fisher & Paykel to own this environment with its brands.”

The title, edited by Anna McCooe under the direction of editor in chief Nicky Briger, has a global design influence and joins Pacific’s stable of premium homes brands including Home Beautiful and Better Homes and Gardens.

Briger said: “I am thrilled with this new title under the marie claire banner. Style extends beyond our wardrobe to homes and entertainment making this a natural fit for the brand.”

marie claire lifestyle is on sale from Monday, September 16 and will be on newsstands for three months.

Top image: Nicky Briger

Terri Lawson
SBS Media strengthens digital sales team with Melbourne appointment

SBS Media has appointed Teri Lawson (pictured) as digital sales manager, Melbourne.

An experienced digital executive, Lawson has worked in several roles in Melbourne over the last seven years at companies including Authentic Entertainment, Vevo and more recently, Allure Media where she oversaw digital, video, social and programmatic solutions for a range of clients.

Andrew Mudgway, SBS Media national sales manager TV and digital, says: “We are thrilled that Teri is joining our team in Melbourne. Her knowledge of the local market and her experience and reputation in building trusted relationships are a real asset for SBS. As BVOD consumption continues to grow, advertisers are coming to SBS because of its premium and distinctive offering, particularly on SBS On Demand, and Teri will be instrumental in delivering world-class client solutions.”

As a key member of the Melbourne team, Lawson’s role will focus on building relationships with key agencies and clients, programmatic growth and providing solutions to clients across SBS’s digital portfolio.

Teri Lawson said, “I am very excited to be joining the SBS team, particularly at a time of immense growth and potential. I have been watching what SBS has been doing from afar for some time, and I am looking forward to contributing to a common vision with a business that celebrates diversity and inclusion.”

SBS Media’s portfolio of brands include SBS, SBS On Demand, SBS Viceland, SBS Food and SBS World Movies.

Paul Hogan
Mercado on TV: Recalling the great Hoges, Strop and Delvene Delaney

• We don’t see Paul Hogan much on TV these days, and a Delvene Delaney sighting is even rarer.

So get ready Australia, because these deadset legends are about to return for not one but two shows, Australian Story (Monday on ABC) and How Australia Got Its Mojo with Russell Howcroft (Tuesday October 1 on ABC).

Paul Hogan was first seen on TV from 1971 after an appearance on New Faces led to a regular spot on A Current Affair. Joining forces with brilliant producer John Cornell (who also played his dopey sidekick Strop), they created The Paul Hogan Show for Seven in 1974. ACA replaced him with another “Aussie battler” called John Rennie, but the “resident pub poet and philosopher” did not become the new Hoges, as promised. Instead, Nine finally poached The Paul Hogan Show from Seven in 1977, where it played intermittently, never wearing out its welcome, but always wining its timeslot, until 1984.

Russel Howcroft with Delvene Delaney and Allan Johnston on How Australia Got Its Mojo

Meanwhile, Brisbane TV weather goddess Delvene Delaney married John Cornell after becoming a recurring cast member on The Paul Hogan Show. Delvene had been axed from her first acting role on The Box because she refused to do nude scenes, but she didn’t have an issue with wearing skimpy clothing for comedy skits with Hoges. Although many of them are now considered as being sexist, at least Delvene and co-stars like Karen Pini and Sue McIntosh were less tacky than “jiggle TV” series like Charlie’s Angels (US) and they were funnier than the “sexpots” running around on The Benny Hill Show (UK).

The Paul Hogan Show still makes me laugh today, but that’s because I was a kid in the 70s and we all thought it was hilarious back then. Even the first cigarette I ever smoked was a Winfield … anyhow … re-watching The Best Of Paul Hogan, which has been uploaded onto YouTube, it is interesting to see that Paul Hogan, whilst always essentially playing Hoges, played lots of different characters and clearly had ambitions to do more acting (like his first dramatic role in TV mini series Anzacs).

America first glimpsed Paul Hogan and Delvene Delaney throwing a “shrimp on the barbie” to promote Australia from 1984. Hoges did all those ads for free, and while that might have been a clever way to introduce the audience to Crocodile Dundee a few years later, you cannot deny that millions of tourists from all over the world came to Australia because of him. It is Tourism Australia’s most successful campaign (while Lara Bingle’s “where the bloody hell are you” is arguably the worst).

Delvene looks magnificent today, and by that I mean she is aging gracefully and not looking like a Real Housewife of Byron Bay. Meanwhile, Hoges is doing a new campaign to fight cancer and will have a new Dundee movie coming out soon. It’s great to have them back.

Top Photo: Australian Story’s two-part Paul Hogan story

Bachelor 2019
TV Ratings Analysis: September 12

• Ashes lives on primary channel as Nine takes top spot
• The Bachelor #1 entertainment as home visits win all demos
• Seven’s The Front Bar most competitive non-news

Thursday Week 37 2019

By James Manning

• Seven News 909,000/865,000
• Nine News 809,000/814,000
• ABC News 579,000
• 7.30 514,000
• The Project 258,000/460,000
• 10 News First 349,000
• The Drum 154,000
• SBS World News 115,000

Breakfast TV

• Sunrise 271,000
• Today 200,000

Seven

The channel was off the pace last night and dropped away in most timeslots after 7.30pm.

Home and Away ended its week on 560,000 after audiences over 600,000 on the previous three nights.

The Front Bar was Seven’s best non-news performer (in AFL markets) at 8.30pm with 365,000 across the metro markets. It did 219,000 in Melbourne, yet only 14,000 in Sydney at 10pm. The show featured memories of Danny Frawley from hosts Andy Maher, Mick Molloy and Sam Pang.

Nine

In three nights A Current Affair has dipped from 800,000s to 700,000s and it was on 650,000 last night.

With an NRL-free Thursday, Nine was able to host the first day of the fifth Ashes Test from the Oval on its primary channel. The coverage saw 755,000 watching Australia fielding badly in the first session. By the time the second session ended the average audience was down to 326,000. Not bad for a session that ended close to 1am.

10

The Project lifted a little from Wednesday to 460,000 last night after 7pm. There was a way-too-short interview with diet guru Michael Mosley and then what seemed like endless coverage of The Bachelor. The home visits episode was the highest-rating this series.

When the reality show actually started, The Bachelor featured home visits to the families of the final four. The show did 797,000, winning all the key demos, which was well up from 635,000 last week.

Gogglebox then did 626,000 after 605,000 a week ago.

ABC

Escape from the City was house hunting along the Great Ocean Road with 434,000 watching.

Vera filled the British crime drama slot later in the evening with 233,000 watching.

SBS

Going Place with Ernie Dingo was on 121,000 at 7.30pm followed by Gourmet Farmer on 101,000 at 8pm.

Our TV guide indicated a double episode of Riviera at 8.30pm. Instead SBS screened Secrets of Harrods Department Store, which pulled the channel’s biggest audience of the night – 135,000. Riviera was pushed back to 9.30pm.

 

Week 37 TV: Thursday
THURSDAY METRO
ABCSevenNine10SBS
ABC10.3%716.4%923.1%10 17.8%SBS One3.1%
ABC KIDS/ ABC COMEDY2.6%7TWO3.4%GO!2.0%10 Bold3.9%VICELAND1.1%
ABC ME0.6%7mate3.3%GEM3.2%10 Peach1.7%Food Net0.7%
ABC NEWS1.1%7flix2.1%9Life2.3%  NITV0.2%
  7Food0.8%    SBS World Movies0.5%
TOTAL14.5% 26.0% 30.6% 23.3% 5.6%

 

THURSDAY REGIONAL
ABCSeven AffiliatesNine Affiliates10 AffiliatesSBS
ABC10.5%717.1%917.1%WIN14.5%SBS One3.1%
ABC KIDS/ ABC COMEDY2.7%7TWO5.6%GO!3.0%WIN Bold4.2%VICELAND1.0%
ABC ME1.0%7mate4.7%GEM5.1%WIN Peach1.7%Food Net0.9%
ABC NEWS0.9%7flix (Excl. Tas/WA)3.1%9Life2.2%Sky News  on WIN1.0%NITV0.2%
  7food (QLD only)0.6%      
TOTAL15.1% 31.0% 27.3% 21.4% 5.2%

 

THURSDAY METRO ALL TV
FTASTV
88.0%12.0%
THURSDAY FTA
  1. Seven News Seven 909,000
  2. Seven News / Today Tonight Seven 865,000
  3. Nine News 6:30 Nine 814,000
  4. Nine News Nine 809,000
  5. The Bachelor Australia 10 797,000
  6. The Mid-Year Ashes: Fifth Test -Eng V Aus -Session 1 -D1 Nine 755,000
  7. A Current Affair Nine 650,000
  8. Gogglebox 10 626,000
  9. ABC News ABC 579,000
  10. Home And Away Seven 560,000
  11. 7.30 ABC 514,000
  12. The Chase Australia Seven 506,000
  13. The Project 7 PM 10 460,000
  14. Escape From The City ABC 434,000
  15. Hot Seat Nine 426,000
  16. The Mid-Year Ashes: Fifth Test -Eng V Aus -Lunch -D1 Nine 425,000
  17. The Front Bar Seven 365,000
  18. The Mid-Year Ashes: Fifth Test -Eng V Aus -Pre Match -D1 Nine 362,000
  19. 10 News First 10 349,000
  20. The Mid-Year Ashes: Fifth Test -Eng V Aus -Session 2 -D1 Nine 326,000
Demo Top 5

16-39 Top Five

  1. The Bachelor Australia 10 309,000
  2. Gogglebox 10 206,000
  3. The Mid-Year Ashes: Fifth Test -Eng V Aus -Session 1 -D1 Nine 161,000
  4. The Project 7 PM 10 136,000
  5. Nine News 6:30 Nine 106,000

 

18-49 Top Five

  1. The Bachelor Australia 10 453,000
  2. Gogglebox 10 324,000
  3. The Mid-Year Ashes: Fifth Test -Eng V Aus -Session 1 -D1 Nine 277,000
  4. Nine News 6:30 Nine 225,000
  5. The Project 7 PM 10 221,000

 

25-54 Top Five

  1. The Bachelor Australia 10 461,000
  2. Gogglebox 10 363,000
  3. The Mid-Year Ashes: Fifth Test -Eng V Aus -Session 1 -D1 Nine 310,000
  4. Nine News 6:30 Nine 291,000
  5. Nine News Nine 270,000

 

THURSDAY Multichannel
  1. Bluey AM ABC KIDS/COMEDY 181,000
  2. Peppa Pig AM ABC KIDS/COMEDY 158,000
  3. NCIS RPT 10 Bold 155,000
  4. Go Jetters ABC KIDS/COMEDY 150,000
  5. Dinosaur Train ABC KIDS/COMEDY 150,000
  6. Kiri And Lou PM ABC KIDS/COMEDY 145,000
  7. Andy’s Wild Adventures ABC KIDS/COMEDY 139,000
  8. Hawaii Five-O 10 Bold 138,000
  9. Floogals ABC KIDS/COMEDY 138,000
  10. Rusty Rivets ABC KIDS/COMEDY 136,000
  11. PJ Masks PM ABC KIDS/COMEDY 136,000
  12. Father Brown PM 7TWO 133,000
  13. Peppa Pig PM ABC KIDS/COMEDY 133,000
  14. Kiddets AM ABC KIDS/COMEDY 131,000
  15. Ben And Holly’s Little Kingdom AM ABC KIDS/COMEDY 124,000
  16. Charlie And Lola ABC KIDS/COMEDY 121,000
  17. Fireman Sam AM ABC KIDS/COMEDY 119,000
  18. Spicks And Specks ABC KIDS/COMEDY 119,000
  19. A Touch Of Frost PM 7TWO 114,000
  20. Seal Team 10 Bold 113,000
THURSDAY STV
  1. Live: AFL 360 FOX FOOTY 89,000
  2. Live: The Late Show With Matty Johns FOX LEAGUE 51,000
  3. Credlin Sky News Live 49,000
  4. Live: NRL 360 FOX LEAGUE 41,000
  5. The Bolt Report Sky News Live 41,000
  6. Family Guy FOX8 38,000
  7. AFL Tonight: Selection Night FOX FOOTY 34,000
  8. Blue Bloods TVH!TS 34,000
  9. Paw Patrol Nick Jr. 33,000
  10. NCIS TVH!TS 33,000
  11. The Simpsons FOX8 32,000
  12. Ryan’s Mystery Playdate Nick Jr. 32,000
  13. Blaze And The Monster Machines Nick Jr. 31,000
  14. Family Guy FOX8 31,000
  15. Grand Designs Australia Lifestyle Channel 29,000
  16. Ryan’s Mystery Playdate Nick Jr. 29,000
  17. Paw Patrol Nick Jr. 29,000
  18. Paw Patrol Nick Jr. 29,000
  19. Border Security: International FOX8 29,000
  20. Bones TVH!TS 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

A Foxtel IPO still the goal for News Corp according to CFO

News Corp remains committed to the long-term goal of spinning off its under-pressure Australian pay TV venture Foxtel, and sees future growth in the business coming from streaming, not from broadcasting, reports The AFR’s Max Mason.

 

The global media conglomerate is focused on turning Foxtel around and will then look to list the business, chief financial officer Susan Panuccio told the Bank of America Merrill Lynch 2019 media, communications and entertainment conference overnight on Wednesday.

Susan Panuccio

“When we did that transaction we did say that both shareholders we very focused on an IPO and we are still focused, ultimately, on an IPO, but the most important thing for us at the moment is actually getting the operation performance of the business sorted,” Panuccio said.

“We will continue to focus on the stabilisation of that business from a broadcast perspective, the growth within the OTT (over-the-top) revenue streams, and then the cost efficiencies we can, obviously drive through that business. So once we’re convinced we’ve got that on the right path going forward then we’ll look at timing.”

[Read the original]

NBN worth 'far less than it cost to build': Vocus boss slams network

Vocus Group chief executive Kevin Russell has criticised the wholesale prices charged by the $51 billion National Broadband Network as too high, allowing Telstra to dominate the market and leaving low-income households paying more, reports The Sydney Morning Herald’s Jennifer Duke.

Russell criticised the NBN Co for being worth “far less than what it cost to build” at the annual Australian Communications Consumer Action Network conference in Sydney on Thursday morning .

“And because of this failure to recognise the underlying market value of the NBN, we’re left in a situation where NBN’s decision-making is driven as a monopoly targeting financial returns, rather than consumer needs and market reality,” he said.

Vocus, which owns Dodo and iPrimus, is Australia’s fourth-biggest NBN reseller with 8 per cent of the market and more than 450,000 customers.

[Read the original]

Good news for Stan: ViacomCBS selling to all, not just own platforms

CBS chief creative officer David Nevins made it clear Thursday that CBS, and a merged ViacomCBS, will be an arms dealer to the highest bidders while not hoarding content for their own streaming services, reports The Hollywood Reporter.

“There’s a lot of hungry mouths to feed,” Nevins told analysts at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch 2019 Media, Communications & Entertainment Conference. “We really believe in not only serving inside our own ecosystem but serving people outside … A lot of important suppliers are pulling back from demand.”

Presumably, Nevins, who is also CEO of Showtime, was primarily referencing Disney, which has been steadily taking content back from Netflix as it prepares to launch Disney+ on Nov. 12.

Executives said Aug. 13 that ViacomCBS would be formed by the two companies controlled by Shari and Sumner Redstone, and Nevins said the merger was “a long time coming … These are great content factories that will supply both our own platforms and other people’s as well”.

[Read the original]

News Brands

Detained WA bloggers quit their jobs to drive across the world

Australian travel bloggers Mark Firkin and Jolie King were making an ambitious overland voyage from Western Australia to the UK when their trip came to an abrupt halt near the Iranian capital, Tehran, reports WAToday’s Marta Pascual Juanola and Heather McNeill.

The pair were arrested by security forces while flying a drone, something they often did in pursuit of the perfect photograph. This time, they are alleged to have launched a drone at Jajrood, a military area near the capital of the Islamic republic.

The pair, who moved from Coffs Harbour, NSW, to Western Australia in 2015, quit their jobs in April 2017 and less than three months later they had embarked on a long overland expedition destined for the UK.

Until they were arrested more than two months ago, they had been enjoying an incredible journey in their Toyota LandCruiser through some of the world’s most beautiful and remote locations. In their customised vehicle, they had driven across WA’s Pilbara and Kimberley regions to the Northern Territory, before shipping their car to East Timor.

[Read the original]

Television

‘Media can be ugly business’: Breakfast TV presenter details her sacking

Sami Lukis writes for news.com.au about her ‘humiliating’ Today show sacking:

You’ve probably heard the television industry described as “cut-throat”. But most people have no idea just how merciless the business really is.

I know this. I found out first-hand.

I was dumped as Channel 9’s Today show weather presenter while I was on holiday. In fact, I was only given the shocking news on the very last day of what had been an otherwise enjoyable three-week vacay.

Talk about a holiday to remember.

This all happened many years ago, but the memory is just as vivid today. And thinking about how it all went down still makes me anxious.

I was enjoying dinner at some fancy pants restaurant in Beverly Hills, when I got the call from my manager, telling me not to rush home, because I didn’t have a job to come back to. And just like that, without any warning, after three amazing years, my time at Today was over.

I was devastated. And humiliated. Because as it also turns out, I was the last one to know.

[Read the original]

How India is saying farewell to Matt, Gary and George…

Get the tissues out. India’s Star World TV is positively heartbroken over the final season of “the longest running cooking show in the world, MasterChef Australia,” reports TV Tonight.

It has released TV commercials to farewell Matt Preston, Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris, including one that sounds like a country and western crooner.

Another one pivots a #Reuniteyourfamily campaign and sees a teenage girl emerging from bear-like hibernation, to join her family and watch MasterChef’s return.

[Read the original]

Sports Media

Garry Lyon & Jason Dunstall pay tribute to ‘big brother’ Danny Frawley

Two of Danny Frawley’s closest mates have spoken for the first time of the “bloody horrible” news of his death, saying they remain in disbelief they won’t receive a 7am text message with racing tips from the St Kilda champion on Saturday morning, reports News Corp’s Chris Cavanagh.

Former Hawthorn sharpshooter Jason Dunstall and former Melbourne captain Garry Lyon both worked alongside Frawley throughout his lengthy media career and both spent time with him at Fox Footy’s studios as recently as Saturday.

Both Dunstall and Lyon said they had not been awake to the signs of Frawley’s battle with depression and described how they broke down after finding out news Frawley had been involved in a car crash near Ballarat on Monday afternoon.

[Read the original]

Lyon and Dunstall were talking to AFL 360 co-host Gerard Whateley on Fox Footy.

See also:

• ‘I wish I had have rung’: Lyon feels like he’s lost a ‘brother’
• Devastated Dunstall speaks for first time since Frawley’s death

Hutchy and Pickers host special Danny Frawley tribute on regional TV

Although Danny Frawley had a big national audience with his work alongside Jason Dunstall on Fox Footy’s The Bounce, many footy fans didn’t see some of his finest moments on TV.

Frawley was the co-host of Crocmedia’s Off The Bench TV show that was broadcast into regional markets on the SCA network.

The show was originally hosted by Liam Pickering and Craig Hutchison when it was launched six years ago.

The program was previously shown on Prime7, but moved to SCA in 2017. At that time Pickering was co-hosting with Wayne Schwass before Frawley later took over co-hosting with Pickering.

Spud and Pickers

As Craig Hutchison told Mediaweek earlier this week, Frawley wasn’t on the show last week after having taken some time off.

When news came through of his death on Monday, the show released this statement:

Everyone here at Off the Bench TV is completely shocked and saddened by the passing of our beloved host Danny Frawley.

All we can do at this time is to send our heartfelt condolences to Danny’s family and friends.

The program’s producers planned a tribute program, which went to air on Thursday night. The show reunited the original hosts, who also host the spin-off radio show Off The Bench on SEN and network stations on Saturday morning, Hutchy and Pickers.

During the show they played Danny Frawley highlights and recalled how the show used to be filmed in Ballarat. They’d often drive to the Victorian regional city with Frawley, stopping at his home in Bungaree where they would get a hearty meal and a bag of spuds for the boot of the car from the potato farmer.

Joining the hosts on the tribute show was regular Crocmedia contributor Nathan Brown who was coached by Frawley at Richmond.

Watch the Danny Frawley Off The Bench tribute episode here.

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