The challenge of attracting ad dollars in 2016
The FTA and STV sector joined hands to launch Think TV in March 2016
McIntyre, Buckman, Burnette, O'MahonyWhen a company’s advertising revenue grows it’s not only good news for the business but the Australian economy as well.
“Advertising facilitates competition between businesses and drives productivity and innovation,” said Deloitte Access Economics partner John O’Mahony.
In an effort to understand the changing nature of the Australian TV industry and how audience is interacting with content, the FTA and STV sector joined hands to launch Think TV in March 2016 – an independent industry research and marketing group.
“It would have been nicer to see the sectors come together earlier,” said Foxtel’s MD for customer and retail Mark Buckman during a panel session at the ASTRA conference.
MCN editor-at-large Paul McIntyre was the moderator of the session featuring Buckman, O’Mahony, as well as Think TV and Seven’s Kurt Burnette. During the conversation, Burnette and Buckman both claimed that Australians are more willing to pay for content than ever before.
Buckman said, “We strongly believe that strong content delivered in the way customers want it has a long life ahead.
“Brian Walsh, my colleague, also known as Mr Television, has come back recently from the LA screenings and said, there are over 500 new programs being produced and developed.”
In terms of the local story for Foxtel, Buckman admitted that the company is still perceived as “a linear sports station”.
He said: “That is far from what we are. We’ve got to do a much better job in terms of telling people about the more broad value proposition [that Foxtel has to offer].”
Traditional TV broadcasters are struggling to tell the market that they run a diverse business, Burnette stated. This negatively impacts on the company’s ability to attract ad dollars that are being invested in new platforms.
Burnette said: “People struggle to see Seven as a digital and social company. They still say, ‘You are TV.’”