Kath Sroka, Director – Digital Commercial Strategy & Enablement, Nine
TV suffers from a perception issue. The ‘I don’t watch TV’ statement has become fashionably cool, but the reality couldn’t be further from the truth. Viewers who claim to be ‘raised on feeds’ or who don’t own a physical TV set are very often the same people captivated by live EPL on a smartphone or hooked by streaming Love Island Australia on a laptop.
Premium content remains our ultimate connector. People haven’t stopped watching; they have simply changed how they engage. This past summer has opened my eyes to content as the latest social currency.
“I don’t do reality TV”
The power of the MAFS franchise never fails to spark inspiration. Take my friend, a self-confessed ‘news and docos only’ viewer. She’s currently planning a getaway to Wineglass Bay with her husband, entirely inspired by Stella & Filip’s Tasmanian honeymoon.
Meanwhile, my own husband, who “only watches” because of me, is convinced this same friend is a double for another contestant. It’s co-viewing and closet reality buffs at its finest.
We don’t watch ‘regular TV channels’ aunty Kath
This summer, while holidaying with family, my 21-year-old niece spotted me reading The Housemaid. She immediately linked the film adaptation starring Sydney Sweeney to the American Apparel campaign and Euphoria too, launching with a new series in April.
Meanwhile, my other niece was busy earning kudos from her parents for mastering scrambled eggs learned from TikTok.
It’s hardly the same cred as dropping intel on Naomi’s jellyfish AO outfit, Bad Bunny‘s half-time show, or Mariah Carey‘s Winter Olympics live act – was that a lip-sync?
My screenager nephews also ‘raised on feeds’ were locked to the couch watching the drama of the Big Bash Cricket and United Cup Tennis unfold, continuing now through to winter sports, drawn in by their big sporting icons and live scores.
Then there’s the platform oblivious
A young tradie helping build our alfresco proudly shared he didn’t own a ‘TV set’. Yet he confessed to watching Love Island Australia on his laptop, content couch-surfing in friends’ living rooms, while following the wash-up on socials.
People don’t ‘watch TV’? It might not be via an old-school set, but they’re still watching long-form premium content when they want it.
Whether it’s live sport, entertainment, or news, premium content connects people with cultural moments across all devices.
The power of scale in a fragmented market
The appetite for premium video has never been higher. The challenge today isn’t a lack of audience, but the fragmentation of choice. At Nine, we are solving this by replacing complexity with scale.
Our premium content solution integrates 9Now, Stan Sport and HBO Max collectively into a single gateway. Through one dedicated sales team, Nine offers clear behavioural strategies to reach diverse BVOD and SVOD audiences backed by a market-leading data proposition and ad products designed for seamless execution.
For brands, the magic is clear in the data. Live and On-Demand are a powerful duo for full-funnel outcomes. The ‘water cooler’ effect of live viewing drives massive awareness; in fact, Live content sees an Ad Recall of 52%. This is particularly potent in genres like Live Reality, where recall hits a staggering 67%.
Delivering engaged audiences
On-Demand is where receptive viewers turn into buyers. On-demand moments are more personal, engaging and in control. It leads the way in action-focused brand outcomes, with 51% of viewers showing high ad receptivity compared to 44% in Live.
We see this translate directly to the bottom line, with On-Demand video exposure delivering a +7.4% lift in purchase intent.
In 2026, the commitment to long-form premium content is simple: deliver these engaged audiences and the metrics that brands crave. From the high-stakes action of the NRL to the comfort viewing of Seinfeld, Nine continues to capture the hearts of all types of viewers.
You might not call it ‘TV’ anymore, but we’ve built the ecosystem that follows the audience wherever they are, and however they choose to engage.
Source: Kantar Nine Live and On-Demand Research, 2025. Study commissioned by Nine to evaluate ad recall and consumer receptivity across live and video-on-demand (VOD) platforms (Base: n=3375 for ad recall; n=1557 for attitude and action).