Last night I sat in the audience of the heavily-attended Nine 2026 Upfronts, where executives from the business presented a well-rehearsed pitch on the value it offers and the revenue opportunities that can be delivered.
After the presentation and the drinks started flowing, conversation remained on Nine with what were largely laudatory comments about Nine. It was clear, from those I spoke to, that there continues to be a fondness for the Nine brand and a genuine curiosity about how Nine continues to maintain relevancy in an ever-evolving media market. That’s quite remarkable when you note the cynicism of most of us working in the media.
In considering the pitch Nine made, there were a few key takeaways that I had. One overall view of Nine’s proposition, but then there were two products that I feel speak to Nine positioning itself as a modern media company meeting clients and the audience where they are.
The big picture: Nine is a safe set of hands
The pitch Nine delivered wasn’t especially exciting, but one suspects that excitement wasn’t the message they wanted to project. What Nine told the room of buyers is that they are reliable. Nine has been integral in the lives of Australians for all of our lives and it will continue to be a brand-safe, multi-channel destination to reach people across all demographics. The slate presented by Nine was that it is giving Australians more of what they like (whether that be sports and the Olympics, news, true crime documentaries, or home-grown reality hits).
Every buyer in the room knew that Nine has been through some internal changes this year and that there are likely some changes on the horizon with Nine evaluating how it wants to spend that hefty Domain-sized bank balance it now has, along with possible activity surrounding radio assets. But none of that was a focus on the stage last night. Instead, it was Nine projecting confidence in just how reliable they are for buyers.
Vertical video is an obvious, expected evolution
It wasn’t a featured announcement by any means, but it was important to hear Nine reveal that it is launching a vertical video feed on the 9Now platform.
Vertical video, for most smartphone users, is the default video format. It’s how video feels natural while holding a device in your hand. It was an inevitability that traditional broadcasters would begin to integrate vertical video onto their apps. 9Now is the first local BVOD to create a dedicated vertical video feed.
Branded as 9Now Stories, Nine are curating vertical videos (or as most people generally call them: “videos”) from trusted brands on the 9Now app. The feed, as you would expect, will focus on core Nine pillars: entertainment, sport, and current affairs.
Nobody is looking at the addition of vertical video to 9Now as cutting-edge or ground-breaking, but launching a vertical video product speaks to the broader Nine theme for this year that the business exists where the audience is and that it’ll meet that interest with relevant, brand-safe content.
Self-service isn’t just for the checkout line… or Facebook
Nine Ad Manager is not a new platform, but Nine announced crucial upgrades to improve the client experience. It now delivers better planning functions across Nine’s multi-channel ecosystem. Nine has added helpful, if not especially sexy, functionality like more invoicing options, credit terms, and support for PayTo bank transfers.
Facebook built a hugely successful business off the back of smaller campaigns run by small-to-medium business operators. It’s success came from being able to hyper-target audiences, but it got there by making the ability to book ads accessible and relatively easy for resource-strapped businesses.
The idea of buying ads on a legacy media giant like Nine, for a lot of SMBs, is intimidating and can feel out of reach, but platforms like Nine Ad Manager make it possible. If Nine can make their self-service buying platform accessible, reducing as many elements of friction as possible, that’s a huge win for the 4000 clients already using the platform. As that number grows, it positions Nine to be in a far more competitive position with the social media giants.