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Rhian Allen

Hear how Australia’s largest parenting site grew to a monthly audience over 900,000 and annual revenues of $22m.

• GfK Radio Ratings, Survey 2 2018: Highlights + full results
• Radio ratings week: Macquarie Media CEO Adam Lang on the strength of 2GB and 3AW
• GfK Radio Ratings, Survey 1 2018: Highlights + full results

Sydney

2GB 11.5%

Breakfast: Alan Jones 14.3%

Despite Alan Jones slipping 1.2 points, he continues to lead by a considerable margin. KIIS FM is 2.0 points behind, which is as about as close as anyone has ever got to the master. Drive with Ben Fordham was the only show not to slip a little, although his share of 8.0% is the station’s lowest. The biggest dip was in evenings after 7pm where Ross Greenwood and Steve Price share the audience. Although share was down 2.8, they still command a market-leading 14.2%.

See the station-by-station analysis for Sydney here.

Melbourne

3AW 13.7%

Breakfast: Ross and John 19.0%

No one anywhere near these breakfast champs again. All other dayparts were steady or in growth. Evening, which is shared by Ross Greenwood, Steve Price and Phil and Simon, was up 1.1 to 15.1%.

See the station-by-station analysis for Melbourne here.

Brisbane

97.3 FM 12.9%

Breakfast: Bianca, Terry and Bob 11.9%

After trailing Nova by just 0.5 in survey 1, 2018, 97.3 has added 0.8 and moved ahead of a falling Nova this survey. Breakfast now sits at equal #1 alongside Hit 105 with Nova pushed to third place. 97.3 daytime listening went over the top with morning up 2.8 to 14.6% and afternoon jumped 1.6 to 13.9%. The new Will and Woody drive show managed to hold over 12% too, ranking #2 FM in a market of four. Demos were steady except 55-64, which leapt 4.1 to 18.8%.

See the station-by-station analysis for Brisbane here.

Adelaide

Mix 102.3 15.7%

Breakfast: Jodie and Soda 14.7%

The numbers dipped ever so slightly but still the third-best Mix result in over two years. Daytime is still off the charts with Michelle Murphy in control from 9am until 3pm and pulling the same sensational shares her namesake at Mix used to – Sean Craig Murphy. Will and Woody remain #1 drive although share dipped slightly from 15.2 to 14.1%.

See the station-by-station analysis for Adelaide here.

Perth

Mix 94.5 15.6%

Breakfast: Clairsy, Matt and Kymba 15.0%

Two surveys this year and two surveys on top for the station and breakfast. Very strong result with only the slightest variation after a great survey one. The Perth audience is loving Kennedy Molloy with a share of 15.9% for the second consecutive survey, making Perth its best market.

See the station-by-station analysis for Perth here.

Top photo: 3AW’s Ross and John

Nick Jr. Play is an interactive app experience that offers preschoolers access to Nick Jr. shows, games and music including full episodes, educational games, original videos and even some silly surprises.

It is designed and programmed to promote discovery so preschoolers will be able to explore on their own with easy-to-use swiping and tapping. Nick Jr. Play will also provide Foxtel and Fetch subscribers the ability to unlock the full library of available videos and games that will include content from the network’s most popular programming including PAW Patrol, Nella The Princess Knight, Dora the Explorer, Bubble Guppies and more.

Nick Jr. Play is the latest addition to Viacom Play Plex, a suite of mobile apps for each of Viacom’s major international brands, which include Nick Play, MTV Play, Comedy Central Play and BET Play. Nick Jr. Play launched internationally in February 2018.

The launch of Nick Jr. Play follows the success of Nick Play in Australia.

Launched with Foxtel in 2015, Nick Play has been installed over 417,000 times and given Australians access to hundreds of Nickelodeon-themed videos, original short-form animations, newly created games, as well as full-length episodes of Nickelodeon’s biggest hits and current top shows via subscriber authentication.

Fetch subscribers will be able to unlock the full library of content via authentication in mid-2018.

Ben Cox, vice president and general manager of Nickelodeon Networks Australia & New Zealand, said, “Given the success of Nick Play in Australia, I’m confident the tremendous appeal of Nick Jr.’s shows and characters will provide preschoolers new ways to be entertained, play and learn.

“Nick Jr. Play will also provide Foxtel and Fetch subscribers access to a safe environment featuring characters their children already know and love, at no additional cost.”

Nick Play is currently available for download on iOS and Android app stores in Australia and New Zealand.

Nick Jr. Play will be available when it launches later this year.

The publisher of the Guardian and Observer halved its losses in the last financial year, and the company is on track to break even this year, the global publisher has reported.

Guardian News & Media (GNM) reported a £19m loss in the year to the end of March, in the previous financial year.

The publisher, which is now in the final year of a three-year plan to break even, has cut losses to a third of the £57m reported when the drive to reshape the business began.

GNM’s £19m loss is 25% better than its internal target of £25m, due to a combination of better-than-expected revenue growth and almost £20m removed from the group’s cost base.

The publisher cut costs by 7% year-on-year from £252m to £235m. The reduction includes the shift to a tabloid format in January.

“We are well on track with our three-year strategy to make the Guardian sustainable and break even at operating level by 2018-2019,” said editor-in-chief Katharine Viner and David Pemsel, the chief executive of GNM parent Guardian Media Group, in a joint statement. “Thanks to outstanding collaborative work in the UK, US and Australia, we have finished the second year well ahead of our forecast.”

Total revenues increased marginally by 1% to £216m, a second consecutive year of growth in the face of tough market conditions for publishers.

More than 800,000 people now financially support the Guardian, up 200,000 from a year ago. Of these about 200,000 are print or digital subscribers, more than 300,000 are members or regular contributors, and more than 300,000 gave one-off contributions.

Reader revenues, including income from the sale of the Guardian on newsstands, now exceed revenues generated from advertising.

“We have achieved very rapid growth in our reader revenues – contributions, membership and subscriptions – across the UK, US, Australia and the rest of the world,” said Viner and Pemsel.

The Guardian’s US and Australian operations performed strongly over the last year.

“Our international businesses are now sustainable and on a sound financial footing,” said Viner and Pemsel. “Both will continue to grow and become more important to the Guardian in future years.”

Guardian Media Group incurs additional costs meaning that the overall loss is likely to be about £24m to £25m when the group officially reports its annual results later this year. In the previous financial year GMG reported a £45m loss.

The 2018 World Press Freedom Index, compiled by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), reflects growing animosity towards journalists, says RSF.

For the second successive year, Australia has ranked at #19 on the Index.

RSF reported that media freedom thrives in New Zealand, with the country jumping five places on the Index from #13 in 2017 to #8 this year.

In releasing details of its annual report, RSF said:

Hostility towards the media, openly encouraged by political leaders, and the efforts of authoritarian regimes to export their vision of journalism pose a threat to democracies.

The climate of hatred is steadily more visible in the Index, which evaluates the level of press freedom in 180 countries each year. Hostility towards the media from political leaders is no longer limited to authoritarian countries such as Turkey (down two at 157th) and Egypt (161st), where “media-phobia” is now so pronounced that journalists are routinely accused of terrorism and all those who don’t offer loyalty are arbitrarily imprisoned.

More and more democratically elected leaders no longer see the media as part of democracy’s essential underpinning, but as an adversary to which they openly display their aversion. The United States, the country of the First Amendment, has fallen again in the Index under Donald Trump, this time two places to 45th.

The line separating verbal violence from physical violence is dissolving. In the Philippines (down six at 133rd), President Rodrigo Duterte not only constantly insults reporters but has also warned them that they “are not exempted from assassination”. In India (down two at 138th), hate speech targeting journalists is shared and amplified on social networks, often by troll armies in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pay. In each of these countries, at least four journalists were gunned down in cold blood in the space of a year.

Verbal violence from politicians against the media is also on the rise in Europe, although it is the region that respects press freedom most. In the Czech Republic (down 11 at 34th), President Milos Zeman turned up at a press conference with a fake Kalashnikov inscribed with the words “for journalists”. In Slovakia, (down 10 at 27th), then-Prime Minister Robert Fico called journalists “filthy anti-Slovak prostitutes” and “idiotic hyenas”. A Slovak reporter, Ján Kuciak, was shot dead in his home in February 2018, just four months after another European journalist, Daphne Caruana Galizia, was killed by a targeted car-bombing in Malta (down 18 at 65th).

In this year’s Index, Norway is first for the second year running, followed – as it was last year – by Sweden (2nd). Although traditionally respectful of press freedom, the Nordic countries have also been affected by the overall decline. Undermined by a case threatening the confidentiality of a journalist’s sources, Finland (down one at 4th) has fallen for the second year running, surrendering its third place to the Netherlands. At the other end of the Index, North Korea (180th) is still last.

The Index also reflects the growing influence of “strongmen” and rival models. After stifling independent voices at home, Vladimir Putin’s Russia (148th) is extending its propaganda network by means of media outlets such as RT and Sputnik, while Xi Jinping’s China (176th) is exporting its tightly controlled news and information model in Asia. Their relentless suppression of criticism and dissent provides support to other countries near the bottom of the Index such as Vietnam (175th), Turkmenistan (178th) and Azerbaijan (163rd).

The Asia-Pacific region still has the world’s worst violator of the freedom to inform: North Korea (180th). The recent widespread adoption of smartphones in North Korea has unfortunately been accompanied by draconian control of communications and the national intranet. The state news agency KCNA is the only authorised source of news for all of the country’s media. Just reading, viewing, or listening to a foreign media outlet can lead to a spell in a concentration camp.

The global recorded music market grew by 8.1% in 2017, its third consecutive year of growth since IFPI began tracking the market in 1997. Figures released today in IFPI’s Global Music Report 2018 show total revenues for 2017 were US$17.3 billion.

The annual music report also revealed the world’s most successful recording artists and lists of the biggest singles and albums. No surprise that Ed Sheeran ranked #1. Sheeran’s album “Divide” sold 6.1m units in 2017, well ahead of Taylor Swift’s “Reputation” at #2 with 4.5m.

Streaming remains the main driver of recovering revenues and, for the first time, has become the single largest revenue source with 176 million users of paid streaming services contributing to year-on-year streaming growth of 41.1%. Streaming now accounts for 38.4% of total recorded music revenue and its growth has more than offset a 5.4% decline in physical revenue and a 20.5% decline in download revenue. Total digital income last year accounted for more than half of all revenue (54%) for the first time.

The industry’s third consecutive year of global growth follows 15 years of significant revenue decline. Despite the recent uplift, revenues for 2017 are still only 68.4% of the market’s peak in 1999.

Record companies are working to fuel this recent return to growth, driven by their ongoing investment, not only in artists but also in the digital innovations that are enriching the experience of music fans all over the world.

Beyond their efforts to nurture and break artists, record companies have also worked to foster growth in developing markets and have invested in the systems to deliver, manage and track the global distribution of music. Their partnerships are creating engaging ways for fans to access music on multiple services and platforms.

This contributed to Latin American revenues growing by 17.7% and Asia and Australasia growing by 5.4%.

Key figures for 2017

Global revenue growth: +8.1%

Digital share of global revenues: 54%

Digital revenue growth: +19.1%

Growth in streaming revenues: +41.1%

Physical revenues: -5.4%

Download revenue: -20.5%

Top photo: Ed Sheeran (Source: Shutterstock)

By James Manning

Seven

Seven has made it four from four so far this week with a primary share win each night of the week.

Wednesday was its smallest winning margin, however, with Seven on 23.2% and Nine narrowly behind on 22.9%.

Home and Away managed to stay above 700,000 with its public holiday episode.

Just two days after their tormenters Sonya and Hadil were told not to return to My Kitchen Rules, Jess and Emma have been eliminated with the lowest score after being defeated by cooking comrades Olga and Valeria. Russian classics helped them win and take second place on the leader board after the judges awarded them three scores of 10 – two from Pete and one from Manu. The six remaining teams will now compete in Kitchen HQ for the first time this season. MKR is heading for a grand final on Sunday May 6 if TEN’s decision to launch MasterChef Australia the next day is any guide.

Episode two of Back With The Ex then dropped to 332,000 after launching last week with 449,000.

Nine

Nine has enjoyed its most competitive and highest primary channel share of the week so far. Nine also managed a combined channel share win on Wednesday with a network share of 33.1% thanks to GO! contributing with the biggest multichannel share of 4.6% with a Young Sheldon marathon.

A Current Affair did 824,000 with an episode that featured hoons on motorbikes terrorising residents, followed by Anzac Day coverage.

The Voice Wednesday did 955,000 for the fourth Blind Auditions episode this week.

The special on last week’s Queen’s Birthday Party then did 437,000.

TEN

Prince’s younger sister Tyka Nelson was a guest on The Project as she visits Australia, with 469,000 watching after 7pm.

A Bondi Rescue double followed with a new episode on 268,000 and then the repeat doing 261,000.

The Graham Norton Show later did 232,000 followed by This Is Us on 122,000.

ABC

Specialists on WWE and The Goonies featured on the final Hard Quiz with an audience of 567,000.

Mad As Hell did 534,000 for its final episode.

The final Sando then did 231,000.

A refreshed midweek lineup launches next week with Home Delivery, Gruen and then The Weekly back-to-back from 8pm. The schedule will see ABC hosts Charlie Pickering and Tom Ballard going head-to-head.

SBS

A new episode of Great Continental Railway Journeys did 269,000 with Michael Portillo and his “Bradshaw’s” travelling across Ukraine from Kiev to Odessa.

A repeat of Why Are We Getting So Fat? then did 214,000.