Nine today staged its Upfronts presentation to a packed house. With the Winter Olympics set to kickstart the year, Nine presented a message of confidence to the audience in a 90 minute presentation at the Carriageworks event space in Sydney’s inner-city suburb Everleigh.
The Milano Winter Olympics led the content slate for Nine, but it was spin-off MAFS After The Dinner Party that delighted the back rows of the room where Mediaweek was perched.
$4 Billion in potential revenue for brands is missing
Nine has unveiled new research positioning Total TV, encompassing both free-to-air and BVOD, as a key driver of measurable business growth. Independent data from Mutinex, Kantar, Adgile, and Gemba reveals brands are missing out on $4 billion in potential revenue by under-investing in premium long-form video.
Launched as part of Nine’s 2025 Upfront, the Growth Project reframes Total TV from an “efficiency” channel to what the company calls an “effectiveness engine”, finding that Australian advertisers are collectively leaving an estimated $4 billion in revenue on the table by under-investing in high-quality long-form video content.
According to Nikki Rooke, Director of Sales – Total TV at Nine, the research was designed to help marketers better understand the medium’s full business impact. “Our mission is to move the industry narrative from merely chasing ROI efficiency to demanding measurable business effectiveness. This strategy has been specifically designed for clients and the industry more broadly to measure the role that TV plays in driving growth for advertisers. It’s a critical conversation to have with advertisers to ensure they are investing in the right areas – not leaving profit on the table by underestimating Total TV.”
The research shows Total TV contributes 22 per cent of all media-generated sales revenue – second only to search and significantly higher than any other video platform. It also demonstrates a proven ‘longevity effect’, with one week of TV activity generating an average of eight weeks of sales within the competitive automotive category.
Meanwhile, data from Mutinex challenges the perception that the 30-second commercial is in decline, revealing that the format is responsible for 47 per cent of all sales revenue generated by video advertising.
Kantar data highlights that brands excluding TV from their media mix miss out on an average of 39 per cent of total brand impact compared to those that include it. TV also delivers 1.4 times greater awareness and consideration than non-BVOD online video platforms.
Adgile analysis shows that Total TV drives immediate lower-funnel results, influencing one in three media-driven app interactions and website visits. The research points to a strong halo effect, with TV exposure amplifying performance across other marketing channels.
Brand safe, vertical video on 9Now
Nine has launched 9Now Stories, a brand-safe vertical video format delivering short-form content from trusted brands in a mobile-first environment.
The feature introduces a curated and shareable video feed focused on entertainment, sport, and current affairs. It is designed to sit within Nine’s owned and operated environment, with an emphasis on editorial oversight, trusted journalism, and brand safety.
Hamish Turner, Executive Director – 9Network & 9Now, explained that the vertical format aligns with how Australians increasingly consume media: “Vertical video has arrived on 9Now, delivering a mobile first destination with trusted content in a format they love. The experience provides a powerful tool for driving a daily habit with Australia’s best content. It is our first step in driving deeper user engagement and providing a new, high-value channel for our partners.”
The 9Now Stories videos are time-sensitive and linked to specific Nine brands or events. Users can click through to long-form programming on 9Now, with future updates expected to expand this integration to Nine’s publishing sites and Stan.
Nick Young, Commercial Director – Digital at Nine, said the new format also offers strong opportunities for advertisers: “9Now Stories is an exciting new format that puts brand safety first, ensuring any advertising appears alongside content of the highest quality and relevance. Over the next few months, we are committed to scaling the product to become a daily habit of 9Now users and as we build that scale we will be introducing integrated sponsorship opportunities and unique video ad capabilities.”
Nine unifies ad trading across 9Now, Stan Sport and HBO Max
Nine has announced a single, unified advertising solution across 9Now, Stan Sport and HBO Max, enabling brands to trade across the three premium video platforms using one CPM if they choose.
It consolidates ad data and programmatic access across the broadcaster’s streaming assets to simplify buying and improve efficiency. Advertisers will be able to continue buying each platform individually or leverage unified reach and frequency across all three. The new offering is said to offer greater scale for audience targeting and segmentation while streamlining campaign optimisation.
The addition of advertising on Stan Sport, along with Nine’s appointment as the exclusive Australian sales representative for HBO Max, has expanded the company’s premium digital video footprint. Nine said the combination offers advertisers “unparalleled impact and scale”.
Nick Young said: “We are focused on making it as easy as possible to access our highly-engaged customers and unlock the full potential of our data and programmatic stack. We’re cutting out waste so our clients can maximise as much of their budget into actual working media as possible, whilst maintaining the control and transparency they need.”
Nine launches PoweredTV to drive deeper brand storytelling
Nine has launched a significant expansion of its branded content division with PoweredTV, a new initiative designed to integrate brand storytelling across the broadcaster’s streaming and broadcast platforms, including the 9Network, 9Now and Stan.
PoweredTV places brand-funded storytelling directly into primetime formats and original programming, which Nine expects will resonate with audiences across platforms. The aim is to elevate the viewer experience by integrating brands as a natural part of the content narrative, rather than a disruption.
Lisa Day, Director of Nine Powered, said the move represents a strategic leap in how brands and audiences connect on screen: “Nine’s Powered division is already the best in class for seamless and effective integration, and PoweredTV will take this to an entirely new level by turning up the volume on our incredible offering.
“The key to our success is our commitment to co-creation: meaningfully weaving brands into the moments that matter by working in partnership with our production teams. This collaborative approach delivers superior, welcome storytelling and compelling results across the full Nine suite.
“We aren’t just integrating; we’re building original, primetime content that ignites conversation and forges powerful audience connections across our entire streaming and broadcast ecosystem.”
9Amplify to extend campaigns across social platforms
New social content solution 9Amplify is being pitched to brands as a way to seamlessly extend campaigns from broadcast and digital channels into social media environments.
Developed by Nine’s Powered division, it will roll out in the coming months and is offers amplification across major platforms including Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
Through 9Amplify, Nine will leverage its network of talent, shows, creators, and social format handles to deliver short-form clips and complementary creative that integrate core brand messaging. The aim is to deliver a single solution for brands to expand reach across every touchpoint with minimal lift.
Lisa Day said: “9Amplify is enhancing Nine as the ultimate megaphone for brands. The new software allows us to instantly create a powerful stack of format-ready assets for our clients – from cut-downs of the primary content to complementary creative – ready to push out across every major platform. We’re extending the massive impact of our shows and talent across the full social spectrum, delivering unprecedented campaign efficiency.”
Upgrades to self-service for Australia’s 2.2 million SMBs
Nine has announced a major upgrade to its self-serve advertising platform, Nine Ad Manager, introducing new features aimed at making digital ad buying more accessible and effective for direct advertisers and Australia’s small business sector.
Features include media planning tools, invoicing capabilities, and ready-to-use campaign templates designed to streamline the ad buying process. A key addition is an improved planning function that lets users map out multi-channel campaigns across Nine’s video, display, search and social inventory. New invoicing options, credit terms, and support for PayTo bank transfers will also simplify financial management for businesses and agencies alike.
Nick Young said: “Nine Ad Manager has proven to be an effective way for Australian small businesses to reach specific households, with around 4000 clients using the platform so far. We are a brand safe environment and these product upgrades will ensure SMBs’ campaigns will have even more effectiveness using our trusted premium content on the most powerful screen in the home.”